Typically ends up in the same £1 plastic case off ebay, outside of tech nerds no one cares. I've never heard a single friend of mine say oh the iPhone is great cause its made of metal, or that Galaxy sucks for using plastic. If it really matters then Samsung wouldn't sell the most phones worldwide.
Pretty much. 99% of my friends/family who picked up my Note 3 have always commented on how "one piece" it feels and the quality of the grip from the back cover texturing.
As you say, the majority of people don't care to notice material craftsmanship, they know the phone from the name brand that it bears.
Funny story from work today, a girl (she has a 5s anyway) was saying she'd not seen the new iPhone yet, someone showed her and she goes "that looks like a Samsung!"



