Every Samsung review, regardless of which media outlet publishes said review, always mentions the incredibly poor choice of materials that the Korean handset maker uses for their devices. As someone who has had years of experience with Nokia’s smartphones and Apple’s iPhone 4, I can attest to the fact that Samsung phones just don’t feel very good in the hand. My Note II, despite being crazy fast and featuring a gorgeous display, still makes me wince a little when I pick it up off a table.
So what’s Samsung going to do about it? They’re going to follow in Apple’s and HTC’s footsteps and start making phones out of metal, or at least that’s what the rumors would have you believe. The first time this rumor cropped up was back in late August. The Korean publication ETNews said Samsung was building a factory in Vietnam that would be responsible for spitting out magnesium and aluminum cases for the company’s 2014 flagship devices. Today, that same rumor returns, though this time from the Taiwanese publication Taipei Times. They cite the analyst firm Barclays Capital Securities as saying Catcher Technology, one of the companies that makes the MacBook Air shells and iPad shells for Apple, will soon win a Samsung contract for between 30 million and 40 million smartphones. Let’s assume for a moment that the Galaxy S5 actually ends up shipping with a plastic case. Will it negatively impact sales? No. But boy oh boy, the internet will be livid.
