Android By Russell Holly May. 2, 2014 12:50 pm
Samsung’s mobile devices have gone through some interesting visual changes this past year, from glossy plastic to faux leather and finally landing on a dimpled softer plastic for the Galaxy S5. Samsung’s new design site explains why that transition happened, making it clear that this change is here to stay.
There are no shortage of people out there curious about why Samsung made the backplate on the S5 the way they did, though most people probably only look at it long enough to snap a case on it. The almost-soft-touch plastic backing with a grid of dimples looks a little odd when compared to the other phones out there today, especially in the metallic gold and blue you can get the phone in, but it feels so much better than the S4 that it’s hard to argue with the change. The Galaxy S5 has a lot more grip than the S4, and it just plan feels nicer to hold.
Samsung’s new website — which was built to explain the company’s design decisions — has a whole section on the backplate, and it helps shed a little light on the changes from the GS4 to the GS5.
Somewhere scattered across this (rather confusing website), mixed in with language like “Designed for Humans” and “soft as sheepskin” is a believable story about why this material exists on the Galaxy S5. Samsung explains that the changing demands of the discerning consumer encouraged engineers to move away from the leather-like finish of the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition and onto this new design. The perforated pattern is supposed to help bring focus to Samsung’s “precise combination of straight lines and elegant curves” while being comfortable and more shock absorbent.
It’s hard to argue with the decision to move away from the faux leather backing that we saw late last year, and there’s no mention of the Swarovski-infused Crystal Collection anywhere on this site yet, but the presentation here seems to suggest that this new dimpled back might make its way to more Galaxy products in the future.
So far the Galaxy S5 is the only device to feature the glossy metallic colors and perforated design, but with a new Galaxy Note on the way later this year it’s likely we’ll see this pattern show up again soon.
More...
There are no shortage of people out there curious about why Samsung made the backplate on the S5 the way they did, though most people probably only look at it long enough to snap a case on it. The almost-soft-touch plastic backing with a grid of dimples looks a little odd when compared to the other phones out there today, especially in the metallic gold and blue you can get the phone in, but it feels so much better than the S4 that it’s hard to argue with the change. The Galaxy S5 has a lot more grip than the S4, and it just plan feels nicer to hold.
Samsung’s new website — which was built to explain the company’s design decisions — has a whole section on the backplate, and it helps shed a little light on the changes from the GS4 to the GS5.
Somewhere scattered across this (rather confusing website), mixed in with language like “Designed for Humans” and “soft as sheepskin” is a believable story about why this material exists on the Galaxy S5. Samsung explains that the changing demands of the discerning consumer encouraged engineers to move away from the leather-like finish of the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition and onto this new design. The perforated pattern is supposed to help bring focus to Samsung’s “precise combination of straight lines and elegant curves” while being comfortable and more shock absorbent.
It’s hard to argue with the decision to move away from the faux leather backing that we saw late last year, and there’s no mention of the Swarovski-infused Crystal Collection anywhere on this site yet, but the presentation here seems to suggest that this new dimpled back might make its way to more Galaxy products in the future.
So far the Galaxy S5 is the only device to feature the glossy metallic colors and perforated design, but with a new Galaxy Note on the way later this year it’s likely we’ll see this pattern show up again soon.
More...
