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Comment by CaptainOfCoit | Hacker News Reader

Why do none of the modern phones have a flat back? It's crazy to me that seemingly everyone is jumping on the train to have the camera stick out from the back. I guess the camera lens needs more space, but why not then add some additional material so it's still even? I feel like I'm missing something obvious, do people not put down their phone on flat surfaces or something?

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This! Just add those 1-2mm and stuff bigger battery in there… (and make it more rugged so most likely no need for additional cover that is even more bulky)

More than rugged, add some knurling so it doesn't slip out of your hands so easily.

my bad, I meant to say "rigid" not "rugged".

probably unpopular opinion but Nokia Lumia had awesome design - they use polycarbons so they case wasn't unpleaseant to touch and had this "rubbery" feelings and was not slippery...

The problem with most of these soft-touch plastics is they are incompletely polymerized and will eventually disintegrate into a sticky mess you need to strip off to get to the hard plastic they are painted on. Silicone doesn't, but it's seldom used as a coating.

Is that really a problem, given the lifespan of a smartphone? I've only really noticed that to happen to decades-old objects.

The Sony 10 vii that launched yesterday for 450€ has a grippy back according to reviewers, and the Fairphone 6 I've found has plastic as well (battery is removable so the back needs to come off reasonably, not like these horrible two-micron glass panes)

Most people put replaceable cases on that extend past the camera bump, so making it flat isn't necessary for those people.

Doesn't that just reinforce that they might as well have made a better device?

I'm not a case user but even I agree

cases are more replaceable, and they show personality

No, because they'll likely still want a disposable case protecting their phone.

The Pixel 9a is nearly flat (no camera bump). It's great for running GrapheneOS on.

For now. I'll never buy google hardware again after they pulled the rug on publishing drivers for my current pixel.

While your comment makes sense if you were commenting on an Apple or Samsung phone, but this is a Linux phone. We should be glad there are Linux phones being made available at all and the smallest problem is if there is a camera bump or not.

I hope one day comes when the biggest issue with a Linux phone is a camera bump or some other mechanical detail.

I generally agree with your sentiment, but of all the phones I've seen with unwieldy overbites hanging out the back, this is one where the protrusion is small enough that I could live with.

Or make it in a wedge shape? This may sound crazy, but in 2012, I had a Samsung phone (maybe a Galaxy Nexus -- can't remember exacly). It had different thicknesses at the bottom and the top, and a smooth curvature in between that was pleasing to the hand. The display too, was ever so slightly curved, not enough to fit the contours of a human cheek as you held it up, but just enough to not feel like you're pressing a glass slab to your face.

I actually find a bump better for putting your phone down on a flat surface, and my logic is this:

If your camera lens is flat to the body of the phone, it's more prone to being scratched on a table. With a bump, the lens becomes slightly elevated as the phone balances between the bottom of the case and the edge of the bottom of the camera bump, giving the lens(es) a tiny clearance

People prefer thin to flat. It spends more time in a pocket than on a table. People don’t really put their phones down.

But is it really thin if there are parts that are thicker? The "depth" or whatever should be measured where it's thicker, not thinnest.

I guess I'm too much of an office worker to get that most people have their phones in their pocket, as soon as I sit down at my desk the phone gets placed on the desk.

I will always have a case that has a cut-out for the camera so it still lays flat and it's otherwise thinner (or the case is thicker and thus more protective) than it would be if the camera didn't stick out slightly

Yes because it’s thinner on the part I hold.

Pixel phones have a bump that stretches from left to right, so it leans on a flat surface slightly tilted up, but still stable. Unlike phone that have the bump on a corner only and will move if you tap it.

If Apple with their trillions of dollars decided that their new phone should be a thinner one, it tells us that the general public for some reason likes it.

People keep asking for this year over year over year ad nauseam. Folks, give it up. It's completely irrelevant.

It made sense when the sensor sizes were a pittance of what they are now 25 years ago. It doesn't make sense in 2025.

Should we still have 480p cameras?

Give me an 8000mah battery. That should take up some more space.

Now your phone is a lot heavier, thicker where it's being held by hands, and the battery lasts longer than anyone needs since we all sleep next to a power outlet at night.

It's funny to me how this thread is a demonstrator of this phenomenon where a tiny minority of enthusiasts think that companies selling tens of millions of units don't know what they're doing. You think Apple and Samsung haven't tried giving focus groups thick and even phones?

The camera bump is at worst a marketing feature for the feature that customers value most.

I would also like to point out that back in the Nokia PureView 808/Lumia 1020 days, enthusiasts thought that big camera bumps were a cool thing. The fact that your Nokia had a real camera with a real xenon flash bulb made it better than the competition.

Fair point. After leaving my comment I realised what would likely be better is an easily replaceable battery. It may take up a bit more space but would IMO be worthwhile implementing.

I set my phone to only charge to 80% because I'd like to see how long I can use it for before itching to replace it - and if I make it to 3+ years having charged its battery to 100% overnight every day it won't have great staying power any longer.

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