SquareTrade Says iPhone X is 'Most Breakable iPhone Ever' as Glass Shatters in Series of Drop Tests

[roncron]

It's reasonable for SquareTrade to assess the likelihood of damaging a device in order to set prices for covering damage to that device. SquareTrade has a reputation for providing reasonably priced coverage. They'd go out of business if they undercharged to cover a device that is very easy to break.

SquareTrade's drop-tests in this very short video are from 6 feet. More common drops in the real world occur from about 3 feet (according to other sites that professionally test devices for damage).

EverythingApplePro and Consumer Reports did drop and scratch tests and found the X to be very durable and robust. And they are credible information sources because they have no financial interest in whether or not you buy insurance for your phone.

On the other hand, CNET is also impartial and their 3-foot drop tests did significant damage to the X.

Since there is no strong consensus among drop-testers about the durability of the X, I would err on the side of caution and use a case, get insurance, or both.

 

[TonyC28]

I understand the desire to have a phone that will not break if/when you drop it, but if you buy a phone that is made almost completely out of glass that desire must not be very strong.

 

[Takeo]

BREAKING NEWS: Apple unable to defy laws of physics!

 

[macnchiefs]

$279 for a screen. We have hit crazy town people.

I'm going to be "that" guy here but I can get a wicked good Moto g5s plus phone for the same price. An ENTIRE PHONE for the same price as a screen for the iPhone X. This isn't some cheap Android phone, it's a really good one. https://www.motorola.com/us/products/moto-g-plus-gen-5-special-edition

 

[jerryk]

Why is everyone focused on 6 feet? The phone can impact the ground just as hard from 4 feet or 3 feet if you are moving. Get a case and don't worry.

 

[convergent]

How and Why is this even news?? It’s friggin glass!! I don’t give a rats ass if it’s gorilla glass version 1 billion. Guess what? Glass still
Breaks!! Period!

Its news because Apple attained the honor of the X being "the most breakable phone ever".

Ok moron enjoy your cheap plastic Note 8 and we will stick to quality devices.

The Note 8 is also made of glass, not plastic. Check your facts. I wish it was made out of plastic, but this is one area where they followed on an idiotic form over function feature.

Repairing the back glass is $549!!!

That's insane! That's half of a new 256 X!

If you break that on a cheaper 8, it's basically the cost of the entire phone!

And most likely if the back shatters, the front will too. What's that add up to?

My iPhone 4 was also all glass. This isn't new guys.

Yet it isn't the most breakable phone ever, and it didn't cost $549 to fix it. In fact, you could get fairly inexpensive backs for the 4 from 3rd parties.

This just in: your vehicles windshield will likely break in the event of an accident. Along with crumpling steel.
How will we live with these fragile machines?

And a windshield is harder to break and cheaper to fix than the back of an iPhone X, which doesn't need to be made out of glass in the first place. The windshield has to be glass so you can see through it. It would be kind of like making the whole outer shell of your car out of glass so that the whole car shattered if it got hit buy a rock, instead of just a small paint chip.
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Why is everyone focused on 6 feet? The phone can impact the ground just as hard from 4 feet or 3 feet if you are moving. Get a case and don't worry.

Because phones still break in cases, and what the **** is the phone in raving about how the thing is gorgeous for if its always going to be in a case??? This is all Jony Ive. He needs to go.

 

[jcmoney10]

This article is a biased hit piece, nobody drops their phone from 6 feet — not even Shaq! For the average user, a six foot drop means holding your phone ABOVE YOUR HEAD and dropping it! WTF!!!

For an encore they are going to drop the X out of an airplane?

Once dropped my iPhone 7 while on a ladder and the screen completely shattered. While I get your point, to say NOBODY drops their phone from 6 feet is a little bit of a generalization lol.

 

[roncron]

Here, a tester stabs the back of an iPhone X with a knife and then hits the front with a 3-pound hammer. Does the X survive?

 

[patseguin]

If I don't want something to break, I generally don't drop it.

 

[AdamJD]

While I had the same reaction at first, I think it's more about how the glass is even more likely to shatter on the X opposed to any other iPhone, and how people who may not have gotten insurance because Apple claimed it was the hardest glass ever.

Agreed. We still have an iPhone 4 and 4s. Only one is used daily at this point. I've never had one shatter.

 

[Razeus]

Only Apple comes up with an upfront insurance cost + added cost in the form of a deductible. In other words, it's profitable for them to get $228 from you when the repair doesn't cost nearly that much.

No wonder they're swimming in cash.

 

[kemal]

Me the broken record. Perfect design: black plastic monolith with a screen. You're going to put it in a case anyway.

 

[lordofthereef]

Not surprising. It’s like the iPhone 4 without that thick aluminum protecting the sides.


Not all hat worried personally though. Always use a case here.

As for the “omg duh” comments... perhaps people wouldn’t be discussing this if Apple hasn’t touted their most durable glass in a smartphone ever. I’ve mentioned that that is possibly true but it doesn’t mean a whole lot of overall thenlhone is easier to break lol.

 

[GadgetBen]

These idiots can say why they want. This phone is the sexiest phone that I have ever held in my hand.

If I drop it and it smashes then I know that my Apple Care policy will sort my replacement.

 

[AppleWarMachine]

"Apple says the iPhone X has the most durable glass ever used in a smartphone"

...translates to...

Apple says the iPhone X has the most breakable glass ever used in a smartphone

 

[Plutonius]

Is it a surprise to anyone that an electronics warranty company wants you to think your new phone will break just by breathing on it?

