iPhone XR Just as Breakable as iPhone XS Based on SquareTrade Drop Test

[zorinlynx]

Do something to prevent these "phone still breaks" articles... So obvious to me, to lacking from the mind of Apple's "geniuses..."

These companies will FIND a way to break the phones because they sell celphone insurance.

Whenever you watch a video that makes an argument, you should look at who is making the video. If they are trying to sell you something, and their argument makes it look like what they're selling is more necessary, then you are being Bamboozled. Tricked. Marketed to. Gypped. Etc.

Wait for an unbiased source to do drop tests, then judge.

 

[jscooper22]

Every time I see these smash tests "Perfectly Good Guitar" gets stuck in my head.

 

[PlayUltimate]

"During the face down drop test, which saw the device fall six feet onto concrete".
Contrived test. Who would drop a phone 6 feet in "normal" use? For most folks, it would drop maybe 4' max. And what are the odds of it landing "face down"? Granted it is breakable. But except for the time that I tripped, while running on a rocky trail, I've never had a screen break.

 

[Tozovac]

These companies will FIND a way to break the phones because they sell celphone insurance.

Whenever you watch a video that makes an argument, you should look at who is making the video. If they are trying to sell you something, and their argument makes it look like what they're selling is more necessary, then you are being Bamboozled. Tricked. Marketed to. Gypped. Etc.

Wait for an unbiased source to do drop tests, then judge.

Lot of truth in that. But I know from my own sense that my iPhone 8 needs help in the durability department, thus buying a case since Apple's design isn't good enough on its own.

Also I know on my own that my 8 feels a lot more slippery when held than the 7 I owned for 10 days.

 

[Steve121178]

Why does it matter to you if these people continue on with their drop tests?

It's a ridiculous waste.

 

[Tozovac]

"During the face down drop test, which saw the device fall six feet onto concrete".
Contrived test. Who would drop a phone 6 feet in "normal" use? For most folks, it would drop maybe 4' max. And what are the odds of it landing "face down"? Granted it is breakable. But except for the time that I tripped, while running on a rocky trail, I've never had a screen break.

Except, often a phone may be dropped from 4 feet but the owner reaches for it and either accelerates it towards the ground faster or accelerates it up or sideways a bit, even maybe imparting spinning, resulting in creating the equivalent energy into the device as, say, a 6-foot drop.

Simple physics.

 

[ZipZap]

Glass breaks if dropped. Who knew?

It's about time people stopped watching these nonsense drop test videos. It only encourages them to keep doing it year after year. You have to be very simple to not realise an object primary constructed of glass will break if dropped.

I think that if there was a better job of pointing out that Gorilla glass is hard to resist scratches but not drops, then these tests would happen less often.

I still believe, however, that it is reasonable to expect that an iPhone should be able to handle small drops (2 to 3 feet).

 

[HiVolt]

People should use whatever level of protection they think goes along with the risks.

I have owned my iPhone X over a year now and it is still crack free and has never been in a case and has been dropped a few times. I have a knick in the SS to prove it. That being said, my sister has managed to break the glass on two iPhone X devices in under a year. So if you're a user who frequently drops your phone it is probably a good idea to case it up and/or insure it. As with any glass repeated impacts will eventually break it.

I'd say you're lucky.

I've owned 6 iPhones from the 3G onwards, and never once cracked the screen, always have them in a case with a bit of front lip that overlaps the front edge. I don't drop my phones often, but when it happens, I know the phone will survive. Heck, my old 3GS survived a rather frightening slide down the subway platform, bouncing off a train, then landing on the tracks face down. The reason it flew, I was taking it out of my jacket pocked and the headphone cable snagged, I lost grip and there it went.

Problem is that Apple makes their phones too slippery to handle without a case. Thin & slippery makes for a quick disaster.

I would LOVE it if they made a "Rugged" version, where a case wasn't necessary because it had just a little bit of protection around the edges and a grippy texture instead of glass or metal.

 

[MrGimper]

If you told me the Titanic sank, I'd look more surprised than I was when I read this article.

 

[jarman92]

Glass shatters when you drop it. In other news, water is wet.

 

[AppleHaterLover]

Here's one for the "I don't like cases" crowd.

What's the problem with using one of these cases? (I've been using them since the iPhone 6).

If you're not made of money, it saves you the cost of buying another phone. If you're rich, it saves you the hassle of needing to replace your phone.

 

[oldoneeye]

"During the face down drop test, which saw the device fall six feet onto concrete".
Contrived test. Who would drop a phone 6 feet in "normal" use? For most folks, it would drop maybe 4' max. And what are the odds of it landing "face down"? Granted it is breakable. But except for the time that I tripped, while running on a rocky trail, I've never had a screen break.

How far is your ear from the ground ? - just roughly ? .....

