This is actually pretty crazy. Wonder how much it’ll affect the overall design of modern smartphones. Will we witness the return of flagships with plastic back covers?
God i hope so. I miss being able to just pop the back off and change out my battery. It was great for sd and sim card slots too. I am quite excited for this
I wouldn’t get too excited. I purchased a galaxy xcover 6 pro at launch. It is a recent device with a removeable plastic back cover with a gasket on it to preserve the IP68 rating, much in the same style as was popular up to the galaxy S5.
It seems like they forgot how to make that design work, because the first time I got caught in the rain it died an immediate and very hot death.
There are many other ways to carry out this design but they make the device a bit thicker which manufacturers are going to absolutely hate.
That’d be awesome. I don’t understand why people think a glass back is premium. Your premium glass back doesn’t look so fancy when it’s shattered into a million pieces or sandwiched behind a $10 phone case from China.
I’ve hung on to my Note 4 that I bought in 2014 (no longer use it daily) and it’s still in one piece even though it never lived in a case. The plastic and aluminum body have plenty of battle scars but no cracks or functional damage. This MFer is almost 10 years old now on its 5th or 6th battery and still hanging in there despite its aged hardware. Now that is a premium design.
Wireless charging isn’t all that needed IMO. It’s kind of old technology, my phone had it 10 years ago but none of my phones have had it since and I haven’t really missed it because USB C charging is fast enough where wireless charging isn’t really necessary.
It’s also a gimmick afaic, it’s not “Wireless” to me until it can charge contactless from a distance. This not-really-wireless wireless crap just moved the connection and made it magnetic instead of a plug. It’s a glorified magsafe lmao
Hell yeah, dont understand why people are big about this while it just contact charging. It doesnt even charge phone fast nor efficient. Funny people keep bragging about waste while they use inefficient charging method which waste more energy.
It’s inefficient, but it doesn’t depend on a finnicky-ass charging port so that’s nice.
When Apple goes USB-C on iPhones, I will unfortunately have to start using wireless charging, because USB-C ports are so annoying to clean compared to Lightning, I don’t plan on having a functional one after a year of owning a USB-C phone.
I’d never want to get rid of wired charging, but wireless is a really nice option. I’m never able to find a good angle/spot for my phone in my car with a wire sticking out of it. Even with a dashboard mount, I would prefer the mount itself be powered to avoid having the cable just hanging with the pull of gravity on it.
Phone manufacturers: “Man this glass stuff likes to shatter a lot no matter what we try to make it stronger. I know, let’s wrap the whole phone in it that’ll solve everything!!! 111”
I hate wireless charging too, though. It’s inherently less efficient than wired, and you have less range of motion while charging. With a wire, I can still use my phone while it’s plugged in. Wireless charging needs to go away imo.
Couldn’t disagree more. Wireless charging with magnetic attachment like magsafe is a godsend for using my phone as a GPS. Just slap it onto it’s magnetic wireless charger and go. Pull it off when done. A million times better than the old chargers that grip the phone and then also having to plug it in every time I need to drive somewhere, then undo it all when I get there.
I’m pretty glad to have both options. I take your point about using it while charging, but I also find myself having to jump up from my desk quite a bit, and it’s nice to be able to just pick up my phone without first unplugging it. And I imagine all of that plugging and unplugging is reducing the durability of the port over time.
I really like the magnetic charging port plug adaptors for situations like that, but personally, if I’m jumping up and down from my desk at work or something and have my phone plugged in, I’ll just leave it on my desk while I’m away. And if I’m not coming back to it for a good bit, the extra half second it takes to unplug my phone is more than worth the more efficient power transfer, imo.
Even disregarding material, it is literally less efficient due to transmission losses, and it’s only “wireless” in so far as you have a wireless dock to drop your phone on that is then attached to the wall just like a regular cable. The only thing it does is make it so you don’t have to plug a cable in or use a magnetic cable attachment, but there isn’t really any convenience gain over just having a charging cord especially if you have a super long charging cable for your stationary spots in the house.
This is actually pretty crazy. Wonder how much it’ll affect the overall design of modern smartphones. Will we witness the return of flagships with plastic back covers?
God i hope so. I miss being able to just pop the back off and change out my battery. It was great for sd and sim card slots too. I am quite excited for this
I wouldn’t get too excited. I purchased a galaxy xcover 6 pro at launch. It is a recent device with a removeable plastic back cover with a gasket on it to preserve the IP68 rating, much in the same style as was popular up to the galaxy S5.
It seems like they forgot how to make that design work, because the first time I got caught in the rain it died an immediate and very hot death.
There are many other ways to carry out this design but they make the device a bit thicker which manufacturers are going to absolutely hate.
