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Would you pay a premium for an Aluminum version of the Galaxy S4?

One of the biggest and most enduring complaints against the Galaxy S phones is their cheap feeling, plastic build quality and lack of premium materials. The plastic build is quite functional, and has many merits like high yields, good reception, removable battery, etc., but many people still have reservations about jumping onto the Galaxy bandwagon, especially those coming from HTC or Apple phones, or just plain have a strong dislike for plastic on their smartphones and want a premium metal one instead. They know they will be losing conveniences like a removable battery or removable storage, experience minor problems like signal attenuation and easy scuffing and scratches, have a slightly thicker and heavier phone, but are willing to make the compromise for the rigidity and the luxuriousness of a cold metal slab in their hand.
Samsung is no stranger to making aluminum phones, like the Samsung Wave, Omnia, etc. They will also invariably make a million different phones based on the Galaxy S4 design, phone names ending in Note, Ace, Mini, Star, Plus, Grand, Duos, etc. Would it be so difficult for one of these releases to be an aluminum version of the S4? Not only will you quickly silence critics and enamor fans who have been beseeching you for this very thing, you will be increasing your dominance over the smartphone world by converting many an Apple and HTC fan and winning over a whole demographic of people who have previously shunned your phones. It may be a minority, but it is a sizable and vocal minority that will translate to great sales and great publicity for the Galaxy brand. You won't need high yields, carrier deals, or special engineering and design that you didn't already possess from past phones. You can sell it online unlocked with few barriers. No need for LTE either. It doesn't have to be grand or breathtaking. It just needs to be metal. As mentioned above, we are willing to make the compromises, which we find quite minor, as long as the best parts of the S4 stay intact like the screen, camera, and processor. Please consider granting the request of a longtime Samsung user (as far back as the 5MP G600 slider) and countless others who want an aluminum Galaxy S4.

katamari201 said:
One of the biggest and most enduring complaints against the Galaxy S phones is their cheap feeling, plastic build quality and lack of premium materials. The plastic build is quite functional, and has many merits like high yields, good reception, removable battery, etc., but many people still have reservations about jumping onto the Galaxy bandwagon, especially those coming from HTC or Apple phones, or just plain have a strong dislike for plastic on their smartphones and want a premium metal one instead. They know they will be losing conveniences like a removable battery or removable storage, experience minor problems like signal attenuation and easy scuffing and scratches, have a slightly thicker and heavier phone, but are willing to make the compromise for the rigidity and the luxuriousness of a cold metal slab in their hand.
Samsung is no stranger to making aluminum phones, like the Samsung Wave, Omnia, etc. They will also invariably make a million different phones based on the Galaxy S4 design, phone names ending in Note, Ace, Mini, Star, Plus, Grand, Duos, etc. Would it be so difficult for one of these releases to be an aluminum version of the S4? Not only will you quickly silence critics and enamor fans who have been beseeching you for this very thing, you will be increasing your dominance over the smartphone world by converting many an Apple and HTC fan and winning over a whole demographic of people who have previously shunned your phones. It may be a minority, but it is a sizable and vocal minority that will translate to great sales and great publicity for the Galaxy brand. You won't need high yields, carrier deals, or special engineering and design that you didn't already possess from past phones. You can sell it online unlocked with few barriers. No need for LTE either. It doesn't have to be grand or breathtaking. It just needs to be metal. As mentioned above, we are willing to make the compromises, which we find quite minor, as long as the best parts of the S4 stay intact like the screen, camera, and processor. Please consider granting the request of a longtime Samsung user (as far back as the 5MP G600 slider) and countless others who want an aluminum Galaxy S4.
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I like this thread
If sammy makes an aluminium S5 (not gonna happen with S4), then i'll be cool with it. But the plastic doesn't bother me one bit, i would love however, a design change and the polycarbonate to be as good and rigid as the One X. Thats very good plastic right there.
Its true that samsung could use a different type of material and gain even more customers, but the plastic hasnt stop galaxy s sales one bit, actually it looks like the demand for the S4 is 4 times the S3 demand in the UK (dont quote me on that). A more premium device is always better, no question about it, but samsung does such a great job with the software, features and cutting edge spes that it does more than make up for it.

So....$900 for a phone? (Already costs $800). No thank you. No need to spoonfeed sammy. They already make tons of profits out of this phone.
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We are already paying a premium for the S4 in the UK.

