4 causes I believe smartphones nonetheless aren’t sturdy sufficient

To offer credit score the place credit score’s due, fashionable smartphones may be fairly resilient. My

iPhone 16 Pro
, as an example, sports activities a titanium shell in addition to crack- and scratch-resistant glass. On the subject of water and dirt, it has an

IP68 rating
— it is successfully dustproof, and might survive submersion in contemporary water to six meters (19.7 ft) for half-hour. Evaluate that with the unique

2007 iPhone
did not have an IP score in any respect. You have been taking fairly a bet the second you went outdoor. Even your private home or workplace was dangerous — it isn’t like kitchen tile is that a lot softer than asphalt.

We have nonetheless received a methods to go, although, earlier than I will be assured taking a cellphone wherever with out a case. Certainly, we have truly gone backwards in some methods from the pre-smartphone period. I doubt corporations will remedy that anytime quickly, given their priorities, but it surely’s price mentioning points within the hope that they do.

Associated

How Apple could fix its awful Magic Mouse

C’mon Apple, you are able to do so much higher than this.

1

It is nonetheless too simple to wreck the again of your cellphone

Type should not conquer operate

Tesla

Whereas many telephones now use titanium or aluminum shells to guard their inner parts, these supplies are usually paired with some type of Corning Gorilla Glass (or an equal). Corning’s engineers appear to be doing good work — on the finish of the day, nevertheless, glass is glass, as Tesla demonstrated all too vividly with the Cybertruck. It is nonetheless going to crack or scratch when sufficient drive is utilized, and nobody desires to hold round a cellphone with ugly spider fractures on the again. That is why I all the time advocate individuals purchase rugged circumstances for his or her telephones as a substitute of one thing slimmer and extra engaging. There is not any sense risking your cellphone’s resale worth within the identify of chasing attractiveness.

Smartphone makers and consumers alike must recover from the necessity for “horny” electronics. As a substitute of glass, I would personally a lot slightly have thick plastic, and even rubber. These supplies are what many early cellphones used, together with the Nokia 3310, which was famously so powerful that you might run it over with a car with out doing main harm. I doubt any Pixel 9 house owners are wanting to repeat that experiment.

Associated

5 reasons I bought the Apple Watch Ultra 2 instead of the Series 10

The Apple Watch Extremely 2 might not be the most recent and biggest, but it surely nonetheless beats the Sequence 10 in key areas.

2

Generally IP68 is not sufficient

Thousand-dollar telephones deserve thousand-dollar safety

OnePlus

Actually, in most circumstances, IP68 water resistance is great. It will save your cellphone if you happen to unintentionally spill some sambuca on it on the bar, or drop it in the bathroom or bathtub at dwelling. You may even be superb if you happen to get caught in a rainstorm. It is a sensible thought to dry a cellphone off after any liquid publicity, however for many sensible functions, a number of fashionable units are waterproof. I am nonetheless amazed by that often, remembering what issues have been like as a ’90s child. It would not really feel like all gadget with an open port ought to be secure.

Observe that I stated “most” functions and “so much” of telephones. You continue to cannot take most telephones within the bathe, not to mention swim with them, and chances are you’ll be actually screwed if you happen to drop your cellphone in pool or ocean water. Chlorine and salt are likely to eat by way of a tool’s water seals. There’s most likely little cellphone makers can do about these corrosive substances, however I am hoping that the business will finally transfer in direction of standardizing

IP69/IP69K
resistance — sufficient to guard in opposition to jets of high-pressure, high-temperature water. There are only a few IP69 telephones available on the market for the time being, maybe one of the best identified being the OnePlus 13. It may very well be the harbinger of a brand new development, if we’re fortunate.

Associated

Before you take your device for a swim, here’s the IP rating you actually need

It is a bit of a trick query, however there’s a minimal IP score it’s best to go for.

3

Screens are too uncovered

Slightly raised bezel will not kill you

For nicely over a decade now, the development in smartphones has been in direction of thinner and thinner bezels, or in some circumstances eliminating them fully. There are some sensible advantages to this — it turns into simpler to swipe issues on- and off-screen, for instance — but it surely’s principally achieved for visible attraction. Customers appear to affiliate minimal bezels with superior design, presumably as a result of thick bezels have been unavoidable with earlier expertise. There was no method Samsung’s first Galaxy S was going to duplicate the look of the Galaxy S25 Extremely.

There is a purpose why many circumstances have raised lips, although — the nearer a cellphone’s display glass will get to the sting, the extra doubtless it’s to crack or scratch in a drop. Nobody ought to have to purchase a case to stop this harm, particularly when it is completely doable to construct a raised lip immediately into an aluminum or titanium physique. It is not even a sacrifice in aesthetics, actually — it may well look fairly fashionable if it is achieved proper.

Issues truly worsen if you happen to add foldables into the combination. All foldables have two shows, with the inner one truly being probably the most susceptible, owing to softer supplies and a better danger of mud intrusion. You will get a waterproof foldable, however not likely a dustproof one.

Associated

Will the iPad still have a future after the foldable iPhone?

In all probability, however Apple’s product lineup may bear some seismic shifts.

4

Beauty harm is all too frequent

What is the level of shade that scratches off?

Naturally, there’s some overlap on this level with my earlier ones, however I wished to emphasise the truth that for all the trouble smartphone makers put into their aesthetics, it is nonetheless too simple to damage them. Ask your self — would you set your iPhone 16e in the identical pocket as your keys? In all probability not, since simply jostling issues round would doubtless end in a scratch in the end. It is a dangerous thought regardless, however the level about fragility stays, and girls do not even get the posh of pockets in a lot of their garments — they should jam their cellphone in a bag or purse together with every little thing else that occurs to be in there.

The proliferation of shiny supplies and uncovered glass is regarding. On prime of that, although, the colour schemes telephones use will too typically fade, chip, or scratch away. Does it have an effect on the sensible use of a cellphone? No. However if you happen to’ve spent $1,000 or extra on an iPhone 16 Professional, it is a bit of disheartening to see bits of its shade coating chipped away in a matter of months. Due to that, I all the time slap a case on my telephones as quickly as doable, and even my Apple Watches. Individuals make enjoyable of watch circumstances proper up till their $800 luxurious buy takes successful from a doorknob.

You may also like

Everything you need to know about PEVs, or personal electric vehicles

You need to use PEVs to discover, run errands, or velocity up your commute.