I think the galaxy build quality is better than the One

[DuStU]

hear me out here for a second. The HTC one is a nice looking phone but there are reasons why I think samsung upgraded to poly carbonate instead of metal. In my humble opinion I think the plastic body can take more of a beating than metal can by far. The issue here as you will see in this drop test video below is that the One isn't a solid body. The speaker guard is glued on?! Both of them.. It seems like if the phone falls on the edge it pops right off with no way to put it back on. I am just bringing this to the attention of people in the s4 forums on the fence due to build quality. I have the s2 and s3 and have dropped both weekly and nothing like you see in this video has ever happened to me.

Let me know what you think. Personally I think it is the other way around and samsung will have less returns due to better build quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwE9PGDnlvs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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[lou61166]

hear me out here for a second. The HTC one is a nice looking phone but there are reasons why I think samsung upgraded to poly carbonate instead of metal. In my humble opinion I think the plastic body can take more of a beating than metal can by far. The issue here as you will see in this drop test video below is that the One isn't a solid body. The speaker guard is glued on?! Both of them.. It seems like if the phone falls on the edge it pops right off with no way to put it back on. I am just bringing this to the attention of people in the s4 forums on the fence due to build quality. I have the s2 and s3 and have dropped both weekly and nothing like you see in this video has ever happened to me.

Let me know what you think. Personally I think it is the other way around and samsung will have less returns due to better build quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwE9PGDnlvs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

There is not a phone made that is not immune to drop damage screen breaks etc,my problem with samsung has never been it's build,screen and radios have.

 

[bdog421]

I'm ready to see how the gorilla glass 3 on the sgs4 holds up to those face plants, prolly same cracked glass as big phones never fall graciously.

 

[PsychDoc]

hear me out here for a second. The HTC one is a nice looking phone but there are reasons why I think samsung upgraded to poly carbonate instead of metal. In my humble opinion I think the plastic body can take more of a beating than metal can by far. The issue here as you will see in this drop test video below is that the One isn't a solid body. The speaker guard is glued on?! Both of them.. It seems like if the phone falls on the edge it pops right off with no way to put it back on. I am just bringing this to the attention of people in the s4 forums on the fence due to build quality. I have the s2 and s3 and have dropped both weekly and nothing like you see in this video has ever happened to me.

Let me know what you think. Personally I think it is the other way around and samsung will have less returns due to better build quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwE9PGDnlvs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

You're joking, right?

I once thought I was playing in the NBA.....and then I woke up.

 

[Voliam]

Personally, I don't believe any material is immune to damage. Folks continue to talk about how beautiful their phone is, only to buy a case for protection, thereby masking that beauty.
I don't but a phone for its beauty, I buy it for functionality. In addition, I have never had anyone say "oh, what a beautiful phone you have", nor could I care less.
Drop an aluminum phone and dent / scratch it- there goes the beauty! I have never had a plastic phone break, but then I tend to hold on to it when in use. Frankly, I'm surprised there isn't a line of tethered cases on the market for those that seem to be careless with handling.

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[xlDeMoNiClx]

Drop tests have almost no credibility behind them, and honestly who cares? Most people just slap a case on anyway.

 

[MikeLip]

Know what *I* think? Well, I'll tell you what I think. I think HTC knows this is their shot, so they went for different. The One looks like the DNA, and the DNA is gorgeous. So is the One. The S4 is a rectangular piece of plastic. I think they will both break depending on how they land, which is a toss of the dice. So unless you want something that looks like it was built for a child to handle - like some of those kids tablets with huge bumpers all over it - you're just going to have to deal with the fact that you have a piece of glass in your hands and glass is gonna break. Someone posted a super idea - why not give is lanyards? You know - those things you get with point and shoot cameras which no one ever uses? A 79 cent lanyard is going to give you waaaaaaaaaay more protection than the biggest honking Otterbox ever made since, if you USE it, you WON'T drop the phone! The Cruzerlite cases and the awesome Ringke Slim have lanyard holes in them. Heck, my Blackberrys all *came* with lanyards and the bodies had lanyard holes, except the last one - the 9930 - which struck me as dumb. BB knows how to make a phone.