Sounds like a conflict of interest to me.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

If I don't want something to break, I generally don't drop it.

True, but save these "performance" drops and the one's in shows, people don't intentionally drop their phone. Mine have been 100% accidental at least. For better or worse I was born on Earth as a lowly mortal so I have no foresight as to when I'll suddenly become distracted or get tripped up by uneven pavement.

 

[kemal]

Materials science 101a watered down: Hard means resistant to indentation deformation. Tough means resistant to breakage. If you improve one in a material the other generally gets worse.

If Apple claim the hardest glass ever it just means they aren't talking about how tough it is. They are only concerned about scratching.

 

[skitidetdu]

Hm I saw a droplets on youtube where it hold up much better than the 8 - but the face id stopped working.

edit: here's the video

 

[bobbie424242]

This was funny four years ago.

Nope. "You are doing Y wrong" cannot get old. It's going to stay for centuries and the only thing Steve Jobs is remembered for.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Sounds like a conflict of interest to me.

Would you same the same of car insurance carriers doing crash tests on cars or health insurance carriers drawing up mortality charts with distinctions between people that exercised and ate healthy or were sedentary and smoked?

Insurance companies need to know what their potential liability is or they can't asses how much to charge. There is no conflict of interest. It is their interest.

 

[rob24]

Is this an ad? It should be marked as one if it is...

Apple says the iPhone X has the most durable glass ever used in a smartphone, with a strengthening layer that is 50 percent deeper, but a series of drop tests show that glass and concrete still don't play well together.

SquareTrade, a company that provides extended warranties for electronic devices, conducted several breakability tests on the iPhone X, and found that its glass back and lack of a home button make it "the most breakable iPhone ever."

Not only did the iPhone X's glass shatter when dropped on its front and back from a height of six feet, but the display also malfunctioned. Keep in mind that pocket height for most people is about three feet.

SquareTrade is naturally using the opportunity to push its two-year smartphone protection plan, which was recently reduced to $129 plus a $99 deductible for most claims, in the United States.

The plan covers cracked screens, liquid damage, battery failure, Lightning connector failure, and speaker failure. It doesn't cover loss or theft.

SquareTrade customers now have an in-home repair option with a lower $25 deductible to fix cracked screens. The service is currently available in more than 700 cities across the United States, with new cities added monthly.

A few YouTube channels also tested the iPhone X in extreme conditions to determine how durable and water resistant the device is.

EverythingApplePro placed the iPhone X in a 20-foot tube of water for 35 minutes without any signs of liquid damage occurring. He also put the iPhone X into a running washing machine, and the device still remained functional.

JerryRigEverything scratched the iPhone X with a utility knife, including the cameras, stainless steel frame, and rear Apple logo. He also tried to bend the device, without much success, and burn the display with a lighter.

While breakability tests are generally unscientific, the videos reveal that even the most durable glass in a smartphone isn't shatterproof.

Apple recently confirmed it will charge out-of-warranty rates of $279 for iPhone X screen repairs, and $549 for any other damage to the device, unless it is a manufacturing defect covered by Apple's standard one-year limited warranty.

There's also AppleCare+, an optional, premium warranty plan that extends an iPhone's warranty coverage to two years from the original purchase date of the device, and adds up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage.

With AppleCare+ for iPhone X, the price of a repair would be the $199 upfront cost of the plan plus a $29 or $99 incidental fee.

If you shatter your iPhone X's screen once, for example, you would pay $279 out of warranty. With the upfront cost of AppleCare+ coupled with the screen repair incidental fee, you would pay $228.

If you shatter your iPhone X's back glass, having AppleCare+ is even more worthwhile. Apple's flat rate is $549 for this type of damage, while the upfront cost of AppleCare+ coupled with a $99 incidental fee totals $298.

All prices above are listed in U.S. dollars. AppleCare+ and Apple's out-of-warranty repair fees vary in other countries.

SquareTrade conducted breakability tests for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus a few months ago with similar results. Both of the glass-bodied models shattered on all sides in every single drop test, including front and back drops at a distance of six feet, a 22-foot shot drop test, and a tumble test.

Article Link: SquareTrade Says iPhone X is 'Most Breakable iPhone Ever' as Glass Shatters in Series of Drop Tests

 

[coolfactor]

While I had the same reaction at first, I think it's more about how the glass is even more likely to shatter on the X opposed to any other iPhone, and how people who may not have gotten insurance because Apple claimed it was the hardest glass ever.

Well, you may have used a key term there.... "hardest glass ever". Something hard will shatter because it does not absorb the impact. I think that's where the X fails.... nothing to absorb the energy. So I wonder if the X's glass is the hardest, rather than simply being the most durable. There's a difference there.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

A company that makes money off selling warranties for phones says a phone is likely to break and you should buy their warranty?

No conflict of interest here.

 

[ChrisCW11]

This is not good. I mean if Apple provided a glass back that was virtually unbreakable, and then charge $500+ to fix it, I could live with that, but for the phone to break as easily as it does under the usually kind of drops people might have while using a phone, and then to charge a ridiculous price to fix it, this is pretty bad.

Also the prohibitive cost to fix the phone is more geared towards Apple making even more markup on an expensive phone by making people feel they have to buy the AppleCare warranty.

The combination of an increase in the cost of the phone, and increase in the cost of the warranty, and the expensive repair costs ALL lead to Apple getting far too greedy. This is an ear 1 trillion dollar company that is exhorting customers with excessive fees and prices just to appease share holders, and it is ALL starting to get a bit much for Apple to continue to justify the expensive Apple tax they charge on everything, and the provide a product that is fragile to use.