4 causes I feel smartphones nonetheless aren’t sturdy sufficient

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

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

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

2007 iPhone
did not have an IP ranking in any respect. You had been taking fairly of venture the second you went open air. Even your property or workplace was dangerous — it is not 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 clear up that anytime quickly, given their priorities, but it surely’s value declaring points within the hope that they do.

iPhone 16 Professional

Apple’s iPhone 16 Professional line options a couple of notable upgrades over final yr’s iPhone 15 Professional, together with a devoted digicam button, a brand new A18 Professional chip, an even bigger display, and several other AI-powered Apple Intelligence options.

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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 elements, these supplies are sometimes 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, nonetheless, glass is glass, as Tesla demonstrated all too vividly with the Cybertruck. It is nonetheless going to crack or scratch when sufficient power is utilized, and nobody desires to hold round a cellphone with ugly spider fractures on the again. That is why I at all times advocate individuals purchase rugged instances for his or her telephones as an alternative of one thing slimmer and extra engaging. There isn’t any sense risking your cellphone’s resale worth within the identify of chasing beauty.

Smartphone makers and consumers alike have to recover from the necessity for “horny” electronics. As a substitute of glass, I might personally a lot moderately 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 automotive with out doing main harm. I doubt any Pixel 9 house owners are desirous to repeat that experiment.

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2

Generally IP68 is not sufficient

Thousand-dollar telephones deserve thousand-dollar safety

OnePlus

Truthfully, in most circumstances, IP68 water resistance is great. It’s going to 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 residence. You will even be wonderful if you happen to get caught in a rainstorm. It is a smart thought to dry a cellphone off after any liquid publicity, however for many sensible functions, a variety of fashionable units are waterproof. I am nonetheless amazed by that often, remembering what issues had been like as a ’90s child. It would not really feel like every machine with an open port ought to be secure.

Notice that I mentioned “most” functions and “so much” of telephones. You continue to cannot take most telephones within the bathe, not to mention swim with them, and you could 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 ultimately 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 in the meanwhile, maybe the very best identified being the OnePlus 13. It may very well be the harbinger of a brand new pattern, if we’re fortunate.

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3

Screens are too uncovered

A little bit raised bezel will not kill you

For effectively over a decade now, the pattern in smartphones has been in direction of thinner and thinner bezels, or in some instances 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 completed for visible enchantment. Buyers appear to affiliate minimal bezels with superior design, presumably as a result of thick bezels had been unavoidable with earlier know-how. There was no approach Samsung’s first Galaxy S was going to duplicate the look of the Galaxy S25 Extremely.

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

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

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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 hassle smartphone makers put into their aesthetics, it is nonetheless too simple to break them. Ask your self — would you place your iPhone 16e in the identical pocket as your keys? Most likely not, since simply jostling issues round would possible lead to a scratch ultimately. It is a unhealthy thought regardless, however the level about fragility stays, and ladies do not even get the luxurious of pockets in a lot of their garments — they should jam their cellphone in a bag or purse together with every part 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 little bit disheartening to see bits of its shade coating chipped away in a matter of months. Due to that, I at all times slap a case on my telephones as quickly as doable, and even my Apple Watches. Individuals make enjoyable of watch instances proper up till their $800 luxurious buy takes a success from a doorknob.

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