I think the galaxy build quality is better than the One

[JHBThree]

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.

It doesn't work like that. You cannot say that plastic can take more of a beating, because it cannot in all conditions. If you said 'in some situations' that would be true. However, in other situations aluminum will be more durable.


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[Suda]

It doesn't work like that. You cannot say that plastic can take more of a beating, because it cannot in all conditions. If you said 'in some situations' that would be true. However, in other situations aluminum will be more durable.


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It does work like that. You can't get dents and gouges in plastic nearly as easy as you can in aluminium, that's just simple fact. Otherwise more cases would be made out of aluminium instead of all being made with plastic. I'm sorry you can't see that.

 

[JHBThree]

It does work like that. You can't get dents and gouges in plastic nearly as easy as you can in aluminium, that's just simple fact. Otherwise more cases would be made out of aluminium instead of all being made with plastic. I'm sorry you can't see that.

I've owned four samsung handsets and I can tell you they get dented and gouged just as easily as anything else. So no, it doesn't work like that. Neither plastic nor metal is the best all around material for smartphones. Each has drawbacks and strengths, and each will fail in certain circumstances.

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[Suda]

I've owned four samsung handsets and I can tell you they get dented and gouged just as easily as anything else. So no, it doesn't work like that. Neither plastic nor metal is the best all around material for smartphones. Each has drawbacks and strengths, and each will fail in certain circumstances.

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So I'm willing to guess that you've easily dented and gouged phone cases as well, right? Or is it only Samsung plastic, since that would conveniently tie in to the mocking of Samsung's build that you've done the past couple of days?

 

[JHBThree]

So I'm willing to guess that you've easily dented and gouged phone cases as well, right? Or is it only Samsung plastic, since that would conveniently tie in to the mocking of Samsung's build that you've done the past couple of days?

Surprisingly, the phone that has shown the least amount of wear for the length of time I owned it was an iPhone 5 without a case for 6 months. Certainly looked better than the galaxy Nexus or Nexus S I had for the same length of time.

Oh, and the reason more cases aren't made out of aluminum has nothing to do with durability and everything to do with cost. Most people aren't willing to spend the $70?$100+ dollars aluminum cases cost.

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[apollooff320]

ok OP lets start making cars out of complete plastic.

 

[DuStU]

Suda you completely are right. This also why most companies stay with plastic also. It is cheaper faster to build and in most cases more durable. The fact that the grill can come off possibly and that it happened I'm that video is enough for me. It is glued on and that is crap. Wait til the masses get the phone I guarantee we will be hearing more about this topic. I value all your opinions so keep them coming!

The plastic car comment is just ridiculous as there are no phones made out of iron and no phones that weigh 2 tons. Plastic is a durable option for lightweight products like a phone (just like aluminum) . Now making a phone out of titanium I think would be the pinnacle build like the watches are made but that is extremely expensive!

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[Aquila]

Build quality and build materials are not really the same thing, though we confuse the two a lot. Build quality is the total package, basically referring to the integrity of the internal components. xlDeMoNiClx is 100% right, drop tests do not tell us anything about build quality and they tell us very little about the durability of devices. They have not made a general consumer phone yet that can survive being punched in the face. The screen will shatter into 10,000 pieces, the battery will be bent nearly in half and the back of the device will be roughly in the shape of a fist or also shattered, regardless of the material (assuming the materials we use today).

The materials of the device are about look, feel and compatibility with desired functionality. If you want wireless charging, that is glass, ceramic, resin or plastic. If you want an easily removable back, that is going to be ceramic or plastic. If you want metal, that is going to be aluminum. It is really about what you want touching your skin and how it makes you feel about it's durability... they are not intentionally invoking obsolescence, that's a byproduct of the race to the lowest price. They want you to be happy and comfortable with your device so that your next one comes from them as well.

 

[Aquila]

ok OP lets start making cars out of complete plastic.

That's kind of funny, because for the last 15 or so years, cars have been made to break intentionally. When you get into an accident, they want the bumper to crack and break. If it's a side impact, the doors are designed to implode in a specific way. The frame is meant to stay intact, but if it does take too much stress, they want it to bow, not split. All of these safety features are not integral to the car, they protect the car (or phone) and it's cargo and passengers (internal hardware, screen, etc). The safety features are basically a case you put around the device; which is almost entirely made out of steel in the case of cars. The car analogy is the best reason to argue for putting cases on phones. In a 'drop test', we'd want the case to break and everything inside the case to be safe. Also, if the case can look pretty and come in custom colors, that helps too.

 

[adriandb]

So I'm willing to guess that you've easily dented and gouged phone cases as well, right? Or is it only Samsung plastic, since that would conveniently tie in to the mocking of Samsung's build that you've done the past couple of days?

While I think anyone should be willing to admit that denting thin aluminum is easier than denting or cracking thicker plastic I have plenty of dents and scratches in my cases.

I still think drop tests are worthless though. Ever drop test on an iPhone shows damage eventually. I guess I've been very luck as I've been using iPhones since the original one, I drop one regularly and while I always have it in a very thin plastic case I've never had any damage to the device itself.

 

[AlphaVictor87]

Well i will agree that drop tests are really nothing more than a little entertainment, although they do show what COULD happen if you dropped your phone without a case on it. I don't plan on putting a case on my S4, because i really like the look of it, plus being that big of a phone I don't want it any bigger than it already is, and i trust myself to not drop it

However if i saw something like a grill popping off on the S4 in a drop test like this i'd probably have to consider it assuming a case could possibly help. Being that those grills on the One are on the front of the phone, i'm not sure how many cases will help other than an otterbox case.

