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My "Issue" with the shattered glass situation

Mark Booth said:
The new glass doesn't look brittle to me!
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Strength and Toughness are 2 entirely different things...
Example in say knives, a stronger steel is able to keep a finer edge longer before dulling but is also prone to chipping, compared to a tougher steel which can not hold an edge but would not chip.
 
malnar said:
No one drops it intentionally. But a lot of people let their guard down because they mistakenly think that because it's stronger, it's indestructible. I would guess that the glass really is much stronger but people are being way more careless with the new Iphone than they were with the previous Iphones.
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This is the issue. Apple went to great lengths to demonstrate that the glass was extremely strong. People who would otherwise have bought a protective case and/or handled their phone like a newborn baby might not have done so, thinking it was unnecessary now. I don't think you're a moron for dropping your phone, and I don't think Apple is evil for not making an indestructible phone. But I think it was inappropriate to advertise the glass as practically indestructible when it is, in fact, obviously not.
 
ultravorx said:
This picture only shows the front glass, the back glass may be a totally different type of glass, that why mine chipped, then cracked.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/954585/
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Thats also a 4 point bending test as well with it set up so the moments would be fairly low across the center of the glass.

Also, impacts generate alot more force. But since the iphone glass has always mostly resisted scratching its pretty hard. And hardness invokes being brittle. Just how its always been.
 
tlbwriter said:
This is the issue. Apple went to great lengths to demonstrate that the glass was extremely strong. People who would otherwise have bought a protective case and/or handled their phone like a newborn baby might not have done so, thinking it was unnecessary now. I don't think you're a moron for dropping your phone, and I don't think Apple is evil for not making an indestructible phone. But I think it was inappropriate to advertise the glass as practically indestructible when it is, in fact, obviously not.
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Exactly. I figured that "stronger" meant it would probably be ok for a couple days (if anything) without a case, which is why I waited until after receiving the phone to order a Wrapsol Ultra.. and then the day it ships, my dad calls me and tells me the glass shattered from a one foot drop as he was getting out of the car. I've dropped my 3G a million times on the corner and I've gotten dents but nothing major -- you would think that an iPhone upgrade would be comparably tough, even if it's glass, and especially if they go to lengths to reassure you that this glass will be "30 times stronger than plastic."

I've always liked the bare look of the iPhone, but it sucks that you basically HAVE to put this phone in a case to keep it in tact.
 
i found a idea.. don't drop your phone.. :D and if you do get a warrenty from squaretrade... like i have.. thats your answer really..
 
Glass is very strong but only in certain ways. The face is very strong but and can take more blunt force to the face than the sides. The video shows glass being bent slowly over the face without breaking. If they tried it from the side, it would never work. This same principal applies to the phone itself. The bumper will absorb some of the shock but ultimately it can and will crack depending on how it fell.

If the thing falls flat on the face, on a flat surface, it will more than likely be fine. If it drops vertically and hits the side of the glass, it will shatter.

I wish I could find the video..but on HGTV, they went over types of glass and their strength. You could tap the face of the glass with a metal rod and it would be fine. If you tap the side, the piece shatters
 
Juan007 said:
People are upset because it should be no surprise that when you drop something it can break. Keep in mind that iPhone 4 is very durable and usually survives drops (survived a drop of 9+ feet as reported in another thread).

BUT if you choose to use iPhone 4 without a case or bumper AND you drop it in just the right way (glass takes full impact) then it can break. This is not a flaw, not a defect, not a disadvantage, it's just a REALITY of using a cell phone.
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I don't think people are questioning the fact that when you drop something it can break, but rather how fragile the phone is. I've seen a fair amount of smashed iPhone 4 pics now (some from people getting out of the car) and I don't recall it being this bad with the 3G.
I've dropped my 3G twice with no damage and I can easily see the iPhone 4 taking a big hit in the same fall.
 
Ubuntu said:
I don't think people are questioning the fact that when you drop something it can break, but rather how fragile the phone is. I've seen a fair amount of smashed iPhone 4 pics now (some from people getting out of the car) and I don't recall it being this bad with the 3G.
I've dropped my 3G twice with no damage and I can easily see the iPhone 4 taking a big hit in the same fall.
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Lots more iPhone 4's were sold in the first few days -- and nobody posts that their phones are fine once they fall, they only post complaining if they shatter.
 
Munitalp said:
Lots more iPhone 4's were sold in the first few days -- and nobody posts that their phones are fine once they fall, they only post complaining if they shatter.
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Even when taking that into account, there has still been a significant amount of cracked iPhones that imo cannot be covered by the reasons you mentioned.
 
Rocket Scientist

I am no rocket scientist but my first impression holding my iPhone 4 that if it was drop it would be damaged really easily. I went out and got a case on day 1!!! A case is just like insurance...in that it really helps to protect your iPhone!! I would not own one without putting it in a case!!! Sure they are pretty little devices without a case on them but how pretty are they all cracked up? I feel the pain everyone feels when they drop and crack their phone but if you choose not to have a case then you get what you get.
 
Am I wrong in thinking that Apple's claims regarding the stronger glass were the new glass prevents scratching, not that it can somehow survive 24"+ falls?

At least that is what I was expecting....
 
