My old $250 Motorola G9 Power phone lasted almost 4 years with only very minor scratches. Obviously in that period I have dropped it a few times, especially getting out of the car, where the phone sometimes work itself out of my pant pocket while I drive. But no problem, despite cheap plastic back and Panda glass front.
Then I bought my $800 glass back Xiaomi 13T Pro in January, and I loved the phone for the camera and good specs. But alas after only 4 months, and single drop of just 30 cm while sitting on the porch, the glass back immediately cracked! The back now looks like an ugly mess, and the high water resistance is very likely gone too.
For sure the last time I buy a phone with a glass back!!!
I wonder why it’s so popular, and I curse the media for reviewing the Samsung Galaxy S2 as “feeling a bit cheap”, because the back was synthetic, and drop tests showed it was 10 times as durable as the iPhone with its glass back.
Samsung did it right in the beginning, glass backs are a curse.
PS: I don’t use condoms for my phones, if they need that for daily use, it’s an obvious design flaw!!!
That’s a bullshit Google result, because my phone doesn’t have wireless charging, and glass backs were used before wireless charging even existed.
Also you can easily have either synthetic like plastic or vegan leather. And my Phone is made with Gorilla glass, and it cracked anyways with a drop of 30cm!
So nothing in that explanation holds water.
Wireless charging and contactless payments are the main reason manufactures switched from metal covers to glass.
The only reasons people use glass are scratch resistance and because plastic “feels cheap”. I also hate this transition to glass and am glad my Fairphone doesn’t have one.
I bet both wireless charging and NFC can work through the screen glass.
You know what both “feels cheap” and looks cheap? Answer A bulky case and a broken glass back.
Interesting idea to put wireless devices under the screen, but I don’t think it would be easy to implement. There would be a lot of interference with screen circuits. Also no phone usage while charging. I think it’s better if they stay on the back.