Samsung may be looking to use a plastic (polycarbonate) rear panel in more of its flagship smartphones. According to the Korean media, two models in the Galaxy S22 series – the vanilla S22 and the S22 Plus – could be wrapped in “reinforced polycarbonate”, or Glasstic, as the company likes to call it. Glasstic is nothing but plastic that’s designed to look and feel like glass. The Galaxy S22 Ultra will still get ‘real’ glass at the back though.
While it’s an unconfirmed report, one shouldn’t be surprised if Samsung makes this move. After all, this wouldn’t be the first time a Galaxy flagship will feature a plastic back. Last year, the company launched the Galaxy Note 20 with a plastic rear panel. It followed up with the same strategy for the Galaxy S21 series as well. However, in the case of the Galaxy S21 series, Samsung used plastic on the lowest-end model only. But according to the latest report, this cheaper material could also make its way to the Plus model next year.
Samsung to use a plastic rear panel on two Galaxy S22 models
Having a plastic rear panel isn’t necessarily a bad thing, more so because most of us anyway end up putting a case on the phone. And if you’re not putting a case, plastic is more resilient than glass and can better withstand falls. Plastic material also offers more grip than glass. Moreover, plastic is cheaper as well. So it reduces the manufacturing cost of the device, which could lead to lower launch prices.
However, plastic doesn’t give that premium feel like glass does. So some people aren’t very fond of this material being used excessively on flagship devices since they cost more. But Samsung surely knows what it’s doing. The company may have found out that most customers don’t mind a plastic back if that reduces the cost. A reduced launch price certainly boosted the Galaxy S21 sales this year. So the Korean firm could be following up with the same strategy next year as well.
Interestingly, a recent report said only the Galaxy S22 Ultra will feature an LTPO backplane for its OLED display. This model will also retain the 6.8-inch panel while the vanilla S22 and S22+ will get slightly smaller displays. Now, with the latest report saying only the Ultra model will get a glass back, it appears Samsung wants to make this phone a standout premium offering.
That said, the new report notes that this decision isn’t final yet. Perhaps the company is weighing the pros and cons of this move. There’s still a long time to go before the launch of the Galaxy S22 series. Samsung is probably in the early stages of finalizing the material choice for its next-gen flagships. We should get to hear more about the new devices in the coming months.