Database Develop

Metal frame ?

Who knows what the silver color frame is made of.
It seems to be some kind of metal "cap" on a plastic frame.
But what metal ?
What do you think/know about it ?
Calico

its just sprayed plastic, probably a polycarbonate

jaqx said:
its just sprayed plastic, probably a polycarbonate
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Then they have changed their production process: on some review, when the backplate is removed and they zoomed on the interior, you can clearly see the side edge of solid metal, or at least a .5 mm thick metal cap.
If you are sure of that, together with report of no-so-solid impression in hand, and comments on yellowish not so sharp screen (while the reviewers invariably praise the screen which seems bluish on all the TD2 pics posted), makes me think maybe there is 2 atches of TD2 out there.
One solid one, send to reviewers
and one shaky one, available for buy....
Scary....
...and completely unacceptable, if it is true and the devices are SO different, HTC is in deep trouble, class action is virtually certain...
EDIT: looking again at the review pictures, i am not so sure about the metal front anymore, it could well be polycarbonate with a nice metallic paint job....Disappointing, such paints usually do not age nicely, after a year or two you usually start to see the plastic under at points where u have friction (corners). And if they have a bad batch, it can even crack and peel off...I liked the metallic front for durability, but if it is just painting, I would prefer the MDA V design :-(. I can not wait till this one is out though, I'll report on the build quality when I get my TD2 next week...

Bumper case / stability

I know this seems like a strange idea, but are there any cover cases for the LCD? I'm thinking primarily of protecting the LCD from bumps.
Also, I've noticed that setting the camera on a flat surface (powered off), it wants to roll towards the lens. I may add a little sugru kickstand under the lens to help stabilize.

Jhokur said:
I know this seems like a strange idea, but are there any cover cases for the LCD? I'm thinking primarily of protecting the LCD from bumps.
Also, I've noticed that setting the camera on a flat surface (powered off), it wants to roll towards the lens. I may add a little sugru kickstand under the lens to help stabilize.
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Personally I'm typically against covers and 'armor' for modern mobile devices and especially for this camera. The reason is that in many cases, the chemical glass used for the device is going to be far superior to a cheep cover you put over it. No matter how amazing the protective film is seen to be in the ads. I have put mine through the wringer in the short time I have had it... like my iPhone the screen is crazy difficult to scratch or otherwise mar. Further, any additional layer may create a slightly false representation of colours, brightness and contrast when processing images.
Ultimately, like any camera, I would suggest a good case/pouch more over a screen protector.
I know what you mean about the tipping forward. When mine is not in the pouch and on a flat surface, I typically store mine with the screen down. It's a non-issue.

Polished chamfered edge

Nice to see Samsung going with a premium metal finish and it does look stunning when new but 2 weeks down the line and it is covered in tiny scratches etc...
I look after my phones, tbh I'm a little bit OCD but even still the edge is looking tatty.
I then got a TPU case to try and protect it... 2 days later, it is scratched to hell! Just the case alone touching the chamfered edge is enough to scuff it...
what did Samsung make it out of? Cheese? A soft cheese at that!
I love my note 4 but...

I have the same experience. Maybe if it gets too bad I'll try the method used in this video.
http://youtu.be/EZuYzQrIHjA
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app

MadfishGTB said:
Nice to see Samsung going with a premium metal finish and it does look stunning when new but 2 weeks down the line and it is covered in tiny scratches etc...
I look after my phones, tbh I'm a little bit OCD but even still the edge is looking tatty.
I then got a TPU case to try and protect it... 2 days later, it is scratched to hell! Just the case alone touching the chamfered edge is enough to scuff it...
what did Samsung make it out of? Cheese? A soft cheese at that!
I love my note 4 but...
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Is this the white or black version you are talking about?

I've got the Ringke Slim on mine and it covers the edges. No scratches on mine.

It's the black one I have...
the coloured part is immaculate still but the polished section looks a mess
My note 2 seemed to fair much better in terms of durability.
Also, the camera lens cover is very exposed on these, I hope it can be replaced somehow in the future (although no scratches yet)

Same here with the white one. Got scratches on the chamfered edge from being in a pants pocket for gods sake. Anybody know to go about buffing them out?