I would be willing to sacrifice weight and thickness for an extra 2000 MAh of battery, but I don't see the point of sacrificing it for just an aluminium case.
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if you want people to take your poll seriously, then don't make a joke of it. I was going to vote until I saw the the options.
The title of the thread is a simple yes/no question, so why be a clown when making a poll and put all those useless options, and they're not even funny and stop playing pokemons. How old are you?

If Samsung overhauled touchwiz and used materials which when you picked up the phone you thought wow this feels great then count me in I would buy one without hesitation.
Paying a premium price for a phone should mean the phone feels premium and not some cheap plastic toy.

FinancialWar said:
if you want people to take your poll seriously, then don't make a joke of it. I was going to vote until I saw the the options.
The title of the thread is a simple yes/no question, so why be a clown when making a poll and put all those useless options, and they're not even funny and stop playing pokemons. How old are you?
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I find it rather amusing when others insult people who like what they don't like. "I hate x game, but you like it, so you must be a loser!"
To the OP: Depends on the cost. I live in the U.S., so if it's still a subsidized cost of $199.99/299.99 -ish (for respective internal storage), then I would definitely consider it. That seems doubtful though, so probably not.

I would prefer buying a back cover worth $20, rather than paying samsung an extra $100 for a new design. I am not at all bothered by the material or design, I know I will get used to it within a day and after that all I will need is solid performance and new features
sent from: The New S-Pen

sohebq said:
I would prefer buying a back cover worth $20, rather than paying samsung an extra $100 for a new design. I am not at all bothered by the material or design, I know I will get used to it within a day and after that all I will need is solid performance and new features
sent from: The New S-Pen
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^This times 100 million, the S4 is gonna be the most fun phone to use, the material and design arent issues for me either, actually i like it a lot.

Yes. Cheap plastic bothers me a lot, while HTC One, Xperia Z, iPhone and even N4 feels and looks premium. Even only aluminium (real) trim on sides would be already great and not painted plastic, which cracked on sgs3 without reason.
Other thing I dont like is lack of sources, but I guess i9505 will be better than my current phone in that view.
With premium design and materials I would already ordered i9505, but now Im still not sure. I will order it if Motorola X wont be launched on Google I/O or if it wont be as good as I hope for.
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The plastic don't bother me at all, for goodness sake Coca-cola cans are made out of aluminium. in fact its much more sturdier than S3, what's inside matters a lot to me(CPU/GPU, RAM, I/O speed) and i believe it has the best hardware compared to the HTC One and Xperia Z, and besides repairs is a doodle too. I wish anyone repairing a HTC One without warranty a very goodluck.

ama3654 said:
The plastic don't bother me at all, infact its much more sturdier than S3, what's inside matters a lot to me(CPU/GPU, RAM, I/O speed) and i believe it has the best hardware compared to the HTC One and Xperia Z, and besides repairs is a doodle too. I wish anyone repairing a HTC One without warranty a very goodluck.
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Can't deny that plastic is more durable but I think with the price premium good old sammy are charging people expect a phone to be made out of aluminium or glass but there are of course limitations with removable battery covers when it comes to using materials like that.

daleski75 said:
Can't deny that plastic is more durable but I think with the price premium good old sammy are charging people expect a phone to be made out of aluminium or glass but there are of course limitations with removable battery covers when it comes to using materials like that.
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I will personally prefer carbon fibre or some ceramic material to call premium, aluminium/plastic is too common and cheap to make, glass is cheap too and fragile, but that's just me. I think carbon fibre with removable battery will just be awesome. Another thing is the AMOLED display and DDR3 RAM are premium components compared to LCD/DDR2.

Don't like glass covered smartphones they are just so damned fragile!
If possible the body of my next smartphone should be made out of rubber, so when I drop it on a stone floor, it just bounce back into my hand
BTW I don't think Sammy take the biggest bite of this cake... retailers do!

ama3654 said:
I will personally prefer carbon fibre or some ceramic material to call premium, aluminium/plastic is too common and cheap to make, glass is cheap too and fragile, but that's just me. I think carbon fibre with removable battery will just be awesome. Another thing is the AMOLED display and DDR3 RAM are premium components compared to LCD/DDR2.
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Would love a carbon fiber smartphone.