But knowing the build of the S4 i don't see anything other than the back of the phone being likely to pop off which i'm perfectly fine with.

 

[Rizz1-2]

This video isn't really that surprising. Are you saying 4-5 foot drop onto stone landing on its corner dents it, ZOMG no way!?!? Yes the grill popped off but did you think it was just one solid piece of aluminum? I mean it has a plastic band around the edge. The thing is this doesn't say anything about build quality. The only thing you can conclude from this video is its durability is bad when it lands on its corner on stone from a drop of 4-5 feet. Build Quality isn't established from drop tests. In my opinion, speaking from my experience in material science, manufacturing, and mechanical engineering build quality is more widely accepted as fit, finish, gap control, and feel. Does it feel solid? Does it creek or move at all when being used or held? What kind of deflection is there when its pressed in various places? And my personal pet peeve, is the gap consistent among all mating parts? It doesn't need to have zero gap (though it certainly helps for me), it just needs to be spaced the same all the way around the 2+ parts that are mating. If there is various gaps along an edge, crap has a tendency to get stuck in between parts (my galaxy S2 always had lint and crap stuck in it).

Now I haven't personally handled either one so it would be tough for me to say which one I think is better. I do think the HTC One will be great, and I do think the S4 will also be right up there. Samsung has tightened there tolerances with their latest devices and it showed with the S3. I didn't own one but a colleague of mine let me play with his a lot before I decided on my DNA, and I thought that one was built nicely. I can't imagine Samsung would have taken a step back with the S4.

 

[SteveISU]

I think someone is delusional.

 

[Suda]

While I think anyone should be willing to admit that denting thin aluminum is easier than denting or cracking thicker plastic I have plenty of dents and scratches in my cases.

I still think drop tests are worthless though. Ever drop test on an iPhone shows damage eventually. I guess I've been very luck as I've been using iPhones since the original one, I drop one regularly and while I always have it in a very thin plastic case I've never had any damage to the device itself.

While they should be, apparently some aren't. I'm not even arguing that plastic can't get dents and such as that would be a losing effort because any material can gouge after multiple some odd 5-6 feet drops. But plastic is thicker, more shock absorbent, and less prone to denting than aluminium and I think this is what the OP was trying to say but instead confused build quality and durability as one in the same.

 

[Rizz1-2]

While they should be, apparently some aren't. I'm not even arguing that plastic can't get dents and such as that would be a losing effort because any material can gouge after multiple some odd 5-6 feet drops. But plastic is thicker, more shock absorbent, and less prone to denting than aluminium and I think this is what the OP was trying to say but instead confused build quality and durability as one in the same.

This.

 

[xtn]

This video isn't really that surprising. Are you saying 4-5 foot drop onto stone landing on its corner dents it, ZOMG no way!?!? Yes the grill popped off but did you think it was just one solid piece of aluminum? I mean it has a plastic band around the edge.

Yes, I thought it was one piece. The render pic that was going around, that was supposedly the "unibody chassis" had the speaker grills on it, implying, at least to me, that they were incorporated into the single machined part. I thought the plastic was only a thin inlay into machined grooves as necessary for antennae and asthetic embellishment. I thought the whole "zero gap" bit precluded the notion that it was multiple parts poorly glued together.

My mistake.

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[crester]

I agree with the original poster that there are some benefits to having a device made of plastic. The metal phones may have a premium feel in the hand... but when they get hit they get gouged (scracthed) badly and get dented. Plastic has some give in it that will allow it to absorb some force and bounce back instead of being damaged right away. Also these aluminum phones don't tend to be openable without damaging the phone. Didn't iFixit rate the HTC One as one of the worse devices they've seen when it comes to repairability? They say you are almost guaranteed to destroy the device if you have to open for repairs (like screen replacements or battery replacements). Atleast with the Samsung phones you can easily open it up to access the battery, etc.

 

[KSDroid01]

Ummm...my Rezound is plastic and every time I drop it, I get a ding in the plastic frame. And yes, I carry without a case because I don't want more bulk in my pocket.

Sent from my rezoundingly amazing Rezound.

 

[NoYankees44]

It makes me shutter every time I see someone compare aluminum to plastic on the net.

Just saying aluminum or plastic is incredibly broad. Each term can mean close to anything. The different grades and mixtures of each can create completely different material properties. Specific material to material testing is the only way to have any sort of argument. To just say one is better is incredibly ignorant.

In terms of glass breaking you have 2 things to consider. The amount flex in the device and the amount of shear stain the glass can take. More flexible phones(typically plastic), flex a lot. These are where the gorilla glass is good because gorilla glass can take an abnormal amount of shear strain. If it flexes too much, then the glass breaks. If it flexes too little, the glass will take more peak force from the impact and will break.

If it is a point impact(corner drop), it won't mater what the phone is made of or what animal and numbers you put with "glass." It will break. Glass is still glass. Gorilla, snake, chicken, or otherwise...

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[crester]

Ummm...my Rezound is plastic and every time I drop it, I get a ding in the plastic frame. And yes, I carry without a case because I don't want more bulk in my pocket.

Sent from my rezoundingly amazing Rezound.

Well... those scratches are kinda your own fault then... aren't they? I have a super thin rubber case on my SGS3... most people don't even know a case is on the phone... yet it still provides protection.