Devices Are Too Thin And Too Slippery

I have had my tablet for almost two years now. Except when I first got it, I have had a case on it the entire time. It was a fairly nice case. Bulky, which I know isn’t the fad these days, and also has a handle to make it easier to carry. I haven’t given it much thought. The case has a built-in screen protector, which is wearing out and not cleaning right, so I finally removed the case this evening.

Immediately I remembered the reason I bought the case. The tablet is just too damned slippery. Just holding it, it feels like it was to slide right out of my hands. The fact that it is so physically thin only makes it feel like I’ll drop it easier. I certainly think being thinner than devices used to be is a good feature, but the thinness war has gotten ridiculous.

I had the same problem with my Pixel. That thing is so slippery it felt like it could slide out of my pocket on its own. I bought a case for that too. My FiiO music player is the worst of the bunch. I had that slide off my desk while I was updating the SD card, so it was out of the case. It slid from the fan vibration in the computer. At least that comes with a case. The newest Kindle I have is absurdly slippery, and I have had it fall seemingly on its own from a table.

Another poor design that this brought up in my mind is the thin or nonexistent bezel fad. My phone is pretty bad with that. The Samsung phone I previously used was even worse. That had phantom touches. My case for my phone has a little lip around the screen. It helps reduce accidental touches and protects the screen a bit if I drop it. Who would’ve guessed that would make sense?

The tablet has thicker bezels, but they are still too thin for my liking. My fingers ransoming touch when holding the device up or my shirt can activate something if the edge is rested on my chest when I am reading something. I don’t get the thought process of it. With a phone that you’re picking up all the time, you don’t want random touches. At least I don’t. Then again, I am not one that wants everything to be just like Apple.

Part of me wonders if the fact that these poor design choices make it easier to accidentally break it is on purpose because people will have to buy more of them. That is the conspiracy theorist in me. That is what capitalism wants, though. Consumerism is at its worst when it keeps people wanting to buy new things just because they are new.

I think another major factor is it looks good in a store. It also sounds good when reviewers ooh and ahh about how thin it is or how shiny it is. People buy stuff based on how it looks and if it fits the modern design fad. Screw durability and usability. It seems as if nothing at all has a unique design anymore. Everything tries to copy poor designs of whatever is popular.