We have seen plenty of rumors regarding the Samsung Galaxy S21 series over the past couple of months. All those rumors and leaks have hardly left anything to imagine as far as the device’s design is concerned. However, new details keep popping up now and then. Earlier this week, we saw reports claiming that the Galaxy S21 family will ship without a charging adapter in the box. Now we have a piece of even more shocking information to share.
Korean YouTuber Super Roader has claimed that the entire Galaxy S21 lineup will get a plastic back panel, or ‘3D Glasstic,’ as Samsung likes to call it. Now there already were reports of the vanilla S21 getting a Glasstic back. However, this is the first time we are hearing that Samsung has opted for this cheaper material for the more premium Galaxy S21+ and S21 Ultra as well.
The said YouTuber claims to have received the information from a highly reliable source. He says all three Galaxy S21 models are equipped with a ‘reinforced polycarbonate’ back. It could be an improved version of the Glasstic material that Samsung uses in its more affordable phones, but it is certainly not glass. Glasstic is essentially a plastic material that is made to look and feel like glass.
Galaxy S21 series to get a Glasstic back
Samsung has been using a Glasstic back panel on most mid-range Galaxy A phones since last year. It went on to employ the same material on the back of the flagship-grade Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy S20 FE this year. It appears the consumer response to this glass-like plastic material has been positive enough for the company to now use it on the entire Galaxy S21 flagship lineup.
Samsung may have seen that using a Glasstic back on the Galaxy S20 FE did not affect its sales. However, it still might not be a good enough justification for using cheap materials on a premium phone. Samsung could have at least used glass on the back of the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Plastic cannot match the premium look and feel of glass housing, at least not just yet. Let’s hope this decision doesn’t backfire on the company.
That said, nothing has been officially confirmed yet, so we suggest you take this information with a pinch of salt. Super Roader is a former employee of the Wireless Business division of Samsung. He primarily shares information about all the latest and greatest happenings in the mobile world through his YouTube channel. All this makes him quite a reliable source, but it’s still not official.
Samsung India has already spilled the beans on the launch date for the Galaxy S21 series. The new Samsung flagships will break cover on January 14. So it’s not too long of a wait now. We’ll keep you posted.
In the meantime, you can check out the video from Super Roader below (in Korean).