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iPhone Glass- Very Poor Durability

Luddy said:
After seeing Anandtech's take on the bumper I decided to order one also first time I will be getting a case for a phone. The main reason for me is so when I set it down the glass is slightly raised from the surface, and to possibly have a better grip on the phone when taking it out of my pocket. I also feel like a jerk when people are like ooo can I see your phone and I am hesitant or don't :\ If I drop it though I want it to be on me not on someone else. Not that a case will ease that.

To the OP it seems like they could replace the glass panel at the apple store. From what I read the back panel is basically a 2 minute or less process for replacement. I also guess it makes sense to see more reports about cracked glass than previous phones since there is twice as much glass.
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Don't feel bad, I made my girlfriend sit in a chair the first time I let her hold it. =/

And the only issue with having it replaced is the nearest Apple store is about a hour away. Plus, I wonder if they will actually have the glass backs to them.

stlredbird said:
You said you stopped it half way with your legs, did it hit your shin or knee? It would be more likely to break from hitting bone than the carpet, especially if you were swinging your leg quickly to stop the phone from the fall, you know almost like kicking it. Still sucks though that it would break from such a fall.
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It fell on my shin and sort of rolled down to my feet. I didn't have to move my legs much so it wasn't a kick. The carpet literally broke it. :(
 
This post is full of fail, it must have broke on your shin, i just tested by dropping my phone from 2 feet on my carpet, no damage. o_O

lol
 
army91c said:
You mean you dropped your phone made of glass and you're upset because it broke? You could of done the same to any phone made and it could of broken, it's not a unique iPhone 4 situation. My advice is to be more responsible with your very expensive electronic devices.

As far as poor durability... dropped mine onto a tile floor, marked the bezel but that is all. Of course the 3 times iFix it dropped their iPhone 4 without breaking it (onto asphalt) says the phone is pretty damn durable. As far as a 1.5' drop after you caught it with your legs onto carpet and that happening, Cool story bro!

So many new MR guys with issues, kinda funny.
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It's highly recommended to read the post BEFORE you reply to it, NOT after, my darlin'. :rolleyes:
 
Well, at least it happened in the back. Easily replaceable.

I remember when I first held my iPhone 4, I felt like I was holding one of the most beautiful devices ever. I held it naked for 30 min. But I also had a gut feeling that those corners and edges were vulnerable. The bumper is a lifesaver it seems. It won't resist scratches because it doesn't cover it up completely, but I would rather get light blemishes than cracks and complete shattering.

Anybody thinking about going naked with the iPhone 4, proceed with caution. I did want it naked for awhile at first. But after 30 min feeling and looking at the phone bare, no way I was going caseless with sharp and vulnerable edges like that. Bumpers seem to be an absolute must for reception and protecting the glass edges from sudden impact drops. Luckily, the bumpers don't look that bad on my iPhone 4. It looks great. Better to be safe than sorry.
 
PBF said:
It's highly recommended to read the post BEFORE you reply to it, NOT after, my darlin'. :rolleyes:
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First, not your darlin. Second, I did read it.... hence my response. Did you read my response at all?
 
PBF said:
It's highly recommended to read the post BEFORE you reply to it, NOT after, my darlin'. :rolleyes:
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That guy gets funnier with every post.

Savor said:
Well, at least it happened in the back. Easily replaceable.

I remember when I first held my iPhone 4, I felt like I was holding one of the most beautiful devices ever. I held it naked for 30 min. But I also had a gut feeling that those corners and edges were vulnerable. The bumper is a lifesaver it seems. It won't resist scratches because it doesn't cover it up completely, but I would rather get light blemishes than cracks and complete shattering.

Anybody thinking about going naked with the iPhone 4, proceed with caution. I did want it naked for awhile at first. But after 30 min feeling and looking at the phone bare, no way I was going caseless with sharp and vulnerable edges like that. Bumpers seem to be an absolute must for reception and protecting the glass edges from sudden impact drops. Luckily, the bumpers don't loom that bad on my iPhone 4. Better to be safe than sorry.
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Yeah I didn't want to go with a case because I personally hate them. It just ruins the phone for me. But that started changing once I felt the steel band around the phone, it just felt slippery to me. And then all the horror stories about shattered iPhones didn't help.
 
michaelz said:
Where do you live? At least in CA, you can't sell a house with bare concrete... Find another house!
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I've been to plenty of houses here with bare concrete, and bare concrete walls too. Of course these houses were in the 20 million dollar range. I don't know about you but I love that industrial look, carpet bad!!!

