Consumer Reports Ranks iPhone X Below iPhone 8 Because of Durability and Battery Life

[gavroche]

wouldn't stating that one phone is better than another based on two factors that that aren't even pertinent to how well they function for their intended purpose be absolutely useless?
it would be like saying a Ford focus is better than a Ferrari because it gets better gas mileage (when obviously gas mileage isn't a primary consideration for anyone buying a Ferrari). Or like saying a Ford Pickup Truck is more durable than a Harley motorcycle.
It's two factors that although sure you wouldn't mind having a little longer battery or a body that doesn't break after 60 drops (lol)... Who in the world has those things as their primary concern in what phone to go with.

 

[samwight]

A reasonable point of view is: "Despite these limitations I like my iPhone X ad would buy it again."

An unreasonable point of view is: "The guys at CR suck and are hacks. The testing is arbitrary." Etc. etc.

First, saying that in spite of CR's rating, I like the X better and would buy it again, is just a another way of saying that the weighting CR uses does not inform my purchasing decision, which in turn is another (more polite) way of saying that the guys at CR suck or that the weighting is arbitrary.

Second, it is objectively true that basing a durability rating on *one* badly damaged phone and two with screen defects is statistically unreliable, and irrelevant for those who use protective cases.

 

[nj-mac-user]

The report is cool if you care about these things, but I never drop my phone and charge it every night so both issues are moot for me. More to a smartphone than that IMO, I'd rank them low on my priority list. Obviously some would rank them high.

 

[Tec972]

Oh no!! Here’s where the die hard fan boys who can’t fathom any criticism get highly triggered and offended because their iPhone X Didn’t make the top spot.
[doublepost=1512541059][/doublepost]

Consumer Reports has been hating on Apple since antenna-gate. They'll always find a reason to recommend Samsung over Apple. Nothing surprising here.

Maybe it’s because Samsung makes a better phone. The only problem is that it doesn’t run iOS. Samsung has had better phones for a long time.

 

[samwight]

Maybe it’s because Samsung makes a better phone. The only problem is that it doesn’t run iOS. Samsung has had better phones for a long time.

Maybe, but probably not. CR gets a lot of attention when they give apple low rating, and they like the attention.

As for which phone is better, it depends on which criteria you value more. If you share CR's opinion on the importance of battery life and durability, you might share their ranking. If you care more about the camera, processing power, and -- OMG, the sublime delight that is face ID -- and yes, the ability to run iOS and connect with an Apple watch, well, it's not really a contest.

 

[mj1108]

Oh no!! Here’s where the die hard fan boys who can’t fathom any criticism get highly triggered and offended because their iPhone X Didn’t make the top spot.

My thoughts exactly. If they had reported it differently, they would all be singing a different tune about how wonderful Consumer Reports is.

 

[john123]

First, saying that in spite of CR's rating, I like the X better and would buy it again, is just a another way of saying that the weighting CR uses does not inform my purchasing decision, which in turn is another (more polite) way of saying that the guys at CR suck or that the weighting is arbitrary.

Second, it is objectively true that basing a durability rating on *one* badly damaged phone and two with screen defects is statistically unreliable, and irrelevant for those who use protective cases.

There were repeated tests. (As such, your use of "statistically unreliable" is actually incorrect.)

Not everyone wants to use a case.

Your bias is clear.

 

[From0toHero]

I don't really care, all good phones, but this is going to make all the Samsung fans on Macrumors really happy, as well as all the X haters.

I own the iPhone X and i own the Galaxy S8+. And without any doubt the iPhone X is far superior. Face ID is a million times better than the iris scanner and the fingerprint reader of the Galaxy s8+.
The display of the iPhone X looks just ridiculous good. When i put the X besides the S8+ the display of the X just looks sharper, the colors look better and in general it’s more pleasing to look at. The S8+ has the upper hand in screen size. And maybe i can do some things with the S8+ that i cannot do with the X. There is no simple way for iphones to record calls, while it’s very easy on the S8+ to do so. But that’s the only downside in my eyes. So in general the iPhone X is way more easy, faster and just a cool mobile.

 

[44267547]

iPhone X user. Durability isn’t subjective when the devices are tested for durability the same way.

But I don't think that's really the point of my Post or you simply misconstrued it, because the reality is, these tests may not be indicative of what somebody else might experience. These are controlled test(s) versus real world tests. Big difference.

 

[ikir]

how about ecosystem, features, how can a Samsung beat iPhone X? About every iPhoneX review is superlative
[doublepost=1512543577][/doublepost]

There is no simple way for iphones to record calls

because in many countries it is illegal

 

[pratikindia]

50-100 drops? Are they serious?

 

[john123]

how about ecosystem, features, how can a Samsung beat iPhone X?

Two words: personal preference

This isn't a tough concept.

 

[samwight]

There were repeated tests. (As such, your use of "statistically unreliable" is actually incorrect.)

Of course there were repeated tests. But only one serious failure. That does not represent reliable statistics.

If you perform N tests and get one failure, the likelihood that the next N tests produce zero failures is as high as producing one. And since presumably the same number of tests were performed with the 8, the fact that there were zero does not make it statistically more durable.

Basing an evaluation on a single (serious) failure is just bad practice, especially if it's one failure in *many* tests.

