Weekly poll results: Metal all the way

Last week, we asked you, what your material of choice is for a new flagship phone. We were quite interested to see what you, or loyal readers, regarded as most-premium and we definitely got a resounding answer – metal, metal, metal all the way!

It seems that when you talk of a shiny new device, most of you really picture a slick metal exterior and we definitely understand the allure. It was also quite interesting to read through the comments and see your thoughts on the matter. There were some really good points made.

First of all, it seems that the majority of you still put great value on removable batteries. Design is one thing, but sacrificing functionality and convenience for the sake of, let’s say, a unibody, is often criticized and with good reason. Batteries tend to go faster than most other components and seeing how there are examples of handsets employing premium materials, like metal with a removable battery pack, makes the absence of one look like a definite downgrade. Perhaps it is time for manufacturers to take a step back and rethink the new sealed-up fad.

Another good question a few of you raised is the added weight from using solid material, like metals, as well as intricate mechanisms to facilitate removable components, like the aforementioned battery, for example. From what we can gather, it seems that most of you are willing to carry around a few extra grams for the sake of a tougher and better looking device, not to mention one not entirely closed-up to maintenance.

And, of course, there were still quite a lot of you, who think good old plastic is the way to go. It is rugged, easy to manufacture, light and allows for an amazing array of visual stylings, perhaps even some metal or glass accents. Also, from an ecological standpoint, a synthetic material does make more sense in a piece of tech with a fairly short life-expectancy. Recycling is still a major problem and silicon scrapyards are an ever-growing modern day problem, but, at least we are not squandering away metals.

Leather came in very last in the leaderboard, which is all but normal, considering the moral and also practical implications of killing an animal to adorn you short-lived tech toy.

Overall, the vote came up with some pretty interesting results and spiked a captivating discussion in the comments. We are happy to say that, by popular demand, metal is king of premium flagship designs, before you slap a case on it, that is.