Like rebellious teenagers in bedrooms across the world, it seems Samsung could be about to go through a metal phase. Reports suggest the Samsung Galaxy S5 -- follow-up to the smash hit Galaxy S4 -- could boast the first aluminium body in the Galaxy line-up. Android Geeks reports the as-yet-unreleased S5 will be encased in an aluminium unibody like the iPhone and HTC One, styled under a new philosophy dubbed 'Design 3.0'.
Exactly what that involves remains to be seen, but word on the street suggests the S5 will be the first of many high-end Galaxy smart phones to be made of metal. The current S4 is made out of -- to paraphrase Nicolas Cage in The Rock -- glass and plastic, glass and plastic! Plastic is certainly tough, but lacks the premium feel you'd expect from a phone you've dropped a monkey on. And with the S4 taking stick for looking identical to the S3, it could be time for a new look when the next S phone comes along.
Aluminium certainly gives a phone a weighty, premium feel, and is tougher than plastic. Plastic does have other advantages, though. A metal body generally precludes a removable battery, a criticism of unibody blowers like the iPhone, HTC One or Nokia Lumia phones. If you're bothered by the build quality of the S4, there is another option: the waterproof, drop-proof Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, a toughened spin-off of the S4 expected to arrive in July.
Still, the actual S4 is pretty 'ard -- hit play below to see the S4 take on the iPhone in a head-to-head, no-holds-barred fight to the death in our brutal destruction test:
Are you happy with the S4's plastic build? Should Samsung switch to metal? What's the best-built phone in your opinion? Ride the lightning in the comments, or take the highway to hell and throw horns on our very metal Facebook wall.