 

[MikeLip]

Drop tests have almost no credibility behind them, and honestly who cares? Most people just slap a case on anyway.

I read that as "Drug tests." Man, I need coffee.

 

[xlDeMoNiClx]

I read that as "Drug tests." Man, I need coffee.

I don't drink coffee, but I hear ya about the caffeine.

 

[Suda]

If you're going to question the One's build quality then you also have to question the look and feel of the phone along with it's durability. Looks are subjective but the general consensus seems to be the One looks and feels more "premium" than the S4. You could've probably just said the S4's build is more durable than the One and I'd have to agree with you, just because you can get gouges, dents, and scratches in aluminium a lot easier than polycarbonate.

I'm ready to see how the gorilla glass 3 on the sgs4 holds up to those face plants, prolly same cracked glass as big phones never fall graciously.

GG3 is more resistant to scratches, won't do a thing if the phone is in a position to fall and break.

Drop tests have almost no credibility behind them, and honestly who cares? Most people just slap a case on anyway.

Unless you have a heavy duty case like an Otterbox with a lip that goes around the front of the phone, what's to stop that speaker grill from popping out if it falls directly on its face? I said it in the other thread so I'll say it in this one, people's concern with a phone falling on its face is usually the screen. On this phone you have two speaker grills in addition to the screen that may need to be replaced and if the housing is damaged then it doesn't look like the grill going to pop back on. So you'll have to send the phone in for repair just because of a grill or try and glue the sucker back in on your own as a DIY fix. I don't particularly feel too good about the latter and I'd be frustrated if I had to send the phone back in when everything works fine, just because a chunk of my phone broke off.

Let's be real here also though, most people that buy this phone will not be putting it in a case. They want to show the look and the feel of the phone off and no one is exactly going crazy over an Otterbox.

 

[xlDeMoNiClx]

If you're going to question the One's build quality then you also have to question the look and feel of the phone along with it's durability. Looks are subjective but the general consensus seems to be the One looks and feels more "premium" than the S4. You could've probably just said the S4's build is more durable than the One and I'd have to agree with you, just because you can get gouges, dents, and scratches in aluminium a lot easier than polycarbonate.



GG3 is more resistant to scratches, won't do a thing if the phone is in a position to fall and break.



Unless you have a heavy duty case like an Otterbox with a lip that goes around the front of the phone, what's to stop that speaker grill from popping out if it falls directly on its face? I said it in the other thread so I'll say it in this one, people's concern with a phone falling on its face is usually the screen. On this phone you have two speaker grills in addition to the screen that may need to be replaced and if the housing is damaged then it doesn't look like the grill going to pop back on. So you'll have to send the phone in for repair just because of a grill or try and glue the sucker back in on your own as a DIY fix. I don't particularly feel too good about the latter and I'd be frustrated if I had to send the phone back in when everything works fine, just because a chunk of my phone broke off.

Let's be real here also though, most people that buy this phone will not be putting it in a case. They want to show the look and the feel of the phone off and no one is exactly going crazy over an Otterbox.

Get a screen protector and maybe even a wrist strap then. Also, clearly the build quality isn't as premium as the "feeling" if the speaker grill can break that easily. Not that I ever thought much into it, I think both the One and S4 look great.

 

[Suda]

Get a screen protector and maybe even a wrist strap then. Also, clearly the build quality isn't as premium as the "feeling" if the speaker grill can break that easily. Not that I ever thought much into it, I think both the One and S4 look great.

The grill isn't part of the screen, what's a screen protector supposed to do? Wrist strap? You shouldn't have to jump through all these unnecessary hurdles just to protect a phone. The fact of the matter is this phone is prone to damages far more than the average phone and that's because it's bezels can pop off. There's nothing you can do about it but be really careful.

And I hate how that word is used to describe a feel, but mostly everyone who talks about phones has used that word to talk about the build of the One.

 

[Almeuit]

I think both the One and S4 look great.

