Weekly poll result: titanium emerges as the new material of choice for smartphones

18 February 2024
Despite being used in only a few models, stainless steel has left a lasting impression on some users and they prefer it over aluminum and even titanium.

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • 8Np
  • 18 Feb 2024

Best possible

1mm shatterproof glass + aluminum frame.

For the price of 15 Pro Max and Mi Ultra in Europe, both should offer this.


    justasmile, 18 Feb 2024Wdym by "reflex"?It'll absorb shock more than Titanium.

      i don't care about titanium on a smartphone.
      i want at least some physical features to bring back like 3.5mm jack. it's necessary for whose don't want to rely on separate batteries found in wireless earbuds. but that wouldn't even happen because fashion over function. i could care less about mSD slot. because phones starts to have larger storage nowadays. 256 and 512gb might be enough for me to copy and hold my entire collection of music locally. not relying much on music streaming like spotify. if i take photos and videos mainly on my phone, i would like to have sd card slot. if i ask too much for just two features to bring back on a flagship and upper midrange, i'm really sorry.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • fCE
        • 18 Feb 2024

        Super Android 22, 18 Feb 2024Polycarbonate not exactly just plastic and no, polycarbonat... moreYou are absolutely wrong

          [deleted post]If thats what you believe 😂, simple knowledge and you can take 2 minutes to research if you need proof... Good day!

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • fCE
            • 18 Feb 2024

            walkman8, 18 Feb 2024Plastic back and aluminum frame would be just fine. It'... moreAbsolutely correct. Unfortunately, phone companies try to position the smartphone as a lifestyle and a fashion statement and that's the big issue with phones today

              Plastic back and aluminum frame would be just fine. It's a working tool, not a precious jewelry

                Apple and samsung put a few strips of titanium and all these people now really like it for whatever reason.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • 0p}
                  • 18 Feb 2024

                  Jzgerardus, 18 Feb 2024We're talking about the frame here, but glass backs ar... moreNo one asks for plastic frame.
                  They want plastic back.

                    Anonymous, 18 Feb 2024Some demand plastic, but later blame the phone maker if pho... moreWe're talking about the frame here, but glass backs are also just a horror show, bring back aluminum or rubberized plastic backs used to love the back of the LG V10

                      Anonymous, 18 Feb 2024Xiaomi is going to advertise just like samsung and apple wh... moreAnd you know that from where???
                      Source???
                      Jerryrigeverything already proven the 15 series of Apple uses 15-20 eur worth of titanium.
                      In case of Samsung its like 2-4 euros.
                      Xiaomi will use lot more than you think.
                      And if you think they will use even less than 2-4 eur worth of titanium lke S24 Ultra had send a proof of that because said phone hasnt been released yet.

                        Anonymous, 18 Feb 2024Some demand plastic, but later blame the phone maker if pho... morePolycarbonate not exactly just plastic and no, polycarbonate is better for phone material than glass, actually I'd say other than ceramic its the best material to use. (funny people want stainless steel and aluminum over ceramic 😂). Its stronger, expands when heated up, handles energy far better than glass too (so far more efficent with stabilising heat and able to spread heat more efficiently).

                        Best material is ceramic by miles, its actually hilarious what people have chosen but hey, give the people what they want hey (why we now get the bland and popular iphones and galaxy phones). Ceramic is used for things lile f1 car breaks, best for heat resistance, strongest material (not prone to shattering), doesnt weaken as quickly, titanium, aluminium or stain steel all do, stainless steel is the cheapest, worst material here so a glass backed phone with any of those metals is a bad, BAD choice over polycarbonate or ceramic for HEAT alone.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • Fek
                          • 18 Feb 2024

                          "Titanium"

                          Also all the smartphone manufacturers need a excuse to hike up the prices even more in the future.

                            Kangal, 18 Feb 2024The way I would “weigh” the characteristics of these Build ... moreOverall, price was a major factor. So I think its completely fine to use Glossy Plastic or Tempered Glass which are both cheap as a Build Material for phones sold for the US$150 or €100 discount-bin market. Once you increase the price, you get leeway to add better materials. At the low-midrange (US$150-US$250 or €100-€200) you should demand something like High-Grade Matte Polycarbonate. Whereas at the high-midrange (US$250-US$450 or €200-€400) you should demand something like Kevlar. The high-end (>US$600 or €500), where almost anything goes, demands exclusively the Top-Shelf Alloys. Of course, this isn’t a perfect world as the industry persuades the dumbm-asses into accepting cheaper materials by the use of marketing.

                            *Signal Attenuation is not very important for the material covering the device’s sides and back, as the radio can connect through the front glass fine.
                            **watch-grade sapphire is technically a glass-like ceramic, and is much much harder than the average ceramic. The average ceramic is identical in properties to good tempered glass. Cheap glass is worse, but not by a large margin.

                            PS This post required a lot of thinking, number crunching, and careful sprucing to be legible and as objectively accurate as possible. So kudos to myself, imaginary upvote : )

                              Kangal, 18 Feb 2024When it comes to BUILD MATERIAL there are some aspects that... moreThe way I would “weigh” the characteristics of these Build Materials would be like:
                              A – 20% – Price (inc labour)
                              B – 15% – Availability (production constraints)
                              C – 15% – Durability (shape-preserving)
                              D – 15% – Fragility (impact absorption)
                              E – 10% – Grippy-ness (inc Fingerprint Smudginess)
                              F – 10% – Premium Look and Feel (Subjective)
                              G – 5% – Hardness (Scratch Resistance)
                              H – 5% – Heat dissipation (For fast camera/processor)
                              I – 5% – Signal retention*
                              Total – 100% – All properties based on a 5-star system

                              And based on what I know, I think the different materials behave in each characteristics in a fashion similar to this below.

