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It's time to stop thinking plastic phones can't be premium
(www.androidpolice.com)
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this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2024
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I can't think of anything plastic that I'd consider premium, let alone a phone.
EDIT: Wait, Legos.
That's the thinking the article is arguing against.
But I do have an example.
High end polycarbonate prescription lenses for glasses.
The high index, thinnest, lightest lenses, are plastic. Not glass.
Edit: Thinking more, I wonder how much more expensive it would be to use the same polycarbonate material on phones.
It would certainly be stronger and less prone to breaking. With good coatings, it would be just as scratch resistant.
It would offer the same premium look and similar feel as glass. Just lighter.
Also Carbon fibre parts and silicone sextoys and cable shielding
None of that is plastic.
How is that not plastic?
Carbon fibre without plastic is just a hairy string
And with silicone I don't even understand where the confusion is coming from? What else would it be?
You sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole and now I'm less sure of what plastic actually is. Epoxy, which is used for carbon fiber among many, many, many other things, isn't something I'd say is plastic but I looked it up and it was about 50/50 on plastic vs not. I found similar conflicting information about silicone but it was leaning more toward not being a plastic.
What would you define as plastic then?
Or maybe share some source claiming epoxy isn't plastic?
Composites like CF and fiberglass use those materials as a stress distributing component and a plastic component as the rigid layer.
Historically fiberglass composites used things like polyester resin - a polymer derived from oil - as the rigid component.
If that's not a plastic, what is it then?
Metal? Wood? Glass?
Yep, I'm incorrect. Learned something new today.
So your idea of premium is fragile and expensive?
Plastic has superior usability in every way, weight, bulk, durability, shock absorption, less slippery than glass, meaning it doesn't drop out of pockets handbags or even hands as easily.
So what part about a high end plastic is that isn't premium in this situation?
Utility is for poors. People who don't count money want something shiny or whatever their peers have. They can easily replace it if it breaks.
Which is a problem of perception and marketing, given that in many cases a plastic that has been specifically engineered to perform a function will, unsurprisingly, be better than an alternative.