Hi,
I cannot tell if there is a piece of clear molded plastic on the rear cover or not? I remember seeing a small square sticker when I got the phone and I just removed that? A friend of mine thought there was one on it, if so, I can't figure out how to get it off. It sure looks like it has one. I can see a clear outline around the speaker.
The rear half of the assembled unibody is mainly dark plastic. Then a thin film is applied that looks like brushed metal, and sealed by the soft clear self-healing membrane. The visible borders are actually in the brushed looking layer under the clearcoat., like a phone skin.
They skipped the coatings for the front half of the body to make the edges a bit less slippery I think. So the edges can and will chip and scratch a bit over time. But the back should stay smooth looking for quite a while...just remember to brush off the dust and fingerprints occasionally. DO NOT try to RainX the back or apply other nonstick solvents, it may interact with the original coating in a bad way.
The best part of this design is a minor thing: the textured logo is also completely sealed in. And whether you like it or not, at least it will not peel off or fill up with crud like on some other phones. Your Flex should remain new-looking for a while.
Side note the self healing gloss reminds me of the soft matte black on my old Echo. It was almost like a rubber film, repelled most dirt and scratches and was directly applied to a harder black layer underneath. The other bits were anodized or powder coated, it took three years to start seeing metal peek thru and it was always loose in a pocket.
One other note, while the battery is sadly not replaceable the back seems thicker and stronger than usual. It's not metal but it doesn't feel flimsy.
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