Thoughts on how the back glass will hold up?

[Flatland2D]

I had a 6P that died due to infinite bootloop and bought a Pixel as a replacement about 4 months ago. I like to carry my phones caseless, but I was disappointed with how quickly the glass on the back of the Pixel started to scratch. It had marks after just a week, and now it's gotten much worse. It's also bad that on the gen 1 Pixel, this is the same glass that protects the camera lens, so it's easy to get a scratch in the wrong spot.

That being said, anyone know if we should expect anything different with the Pixel 2? I have a Panda XL on the way. I'll probably start off with a case and see how things go, but I really like not having a case on my phone. My 6P felt so durable and nothing ever scratched the visor on it. I really miss that phone, even though I have a Pixel, so I'm hoping the Pixel 2 XL makes up for it.

 

[Golfdriver97]

I have the standard Pixel, and I went with a case from the first day. Glass back for me is just fine. But I also take my phone out of the case at night. My place is carpeted so drops don't concern me. It's kind of the best of both worlds. Protected when I'm out, but still feel the actual phone when I'm at home.

 

[Jeremy8000]

Last year Google claimed that the back glass was the same as that used in the front display - Gorilla Glass 4. With pretty much universal consensus that the rear glass scratched much more easily than the front, I'm still convinced they either received substandard or defective GG, or that it wasn't GG at all and sometime didn't update marketing before launch.

Not sure if they're citing the rear shade to be GG5 like the front this time, but if so, I hope it actually is. If it again scratches easily, Google better have an explanation... Then again, if it doesn't, they really ought to have an explanation for why last year's did.

 

[CarbonOak]

I had a 6P that died due to infinite bootloop and bought a Pixel as a replacement about 4 months ago. I like to carry my phones caseless, but I was disappointed with how quickly the glass on the back of the Pixel started to scratch. It had marks after just a week, and now it's gotten much worse. It's also bad that on the gen 1 Pixel, this is the same glass that protects the camera lens, so it's easy to get a scratch in the wrong spot.

That being said, anyone know if we should expect anything different with the Pixel 2? I have a Panda XL on the way. I'll probably start off with a case and see how things go, but I really like not having a case on my phone. My 6P felt so durable and nothing ever scratched the visor on it. I really miss that phone, even though I have a Pixel, so I'm hoping the Pixel 2 XL makes up for it.

Funny you mention that the 6P visor didn't scratch, but the rest of the phone did for me. I originally had a black 6P which easily scuffed so that you could see the silver/gray metal (apparently the black was just painted on?). Had it replaced with a silver 6P which made scratches not noticeable.

On past phones, I never rocked a case, and only used a skin when I had the original Nexus 6. But after the 6P, I started using a case, and I've already pre-ordered a third party one for the Pixel 2.

If you want to keep the looks of the Panda XL while protecting it, you should go with a clear or translucent soft skin or hard case.

 

[Flatland2D]

Funny you mention that the 6P visor didn't scratch, but the rest of the phone did for me. I originally had a black 6P which easily scuffed so that you could see the silver/gray metal (apparently the black was just painted on?). Had it replaced with a silver 6P which made scratches not noticeable.

On past phones, I never rocked a case, and only used a skin when I had the original Nexus 6. But after the 6P, I started using a case, and I've already pre-ordered a third party one for the Pixel 2.

If you want to keep the looks of the Panda XL while protecting it, you should go with a clear or translucent soft skin or hard case.

Yeah I had the silver 6P and it held up really well. It got a few dings in each corner from occasional drops, but they weren't very noticeable. I was impressed with how well the phone held up, especially compared to my Pixel. I have a black model and after a few months, the black is wearing through in some places, and the small dings are much more noticeable since the silver aluminum contrasts the black.

I will probably buy a clear case for my Pixel 2 XL initially, at least until the newness wears off and I feel more comfortable going naked with it. I'm kind of interested in the leather cases on the Google store. Might have to try one of those out, even though I'd lose the panda look.