Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Is the Iphone 4 Fragile?

Roo Zilla said:
Supposedly, the glass is similar to the glass on the Dell Streak, Gorilla Glass. The glass gives, instead of cracking.
Click to expand...
The concept of the glass giving is a good one, however in real life it only "gives" under certain circumstances.

I've been lucky, but two of my friends dropped theirs when walking between their car and the office. When the phones hit the pavement from waist high they both shattered into hundreds of pieces. One had a bumper and the other a skin. So much for those two. Gorilla glass didn't help at all.

Does that make it a bad phone? Nope. Just one that you need to take some care with. .... :)
 
wirelessmacuser said:
The concept of the glass giving is a good one, however in real life it only "gives" under certain circumstances.

I've been lucky, but two of my friends dropped theirs when walking between their car and the office. When the phones hit the pavement from waist high they both shattered into hundreds of pieces. One had a bumper and the other a skin. So much for those two. Gorilla glass didn't help at all.

Does that make it a bad phone? Nope. Just one that you need to take some care with. .... :)
Click to expand...

Wow, that's unfortunate. I dropped mine on parking lot, got some scratches on the metal band, but the glass was fine.
 
Roo Zilla said:
Supposedly, the glass is similar to the glass on the Dell Streak, Gorilla Glass. Here's a Youtube video of someone harshing on the Streak with a pen. The glass gives, instead of cracking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9Ce8Ckqu0w
Click to expand...

Yeah, but that is a soft plastic pen cap. Try that with a screw driver and you will have a different result. But I bet the plastic back of the average blackberry will scratch up but not actually break even if you jab it with a piece of metal as long as you don't jab too hard.
 
TallManNY said:
Yeah, but that is a soft plastic pen cap. Try that with a screw driver and you will have a different result. But I bet the plastic back of the average blackberry will scratch up but not actually break even if you jab it with a piece of metal as long as you don't jab too hard.
Click to expand...

I don't think anybody's ever said it's indestructible. It is however, tougher than the glass on previous iPhones.
 
I'm always shocked by these reports of... My phone dropped ________ (fill in the blank) and to my disbelief it was destroyed!

I had a 1st gen iPhone and now I have a 4, I've been amazed at how durable they are. I've dropped my 4 both naked and cased a few times. Good to go. Last week, I had the 4 in my pocket and some old lady rammed me with a grocery cart... No problem.

As a whole, I think they're very tough, maybe all are not created equal,and so some people have issues... I certainly would never call thrum fragile by any means.

Coachingguy
 
gsbedi said:
I've thrown mine against a brick wall with no case on and it doesn't have one scratch on it...
Click to expand...

lol

Anyway, I have a similar question. I wa considering buying a beveled aluminum back for my phone and I wasn't sure how well it would hold up. But, if accidents do happen, would it be possible to buy a replacement screen?
 
My Iphone was laying on the rails when the high-speed train came. Train derailed - Iphone not one scratch.
So YES, they lied. it's even stronger than an high speed train!!


Ok, a serious comment too:
It's much more scratch resistant than plastic (and I think even than some metal) but if you drop it the wrong way the glass will burst. Like the trains glass will probably shatter if it hits the iPhone, ..., eeeh, an (whatever) .. tree

(And if you drop the new Samsung S3, or HTC ONE X or ... it will shatter too - so I guess you get it)


PS. Oh one more thing: Tip: Nokia 3310 - this phone will not only derail the train but even make it EXPLODE!!!!
 
I've dropped mine twice in two years, both were about 3-4 foot on hard wood and not a single scratch or mark on the phone. I think it's just pure luck, if the phone lands on the metal frame you'll be fine. But, if it lands at an angle that makes the glass hit the ground, it will most likely shatter. I guess I've been lucky.
 
I've had mine spill out onto the pavement from my car's seat (I've got a high profile SUV) when getting out. It's happened 4 or 5 times.

I've got some dings in the metal band around the phone, and the lining of the glass (where it meets the metal band); but still not a scratch on the glass 2 years in, front or back. I don't use cases or bumpers either.
 
My previous iPhone 4 was nudged out of my hand at work in a warehouse and ended up with a slight scratch on the corner. It was naked.
 
It may be more breakable because of all the glass, but it's actually more durable in terms of wear and tear. The apple logo doesn't get scratched up like hell like on the previous generation iPhones as it sits behind the glass.
 
it depends where it lands. if it lands on the side (antenna) you should be lucky enough to not have the class shatter. if it lands on an edge...game over
 
I had the iPhone 4 for over a year. No scratches or anything. Now have had the 4S for about five months. Same thing. Only cheap screen protectors and a couple of cases that cost a dollar were on it. Dropped both the 4 and 4S a bunch of times.
 
I've dropped mine a coupe of times on ceramic tile floor, no damage.

A friend of mine accidentally dropped hers when getting into her car and didn't realize it. She backed her car over it! I am not kidding.

It was a little sluggish when she tried to wake it up, but has been fine since, and not one scratch. True story.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back