Get a GRIP!
Modern devices – especially phones – are so slippery that it’s getting harder to hold them firmly. Daniel Booth explains how to add grip so you don’t keep dropping them
Recent figures show one in 10 Brits own a smartphone with a cracked screen. They haven’t been juggling them while drunk (well, some may have). It’s more likely they’ve slipped through their fingers.
That figure doesn’t surprise us because we’ve noticed that phones – and other handheld devices – have become harder to grip in recent years. It’s not that we’re growing clumsier. The fault lies with manufacturers who prioritise sleek glass designs over making devices easy to hold. This change began in 2010 with the iPhone 4, which was Apple’s first phone to ditch plastic and use glass on the front and back. You could say it was the start of a slippery slope. All manufacturers now favour glass for its ‘premium’ feel, which naturally means they can charge more for their products.
Glass is also more resistant to scratches than plastic, works better with wireless charging and is easier to recycle. But this comes at the expense of grip. Glass is smooth and glossy, offering hardly any friction against your hand and surfaces. There are ways to improve a phone’s ‘grippability’ though, as we’ll explain.