danielrosehill OP t1_j95546i wrote on February 19, 2023 at 8:48 AM

Reply to comment by playingdrumsonmars in Do tablets/laptops/portable monitors exist with screens that aren't super brittle? by danielrosehill

I'm guessing there are one of two explanations:

I'm extrapolating from two cases that happened in quick succession (a Samsung Galaxy tablet that didn't survive a trip in a backpack). And a portable monitor that had about two uses and was sitting on my bookshelf for the past two years. I checked it yesterday to discover that the screen had been cracked. This could be just bad luck.
Another credible explanation is that cheap tablets (the Samsung was < $150 and the portable monitor was a budget one also) ... truly have inferior screens that break more easily.

Otherwise both these gadgets had the same treatment more or less: within cases and within the laptop sleeve of a not overly stuffed backpack. I thought (I accept that I may be mistaken) that that was within the parameters of proper handling/care.

ETA:

I'm discovering the world of ruggedized tablets. They cost a lot more but between the shockproofing and the (apparently) gorilla glass screens ... I'm wondering if this might be the kind of product I was looking for.

playingdrumsonmars t1_j95jpqn wrote on February 19, 2023 at 12:12 PM

I have been using smartphones since they 1990s and iPads ever since they came to market. In all these years with all these different devices I only cracked screens twice.

Both devices at the time were already well out of their extended warranty period. I cracked an iPhone screen when it slipped out of my hand while leaving my car - it didn’t have a case, the screen cracked, the phone worked without issues, I had the screen replaced the next day. The iPad was a large iPad Pro and Someone threw it. It was expected to be broken by the impact.

If you treat iPhones and iPads in a reasonable manner they are tougher then anyone could expect them to be, particularly iPhones. I am always amazed by how tough they are when I see sone people who have dropped them dozens of times.

I am sure comparable Samsung devices are similar.

If you are worried about breaking them, don’t get the large screen variants and definitely keep them in a sturdy case.