Huawei P10 Lite - the slipperiest phone in the world?

Huawei P10 Lite

I concluded a fun month or two doing phone research with the purchase of a Huawei P10 Lite a few weeks ago. This was to replace a Moto G (2nd gen) from 2014, which had become increasingly lethargic over time.

My checklist for choosing a new phone included items such as screen size, chipset and fingerprint reader. I foolishly neglected to include "less slippery than an eel" as a required feature. Two years ago low-end smartphones had plastic backs as standard, so slipperiness was not an issue which needed to be considered. Nowadays materials such as glass and metal have migrated from premium phones down to the cheaper end of the market, carrying their intrinsic problems with them.

Consider the front of the P10 Lite. It comes with a factory-fitted screen protector which annoyingly does not reach the edges of the curved glass, leaving a noticeable gap on all sides. I'm not a fan of screen protectors, but it may be prudent here because Huawei have not used the toughened glass which is favoured by most brands. However, I've had a Huawei phone before, and it survived many years with barely a scratch, so I wasn't too concerned about the screen.

Now turn your attention to the rear. My colour choice was sapphire blue, with its beautiful glossy shimmering surface of glass. Little did I know the problems that this would cause.

I am used to items remaining where I leave them, but the P10 Lite had other ideas. If it was placed on a flat surface of almost any material the phone would eventually slide off. This would be hastened on smooth, hard surfaces such as polished wood, and if the phone was vibrating or playing a sound, but none of these elements were required. So far it has fallen off:

• a kitchen counter
• glass kitchen scales
• a metal microwave
• a wooden bookshelf
• a different wooden bookshelf
• a wooden chest of drawers  
• a wooden bedside table
• a leather wallet
• a fabric footstool

P10 Lite, in case

I ran out of safe flat surfaces to rest the phone in the kitchen, so had to place it in a bowl to stop it escaping while I cooked.

In the bedroom at night I would leave the phone on top of a large wooden chest of drawers. Every morning I would find it on the floor. In an attempt to fix this I piled a bunch of underclothes on top of the phone. In the morning I heard its alarm start, and saw the glow of the phone screen through the clothes. As the phone vibrated, I watched as it shimmied its way out from under the clothes, to the edge of the chest, and onto the floor.

On one occasion I placed it in the middle of a fabric footstool while I watched TV, with my feet on the sofa rather than the stool. Half an hour later I heard the familiar thunk of the phone hitting the floor. Did the vibrations of the sound waves from the television hasten its fall?

The phone now lives in a cheap transparent rubber case. It no longer looks or feels as prestigious as it once did, and the blue shimmer is barely visible. However, it stays very firmly rooted to whatever place I leave it, which I believe is an essential feature of every phone.