Sorry to hear that you are having those problems. I am not trying to burst your bubble but the "metal" finish around the Note 4 is NOT metal. I have have read a post on this forum of another person saying the same thing and so I went down to my nearest BB to check it out. I am now convinced that he was right.
Here is the test I carried out to prove the point. I found a Galaxy Alpha and examined the similar finish and that is truly metal. With the AC in Best Buy I was able to put the Alpha to my cheek and you can feel the coldness of the metal. I then walked over to the Samsung store in BB and did the same with ALL the Note 4s on display and they were all just at reasonable temp. Also on the Alpha it will be noticed that the headphone jack and the charging port is covered in plastic or rubber inside of the metal cutout. Take a look at he N4 slot for the pen or the headphone jack and you will see that the white plastic is just covered by the " metal" finish.
That my friend is why you are having scuff marks already on your new device. It is JUST a "METAL" finish on the outside. Now if there is a metal frame it is on the inside, not on the outside like the Alpha. Can't wait to see a teardown from folks like IFIXIT to confirm. I could be wrong but until proven wrong I will stand by my cheek test.

No, it is metal (aluminium I believe ) but it is very thin. When you look at the headphone jack port like you say there is plastic but there is still a thin metal part of the frame...
Samsung wouldn't have needed to add the spacers in the frame (small white blocks top and bottom) if it was metal effect. These are there for the antennas to work properly in the metal.
Aluminium is a very soft metal, perhaps if they chose a more sturdy, harder metal like titanium for example then we wouldn't be having this problem but then we would have paid more for the already expensive phone.
For me I'll just end up keeping the TPU case on, it feels better in the hand and against the ear (metal frame has quite sharp edges) and offers some protection without adding much bulk to the device. Maybe once the phone has been used a while I'll look into customising the frame with either plastidip or hydroprint.

Yeah it would be made of aluminium. People wanting that "premium" look and feel. Just like the iPhone and any other phone made of an alloy, looks awesome out of the box but after a while scratches will appear. Plastic resists much much better, that's just the way it is.
Also it would have been hilarious watching you going around touching the bezels with your face

remove the back cover and look at the frame closely: you can see that the whole frame is definitely NOT metal. it is plastic with metal coating or layer and some metal inlays.

I highly doubt that the frame only has a metal coating. If you check the YouTube video of the guy bending the ip6p, note 3 and 4 you will see the note 3 bend and bounce back because it's plastic. Alloy on the other hand bends and stays bent. Looking at you note 4.
Of course I could be wrong.

It does seem to be a thin metal covering over a plastic frame...
gives the look of a premium device but the protection and flexibility of a plastic device

The frame is made of metals collected from the moon and the back cover leather is made from the skin of puppies.
Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

Whether its a thin metal strip on the top or solid metal, the nature of being aluminium is that it will scratch easily. It is the same with the HTC One that also has a chamfered edge. I have read many reports of it getting scratched too easily. If you look closely at the edge you will see that at the very least it is a metal strip. Thickness has nothing to do with scratch resistance. So we can argue whether it's solid or not, but the relevance to the initial poster's issue that it scratches easily is zero!
Everyone complained about Samsung's cheap looking plastic bezel. Now we are complaining about the upmarket stylish metal one! I guess a finish like the edges of an iPhone 6 are the only option that will satisfy everyone's needs. Incidentally I do remember reports of people with the bumper case on an iphone 4...took it off, to find that the little imperfection nodules of plastic on the inside of the bumper were enough to rub and wear the metal surround of the phone!

And if they had anodized it, it would have prevented scratches (like Nokia n8),but would have caused the frame to crack more easily, unless they used more surface, or thicker pieces of aluminum, which in turn would affect other things. So pointless.
Sent from my SM-N910W8

Even if it was made of adamantium people would still complain.

eddhard said:
Even if it was made of adamantium people would still complain.
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Couldn't agree more!
Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk

you do know that aluminium and metal phones get scratched up this easy i dont know why ya'll are surprised

hello00 said:
you do know that aluminium and metal phones get scratched up this easy i dont know why ya'll are surprised
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Even in manufacturing these metals are impossible to keep pristine. I had an iPhone 4 with a small nick in the metal band out of the box. I had an HTC One with a couple of little nicks and microscratches in the band out of the box. And my note 4 also has a few imperfections. But then it's best not to study these phones under a spotlight because you will just find things you don't want to see!

I think/hope the issue lies with TPU cases simply because they, as all cases trap dirt under them but because they are TPU they have more movement.... the dirt gets ground against the polished edges. Hard cases like the Ringke do not have this movement...
Would be helpful to others if people who are experiencing this issue state which cases they have used.
Thanks.

Gap Between Screen and Frame

Noticed recently when cleaning my phone and case there's a small gap between the screen and frame for the ear piece speaker. Seems strange there no grill here to keep out dust and fluff etc. I assume this is by design and doesn't affect the IP68 rating?

right.
It is the same with the other S20 models

For me for some reason I can feel the metal edges are higher than the glass so you can really feel the ridge between the two. Same in the back I can literally feel the ridge where the plastic back meets the metal frame! It is not as seamless as other Samsung phones I have used and wondering was this done intentionally to make the phone feel budget or it is just poor design/engineering?
Also surprised the phone despite having a plastic back, why is it heavier than the regular S20 +?

