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Back in late November, iPhone case maker Urban Armor Gear sent an iPhone into space using a weather balloon, and in early January, the site shared a video depicting the iPhone's journey to the stratosphere in an Urban Armor Gear case.

The iPhone soared 101,000 feet into the atmosphere, and was subjected to 70 mile per hour winds and temperatures that dropped to -79 degrees Fahrenheit. Though turned on at launch, the iPhone later shut off and froze due to the cold weather.

Urban Armor Gear hooked the iPhone up to a weather balloon rig that also included a GPS locator and two GoPro cameras for filming. Upon descent, the iPhone and the flight rig withstood 150 RPM rotation speeds, and at landing, the rig broke while the iPhone managed to remain unscathed.
"Our cases already meet military drop-test standards, but now we can officially say that they are space tested as well," said Steve Armstrong, co-founder of Urban Armor Gear. "The fact that the iPhone survived its space adventure and returned fully functioning showcases our commitment in providing our customers world-class, or in this case out of this world, protection for their premium devices."
The iPhone was protected by an Urban Armor composite case which promises military-grade protection, but it did not have a screen protector and still managed to come out undamaged. After landing, the iPhone powered back on and was fully functional, demonstrating the durability and solid construction of the device.

Article Link: iPhone 6 Gets Sent Into Space by Urban Armor Gear
 

5t3f4n

macrumors regular
Aug 1, 2011
207
17
Can't believe they didn't use a Space Gray model.
 
Last edited:

redscull

macrumors 6502a
Jul 1, 2010
849
832
Texas
I feel like they lucked out it landing in a mud puddle instead of hitting that wooden fence.

Also, way to go GoPro. They kept recording even though the iPhone had to shut itself off. Their investors should take note; Apple doesn't have anything in their league regarding extreme conditions video capture.
 

avanpelt

macrumors 68030
Jun 2, 2010
2,956
3,877
I bet this video will be mentioned at some point on stage during the next Apple event. That's pretty amazing.
 

Serban

Suspended
Jan 8, 2013
5,159
928
so how can it be real when you put an iphone with just a bumper and doesn't break on pressure OR at -52F ?!?!?
 

LukasValine

macrumors regular
Nov 5, 2013
158
706
What exactly does the case do? It's not like it's protecting the phone from the cold.... Seems like a marketing ploy to me.
 

Pakaku

macrumors 68040
Aug 29, 2009
3,120
4,361
Their investors should take note; Apple doesn't have anything in their league regarding extreme conditions video capture.

That's probably true, but I can't imagine the majority of iPhone users to be very "extreme"...
 

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,545
6,042
Really boring, stupid video.

If the iPhone had just been dropped from 101 K feet and survived the landing from nothing more than the case, that would have been amazing.

Honestly though, it was pointless. It was a video of an iPhone being gently set in some soft dirt by a balloon, and the iPhone happened to have a case on. I seriously doubt the outcome would have been any different without the case.

Also, I'm a bit surprised at how warm it is at 101 K feet up. I thought the temperature would be much closer to absolute zero than just -50. You can find that temperature at sea level near the poles.
 

lisster

macrumors member
Oct 29, 2008
38
35
I really really want to know how they managed to keep a gopro recording for 3+ hours without overheating or crashing. Something i've not been able to do for more than 15m at a time if i was lucky.
Plus the battery doesnt last more than an hour even at conservative settings ;P
 

Crzyrio

macrumors 68000
Jul 6, 2010
1,586
1,110
I feel like they lucked out it landing in a mud puddle instead of hitting that wooden fence.

Also, way to go GoPro. They kept recording even though the iPhone had to shut itself off. Their investors should take note; Apple doesn't have anything in their league regarding extreme conditions video capture.

/sarcasm?

They are 2 very different products designed to handle very different set of conditions.
 

A MacBook lover

Suspended
May 22, 2009
2,011
4,582
D.C.
Really boring, stupid video.

If the iPhone had just been dropped from 101 K feet and survived the landing from nothing more than the case, that would have been amazing.

Honestly though, it was pointless. It was a video of an iPhone being gently set in some soft dirt by a balloon, and the iPhone happened to have a case on. I seriously doubt the outcome would have been any different without the case.

Also, I'm a bit surprised at how warm it is at 101 K feet up. I thought the temperature would be much closer to absolute zero than just -50. You can find that temperature at sea level near the poles.

You know that UI and radio in the video were special effects, right?

Shows how much you know.
 

juanm

macrumors 68000
May 1, 2006
1,624
3,053
Fury 161
I really really want to know how they managed to keep a gopro recording for 3+ hours without overheating or crashing. Something i've not been able to do for more than 15m at a time if i was lucky.
Plus the battery doesnt last more than an hour even at conservative settings ;P

External power. Extreme cold.
 

Anonymous Freak

macrumors 603
Dec 12, 2002
5,559
1,246
Cascadia
100,000 feet isn't space!!!

The international definition of "space" is 100 km (about 61 miles, 328,000 feet.) The US Air Force used to use 50 miles (264,000 feet.)

Also, I'm a bit surprised at how warm it is at 101 K feet up. I thought the temperature would be much closer to absolute zero than just -50. You can find that temperature at sea level near the poles.

Um, even in orbit around the dark (as in: unlit by the sun; separate from "back") side of the moon it doesn't get that close to absolute zero. The dark side of the moon (no atmosphere, no solar radiation for 14 days,) gets as cold as -243 F (-153 C.) Still well above absolute zero.

There are craters near the north pole of the moon that are permanently in shadow, so never receive any solar radiation. They can get as low as -413 F (-247 C,) colder even than Pluto. Still noticeably above absolute zero (which is -459 F, -273 C.)

So, especially right above the Earth's surface, where there is still measurable atmosphere (thin, yes, but it's thick enough for jet engines to work, and airfoils to provide lift and control, as evidenced by the fact that the SR-71 jet-powered spy plane could fly that high,) means it shouldn't be surprising that it isn't "near absolute zero."

In fact, it is often WARMER at 100,000 feet than at lower (but still high) altitudes. The standard model is that air temperature at 100,000 ft. is approximately 100 degrees (F) cooler than the sea level temperature directly underneath. But between 35,000 feet and 85,000 feet, it is often 130 degrees (F) cooler! So as you travel up, it gets colder and colder as you reach 35,000 feet, then stays about the same until you reach 85,000 feet, then starts to warm up as you get to 100,000 feet.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/wstdatmo.htm
 

goobot

macrumors 603
Jun 26, 2009
6,478
4,366
long island NY
Really boring, stupid video.

If the iPhone had just been dropped from 101 K feet and survived the landing from nothing more than the case, that would have been amazing.

Honestly though, it was pointless. It was a video of an iPhone being gently set in some soft dirt by a balloon, and the iPhone happened to have a case on. I seriously doubt the outcome would have been any different without the case.

Also, I'm a bit surprised at how warm it is at 101 K feet up. I thought the temperature would be much closer to absolute zero than just -50. You can find that temperature at sea level near the poles.

Lolwut, energy comes from the sun and then hits the earth, how would the top of the earth be so radically colder than the surface? Yes the reason the surface is warmer is due to the atmosphere but the energy still has to come from somewhere and it moves through the outer atmosphere first.
 
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