Say the word “Samsung” to someone who owns an HTC One or an iPhone 5 and they’ll laugh. Why? Because Samsung’s phones are made out of plastic, while HTC’s flagship and Apple’s flagship are made out of metal. It’s a perfectly valid reason to not buy Samsung’s products, and even I admit that I put up with Samsung’s plastic because I appreciate the other things they do in terms of providing timely software updates and add new features like the S-Pen.

According to the Korean publication ETNews, which is usually spot-on when it comes to rumors, Samsung knows they have an image problem, and they’ve been working to fix it. Earlier this year, at a Samsung factory in Gumi, Korea, the metal body manufacturing process was developed and refined. Today that assembly line has been exported to another Samsung factory in Vietnam, and the hope is that Samsung’s 2014 flagship devices will come adorned in magnesium, aluminum, or a combination of the two.

Assuming this rumor is true, and I have no reason to doubt it’s authenticity, then that solves just 50% of Samsung’s problems. The other 50% have to do with software. TouchWiz has looked the same since man invented the wheel, and that has to change. Personally, I have no problem buying another plastic Samsung phone, but a 2014 flagship running a new version of Android that’s skinned to look like TouchWiz?

Ehhh, that’s pushing it.