4 months durability for an $800 phone!

https://lemmy.world/post/15431732

4 months durability for an $800 phone! - Lemmy.World

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 2 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!!!

Glass back is a premium design feature because it breaks easily, and customers who buy premium phones are expected to be rich enough to just buy another phone.

It’s a profit making feature.

Much like luxury cars, nobody actually expects BMW or Mercedes to last more than 3 years. People who buy them are expected to trade up for the latest model every few years.

Same with luxury fashion. Absolutely some of the cheapest and fragile clothing I’ve ever seen come from big fashion brands. And nobody cares, because by the time they break, they’re out of style and the buyer will be updating their wardrobe anyways.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, expensive luxury items = cheap and breakable. Midrange products are where the customers tend to be concerned with longevity and value.

I hate this so much.