(It's not clear what the article means by 2 phones with screen defects, because in the next sentence it says all the front displays for the X and 8 came away unscathed.)

 

[john123]

Of course there were repeated tests. But only one serious failure. That does not represent reliable statistics.

If you perform N tests and get one failure, the likelihood that the next N tests produce zero failures is as high as producing one. And since presumably the same number of tests were performed with the 8, the fact that there were zero does not make it statistically more durable.

Basing an evaluation on a single (serious) failure is just bad practice, especially if it's one failure in *many* tests.

(It's not clear what the article means by 2 phones with screen defects, because in the next sentence it says all the front displays for the X and 8 came away unscathed.)

Without the cost prohibitive approach of buying lots of phones, it's a reasonable decision.

The probability distribution can be approximated as a Bernoulli. If you aren't familiar with that, look it up.

 

[44267547]

Two words: personal preference

This isn't a tough concept.

Without the cost prohibitive approach of buying lots of phones, it's a reasonable decision.

The probability distribution can be approximated as a Bernoulli. If you aren't familiar with that, look it up.

You seem to be more dismissive of other's posts and or deflecting tell somebody to 'look it up' or 'It's not a tough concept' versus seeing concepts from a realistic view point. Samwight is saying results are not just based on one test or failure is conducive to producing accurate statistics.

 

[john123]

You seem to be more dismissive of other's posts and or deflecting tell somebody to 'look it up' or 'It's not a tough concept' versus seeing concepts from a realistic view point. Samwight is saying results are not just based on one test or failure is conducive to producing accurate statistics.

I don't have the inclination to explain what a Bernoulli distribution is on an online forum. It's on Wikipedia. He can learn for himself. If he chooses not to, it would have been a waste of my time anyway.

But what he is saying is WRONG. The notion that a set of repeated tests to failure on a single device is the same as N=1 in other contexts is simply wrong and demonstrates a lack of understanding of elementary statistics.

 

[Bacillus]

The issue at stake: nobody understands Geniuses.
Joni. Van Gogh. Rembrandt.
Only years after they've passed away, they will be valued for what they were.

CR will have a hard time, because the future on smart phones is glass. All glass.
That's being determined by the guy who makes that future.
Not by a guy behind a phone demolishing device.

 

[I7guy]

Oh, people have already beat you to the punch. These same people can't stop loving on CR when they give Apple a highest award/rating in any product category. However, if Apple is criticized, even rightly, CR becomes nothing but a worthless rag (even though they still put the X in the top ten category of all smartphones). It's stunning how the comment section has devolved since I first joined MR.

Maybe comments like this contributed to the devolvement?

 

[SgtPepper12]

Durability is completely subjective. That's based on how someone treats their device and what type of protection they use. Every iPhone will react differently to a drop based on angle and impact.

I don't think you know what the word "subjective" means. If anything, durability is among the most objective things tested. When you drop the phone and the display cracks, you won't have multiple opinions on whether the display is broken or not.

What you want to say is that it is a matter of personal priorities whether or not this matters to you, especially as you can always improve the durability by using a case.

 

[44267547]

I don't think you know what the word "subjective" means. If anything, durability is among the most objective things tested. When you drop the phone and the display cracks, you won't have multiple opinions on whether the display is broken or not.

What you want to say is that it is a matter of personal priorities whether or not this matters to you, especially as you can always improve the durability by using a case.

Or you're just taking my post out of context for the sake of debating semantics about The term subjective is based on opinions or beliefs, which in this case of these test conducted with the iPhone, they're not based on real world experience versus a controlled environment. Completely different entity Based on quantitative results.

It doesn't matter the amount of tests or how these tests were conducted, opinions do matter in the sense that how the display was broken and based on what conditions, angles, etc. Durability isn't based on just the iPhone, it's based on the scenario and what caused the damage.

Furthermore, you mentioned you can always improve the durability by using a case, but does that change the outcome of how an iPhone would survive being dropped on multiple surfaces, height, angle etc.? Again, it's my believe that these tests are not conducive to real world experience, which leads me to the term subjective, which I did use it properly, It's just you don't agree my theory.

 

[I7guy]

I don't think you know what the word "subjective" means. If anything, durability is among the most objective things tested. When you drop the phone and the display cracks, you won't have multiple opinions on whether the display is broken or not.

What you want to say is that it is a matter of personal priorities whether or not this matters to you, especially as you can always improve the durability by using a case.

The reason that was said is no two people will ever drop the phone in exactly the same way and come out with the same damage. What’s objective are the specs for the glass, what’s subjective is the luck involved in hitting the ground and having damage or not. The phones as designed today with all glass, it’s not if, it’s when they break and that when is a circumstance unique to each unfortunate accident.

 

[Radon87000]

Couldn't care less about durability. I just want the best display and no delays.

 

[UnifiedMelody]

Rubbish article. Who drops their phone 50-100 time... normally by the time the first or second drop happen a case is bound to be incoming to protect it from further damage due to impact.

With my iphone x the only time i dropped it was when i fell asleep on my bed and it hit my face

 

[The Game 161]

Not surprising.. Apple isn't all it's cracked up to be..

Sales suggest you're wrong

 

[Bacillus]

Sales suggest you're wrong

Sales ≠ Customer satisfaction
(in case of food poisoning, a failing car, a crashing plane, hardly anybody would justify that with "they wanted to have that anyway...")