Agreed. I'd still like to hold both to see how they are in person but from pictures they both get a thumbs up from me .

Sent from my Sprint S3 using AC forums.

 

[msavic6]

I'm not buying a metal phone until they start using titanium, after I've seen the abuse my dad put on his titanium watch and the only scratched part is the glass while the body is still shiny and scratch free. Keep in mind the watch is 10 years old, aluminum just won't hold up as well. The only flaw with this is that mobile phones are a 1-2 year investment, while a watch can theoretically last you indefinitely.

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[BarackOdrama]

I'm not buying a metal phone until they start using titanium

Then you're never buying a metal phone.

 

[DuStU]

The grill isn't part of the screen, what's a screen protector supposed to do? Wrist strap? You shouldn't have to jump through all these unnecessary hurdles just to protect a phone. The fact of the matter is this phone is prone to damages far more than the average phone and that's because it's bezels can pop off. There's nothing you can do about it but be really careful.

And I hate how that word is used to describe a feel, but mostly everyone who talks about phones has used that word to talk about the build of the One.

Thank you! Finally someone that gets the point of my post. It is not about the screen strength it is about those bezels popping off from the vibration of a fall. I bet even in a case these things can still pop off. This factor alone is the reasoning to my conclusion that the s4 is a more rugged phone.

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[omniusovermind]

who cares? Most people just slap a case on anyway.

I used to care a lot more about build materials until I got my glassy N4 and realized that no matter how pretty the chassis is I'd end up protecting it with a case anyway. Most of the nicer cases out there look better than the nicer phone chassis anyway. The only time I ever went naked was when I used to buy OEM car mounts made specifically for that phone, and because they were specific to them they didn't fit well with cases on so I moved to generic car mounts that I could use on any device case or not. However if the phone has a plastic backing that's decent to look at and hold like the Xperia ZL or the BB Z10 for example, AND has a decent "lip" on the front that significantly prevents the screen from contacting surfaces when face down, then I would consider going caseless. I haven't really seen any that have a good sized lip on the front like a case does though.

 

[msavic6]

Then you're never buying a metal phone.

Either a metal or a plastic phone will still be placed in a nice protective case by me.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

 

[JHBThree]

Thank you! Finally someone that gets the point of my post. It is not about the screen strength it is about those bezels popping off from the vibration of a fall. I bet even in a case these things can still pop off. This factor alone is the reasoning to my conclusion that the s4 is a more rugged phone.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

What you fail to understand is that someone could drop the phone in the same manner in the video, but the speakers might not pop off. It is totally the luck of the draw, and does not indicate a weakness in the phone or its build. Just like if you drop the s4 and a piece of it pops off. Someone in a thread in the One forum brought up chaos theory, and its very applicable here as well. Because of how random damage like this can be, you can't draw any conclusions from these drop tests. (For either handset)

 

[Suda]

What you fail to understand is that someone could drop the phone in the same manner in the video, but the speakers might not pop off. It is totally the luck of the draw, and does not indicate a weakness in the phone or its build. Just like if you drop the s4 and a piece of it pops off. Someone in a thread in the One forum brought up chaos theory, and its very applicable here as well. Because of how random damage like this can be, you can't draw any conclusions from these drop tests. (For either handset)

You are totally right, I'm sure you can drop the phone without a guarantee that the grill will fall off every time. Like I said in the thread on the HTC board about this, you can't simulate the same exact drops for phones. But that's beside the point, the point is that it's already been shown that it can fly off. And the difference between dropping the One and a piece flying off and dropping the S4 is that the S4 is more likely to pop back into place. What's the worse that can pop off of a Samsung phone? The only thing that can pop off which is the back plate. Have you seen or heard of someone dropping an S3 and not being able to snap the plate back on? And even if that person couldn't they could buy a replacement back plate and snap it on. Well you can't do that with the HTC One because the housing is made out of aluminium which isn't as shock absorbent as plastic, and if it dents then pieces aren't going to fit correctly, as shown in the above drop test.

I believe OP's point is that polycarbonate or simply plastic can take more of a beating than aluminium. And he's right.