I wouldn't pay extra, because I find polycarbonate (which is only the back cover) used more then adequate for normal period of phones life 2-3 years for most people. If need be, one can always buy aftermarket metal or glass back cover and as a bonus get thermal or reception issues.
Sure it is nice to hold aluminum, but definitely not a must have for me. I would pay premium to have removable plastic back cover where I can access battery and sd card. Since battery is not likely to survive even 2 years of every day charging. And paying half-a-new-phone and sending it somewhere to get battery changed is just incredibly impractical.
Not to even get started on having all glass phone... We all know whose idea that was, but even Apple doesn't do it any more. I find absolutely no positive in all glass phone. Only looks, maybe...
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---------- Post added at 12:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:10 PM ----------
ama3654 said:
I will personally prefer carbon fibre or some ceramic material to call premium, aluminium/plastic is too common and cheap to make, glass is cheap too and fragile, but that's just me. I think carbon fibre with removable battery will just be awesome. Another thing is the AMOLED display and DDR3 RAM are premium components compared to LCD/DDR2.
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Exactly, I never had a feeling of my phone not being no.1 most premium device, if not prior, then at the 1st look at its full RGB amoled screen. For me there's no going back to any other display tech. And this is my first amoled as well as Samsung phone. Before I only had Samsung tablet and Htc and Nokia phones.
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daleski75 said:
If Samsung overhauled touchwiz and used materials which when you picked up the phone you thought wow this feels great then count me in I would buy one without hesitation.
Paying a premium price for a phone should mean the phone feels premium and not some cheap plastic toy.
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I second that.
Samsung are overpricing S4 way to expensive, I wouldn't pay that much for a Premuim build phone never mind cheap plastic. Samsung are taking the mick that's why I jumped ship.

Aluminium, glass means no buy for me, Lesson already learned. Aluminum only looks good at the beginning, but tends to look way worse after few months.

But this is actually really interesting topic:
There should be 2 galaxies s4 - one as it is, with removable polycarbonate back cover and other say with aluminum.
Would you pay, say +50eur to have s4 made of (unibody) aluminum or glass and have inaccessible battery?
I wouldn't. And I wonder which would sell better.
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Not sure bout s4 build quality. Shattered screen

Well my fiance had her S4 for 3 days and now this. My son through the phone on my kitchen floor and this is the result. She had a snap on casemate case. Now i know its my sons fault for throwing the phone. Hes thrown my note 2 plenty of times. Hes thrown her S3 plenty of times and never had issues. I know the S4 is alot lighter then those phones so i wonder if anything was sacrificed. Anyway filed a claim with assurion and makin her get an otterbox or ballistic for now
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I'm sure you'll get lots of comments about, "it's high damage resistance, not damage proof".
http://www.neowin.net/news/galaxy-s...gorilla-glass-3-is-still-not-impact-resistant

Thats so sad. :crying: I dropped mine from about 4-5 feet onto gravel. It landed vertically striking the bottom of the phone near the mic. Just a small scratch is all that came from it. From the way I understand things, lighter weight would help to prevent the phone from breaking by limiting the amount of force that the glass had to absorb. striking the corner of the glass is the weakest point on any phone as Gorilla glass 3 is build to withstand more direct force without cracking. I suppose you could call that shear stress: The force applied when you press on the screen. The result is that the corner of the phone is without a doubt the weakest point due to the force absorbing properties of the glass as striking the corner absorbs the full force of the fall over the smallest area. Once the integrity of the screen is compromised, the cracks spider web.

Its just luck dude, you win some, you lose some. I'd keep the kid away from the phones to be on the safe side
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bmoreboy02 said:
My son through the phone on my kitchen floor and this is the result.
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madpete said:
Its just luck dude, you win some, you lose some. I'd keep the kid away from the phones to be on the safe side
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Seriously sounds like this kid hates phones with a passion I'd keep them far away from him.
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avetny said:
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Man this is just what i needed lol
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"I know it's my son's fault." lol...

