[Weekly Discussion #3] Metal Vs Glass Back: Which One Do You Prefer In The Smartphone?

Hey, Mi Fans!

Earlier there was a time when phones were devices in a variety of sizes and shapes with one thing in common: they were made from Polycarbonate. Over the past few years, things have changed with phones appearing in a variety of finishes, from Metal and Leather to Polycarbonate and Glass; however, nowadays Metal Finish and Glass Finish are common and they are giving tough competition to each other.

Glass or Metal, each building material has its own pros and cons, ranging from the texture and feel in the hand, to durability and its ability to withstand the odd accidental drop. Let's see some of the details for both of them and then you decide, which one do you prefer! How's that? So, let's get started.

Metal:

Metal was first adopted in mass market smartphones about half a decade ago. Nowadays, most of the manufacturer gives metal back finish to their smartphones but here some manner of aluminum alloy that's very thin and light is used because the customers love thin and light. Nobody wants a heavy phone built from cold forged steel to lug around all day.

For many, metal equals premium. Seeing an aluminum phone polished or anodized with a crisp finish does make a phone look good, so naturally, a lot of people associate them with high-quality, even if only subconsciously.

Pros:

• Premium Look: One of the key reasons people like metal devices is that they often look and feel good in the hand. Aluminum and Magnesium (metals that are most commonly used in smartphones) are malleable which allows manufacturers to be adventurous in their design.
• Heat Transfer: A metal smartphone is a good heat conductor, and so can disperse more heat into the air than its Polycarbonate counterparts.
  

Cons:

• Bends And Dents: I am not talking about people on YouTube bending phones for a living but about sitting on your phone and bending it or dropping it and putting a big dent in that premium shell.
• RF Transmission: Metal might be a good conductor of heat, but it also conducts electricity and blocks high-frequency radio waves too. This makes it unsuitable for use with wireless charging and can also hinder the effectiveness of radio waves used by WiFi and LTE data connections. So antenna lines have to exposed to ensure a steady connection.
  

Glass:

Nearly all current flagship devices not only make use of a glass panel to protect the screen but have opted for ceramic glass encasings on the back of their phone as well. There are plenty of phones with full glass backs to go with the full glass front. They can be beautiful and give a look that compliments a great design. They can also be fragile; phone screens break all too often and so do glass backs.

Pros:

• Wireless Charging: Metal is no good for wireless charging, but the glass is a very poor conductor of electricity by comparison. This makes it a far better material to use if you want to equip a phone with wireless charging.
• Unique Look: Phones with a glass back can have a feeling of depth if anything is under the glass. Glass can also shimmer and give the illusion of being wet. Both of these effects together can make for a stunning look.
  

Cons:

• Fragile: The most obvious disadvantage to glass is that it can break. Sure, metal and polycarbonate can also break and while strengthened glass provides significant protection, glass can still completely shatter when dropped or hit in the wrong part of the handset. Broken phone screens are a testament to the key disadvantage of glass.
• Fingerprints: Glass is by far the worse culprit when it comes to collecting fingerprint grease and dust, turning a good looking handset into an unkempt one. If you don’t like regularly wiping down your phone, glass probably isn’t for you.
• Limited in design: Compared to both metal and polycarbonate, using glass often limits the design of a smartphone. The majority of glass devices are flat and there’s certainly less flexibility for interesting curved designs when building with glass compared to using polycarbonate.
• Glass Is Slippery: When your hands are damp holding a glass phone is like squeezing an ice cube. It can pop right out of your grip and when you consider that glass breaks and glass scratches, you have a recipe for disaster.
  

Your Take:

So which is best depends on what you look into the smartphone

• If you’re careful enough but want to hide little scratches and blemishes, glass is a great option both in terms of look and feel.
• If you’re after a more unique looking handset and want to avoid the dreaded fingerprint smudges, then a handset made from aluminum or magnesium is definitely the one for you. Still,
  

Which Do You Think Is The Best Build Material?

Participate in the debate and let us know your views in the comments below!

Let's get this settled!

Previous Discussions:
[Weekly Discussion #1] Android Q : What Will Be The Next Android 10.0 Called After Android Pie?
[Weekly Discussion #2] Does The Smartphone Color Matter To You?