Poll: With new tech for both all-metal and all-glass designs, which should Apple use for 2017 iPhone?

Concept images showing glass and metal backs

A KGI report last month suggested that Apple could be headed back to an all-glass iPhone after a succession of metal-bodied models. Different people will have different aesthetic preferences, but there have also so far been practical considerations at play.

Glass backs allow for a clean design, but are vulnerable to smashing if dropped. Metal is more robust, but requires antenna cutouts which are not to everyone’s tastes.

However, new tech could overcome both issues, so we thought it would be interesting to find out which way you’d like Apple to go if the drawbacks of each could be eliminated from the equation …

The Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe (below) shows how an all-metal design could work without visible antenna bands. Apparently, a tiny cut in the chamfered edge is enough to do the job.

On the glass front, we’re seeing a number of new flexible glass-like materials that would enable Apple to offer a design which looks like glass but flexes rather than shatters on impact.

Asus ZenFone 3 Deluxe all-metal casing

So given the choice between a glass that doesn’t shatter and a metal that doesn’t require antenna bands, which material would you like Apple to use for its 2017 iPhone? Please take our poll, and share your reasons and other design thoughts in the comments.

Concept images: Martin Hajek (glass); Jan-Willem Reusink (metal)