                              Cheap Plastics:
                              A: 5/5, B:5/5, C:1/5, D:4/5, E:2/5, F:1/5, G:1/5, H:1/5, I:4/5 =
                              = 20 + 15 + 3 + 12 + 4 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 1% = 59/100
                              = 60% Kangal Score (cheap, not good, not appealing)
                              ______8th / 9 contestants

                              High-Grade Matte Polycarbonate:
                              A: 4/5, B:5/5, C:3/5, D:5/5, E:3/5, F:2/5, G:2/5, H:2/5, I:5/5 =
                              = 16 + 15 + 9 + 15 + 6 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 5% = 74/100
                              = 74% Kangal Score (cheap, good, not too appealing)
                              ______2nd / 9 contestants

                              Resins (Denim, Nylon, Kevlar, Carbon Fibre):
                              A: 3/5, B:3/5, C:4/5, D:5/5, E:4/5, F:4/5, G:3/5, H:3/5, I:5/5 =
                              = 12 + 9 + 12 + 15 + 8 + 8 + 3 + 3 + 5% = 75/100
                              = 75% Kangal Score (affordable, good, appealing)
                              ______1st / 9 contestants

                              Leather:
                              A: 2/5, B:3/5, C:3/5, D:3/5, E:5/5, F:4/5, G:2/5, H:2/5, I:5/5 =
                              = 8 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 10 + 8 + 2 + 2 + 5% = 62/100
                              = 62% Kangal Score (expensive, good, desirable)
                              ______7th / 9 contestants

                              Wood:
                              A: 3/5, B:5/5, C:4/5, D:5/5, E:5/5, F:3/5, G:1/5, H:1/5, I:5/5 =
                              = 12 + 15 + 12 + 15 + 10 + 6 + 1 + 1 + 5% = 77/100
                              = 77% Kangal Score (labour intensive, great, appealing)
                              (gold medal, if only the necessary industrial precision is possible)

                              Cheap Aluminium:
                              A: 4/5, B:4/5, C:4/5, D:3/5, E:2/5, F:3/5, G:2/5, H:4/5, I:2/5 =
                              = 16 + 12 + 12 + 9 + 4 + 6 + 2 + 4 + 2% = 67/100
                              = 67% Kangal Score (cheap, good, appealing)
                              ______6th / 9 contestants

                              High-end Metal Alloys:
                              A: 2/5, B:3/5, C:5/5, D:4/5, E:4/5, F:5/5, G:4/5, H:5/5, I:2/5 =
                              = 8 + 9 + 15 + 12 + 8 + 10 + 4 + 5 + 2% = 73/100
                              = 73% Kangal Score (expensive, excellent, desirable)
                              ______3rd / 9 contestants

                              Watch-grade Sapphire**:
                              A: 1/5, B:1/5, C:5/5, D:3/5, E:1/5, F:5/5, G:5/5, H:4/5, I:5/5 =
                              = 4 + 3 + 15 + 9 + 2 + 10 + 5 + 4 + 5% = 57/100
                              = 57% Kangal Score (expensive, good, desirable)
                              ______9th / 9 contestants

                              Tempered Glass:
                              A: 4/5, B:5/5, C:4/5, D:1/5, E:1/5, F:5/5, G:4/5, H:4/5, I:5/5 =
                              = 16 + 15 + 12 + 3 + 2 + 10 + 4 + 4 + 5% = 71/100
                              = 71% Kangal Score (cheap, poor, appealing)
                              ______5th / 9 contestants

                                When it comes to BUILD MATERIAL there are some aspects that need considering:
                                – Fragility (ie Drops/Cracks)
                                – Durability (ie Bending/Shape restraint)
                                – Scratch Resistance
                                – Heat Dissipation
                                – Signal Attenuation
                                – Mass Productability
                                – Price
                                and lastly Feel/Luxury (subjective)

                                The way to order one Material over another depends on how you weigh each field.
                                The types of materials that can be used range from Glossy Cheap Plastic, High-Grade Polycarbonate, Resins (Carbon Fibre/Kevlar), Leather, Wood, Cheap Aluminium, High-Grade Aluminium (7000-series), Ceramic, Sapphire, Tempered Glass.

                                I might come back to weigh these BUILD MATERIALS in terms of stats. However, it must be well-understood that we are not talking about BUILD QUALITY as many people confuse the two, they are mutually exclusive properties.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • fCE
                                  • 18 Feb 2024

                                  Anonymous, 18 Feb 2024Pixel 5 has chassis cut in the middle and plastic over metal. Yea I know. Hence the pixel reference. It has metal chasis and also wireless charging. Pixel 5a doesn't have it tho

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 0p}
                                    • 18 Feb 2024

                                    Jzgerardus, 18 Feb 2024I have no problem with plastic, I do have a problem with ov... moreSome demand plastic, but later blame the phone maker if phone gets hot when plastic is worse at heat conducting than glass.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • 0p}
                                      • 18 Feb 2024

                                      Cpt.Power, 18 Feb 2024There is nothing like titanium even Apple is just bits of i... moreXiaomi is going to advertise just like samsung and apple while using even cheaper titanium than iphone .
                                      But will be getting free pass from you, surely.

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • 8Np
                                        • 18 Feb 2024

                                        Anonymous, 18 Feb 2024Pixel 5Pixel 5 has chassis cut in the middle and plastic over metal.

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