Anyway...Coming next week to a macrumors forum near you, the story of iPhone 4's breaking from falling onto mattresses.........

Stay tuned.........
 
Snowman3459 said:
So because it didn't happen to you, it makes it impossible? Hmm.
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It was a joke...

The fact of the matter is glass is full of tiny microscopic imperfections unique each piece of glass, so you tap a specific piece of glass in the right spot with the right force it will shatter when every other piece will be fine from the same impact.

Not to mention that since the glass is bonded to the metal frame, the phone is extremely rigid, which is great for the actual phone (like internals) durability, but extremely bad for the glass since it has no where to transfer that energy to.

On the old iphone if it landed on the edge or got hit on the screen, it could displace and transfer this energy into the plastic frame. Steel doesn't absorb much energy which means the glass is now taking the majority of the impact. On top of that there are now exposed glass edges.

It's very bad idea to carry this phone without a case unless you can be absolutely certain it will never drop, and even the bumper isn't going to protect against everything since the glass is still bonded to that rigid frame.
 
Amnesia87 said:
It was a joke...

The fact of the matter is glass is full of tiny microscopic imperfections unique each piece of glass, so you tap a specific piece of glass in the right spot with the right force it will shatter when every other piece will be fine from the same impact.

Not to mention that since the glass is bonded to the metal frame, the phone is extremely rigid, which is great for the actual phone (like internals) durability, but extremely bad for the glass since it has no where to transfer that energy to.

On the old iphone if it landed on the edge or got hit on the screen, it could displace and transfer this energy into the plastic frame. Steel doesn't absorb much energy which means the glass is now taking the majority of the impact. On top of that there are now exposed glass edges.

It's very bad idea to carry this phone without a case unless you can be absolutely certain it will never drop, and even the bumper isn't going to protect against everything since the glass is still bonded to that rigid frame.
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My apologies. It's hard to detect sarcasm on the internet at times.

Good point though, makes sense. It just sucks how amazing this phone looks, yet can be broken so easily.
 
Snowman3459 said:
My apologies. It's hard to detect sarcasm on the internet at times.

Good point though, makes sense. It just sucks how amazing this phone looks, yet can be broken so easily.
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Ironically Ferrari's suffer from this same issue:

enzo-crash.jpg

ferrari_enzo_crash_005.jpg


Making something extremely hard and rigid is great, right up until you apply more force than it can take, and then it doesn't bend, it breaks.

As for the phone the glasses greatest weakness is that edge.

You have to think about it in all 3 dimensions. Hitting the front, you are hitting a piece of glass a few millimeters thick, it can bend. Hit it on the edge it's like hitting a piece of glass a few inches thick. There is no flex. There is the amount of energy it can absorb, and then there's more energy than it can absorb. As soon as you pass that threshold, regardless of how short a time it's there, your glass is gonna pop.

Either way, as far as I'm concerned carrying an iP4 without a case is just asking for trouble.

I'm planing on getting this:

iphone4_3d_carbon4.jpg


I feel it has the adequate amount of sexiness i'm looking for
 
You dropped a glass covered electronic device and it broke, yes some get lucky and some (you) get very unlucky. Just learn to be careful and understand the risk of carrying it around.
 
Amnesia87 said:
Ironically Ferrari's suffer from this same issue:

enzo-crash.jpg

ferrari_enzo_crash_005.jpg


Making something extremely hard and rigid is great, right up until you apply more force than it can take, and then it doesn't bend, it breaks.

As for the phone the glasses greatest weakness is that edge.

You have to think about it in all 3 dimensions. Hitting the front, you are hitting a piece of glass a few millimeters thick, it can bend. Hit it on the edge it's like hitting a piece of glass a few inches thick. There is no flex. There is the amount of energy it can absorb, and then there's more energy than it can absorb. As soon as you pass that threshold, regardless of how short a time it's there, your glass is gonna pop.

Either way, as far as I'm concerned carrying an iP4 without a case is just asking for trouble.