Was gonna say..what the hell ya doin giving ya kid expensive phones to **** about with? Lol. Surely ya weren`t surprised when he lobbed ya phone....
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He normally dose really well....idk why he threw it he draws on my note 2 fine lol
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Well the phones on backorder with assurion. They dont know when theyll have any in
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I'm worried about my son doing the same to my phone. When I signed up for insurance, they said I wouldn't be covered for anything like this, as I shouldn't leave my phone where my son can get at it. Very rough indeed.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

All depends on where it lands.

thought I would chime in. As I understand, the Gorilla Glass 3 used in S4 is a new tech that lets the glass be thinner. Basically you get same or slightly worse resistance comparing to S3, but in a thinner layer of glass. It let Samsung decrease the thickness of the device.
Note that the surface of the glass is bigger on S4 comparing to S3, so it is more prone to damage. Buy a good case for your phone!
My preferred case style is a thin layer of silicon or TPU inside with a harder plastic shell outside.

back in the old days, when i got my BlueAngel, i immediately got am aluminum case (the one with the window), then a leather fliptop. My sister got a Prophet but didn't get any case for it. I found a good deal for a magnesium Proporta case online, asked my sis if she wanted to get one for her PDA so we can save on shipping. She declined, told me she's always extra careful. Long story short, a week after, got my Proporta, dropped the BlueAngel a hundred times, often times with the case opening and the BA flying away, but then most of the force had already dissipated. But her Prophet? I guess about a month after i got the Proporta, she dropped her Prophet onto the granite floor, heard a crack, and found her Prophet's screen was all black about a third from the bottom. costed her about a third of what she paid for her Prophet to replace the screen.
Cost of the Proporta? hmmm a tenth? Morale of the story, if you invest on expensive phones, consider also a good enough case to protect it. After the BA, i got a Nokia E72, and then a BB Bold, all dressed in Otterbox's Defender. My S4 is due to arrive in a week or so; right now i'm tossing the coin between another Defender or a Seidio Convert. too bad they don't make Lunatiks for Samsung
just my.02

Seriously, was wondering the same. I know Note II has cracked for plenty of people too, and a lot of luck is involved, etc, but - look up android authority drop tests, both Note II and S4 had identical impact and still S4 glass broke.

They have different screens. The gs4 is thinner to bring the actual screen closer to your eyes. The note 2 is gg2 and has an extra layer for the wacomm hardware.
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Now this is something terrible, after check this forum on daily basis and reading negative things about S4 i just can't really make up my mind if i should upgrade it with my S2 or not, I wasn't expecting it to be this much fragile, during the last two years i have dropped my S2 several times but never faced such issue.

ila420 said:
Now this is something terrible, after check this forum on daily basis and reading negative things about S4 i just can't really make up my mind if i should upgrade it with my S2 or not, I wasn't expecting it to be this much fragile, during the last two years i have dropped my S2 several times but never faced such issue.
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People with no problems don't have a reason to come on here do they?
I don't come on every day making a new thread like "hey, my phone didn't break today"

i.amtom said:
People with no problems don't have a reason to come on here do they?
I don't come on every day making a new thread like "hey, my phone didn't break today"
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Just for completeness of fair posting, I would like to point out that my phone didn't break today

S4 Build Quality : Plastic > Aluminum

I've had all sorts of Android phones. I loved all the metal ones (Moto and HTC) and stuck with the Galaxy for the developer community, camera, and not getting rid of SD cards and removable batteries. Although my next upgrade batteries and internal memory should be good enough to let that go. I loved the One but 4 MP is 4 MP when your not indoors at night.
I won't let any comments on build quality bother me again. Forget shattering in my pocket, I have dropped my GS4 numerous times with zero effect. I use a $10 case. And now, I ran it over with my car. On concrete. The kind with tar and rocks all in it. Diagonally, straight over the entire phone with tire tracks on it.
Zero damage to screen, all sensors work normally, not even a scratch on the case or screen or edges. And it even popped out of the case while being run over. I guess it's true there is a reason they use plastic for heavy duty stuff in commercial tools and equipment, and aluminum is soda can material.
See attached pics.

Ya and function is more important than appearance anyways
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Haha I love it. I dropped mine the day after I got it and almost broke down on the floor until I realized that nothing actually happened to it.
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Plastic is fine with me, every phone, plastic or metal will break if the screen lands just right. Despite all the claims to the contrary, I find the S4 to be great. The video below should debunk most nay sayers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3mhAVC6cBA

I completely agree that plastic > metal for phone cases. A metal case on a phone is a serious MINUS to me.
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Wow. I'm even happier now that I chose this over the One.

i kept reading reviews about the s4 about lower end build quality this, plastic lower build quality that, etc. etc.... but have been impressed by how the phone feels. feels solid. i am constantly amazed how that little thin plastic back clicks in so well and feels so solid. main reason i chose the s4 over the htc one is accessible sd card slot and battery. that's it. i'll take this kind of plastic build over unibody metal every time if it means i get to put in myown sd card and be able to switch batteries.