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I couldn’t care less if the back cover is plastic, it’s just going inside a case anyway.
I would be comfortable to not use a case if it were plastic instead of glass.
That’d be awesome. I don’t understand why people think a glass back is premium. Your premium glass back doesn’t look so fancy when it’s shattered into a million pieces or sandwiched behind a $10 phone case from China.
I’ve hung on to my Note 4 that I bought in 2014 (no longer use it daily) and it’s still in one piece even though it never lived in a case. The plastic and aluminum body have plenty of battle scars but no cracks or functional damage. This MFer is almost 10 years old now on its 5th or 6th battery and still hanging in there despite its aged hardware. Now that is a premium design.
Yeesh I hope not.
I hope everything just becomes brushed aluminum ffs. I hate all these glass back phones
Phones only have glass backs to let wireless charging work so I don’t see aluminium making a come back any time soon.
Wireless charging isn’t all that needed IMO. It’s kind of old technology, my phone had it 10 years ago but none of my phones have had it since and I haven’t really missed it because USB C charging is fast enough where wireless charging isn’t really necessary.
It’s also a gimmick afaic, it’s not “Wireless” to me until it can charge contactless from a distance. This not-really-wireless wireless crap just moved the connection and made it magnetic instead of a plug. It’s a glorified magsafe lmao
Hell yeah, dont understand why people are big about this while it just contact charging. It doesnt even charge phone fast nor efficient. Funny people keep bragging about waste while they use inefficient charging method which waste more energy.
It’s inefficient, but it doesn’t depend on a finnicky-ass charging port so that’s nice.
When Apple goes USB-C on iPhones, I will unfortunately have to start using wireless charging, because USB-C ports are so annoying to clean compared to Lightning, I don’t plan on having a functional one after a year of owning a USB-C phone.
I’d never want to get rid of wired charging, but wireless is a really nice option. I’m never able to find a good angle/spot for my phone in my car with a wire sticking out of it. Even with a dashboard mount, I would prefer the mount itself be powered to avoid having the cable just hanging with the pull of gravity on it.
Phone manufacturers: “Man this glass stuff likes to shatter a lot no matter what we try to make it stronger. I know, let’s wrap the whole phone in it that’ll solve everything!!! 111”
Plastic also works, and is far more durable
I hate wireless charging too, though. It’s inherently less efficient than wired, and you have less range of motion while charging. With a wire, I can still use my phone while it’s plugged in. Wireless charging needs to go away imo.
Couldn’t disagree more. Wireless charging with magnetic attachment like magsafe is a godsend for using my phone as a GPS. Just slap it onto it’s magnetic wireless charger and go. Pull it off when done. A million times better than the old chargers that grip the phone and then also having to plug it in every time I need to drive somewhere, then undo it all when I get there.
Jesus Christ
I’m pretty glad to have both options. I take your point about using it while charging, but I also find myself having to jump up from my desk quite a bit, and it’s nice to be able to just pick up my phone without first unplugging it. And I imagine all of that plugging and unplugging is reducing the durability of the port over time.
I really like the magnetic charging port plug adaptors for situations like that, but personally, if I’m jumping up and down from my desk at work or something and have my phone plugged in, I’ll just leave it on my desk while I’m away. And if I’m not coming back to it for a good bit, the extra half second it takes to unplug my phone is more than worth the more efficient power transfer, imo.
But to each their own.
Each to their own indeed!
I interested in how your hate for wireless charging has anything to do with this thread?
We’ve had wireless charging in every single material back and it’s absolutely wonderful QOL improvement.
It can’t be done through metal backs, for what it’s worth.
Even disregarding material, it is literally less efficient due to transmission losses, and it’s only “wireless” in so far as you have a wireless dock to drop your phone on that is then attached to the wall just like a regular cable. The only thing it does is make it so you don’t have to plug a cable in or use a magnetic cable attachment, but there isn’t really any convenience gain over just having a charging cord especially if you have a super long charging cable for your stationary spots in the house.
WTF? Just don’t use wireless charging ffs. What a dumb opinion.
Considering it comes at the cost of your phone being more fragile, the argument is not without merit
And the extra costs to support a feature I never use.
What does wireless charging has to do with phones being more fragile?
The glass backs that this conversation started with
Metal backs are incompatible with wireless charging.
So that leaves ceramic, plastic and glass. Plastic isn’t “premium” enough apparently so that leaves ceramic and glass both of which are fragile
We had phones with glass backs before wireless charging was widespread (see sony xperia z phones from 8+ years ago for example)
The LG G5 solved the problem in 2016.
The LG G5 solved the problem in 2016.
Manufacturers may use it as a scapegoat, but it won’t be the reason