I'm planing on getting this:

iphone4_3d_carbon4.jpg


I feel it has the adequate amount of sexiness i'm looking for
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Same. I hope the screen cover that is included is good.
 
Snowman3459 said:
Don't feel bad, I made my girlfriend sit in a chair the first time I let her hold it. =/
(
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hahaha, did that as well. The times my wife's iphone 3GS fell out of bed... really 100 times or more. I'm a bit more careful when it comes to expensive gadgets.... :D
 
Snowman3459 said:
So because it didn't happen to you, it makes it impossible? Hmm.
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No, it makes it improbable that the phone cracked when it hit a padded surface such as carpet. Especially from only a height of 18 inches as described by the OP. There are several unknowns that can be attributed to the damage.

1 - Is it wall to wall carpet with padding underneath?
2 - Is it an area rug over hardwood/stone or the like?
3 - Is it a cheap rug (really thin) over hardwood/stone?

See, there are a few things that can vary. However if it's wall to wall with padding, I don't believe the phone cracked when it hit. Something else took place. Just my opinion.

The iPhone 4 is glass. Glass will brake when impacted in any manner that exceeds it's tolerances. Those tolerances can be affected by outside variables such as cases/bumpers. So, not all falls will result in the same outcome. With that said, the iPhone 4 is still glass. The glass is also thin. Don't expect it to not break when impacted. It's not impervious. :)
 
I don't think a 2 foot fall of anything onto carpet will cause it to crack or break, i feel like your leaving some info out.. seems very very unlikely..

i work with just regular glass as down to mm in thickness and drop it on lanolium from a few feet and it doesn't snap.. so.. yea I don't see how this is even possible
 
palmerc2 said:
I've been to plenty of houses here with bare concrete, and bare concrete walls too. Of course these houses were in the 20 million dollar range. I don't know about you but I love that industrial look, carpet bad!!!

Anyway...Coming next week to a macrumors forum near you, the story of iPhone 4's breaking from falling onto mattresses.........

Stay tuned.........
Click to expand...

Laughed alot more than I should :D


Anyway about the dropping it, that is something that worries me. I've dropped my 3Gs quite a bit, naked, and onto hard concrete etc. Looking at the phone you wouldn't be able to tell, it still looks as good as the day I got it.
So for the iPhone 4 I'm going to have to get a bumper unfortunatly :(

What was that carbon back posted up there? Link? Looks like it might help.

I'm still suprised a company hasn't jumped on making replacement backs yet. They could even make wood/metal/plastic/coloured etc etc backs.

Problem with glass is; even if after you drop if there is no sign of damage chances are you will leave hairline cracks, so next time you drop it it will be weaker.
 
Its the natural properties of glass, toughened or not Im afraid.

Id hate to drop mine, but it could happen to anyone. I really need my case to come ASAP
 
I dropped my iP 4 once when my hand got caught in the headphones cable that caused the phone to shoot out of my hand. I managed to caught it half way through but not enough so the result was a drop from about 1/2m high on a concrete. 2 scratches on the back edge and glass broke a bit less than OP but the same area - back side on the edge. Bumper is on the way too and its not such a big deal as it will get covered by it but still a bit annoying.

I've dropped my iP 3G 3 times in 2 years and no cracks like that. Only minor scratches but thats all. No to mention that I've had it naked. iP 4 is actually going to have a bumper as I don't think its worth the nerves to worry about a phone like that. I hope they will improve the design in iP 6 when I'm ready to upgrade again :)))
 
I've dropped my phone twice, possible three now from about 4 feet straight onto hardwood flooring and so far it hasn't cracked or shown any damage. One time it fell onto the front, once on it's right corner. Both times I had my black bumper.
 
That sucks. I think the glass is durable to stress, but being right up to the edge of the device, it seems the glass takes the full force of any drop. Hit it just right and it will break.

You didn't seem to be careless, however, I always suspect Apple in its marketing of how strong it is will cause people to be less than careful thinking its indestructible. We see many posts about not needing a case or screen protector because it's so strong, for example.
 
you will most likely be able to get that replaced. by the looks of it it shows no superficial damage (dents etc). Just say you didnt notice it until the other day or something (you have had a case on it the whole time or something).

sucks though, and is also quite worrying.
 
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