I got the One at launch and just got an S4 a week ago, was trying to decide which to keep... Picked up my One last night after using S4 all week and it suddenly felt heavy and clunky. I'm keeping the S4.

Fan boy thread. You must be out of your mind if you really believe what You wrote in the title. Who would not want an aluminum s4!
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aimfire72 said:
I got the One at launch and just got an S4 a week ago, was trying to decide which to keep... Picked up my One last night after using S4 all week and it suddenly felt heavy and clunky. I'm keeping the S4.
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I'm in the same boat, been using the One for a month or so and picked up a GS4 during the half off sale. While my decision will come down more to software than hardware (need to find the right ROM for GS4, still working through this Loki stuff >.<), I definitely prefer the in-hand feel of the One. At a mm or so less wide and having a curved back, it just feels like it fits better to me. I have found that the weight is basically a nonissue, though I know some people get really worked up one way or the other.
As for plastic vs. metal, obviously people who say "plastic is flimsy" are way off, as it is very sturdy, but the One definitely looks nicer after a day of use than the GS4--the glossy finish on the GS4 just soaks up fingerprints like there's no tomorrow. I guess most people use cases, but I've always been a naked-in-pocket kind of guy so that's my biggest beef with the GS4's shell. I wish Samsung would just use a nice matte polycarbonate like some of the Lumias or the One X.
Oh well, it's still a fun debate.

maldinimi said:
Fan boy thread. You must be out of your mind if you really believe what You wrote in the title. Who would not want an aluminum s4!
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I would not. Every metal devices I've owned have at least one scratch. I will not set my metal tablet down on a table because it would scratch. Plastic doesn't scratch or chip.
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maldinimi said:
Fan boy thread. You must be out of your mind if you really believe what You wrote in the title. Who would not want an aluminum s4!
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I'd get a plastic One over a metal S4 lol selling phones its easy to see how much more fragile unibody and metal framed phones are than multi pieced plastic ones. I hope Samsung never moves to unibody or metal
sent from just the tip

how did nobody take the time to ask OP HOW THA HECK DID YOU RUN YOUR S4 WITH YOUR CAR????

To the guy who called this a fanboy post: I've owned every major brand of android phone of all materials and my wife bought an HTC 8x at my suggestion. I clearly stated I got the s4 assuming build quality to be something I had to deal with. I felt the need to post because I ran it over with a 3500 lb car. That's not fanboy. That's credit.
And yeah I ran it over leaving the lake packing my car lol I set it down on the ground and got my kid, dog, and stuff in. Stupid but true. I'm aware I got lucky but I've ruined phones doing far less. Including my aluminum OG Droid. My wife's 8x shattered on the first drop with a polycarb body. My opinion stands, stupidity and all.

Why do people complain about build quality if there going to use a case?

Is it just me or does it this annoy you to? when people are comparing phones and lets say for example the galaxy s4 to something like the HTC one. They would say the galaxy s4 is made out of plastic and the HTC one medal. They say the HTC ones build i hands down better. Now why does that matter if 4 out of 5 people with each phone will put a otter box case or something else on it.
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It could potentially impact the durability of the phone I suppose, but I agree, it's largely irrelevant. People will just take any reason they can find to try to prove that their phone of choice is the 'best'.

I got a Lumia 521 for $79 (total cost) which is about the worst in build quality. Got the best case I could find for it and it helped tremendously. So this can work for you also. Hide low build quality with a decent case!

Really, the only concern I have with build quality is how sturdy the phone is. I'm a clumsy guy and I'm prone to drop my phone a bit. I want to know then when I drop the phone, it will stay in one piece. Maybe even be resistant to scratches/dents. The last think I want is for the thing to shatter like brittle glass.
Other than that, a case will hide any shortcomings.

