Repair Shops Are Stoked That the Samsung Galaxy S8 Is the Most Fragile Phone Ever Made (vice.com)

Smartphone repair companies are expecting to fix a lot of those beautiful, cracked Infinity Screens, the headline feature of the Samsung Galaxy S8. From a report on Motherboard: The Samsung Galaxy S8 is expensive, popular, and fragile. Its parts can also be sourced relatively inexpensively, which means that third party repair companies are salivating over the prospect of you fumbling the phone and bringing it to them for a screen repair. "The price point is good, the repairability is there," Justin Carroll, owner of the Richmond, Virginia-based Fruit Fixed smartphone repair shop told me. "Durability-wise, it's definitely going to break, no question about that." Soon after its release, electronics insurance company SquareTrade put Samsung's new flagship phone through its breakability test, a series of drops, dunks, and tumbles. It was deemed the most breakable phone of all time: "S8 is the first phone we've tested that's cracked on the first drop on ALL sides," SquareTrade wrote in a video demonstrating the drops.There's an obvious reason for this, of course. The S8 is made almost entirely of glass, and has barely any top or bottom bezel, which is why the phone is marketed as having an "infinity screen."

Comments

C'mon

[Necron69]

Only an idiot uses their $750 phone without a good case. I received my Otterbox Defender for the GS8+ two weeks before I got the phone. I've dropped it several times with no problems.

- Necron69

Re:C'mon

[OrangeTide]

I see people taking their super thin phones and stuffing them into a bulkcase case. And here I am with my medium thickness smartphone that people think is too big, yet without a case it no larger and it survives fine. (and costs half as much)

I would think that people who get a nice looking phone that breaks all the time would probably stop repairing/replacing it after a while and get something less conservative. If people behave how I think they behave then that can only hurt sales of the GS8.

Re:C'mon

[Necron69]

Personally, I don't consider thinness of a phone to be a great feature. I'd much rather have a bigger battery. Phone thicknesses are fine, and the rubbery case makes it much easier to hold onto. I haven't needed a thinner phone since my first Galaxy S model.

Thinness is a pure marketing gimmick, and contributes to the fragility problem.

- Necron69

Re:I laugh at smart phone fragility

[Gilgaron]

I do miss those aspects of dumb phones. Still, I like having all the extra functionality. It's like the difference between a bayonet style combat knife and a Swiss Army Knife. The former is more durable, but less convenient and has fewer functions than the latter, even if it may excel at the functions is has by a significant margin.

I'm not upgrading

[ckatko]

I'm not upgrading from my waterproof, durable S5 with easily replacable battery, SD card slot, and headphone jack, until they (Samsung or Apple) make a product that actually improves on it.

I really don't understand why people will buy "newer" products that are actually inferior. I mean, I get the "it's newer it must be better" people who don't have time to evaluate. But when you're spending $600+ on something, how can you not notice the LACK of features from your previous phone? Am I the only one who has to be careful with my financial purchases?

Fashion over function

[geekmux]

"The S8 is made almost entirely of glass, and has barely any top or bottom bezel, which is why the phone is marketed as having an "infinity screen."

An infinity screen.

You know what else goes to infinity these days? Marketing fashion over function to the ignorant masses who love that shit.

So much for common sense design.

fast fashion

[kiviQr]

Welcome to a mix of fast fashion and form over function that is making a ton of money for phone producers. Amazing that 98% of users buy glass back phones and cover them with ugly cases. So what was the point of glass back? $5 plastic cover was too durable?

Re:I laugh at smart phone fragility

[DontBeAMoran]

Yes, exactly! If people would simply use cases for their smartphones they would be better protected!

Re:I laugh at smart phone fragility

[OzPeter]

It is almost like different people have different use cases!

Yes .. and my use case is to be able to drop my phone and still have it work!