Samsung executive defends sticking with plastic for Galaxy S IV casing

With all of the money that Samsung (005930) has made over the last year, some of its fans have been hoping that the next-generation Galaxy S IV model would use higher-quality building materials for its casing instead of the plastic used for the Galaxy S III. Unfortunately, all rumors indicate that the Galaxy S IV will have the same plastic build as its predecessor and that Samsung is for now eschewing materials such as aluminum or even higher-quality plastics such as polycarbonate. In an interview with CNET posted Tuesday, Samsung mobile business executive vice president YH Lee said that the company decided to remain with its plastic build because it was a very durable material and because it was much easier to manufacture on a large scale.

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“Since we are shipping really large units, we always have to think how efficiently we can manage the manufacturability and also durability,” Lee told CNET.

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Lee did acknowledge that there seems to be market demand for metals and high-quality plastics, however, and said the company has tried to strike a balance between firmer build quality and easy manufacturability.

“I think the next product has a nice balance between this,” she said. “We listen to the market and try to accommodate.”

This article was originally published on BGR.com