iPhone SE Found Less Durable Than 6 Series in Bend, Drop, and Water Tests

[MacRumors]

While the iPhone SE rivals the iPhone 6s series in performance with the latest internal hardware, a new video reveals that the recently launched 4-inch smartphone is less durable than its larger 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch siblings when bent under pressure, submerged in water, and dropped on its corner.

Extended warranty provider SquareTrade subjected the iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 6s Plus to a series of excessive bend, drop, tumble, and water tests, and the results show that its compact design does not necessarily make it more durable than the slimmer 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones.

SquareTrade noted that the iPhone SE bent at 160 pounds of pressure, whereas the thinner iPhone 6s did not bend until an additional 10 pounds later. Moreover, at 178 pounds, the iPhone SE reached "catastrophic failure," whereas the iPhone 6s Plus was only beginning to bend under the pressure.

When submerged under five feet of water, the iPhone SE permanently shut off after less than one minute. "In comparison, the iPhone 6s survived a full 30 minutes and only lost audio," said SquareTrade. "The iPhone 6s Plus started malfunctioning at 10 minutes and eventually died."

One test where the iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 6s Plus all suffered the same fate was the facedown drop from six feet high, which shattered all three smartphone screens. But when dropped on its corner, the iPhone SE split along its side after ten drops, while the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus only had minor cosmetic damage.

The results should be largely unsurprising given that the iPhone SE's design is virtually the same as the iPhone 5s, which yielded comparable results under similar tests over two years ago. The only cosmetic differences on the iPhone SE are matte chamfered edges and a color-matched inset Apple logo. But, there is video evidence to prove it.

Article Link: iPhone SE Found Less Durable Than 6 Series in Bend, Drop, and Water Tests

 

[mejsric]

#bendgate special edition?

 

[smacrumon]

This is not good. How can that be possible, Apple? Wait a minute, how does it compare with iPhone 5/5S?

 

[d0minick]

idk, stuff bends and stuff breaks. i love scratches, bends,nicks, on my hardware (no sarcasm), gives it character. I understand some people want all of their stuff to be flawless, which is cool too. But i've never cared.

 

[stbrown]

The 6S has 7000 series aluminium. Not really a fair comparison. I bet its still better then the 6

 

[shrouded]

Surely the <cough>click-bait</cough> title should read: "iPhone SE found to be exactly the same as 5s in durability test" because it is a 5s with slightly different insides.

 

[TMRJIJ]

This is not good. How can that be possible, Apple? What a minute, how does it compare with iPhone 5/5S?

Probably similar results. There is not much cosmetic differences between them

 

[msi92]

Kinda funny since no one was complaining about the 5/5s bending

 

[Vanilla35]

SE is probably better than the 6. Although I'm sure it's not really an issue anymore. The 5S never had a bendgate issue. The 6 did, because it got bigger and thinner, but Apple didn't introduce higher quality aluminum, to counteract those changes. 6S was the solution.

 

[fredcintra]

it's funny that nobody cared about this in 2013

 

[smacrumon]

Probably similar results. There is not much cosmetic differences between them

That's what I would expect. So the interesting thing is why is this even a news story when the whole context isn't presented.

 

[djcerla]

But... But... thinner phones should bend more easily! Weak points! Give me my myths back!

 

[Mike MA]

Well, I guess some people have to rethink their comments on whether everything was better back those days...

 

[andyjam]

Finally, a good use for all those rose gold iPhones out there.

 

[definitive]

What about compared to iPhone 5 and 5s? Because that's really all that it should be compared to...

 

[djcerla]

SE is probably better than the 6. Although I'm sure it's not really an issue anymore. The 5S never had a bendgate issue. The 6 did, because it got bigger and thinner, but Apple didn't introduce higher quality aluminum, to counteract those changes. 6S was the solution.

I remember many pictures of bent iPhone 5's back in the days, but the case didn't gain traction.

iPhone 6 bendgate was fueled by competitors in full panic mode.

 

[Andres Cantu]

Wow, this took longer than I expected!

 

[white4s]

because that bend test is a real world situation. get real

 

[Mac21ND]

Well, no **** Sherlock. /s

 

[rufwork]

Kinda funny since no one was complaining about the 5/5s bending

Yeah, I think the real take home is how much the phones have already improved after one "bendgate" episode. And it looks like Apple was already taking phones getting wet seriously before the rumors of a water resistant 7.

If we've hit Peak iPhone for whizbang features (and at the 4" size, it seems we may have for a while), the incremental improvements are keeping me more optimistic about Apple's future.

 

[coolfactor]

Surely the <cough>click-bait</cough> title should read: "iPhone SE found to be exactly the same as 5s in durability test" because it is a 5s with slightly different insides.

You said "slightly" different insides? You just lost credibility right there.
[doublepost=1459773889][/doublepost]Looking at that bent SE, it's clear that the SIM card tray being at the middle makes it weaker. If that were offset to one end, then it would not be a factor and the case would likely be less resistant to bending. That speaks of form over function to me. Apple wanted it to be exactly in the middle for appearance sake?

 

[mattopotamus]

I actually went with AC+ this time around (after not having it with the 6S). I plan to keep this phone until a new 4" comes out, which I think will be on a 2 year cycle.

 

[cableguy84]

The SE is a joke

 

[trauma62]

As far as I am concern these tests are worthless. Chances of any of those situations happening to that extreme are unlikely. Is like broccoli is carcinogenic, yeah if you eat 7,000 Lbs. a day.

 

[kevinkyoo]

it's funny that nobody cared about this in 2013

That's because people didn't make all of these videos over-exaggerating these flaws for that YouTube money