Never take ads literally

Some people read way too much into what ads and salesmen say. What they DON'T say is usually more important than what they DO say. Especially with Apple, who are very good at this kind of word wrangling. For instance:

All the breakthrough technology in iPhone 4 is situated between two glossy panels of aluminosilicate glass — the same type of glass used in the windshields of helicopters and high-speed trains. Chemically strengthened to be 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic, the glass is ultradurable and more scratch resistant than ever. It’s also recyclable. - Apple
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When they say it's the same type, they mean an aluminosilicate mixture of aluminum, silicon and oxygen. Nowhere do they say it is the exact same mixture, and especially not the same thickness (over 1" in trains).

How about the "20 times stiffer than plastic". What kind of plastic? Saran wrap? Plastic spoons? Meaningless.

Ultradurable is also meaningless without parameters. Ultradurable as compared to what? Paper? Diamonds?

And getting excited by a bend test? Do we slowly bend the glass when we drop it on a floor? No. Meaningless.

One would think that today's consumers are far too experienced to get suckered in by clever advertising!

Maybe it's the use of numbers. People are impressed by them. It's as if I promised to pay you "30 times what I've paid anyone else before" for mowing my lawn and you got all excited... until you found out that I usually pay 10 cents :)
 
Hey said its the same TYPE of glass that they use in airplanes and helicopters or whatever. I'm sure they dont use glass that is 1/8" thick on airplanes. Just because this glass is the same doesnt mean this glass is the same thickness. We would have phones 5" wide that weighed like 15lbs.
 
When I bought my first gen iPhone I loved it to death -- and four hours later it fell out of my shirt pocket onto a hardwood floor! I was horrified but it only got a small dent in its metal back.

I've dropped my 3G and 3GS too -- never intentionally, as I am careful with all electronic devices, but the phones survived the drops. I guess I was just lucky.

But this phone -- this perfect piece of designer jewelry -- yikes it feels more like a museum piece than a functional piece of equipment. I worry about it more than I worry about my considerable collection of camera equipment. Why? Because even my pro very expensive camera equipment seems a lot less fragile than this slippery, beautiful thing. A designer's dream, really, but wow a lot of compromises were made in its utility just to keep it beautiful --
Clearky not a case of form meets function here. Clearly form OVER function.

Do I care? Not really -- I'm pretty carful with most things. Sadly I'll spring for a vaja case once they are available and cover up this lovely thing. Beats the bumper, anyway.

It's beautiful, it truly is. But apple could have done better, I think. At least for those of us who won't be keeping it in a glass display case other than the one its already encased in!
 
jkrutch said:
I'm really sick of seeing the BS responses issued to people who dropped (or whatever) their phones and ended up with shattered glass.

Accidents happen....however is unimportant. I seriously doubt anyone dropped their new IP4 intentionally. Everyone should stop the "be more careful" crap and holier than thou BS and focus on the fact that Apple touts the new "Helicopter windshield" glass as super-strong. It shouldn't be breaking so easily. Why isn't anyone focusing on that?
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There is no "issue". There have been less than a dozen, maybe even 6 threads that I've seen on this form with people complaining about breaking or scratching their phones. Yet people like you want to blow it way out of proportion into a huge issue. Ya it's glass, and if you drop it onto concrete, it's gonna break. Apple never said it was bullet proof.:rolleyes:
 
A company sells products to make money, they wouldn't have chosen to use the glass (more expensive than plastic) if they honestly didn't think it was going to hold up..

I totally agree it has to do with getting hit on edges, it has nowhere to go or give or flex that way, i think if it landed flat on it would be totally fine
 
Great Job Apple!

Just dripped my iPhone 4(it has an Apple bumper around it) on an extremely hard floor(that broke my friend's old G1's screen) and there isn't even a scratch! Just an unnoticeable, small scuff on the corner of the bumper. Great work Apple. :)
 
JenniferMary* said:
Just dripped my iPhone 4(it has an Apple bumper around it) on an extremely hard floor
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Glad you only dripped it and not dropped it, as that would shatter the glass :D

Given the number of threads I'm seeing here and elsewhere about it shattering so easy, you lucked out.
 
jkrutch said:
I absolutely love my IP4 and I'm as careful as possible. My 3G was dropped a few times in 18 months....things happen. My problem is the rude people on here and the fact that Apple gives the impression that the glass is stronger than it really is.....
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Its exactly as strong as they said it is. The problem is that people think that strong glass is as strong as steel or aluminum.
 
Mark Booth said:
The new glass doesn't look brittle to me!

910631327_oq8vR-O.jpg


In my opinion, the glass is breaking when it is struck at the edge. All of the photos I've seen show the impact spot at an edge, and spreading from there.

Get a Bumper.

Mark
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Like all tempered glass, its strength is face on, so if you drop it and it lands flat you're good to go, no damage.

lightly strike the edge of any temprered glass and it shatters quite easily.

So while the iPhone's glass is quite strong, its also quite weak. You drop it, and it strikes the ground just right, it will shatter.

Glass is glass and there's no way getting completely around the brittle properties of glass.
 
It's the strongest glass we ever made but it will still shatter, WTF? Let's hope the bank industry doesn't begin using this super hard brittle glass for thier tellers. :rolleyes:
 
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