 

[vtrautia]

Big thanks to Apple to making iPhone Xs and Xr repair affordable. You really about your customers.

 

[AppleHaterLover]

Big thanks to Apple to making iPhone Xs and Xr repair affordable. You really about your customers.

I once smashed my iPhone 4 onto a NYC sidewalk. Practically destroyed it. Apple replaced the ENTIRE PHONE it at the Grand Central Store for $199. Now that's the cost of the SCREEN REPLACEMENT.

 

[RogerWilco]

Not to sound sour but all these drop tests are just a senseless waste. In times where there is a growing awareness about the environment, labor conditions, dwindling resources, etc. I wish popular news outlets would just stop promoting them. I mean, after so many generations of glass and aluminium smartphones we should have a pretty good idea about what happens to these devices after a drop.

Oh come on, they sell insurance and these “tests” are free advertising for them as evidenced by the numerous articles generated by lazy tech journalists.

 

[bmunge]

I think you mean, they still sell outdated tech, that gets dropped sooner from iOS updates, for a slightly lower price...

The processor on the 7 is still faster than the latest Android phones. As for updates, iOS 12 didn't drop any iPhones from iOS 11 support, with support going back for the 5S.

 

[Defthand]

Customers should be asking, “Why should I have to buy insurance for product claims?”

This is from Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5 product description. Why does Apple promote the material as a product feature if Apple won’t guarantee the benefits?:

Introducing Corning Gorilla Glass 5, a new glass solution that raises the bar for protection against drops higher than ever, surviving 1.6-meter [5 ft. 3 in.], shoulder-height drops onto hard, rough surfaces up to 80% of the time. That’s up to 4X better in drop failure height than competitive glasses, giving consumers the drop protection they need if they fumble their phones while snapping photos, texting on the go, watching videos, or performing other everyday activities at or below shoulder level.

 

[Ankou_Sabat]

Whats interesting is that even though cost to repair for the XS-XS Max is technically less than the XR, when you do a ratio of cost to repair to total cost of the phone, its almost exactly the same after the repair restructure costs:

$749 – Screen 199 = 26% – 399 other damage = 53%
$999 – Screen 279 = 27% – 549 other damage = 54%
$1099 – Screen 329 = 29% – 599 other damage = 54%

 

[w5jck]

I wish Apple would stop using form over function as the driving force of their design. Yes there is nothing wrong with trying to make the designs aesthetically pleasing, but why use glass on the back when a lightweight alloy metal will work better, last longer, be more durable, etc.? Personally I still like the design of the iPhone 5 with an easy to grip edge as opposed to their super thin, rounded edges, and wet bar of soap slipperiness. I could care less what the outside of an iPhone or iPad looks like--the outer shell that is. I'm going to slap that puppy into an Otterbox Defender case anyway. I wish they would spend more time on the functionality and usability. Hire some darn kinematics experts for crying out loud.

 

[Doomtomb]

But isn't it supposed to be Gorilla Glass 8?

No but really, I kept hearing about how each generation was supposed to fix this problem. I don't think it's possible.

I think it's actually a material property of sheen and transparency for optical clarity is at odds with strength and shatter resistance.

 

[Ankou_Sabat]

But isn't it supposed to be Gorilla Glass 8?

No but really, I kept hearing about how each generation was supposed to fix this problem. I don't think it's possible.

I think it's actually a material property of sheen and transparency for optical clarity is at odds with strength and shatter resistance.

This was a pretty good explanation article:

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre...istance-google-pixel-3-samsung-galaxy-s9-note

Its a balance between "scratch ability" and " shatter resistance" that they're contending with.

Also worth mentioning Corning says "because major OEMs Prefer Thinner Glass" scratch resistance (and I'd imagine shatter resistance as well) are compromised.

 

[Detektiv-Pinky]

The processor on the 7 is still faster than the latest Android phones. As for updates, iOS 12 didn't drop any iPhones from iOS 11 support, with support going back for the 5S.

Not dropping phones from iOS upgrade was a fluke. Probably because iOS 12 is more of a maintenance release. The drops will come and will only be more massive next time around.
They just prevented my 6 year old 27' iMac with an i7 and 20GB RAM from getting Mojave, just because they could.

 

[Unami]

i don't care much about 6 foot - i usually drop my phone from 3-4 foot. if it survives this (like the 100+ drops my 5s and 4 survived), i'm good.

 

[ddtmm]

Can we stop calling the XR a "low-cost" device? Apple doesn't offer low-cost products, period. They have a mid to high-end and an ultra high-end range of products. Calling these devices otherwise is only helping Apple, Samsung, Google and co. redefine what a smartphone should cost.

Exactly. Same with the computers. If the iMac Pro starts at $5000 I can only imagine with the Mac Pro will be next year.

 

[LeeW]

How far is your ear from the ground ? - just roughly ? .....

Well to be fair, in his/her case it could be 4ft.