New iPhone SE Nearly as Tough as iPhone 13 in Drop Test Thanks to Improved Glass

[CarlJ]

From all the drops, the shortest did break it. Unbelievable.

It's entirely possible that it wasn't just that last drop, but that the effects were cumulative. Previous drops weakened the structure, the last drop pushed it over the edge.

 

[Wanted797]

1) WTF is a "controlled drop"? Exactly how many variables are they actually controlling?

YouTuber standing on a chair holding them about the same level?

 

[pianostar9]

And plastic gets easily scratched. And metal means one side of the phone won't shatter, but it can make the other side more likely to shatter, because they're the two sides are dissimilar. People keep acting like Apple went to the glass back just so they could rake in that sweet sweet repair cash. I find that kind of laughable.

Apple’s tried all of them - the 5C was plastic

 

[mazz0]

And plastic gets easily scratched. And metal means one side of the phone won't shatter, but it can make the other side more likely to shatter, because they're the two sides are dissimilar. People keep acting like Apple went to the glass back just so they could rake in that sweet sweet repair cash. I find that kind of laughable.

Scratches are nothing compared to cracking, and are you seriously suggesting metal backed devices are less resilient than glass backed ones? I think that’s what’s laughable.

 

[mazz0]

Apple’s tried all of them - the 5C was plastic

And it was gorgeous! ❤️

 

[mjs916]

Is there a more scientific way to test this?

Maybe if they actually controlled the angle at which they fell… like say sandwich it between two pieces of plexiglass or make a plexiglass shaft that doesn’t allow it to tumble/rotate before hitting the ground to test sides/edges maybe?

They could similarly create a track or even use the MagSafe connector on a the back to allow for a perfectly flat drop that forces it to fall flat on the face or back. Doing a handheld release from some height usually results in some corner of the display striking first since there are multiple release points/times all around the edges of the device.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I could have swore that Apple mentioned at the keynote that the new iPhone SE has Ceramic Shield glass.

 

[Neanda]

Eg, a drop from 5-6 feet is a pretty common occurrence. The phone will typically land on the face of the screen, or one of the corners or be rotating and impact multiple ways.

Dropping anything from your hand at 6 feet is extremely uncommon. When was the last time you did that? Dropping something from half your height would be common.

Also, this 'typical' scenario you're speaking of (i.e. face down) is then including all other scenarios, so you're basically saying there is no typical way a phone would land. I think you should revisit the scientific method, and also real life.

 

[CarlJ]

Dropping anything from your hand at 6 feet is extremely uncommon. When was the last time you did that? Dropping something from half your height would be common.

Dropping a phone from something approaching six feet is a pretty common scenario - holding it up to your ear, for a 6ft tall person, puts it right around that height. And half your height? Do you really look at / read / reply to things holding the phone at waist height, rather than looking at it from perhaps a foot for foot-and-a-half away from your face? That seems odd.