I'm happy enough with the build quality to be honest, I'm just wondering why there's no speaker grill and if it's meant to be this way with regards to the gap. If it's the same on the other S20 models then I guess it's by design.

aviseqdas said:
For me for some reason I can feel the metal edges are higher than the glass so you can really feel the ridge between the two. Same in the back I can literally feel the ridge where the plastic back meets the metal frame! It is not as seamless as other Samsung phones I have used and wondering was this done intentionally to make the phone feel budget or it is just poor design/engineering?
Also surprised the phone despite having a plastic back, why is it heavier than the regular S20 +?
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For a min I thought mine had a "huge" ridge between the plastic and metal side, but then I noticed that the metal had 5-6 thin finish protectors stuck to them. Once I peeled those off, mine felt fine.

Question S21 Ultra Rear Camera - Phantom Black - Any Damage Naked ?

Just wondering if anyone with the Phantom Black S21 Ultra has noticed any scratches, chips, flaking paint or other damage to the flat black painted area of the camera hump after months of use?
Just installed another glass protector and wondering if I even need this this thing?

Better safe than sorry

felloffthetruck said:
Just wondering if anyone with the Phantom Black S21 Ultra has noticed any scratches, chips, flaking paint or other damage to the flat black painted area of the camera hump after months of use?
Just installed another glass protector and wondering if I even need this this thing?
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Not sure how resistant to scratches it is. After watching JerrRigEverything's durability test video, it appears that the aluminum housing of the camera is more scratch prone than the glass back (makes sense as aluminum is softer than glass). Didn't want to find out the hard way, so slapped on a skin on the phone two days after I got it. Doesn't add bulk (phone is too big for me to use with a case) and the peace of mind that the underlying surfaces are scratch proof is just priceless.
But every once in a while when i change skins (I like to change up the appearance every month or so) I marvel at how beautiful the Phantom black color looks in its pristine naked glory. Wish I was brave enough to rock it butt naked, but I'd probably have a meltdown if a scratch appeared anywhere.
So it's a skins and a liquid skin protector sandwich for me... at all times.

Spigen Platinum screen protector and clear back case! Shows off the Phantom Black while still being protected. Perfect for me! Never naked... That's bad mojo.

You need a good case or the phone will get destroyed.
The built in cam lens protector is replaceable. Any additional optical elements will degrade the image.

oh thankfully I am not the only. I do really thought that I am just careless enough to have this scratch thing on flat area on my back camera. felt relieved now that it is easily scratch. So I guess need to find a protector on this part now but really got no problem since the lenses are really fine.

kimLJT said:
oh thankfully I am not the only. I do really thought that I am just careless enough to have this scratch thing on flat area on my back camera. felt relieved now that it is easily scratch. So I guess need to find a protector on this part now but really got no problem since the lenses are really fine.
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Sand is hard enough scratch any glass...

blackhawk said:
Sand is hard enough scratch any glass...
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yeah thanks for this but I am fully aware about it and since from s9 plus to my s21 I never installed protection of my screen and camera and everything is fine. it is just that this s21 flat black area on camera bump scratch easily and it is a bit annoying like what the OP said but got no problem with the glasses

kimLJT said:
yeah thanks for this but I am fully aware about it and since from s9 plus to my s21 I never installed protection of my screen and camera and everything is fine. it is just that this s21 flat black area on camera bump scratch easily and it is a bit annoying like what the OP said but got no problem with the glasses
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A good case prevents direct contact.
I rarely even have to clean mine. After over 1.5 years the plastic factory lense protector has no scratches or marring. Simply clean with a dry microfiber cloth...
One drop onto concrete and a corner or display hit can destroy a phone. Internal components including chipsets can be destroyed by high G impacts. A case spreads out the G loading to within tolerable levels.

blackhawk said:
A good case prevents direct contact.
I rarely even have to clean mine. After over 1.5 years the plastic factory lense protector has no scratches or marring. Simply clean with a dry microfiber cloth...
One drop onto concrete and a corner or display hit can destroy a phone. Internal components including chipsets can be destroyed by high G impacts. A case spreads out the G loading to within tolerable levels.
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Click to collapse
I just can't bear the color nor brightness shift with protector installed. I just rely all the protection with my case, actually bought a bunch of screen protectors already before my phone arrived and yeah didn't installed it .

