My old $200 Motorola G9 Power phone lasted almost 4 years with only very minor scratches. Obviously in that period I have dropped it a few times getting out of the car, where the phone sometimes work itself out of my pant pocket while I drive, and then it slips out when I get out of the car. But no problem on my previous phones, despite the Moto had cheap 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 glass back is 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!!!
The glass back is supposedly there to give a premium feel to the phone. But because it's fragile, people have to use a cover, but with the cover, the premium feel of a glass back is gone anyways?
How is glass back not a design flaw?
EDIT FOR CLARIFICATION:
I am not clumsy, that's why I believe the phone should be able to last without cover. This was the first time the phone slid out of my packet, and I've NEVER dropped it out of my hands. One 30 cm slip and it's broken. Where for instance my Moto had maybe 4-6 in all over the years, and remained unscathed, apart from some tiny scratches.
The sliding out of pocket does occur maybe a couple of times per year, but it's a low drop, and the phone should absolutely be able to handle that tiny drop, as it's an item for everyday use.
I've also never had problems with scratches on my screen on any phone, which is the reason people use screen protectors I guess, which I don't either, because they are ugly, for instance they create a tiny ring around the camera, and they feel awful IMO, my phone came with it, and it took exactly 10 seconds for me to decide to remove it, because I could feel the edge of the screen protector when using the phone.
But please stop with the dropping my phone regularly comments! Just because I dropped my Moto a few times (slid out of pocket) over almost 4 years! Always from low height, which it should be able to handle a few times.
Glass backs are the dumbest idea in the history of stupid.
The only way things like that could be defensible if they were easy to replace (bring back Moto-Z style magnetic backs!), but since phones are all held together with glue now, that's not a thing.
I think my Samsung Galaxy S10 did it right. Glass back for the feel, attached to a removable and replaceable plastic back panel.
Wow I didn't know that, I agree that sounds like a great idea.
Wireless charging is really good though...
A glass back is not necessary for wireless charging. There's many materials that can fit there, the glass choice is purely for "premium" feel.
Premium, aka so slippery it immediately goes in a case.
There is nothing premium about glass, that's marketing lying to you. It's designed to break easily being smooth and fragile, to make the phones more disposable.
Totally agree.
Oh okay. Well that is neat then.
It's great for stuff like car phone holders. It sucks for basically every other use case. In particular, it means you can't easily pick up, use, and put down your phone and maintain charging.
I have one of those slanted chargers for desktop use, so while I'm at my desk, I just set it there (bonus that the screen is kept visible in case of a call or message)
It's reasonable to use it while it's charging on the stand, though I wouldn't enjoy doing anything landscape (it will still charge it's just very precise)
Definitely cannot deny the utility of a regular power cable if you are in bed or something and you really want to use it while charging.
I strongly disagree. While you can't "maintain charging", it's extremely easy to change from charging to using and back again. If you want to use your phone while charging, wireless charging doesn't make sense, but if you want to quickly use your phone (like sending a quick text), it's nicer than having a cable attached.
And probably stiffness. Aluminum would both scratch more easily than glass and bend/dent more easily
Yes glass doesn't bend or dent because it shatters. I had a Note 4 with an aluminum frame and never needed a case. I used it for 5 years before upgrading and still own it (it still works). The aluminum frame and plastic back are by far the most durable combination I've used thus far and it survived many drops hard enough to leave small gouges in the aluminum.
Now I have a thick ass case on my modern phone because it probably wouldn't even survive a fall onto the carpet without some protection which is a huge downgrade in my opinion.
Anecdotally, I used to have an aluminum and plastic phone (HTC Evo) with no case. I didn't abuse it, but one of the few times I dropped it, the screen shattered. Since then I've had other phones, most with glass backs, and all have had rubber-edged cases. No screen shatters (though the back of one of them did crack). And I've definitely been less gentle with them.