Sewrizer said:
i personally prefer a plastic device with removable barttery and sd card slot than a full metal body with these limitations. it would be best though if samsung replaced the plastic on the next S flagship with aluminum(something like htc sensation). however this would mean to return to square one and redesign everything, therefore making it more expensive. i believe that they don't want to risk their good sales and do something that may leave a scar on their reputation. in addition, i don't know of any samsumng device made of metal, so it would be a huge change for them.
we, as users, would have to take into account some other disadvantages of a metal body. i put an sgs3 in a metal locker and it lost almost all the signal, it even missed a few calls, it caused huge battery drain (when in low signal area devices lose batteruy faster) so the antennas will have to be placed accordingly. plus, scratches and marks are more visible on metal, you can't really put a plastic case on a metal device(in most cases it is really inestethic, imho. but it depends on the case), hard cases can affect connectivity and if dust or sand is caught between the phone and the case it will produce nasty marks on the phone.
so, practically, plastic devices are better. it's just the common opinion that they look and feel cheap. i look forward to reading further replies on this matter.
Sent from Area 51 using my p1000.
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The reason I love my s4 is the removable battery. if I know I'm going to need it I use my 7500 mAh battery if not I use my stock battery. I hate when people say its made of plastic. So then I show them my extended battery and then they become amazed LOL
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yea
bcs the sucks ball n too judgemental mayb haha kidding its just their personal preferences n still some tend to use phones/tabs witht tab n they've enjoyed/used to using/holding devices with premium quality thats y they complain it feels like sth missing

case quality
I'm always amazed at how expensive some cases are - £30 for a case is really unreasonable imo. My I9000 was protected really well in a £3 case I bought off eBay!

I think it does not matter, but my Sony Xperia P is constructed of metal, and in my opinion it feels better than plastic:fingers-crossed:

How is it possible to be so much expensive! I pay only US$20 for mine. I use switcheasy colours. nice to touch, but only last 1 year and then cuts appeared in case. had to get new 1. sorry for any bad english.
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Simply because casing adds bulk to the device. If the build is great, there is no need to use any case at all because we are assured that it is fine with heavy duty usage ang rough environment.

It's usually Apple fans that claim Android phones have poor build quality...and then put their delicate iPhones in a protective case.
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Well Iphones are meant to have 'superior build quality' but I think that is debatable
Brand new they look amazing, with a bit of use, not so much. I suppose it all depends on the care taken by the user, but my personal experience with Iphones holding their looks isn't great. My Iphone 4 had numerous scratch marks on the glass. My Iphone 5 was covered with marks on the bezel.
Whilst my samsung phones didn't look as premium, they didn't mark up like the Iphones.
If build quality is based purely on durability, I don't know if a phone being metal makes a difference. If it's based purely on looks, perhaps, but then as I mentioned, the looks of a metal phone don't necessarily hold up.
Also on the subject of 'build quality'. I am definitely in the minority it seems, but I don't like the look of the silver HTC one. Sure it's aluminium, but for whatever reason I just don't think it looks that good? Just thought I would put it out there because everyone goes on and out about how good the HTC one looks

because people in their nature don't like to waste their hard earned $ on something made of chew-able toy plastics, especially far an expensive flagship phones
its like questioning or undermining everything fine in life, why do u pay for that expensive leather or well designed wallet, its just a wallet after all
or why do you pay good money for a good quality car with fancy dashboard, a crash is a crash after all
i am sorry but this makes no sense
justifying lack of taste or quality by the "case" argument is just like hiding your head in the sand
there real question is: Why is the richest Android builder of them all so dead cheap with it's loyal customers?
and the answer is: LEMONS
Alternative answer: it's all wasted on marketing
Stop justifying lemons, currently Samsung is sitting at the rock bottom when it comes to design or quality, you name it, Apple, Sony, HTC, LG, Nokia even Huwai are all building better than your (un)precious Samsung

Personally I couldn't care less what the phone is made of, because at the end of the day the phone is a productivity tool. What matters is what I can *do* with the phone, not what it looks like or feels like. I could understand if metal was more durable than plastic, but that is debatable. My phone is plastic and it's in the same shape as the day I bought it. My iPod touch is metal and has tons of scratches on the back. I've treated them the same.
The problem with phones made of metal is that they typically have a non-removable battery and many of them don't even have a microSD slot! When it comes down to form vs. function, I'm going to choose function every time.

