iPhone SE (2016) Will we ever see a plastic iPhone again?

[ehfz]

The iPhone 5c did not do well, Apple killed it off.
The iPhone Mini did not do well, Apple is about to kill it off.
These have been my two favorite iPhones that Apple has made.
I had the confidence to go caseless with a plastic iPhone which I'd love to do again.
The small size but maximized screen of the iPhone Mini is just right for my taste.
The dream phone for me would be a combination Apple's two (seemingly) least popular iPhones, the plastic body of the iPhone 5C and the form factor of the iPhone mini.
Could this combination ever be the next (perfect for me) iPhone SE?

 

[jcorbin]

Since apple is trying to reduce their use of plastics I would assume that no we will not see another plastic iPhone.

 

[Tmacc47]

Probably not. I'd like to see another all metal iPhone, but with everyone's obsession with wireless charging, probably not.

 

[MrKennedy]

No.

 

[MacNerd01]

I honestly doubt it. If it doesn’t sell well, then apple won’t sell it. But if they did, I would buy it.

 

[Aoligei]

Since apple is trying to reduce their use of plastics I would assume that no we will not see another plastic iPhone.

There are million of plastic bottles being produced and thrown away, Apple can do it part to recycle them and make plastic iPhone.

The only problem is people are associating plastic phone being cheap phone. This is why iPhone 5C didn’t do well. Apple probably will never do a plastic phone, because it doesn’t fit Apple’s premium brand image.

Oh, one more thing, if Apple decided to do plastic phone, please for the love of the god, don’t do glossy finish.

 

[lkalliance]

Unapologetically plastic.

5c was my favorite too. Didn't feel cheap at all. It was the most comfortable phone with the best design. I miss it.

 

[now i see it]

If it’s fragile and super expensive to repair, Apple will make it.
If it’s drop proof and easy to fix, Apple will cancel it.

 

[eyoungren]

Unapologetically plastic.

5c was my favorite too. Didn't feel cheap at all. It was the most comfortable phone with the best design. I miss it.

I recall the 5c being advertised as 'premium plastic'. My main phone was a 5 at the time so I had zero interest in that. Once Apple got an all metal casing I was all in.

 

[eyoungren]

If it’s fragile and super expensive to repair, Apple will make it.
If it’s drop proof and easy to fix, Apple will cancel it.

There's already a market out there for rugged phones. Plus, there's Otterbox (which my wife consistently uses).

People (people in general, not directed at you) want reasons to not have to think about handling their devices or where you should put them when you set them down. It's one of the reasons cases are a thing.

 

[noobinator]

Apple determined plastic phones destroy the environment and are for peasants. So not anytime soon.

 

[Andres Cantu]

I don’t think the iPhone 5c failed because it was plastic. I think what had a greater effect was that it was just $100 cheaper than the 5s, which had more features and premium body.

Then, on the following year, the 6 with its larger screen effectively ensured that no one would buy a 5c since there was so much pent-up demand for a larger screen iPhone.

Had the 6 been given the plastic treatment during the 6s year, that would have probably had much better sales numbers than the 5c.

 

[eyoungren]

I don’t think the iPhone 5c failed because it was plastic. I think what had a greater effect was that it was just $100 cheaper than the 5s, which had more features and premium body.

Then, on the following year, the 6 with its larger screen effectively ensured that no one would buy a 5c since there was so much pent-up demand for a larger screen iPhone.

Had the 6 been given the plastic treatment during the 6s year, that would have probably had much better sales numbers than the 5c.

In 2019 I bought a Pixel 3a XL for a variety of reasons. One of those was price. Because of the plastic casing it was far cheaper than the metal Pixels Google offers.

But going back to a metal and glass phone was one of the reasons I paid our Pixels off early in February 2021 and got us the iPhone 11 Pro Max. The Pixel was a great phone, we still use ours as secondary phones, but I wanted metal again.

 

[JPack]

Processors are getting hotter each year. Next year’s iPhones are expected to use vapor chamber to carry heat away. Plastic doesn’t help dissipate heat at all.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

I’m very thrilled about the new Titanium Grade iPhone. I don’t think Apple will focus on plastic material.

 

[Nismo73]

I still have my blue 5c in the draw…I loved the feel of it in the hand.

 

[ericwn]

While I really like the 5C I don’t think that plastic design language is coming back.

 

[rui no onna]

I don’t think the iPhone 5c failed because it was plastic. I think what had a greater effect was that it was just $100 cheaper than the 5s, which had more features and premium body.

Iirc, while initial demand was low, sales numbers for the year were actually good for the 5c (at least it was in the US where it was $99 5c vs $199 5s). Alas, unsubsidized pricing was still way too expensive for third world countries which I believe were the intended targets. Unfortunately, many tech pundits also lambasted the 5c so much for being "cheap". All these things combined is likely why Apple hasn't made another plastic iPhone.

Imho, plastic is much more practical especially with wireless charging. It's durable and lighter so they can even stick in a bigger battery without making the device too heavy.

 

[Jakewilk]

There are million of plastic bottles being produced and thrown away, Apple can do it part to recycle them and make plastic iPhone.

The only problem is people are associating plastic phone being cheap phone. This is why iPhone 5C didn’t do well. Apple probably will never do a plastic phone, because it doesn’t fit Apple’s premium brand image.

Oh, one more thing, if Apple decided to do plastic phone, please for the love of the god, don’t do glossy finish.

Recycling plastic is a pretty big challenge—it’s easy to make low quality goods, but an iphone shell made of entirely recycled plastic that meets apple’s QC standards? That’d be quite the feat. Better to use cheap aluminum

 

[yukari]

I hope not.
I hated plastic iPhones.

 

[Aoligei]

Iirc, while initial demand was low, sales numbers for the year were actually good for the 5c (at least it was in the US where it was $99 5c vs $199 5s). Alas, unsubsidized pricing was still way too expensive for third world countries which I believe were the intended targets. Unfortunately, many tech pundits also lambasted the 5c so much for being "cheap". All these things combined is likely why Apple hasn't made another plastic iPhone.

Imho, plastic is much more practical especially with wireless charging. It's durable and lighter so they can even stick in a bigger battery without making the device too heavy.

Plastic is more or less symbol of cheap phones. It is the general association with the cheapness is killing plastic phones.

I don’t believe we will ever see plastic on premium flagship phones.

 

[Aoligei]

Recycling plastic is a pretty big challenge—it’s easy to make low quality goods, but an iphone shell made of entirely recycled plastic that meets apple’s QC standards? That’d be quite the feat. Better to use cheap aluminum

We won’t see metal phone ever again. Wireless charging and 5G, you can’t achieve both with metal phones.

 

[rui no onna]

Plastic is more or less symbol of cheap phones. It is the general association with the cheapness is killing plastic phones.

I don’t believe we will ever see plastic on premium flagship phones.

That’s fine with me but I wouldn’t mind getting a 4.7” iPhone SE made of plastic with bigger battery.

 

[svish]

Don't think we will see a plastic iPhone in the future. Should be glass and metal only going forward.

 

[Fred Zed]

I envisage lower tiered plastic iPhone models coming back.