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Case, protector, and prayer are the ways to go with the fragile phones of today (results)

By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Apr 22, 2021, 8:31 AM

4comments

What do you prefer - a clunker, or a phone you have to always baby?

I never worry about my phone, be it expensive or fragile

17.55%

I'd rather settle for less, than have to always mind a phone

31.17%

Case, protector, and prayer, where's the problem?

51.27%

We asked you last week what would you prefer now - a phone you always have to baby, or a relative clunker that can take some abuse without extra worries? After all, some midrangers are still made out of metal, while last year's glass flagships are now much cheaper, so you wouldn't have to pay utmost attention to your grip, or the handset's position in your pocket or purse.

It turned out that more than half of our 1373 respondents have to slap cases and protectors, and be careful with their gear to reach the non-worried state of mind. That still shows that the phones are on the back of their minds, though. There are some elitists with money to burn, too, who don't baby their phones at all, even the expensive ones, while more than 30% agree that they can settle for slightly less, which can range from a good metal phone like Nokia 7 Plus, to last year's Galaxy S8, or even the 2016 iPhone 7, all of which won't break the bank for you, and yet will do a very good job as daily drivers.

Look around, do you see phones worth their mettle that you don't constantly have to worry will shatter when dropped? It's been a year since we started finding it hard to recommend to clumsier or more active friends and relatives handsets that won't always be on the back of their minds. Not everyone sits in an office all day, marveling at their shiny steel-and-glass flagship, some people actually have to go out there, run around all day, and use the phone as a tool, not an object of desire.

If you want a durable yet capable phone, you'd have to now settle for the midrange

Let's face it, glass phones fare way worse than metal ones in drop tests, no matter the Gorilla Glass generation on their bodies. Granted, the vast majority slip a case on it, negating the beauty argument, but a glass phone is still to be babied at all times, rather than the set-it-and-forget-it ones in full metal gear.

Before wireless charging became in vogue, one could still find flagships with stellar cameras, top-notch specs, and premium metal designs, but, again, look around - all major phones are now made of glass, and some happy exceptions are at best in the upper midrange category.

Manufacturers never asked us whether we approve of this trend for the sake of slower wireless charging with dubious convenience advantages, but rather a me-too feature. To top it all off, the glass-y flagships are ever-increasing in price, but even if you get last year's model, clad in Gorilla Glass, repairing them when dropped and cracked may get to half the price of the phone itself, even if they don't land on their screens.

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.