It's about material choice and balance for the money spent.
Plastic is good, like the Nexus 5 but glossy plastic is bad as it is fingerprint magnet and fugly (S4). Aluminium also dents, Check out all the 6 months after of HTC One and iPhone.
Also price matters too, you don't wanna spend a lot of money just to get a cheap looking and feeling plastic.
And most people use cases but it's always good to have a great built quality inside.
A sound phone dwells within a sound built quality, and a sound case.
Sent from my blazing fast Nexus 4

Build quality and using a case are 2 different issues, using a case doesn't mask the build quality....like poor headphone sockets that go wrong, or buttons that get stuck (hard to press).
Personally I always drop my phone - clumsy in nature! So have to have a case. Now i'm looking for one which has a battery built in to double my usage time for the Samsung S4. That chomps up battery like nobody's business. I am a heavy user to be fair. Just my 2 cents

Note 3 back

Hello guys I think galaxy note 3 back is made up of plastic fully just got only leather texture, Samsung is fooling us?

dhruva7 said:
Hello guys I think galaxy note 3 back is made up of plastic fully just got only leather texture, Samsung is fooling us?
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Yeah it's not real leather...what, you thought you'd buy a $700 device and it would come with a few inches of leather?
/sarcasm lol, it really is messed up like how our phones are plastic and not alluminized

But it's plastic lol, full plastic.

This post is a joke, right? ut was announced even before the phone was even launched that the back was plastic, but made to look like it was leather... it took you half a year to notice it?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Looks like a joke isn't it! but what do u think if it's made of real leather would it last long enough heat water n dirt etc..it's all about indurance n leather is not one of them materials to compete..aluminuim draw back is weight n signals distortion ..but u can always have the best aluminuim covers out there
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Reasons plastic covers are good is that if you drop your phone and your cover cracked or become ugly somehow, you can buy a replacement easily unlike the xperia z1/2 and iPhone 5s
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

leather vs aluminum
I have no problem with the plastic back, I think it feels nice and practical. I would much rather have real metal around the body, instead of the shiny plastic. This current material is the most sensitive to scratching and to getting chipped.

Metal body means a sealed phone almost all the time. I'll take a plastic body if it means I can get to the battery. It's what's inside that counts. I'll always choose capabilities over looks, and I'll never understand why people do different.
Click thanks if I helped you.
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using XDA Premium mobile app

dhruva7 said:
Hello guys I think galaxy note 3 back is made up of plastic fully just got only leather texture, Samsung is fooling us?
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Bonkers post! Get an official Samsung case - they feel alright. :good:

lmike6453 said:
Yeah it's not real leather...what, you thought you'd buy a $700 device and it would come with a few inches of leather?
/sarcasm lol, it really is messed up like how our phones are plastic and not alluminized
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i am glad my phone is plastic rather than aluminum, the state my old htc desire was in after a few drops, it just dents and gets sharp edges, maybe the quality of the materials have improved since my desire days, but just my opinion , also the phone is lighter!

+10 for all the comments... The plastics used in todays Samsung devices have many more benefits than drawbacks... leather would have been impractical if not impossible so that's a non-issue... aluminum blocks and distorts signal and dents very easily on a drop... plastics keep the cost down when replacing back covers and allow accessibility, good signal characteristics, resilience, and many options for fit and finish.... I wouldn't change a thing

Guy's chill out, in gsmarena they mentioned leather that's why I thought so

dhruva7 said:
Guy's chill out, in gsmarena they mentioned leather that's why I thought so
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GSMARENA article quote verbatim
GSMARENA said:
It helps that Samsung decided to quell the "glossy plastic" complaints with a surprising move to a faux-leather look that feels almost like the real thing - instead of being tacky, it adds a touch of class.
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Simple mistake I guess but I think they were pretty clear that it was a "fake leather look"
Don't trip bro... it's XDA and they will jump all over any little mistake here... makes everybody feel smart and superior... like we really have a life

Using samsung devices since s1, have to say this was the best back sammy has ever made.
Sent from Note 3 (The beauty & beast)

To be honest, I really like it this way. I just hope it lasts though.

plastic or not just get a good cover (you may find metal covers) and forget about the problem,the phone is sturdy enough well built no crackling or so and so light in weight due to that plastic and have nice specifications top notch,i do not like leather for the sake of animals !!!! hahaha

It's called a FAUX Leather look for a reason...
It clearly says Faux Leather in the specs. So if you feel cheated, you should've read the specs.