kimLJT said:
I just can't bear the color nor brightness shift with protector installed. I just rely all the protection with my case, actually bought a bunch of screen protectors already before my phone arrived and yeah didn't installed it .
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I've been using Gorilla IQ Sheild for over a year. A wet apply plastic that holds up very well. After a year the first one had very slight yellowing. Good for at least 6 months. Just don't stretch it, at all and make sure there's no lint or dust on the display before applying (it will create unremovable bubbles). Because it's a wet apply you have more leeway placing it but try to get it close when you first lay it down, tic-tok...
Works well on a curved screen and sets up completely in a couple hours. If it lifts up on a corner as long as you don't get dust under or stretch it, you can successfully push back in place. Pretty cool, self healing and cheap.
The Bolt case is a tight fit so placement is critical. I wet sand the inner surfaces of the case corner with #600 grit to make sure it's smooth.
Bottom of the phone goes in first, then both top corners are snapped in place in unison. Done.
The outer shell snaps on easily. Botton side goes on first but come off last during break down.
Every 2 months or so I disassemble the case to clean the interior to prevent grit from marring the side rail finish.
Screen protectors are a curse to apply. That's one reason I like this brand so much. It's fairly forgiving... and cheap if you goof up. So far even though I have extras, I've gotten on right the first time. This last one though I missed 3 pieces of lint that were from my microfiber cloth, my bad

I wish they would just make the whole phone thick enough so there were no camera bumps whatsoever. The "glass" covering/protecting the camera elements can be made of scratch resistant sapphire. With the increased interior volume comes a two working day battery, ~6500mAh.
One can dream, right?

cpufrost said:
I wish they would just make the whole phone thick enough so there were no camera bumps whatsoever. The "glass" covering/protecting the camera elements can be made of scratch resistant sapphire. With the increased interior volume comes a two working day battery, ~6500mAh.
One can dream, right?
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At one point Apple was considering using a sapphire covered display.
For the camera not sure sapphire has the needed optical qualities... likely doesn't.

Optical quality is fine as in real world use it will NEVER be optimal with handling and fod contamination.
Apple's covers claim to be sapphire but not a good quality such as the crystal on the SS watches.
In any case it would be far better to have the entire thing smooth instead of individual lens protrusions. The shaver look started with the 11 pro and continues with the 12 pro series. Looks like the 13 pro they will stick out even further!
Oh and bring back the ceramic backs on the higher end models! The 512GB and 1TB S10+ models with ceramic back were the bomb!

cpufrost said:
Optical quality is fine as in real world use it will NEVER be optimal with handling and fod contamination.
Apple's covers claim to be sapphire but not a good quality such as the crystal on the SS watches.
In any case it would be far better to have the entire thing smooth instead of individual lens protrusions. The shaver look started with the 11 pro and continues with the 12 pro series. Looks like the 13 pro they will stick out even further!
Oh and bring back the ceramic backs on the higher end models! The 512GB and 1TB S10+ models with ceramic back were the bomb!
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It can not be smooth. 3 individual lens.
Law of refraction... for every optical layer you add you create more refaction. High dollar multiple element lense systems go to great lengths to minimize and correct for this effect.
The added element also can create internal reflections that are pure demons.
Because of the very limited space using curvature on the optics is also limited as is diameter. That also means minimum corrective elements. It's not uncommon to see a dozen expensive optical elements in a pro lense. Just one element is more expensive than the whole cam phone to produce.
There are a lot of conflicts and compromises...
https://www.google.com/amp/s/seekingalpha.com/amp/article/2080353-cornings-gorilla-glass-is-optically-superior-to-sapphire
There's little doubt sapphire is inferior to the specialized glasses used for advance camera lenses or even a good Heliopan UV filter for anti reflective and light transmission qualities.

They can definitely have a single cover over everything and have great results. I have a tempered glass cover over my 12 Pro Max array, makes it super easy to clean and pictures turn out fine even at night with bright pinpoint light sources.
Internal reflections are already ridiculous stock. Many photos have to be touched up and video is even worse before CV19 and live gigs were a thing.
The other optical parameters are on a level that isn't going to matter much on such tiny phone sensors and optics without making them prohibitively expensive. We don't need optics with high spec scratch/dig qualities!
And while sapphire may be inferior to glass, as soon as the glass is scratched even at a micron level, its optical quality is far worse. In either case one can see it's a moot point in real world as many photos/videos are witnessed with heavy optical aberrations on pinpoint sources because the lens covers are smudged to hell and back. Don't even get me started on vertical video syndrome! ;-)
A last thing I will add, the OnePlus 9 pro did not exhibit the reflections like my S21 Ultra or 12 Pro Max. I doubt the fact that having Hasselblad's name on it has much to do with things but it's definitely noticeable. Both the 12 Pro Max AND 1+ 9 Pro ruin the audio on video with awful zoom feature. At least allow users to turn that off!