Next Gen Galaxy Note Could Shed Samsung's Plastic Design

Samsung may be changing its game plan for the upcoming Galaxy Note 3 with an all metal body. After the success of the HTC One's all aluminum body, Samsung appear to be edging away from plastic for its new phablet.

Sam Mobile claim that the company is planning on upping the build quality for the next gen Galaxy Note, completely out of league with any of its previous handheld designs. This is likely a reaction not only to HTC's success, but also as a response to criticisms concerning the cheap plastic build quality of the previous Galaxy S and Galaxy Note devices. 

Samsung already has a plan in hand, as it has apparently been experimenting with a metal Galaxy S4 which, while it was received positively by employees, was not put into effect due to delays in manufacturing and a possible revision of the original launch date.

As to what material is going to be used, we can only speculate. As the HTC One uses an all aluminum body and the iPhone 5 features aluminum with glass, we can expect to see one or both of those come up in the Galaxy Note 3. It would be nice to see the company experiment with some aesthetic materials on phone bodies such as polished chrome, titanium or even kevlar (rumored to be used for the Motorola X).

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  • slomo4sho
    Moving from plastic to aluminum is an increase in build quality? Lets go from a durable plastic shell to a soft metal frame. Lets just throw out durability in favor of aesthetics.
    Reply
  • scook9
    Which I assume would also necessitate a sealed in battery :(
    Reply
  • wing2010
    I always look for a case first thing I have my phone. So, it doesn't matter it is plastic or aluminum.
    Reply
  • balister
    10683067 said:
    Moving from plastic to aluminum is an increase in build quality? Lets go from a durable plastic shell to a soft metal frame. Lets just throw out durability in favor of aesthetics.

    You do realize that Aluminum is one of the strongest metals around right? Though not in the top 10, it's much stronger than the plastic you find in phones.
    Reply
  • fulle
    I don't like aluminum phones very much. Aluminum reduces cellular signal, is not very shock absorbent, is slippery in the hand, easy to scratch/chip/scuff, and it even dents pretty easily.
    Reply
  • slomo4sho
    10683201 said:
    You do realize that Aluminum is one of the strongest metals around right? Though not in the top 10, it's much stronger than the plastic you find in phones.

    Actually, carbon fiber, silk, and many other synthetic polymers have much greater tensile strength than aluminum. Even bamboo is lighter and stronger than Aluminum. There are plenty of other options out there to enhance the quality of the phones without giving them the metallic aesthetics.
    Reply
  • soo-nah-mee
    You do realize that Aluminum is one of the strongest metals around right? Though not in the top 10, it's much stronger than the plastic you find in phones.
    Now that's just silly talk. Aluminum is nowhere NEAR being the "one of the strongest metals around". It can be used to produce strong structures, but only when there is a lot of it, it is used as an engineered extrusion, or it is cast or forged. A stamped phone cover, or even a machined unibody is much less durable than plastic, let alone steel, carbon fiber, or titanium. Aluminum will not bend and return to it's original shape the way plastic can. Aluminum cannot take take an impact with denting. Think of how easy it is to crush an aluminum can. The same structure molded out of ABS plastic would be much more resilient to being crushed and would even provide some springback. Think of an aluminum bodied Acura NSX that will dent if you breath on it wrong.

    Without getting into expensive titanium alloys or carbon fiber, plastic is the most durable, lightweight material you use for an application such as a phone. Aluminum looks nice and feels like it is better quality (It costs more, so it should), But unless you baby your phone, you will end up with ugly scratches and dents.
    Reply
  • My wife has dropped her SG3 so many time and no cracks. I rather deal with no cracks or a cheap replacement, then paying Apple $93 to replace the back of my wifes old iphone 4 fomr a 2 foot drop and brag that th phone is made out of alluminum.
    Reply
  • ikyung
    So Samsung finally caves into the demands of people who actually has no idea why flexible plastic is almost always better then metal on phones.
    Reply
  • house70
    10684036 said:
    So Samsung finally caves into the demands of people who actually has no idea why flexible plastic is almost always better then metal on phones.

    Let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is just speculation at this point, based on some abandoned design for GS4. Even if they decide to replace plastic, they have way better choices than entirely metal. Some metal blend with ABS or kevlar or carbon fiber can be good.
    Reply