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

iPhone 17 Pro Max When did you last drop your iPhone, and how did it fare?

I dropped mine several times. The glass has never cracked, but there're dents on every corner of my phone.

The glass can resist a drop from quite high place, as long as there's no sand or particles on the ground.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The Cockney Rebel
May 2021. iPhone 11 Pro Max, waiting outside school to pick my daughter up. Towards the end of eighth grade for her.

I was not paying attention and went to swipe at my phone. I ended up smacking the screen instead, causing me to lose my grip and drop it. This was at chest height (I'm 5' 10.5"). Phone landed on it's back on solid concrete. Shattered the rear glass and the shock cracked the front glass from the inside. A restart fixed any wonkiness.

Phone was replaced under AC+ through Apple. Had to wait a week for the phone to come and so used my iPhone 6s+ during that time.

Now it's 2026, I am still using the 11 Pro Max replacement as my primary phone and my daughter has graduated high school.

So, yeah. The last time I dropped my phone was before my daughter entered high school.

EDIT: I do not use cases.
 
  • Love
  • Like
Reactions: racerhomie and The Cockney Rebel
eyoungren said:
May 2021. iPhone 11 Pro Max, waiting outside school to pick my daughter up. Towards the end of eighth grade for her.

I was not paying attention and went to swipe at my phone. I ended up smacking the screen instead, causing me to lose my grip and drop it. This was at chest height (I'm 5' 10.5"). Phone landed on it's back on solid concrete. Shattered the rear glass and the shock cracked the front glass from the inside. A restart fixed any wonkiness.

Phone was replaced under AC+ through Apple. Had to wait a week for the phone to come and so used my iPhone 6s+ during that time.

Now it's 2026, I am still using the 11 Pro Max replacement as my primary phone and my daughter has graduated high school.

So, yeah. The last time I dropped my phone was before my daughter entered high school.

EDIT: I do not use cases.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear about you phone, but absolute congratulation go to your daughter 👍.
 
  • Like
Reactions: svendobbelaere and eyoungren
The Cockney Rebel said:
Sorry to hear about you phone, but absolute congratulation go to your daughter 👍.
Click to expand...
Oh, the phone is fine. Five years old now since I got it (the replacement).

PXL_20260611_144825557.MP.jpg

And thanks, regarding my daughter.
 
  • Like
Reactions: svendobbelaere and The Cockney Rebel
Macdctr said:
I'm not jinxing myself . . . 😂
Click to expand...
That's real. Every time I get something like this new, there is always that apprehension until I make a slight scratch or nick somewhere. Until then, my focus on trying not to drop it usually leads to dropping it. I lost all my apprehension about my 11PM once that first drop happened. Just unfortunate that it resulted in a complete replacement.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The Cockney Rebel and Macdctr
I last dropped an iPhone… four years ago, in 2022 maybe? My then-tertiary iPhone 5c slipped from my hand as I was sitting on a couch. Slightly cracked screen protector, which I replaced immediately.

I last dropped my main iPhone… honestly I can’t even remember. It was probably the iPhone 6s when it was my main, and I think I have to go back to the end of 2016 or beginning of 2017. Nothing happened to it, both the phone, the case, and the screen protector were fine. I no longer have the original screen protector because I gave the phone to a family member, who cracked my originally-installed screen protector.

I upgraded to a 7+, which I never dropped, then to a Xʀ, which I never dropped, then to my current 16 Plus, which I never dropped.

A relevant aspect, my main iPhone from August 2019 to March 2025 was my iPhone Xʀ running iOS 12, which I still have, which I still use with iOS 12. Apple sold a US$50 front and back screen protector, which I didn’t see again for any other iPhone model. Almost seven years later, I still use this iPhone. It looks as if I had purchased it five minutes ago. Not the cheapest protector but seeing how it turned out, worth it in my case.

Apple, sell a back glass protector again, please.

Funnily enough, I’ve only had to replace one screen protector, ever. That 5c drop I mentioned is the only case (funny, as I used it caseless) in which that happened. Every other iPhone I have has the original screen protector that I installed.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: eyoungren
ElPaso said:
No damage at all - it is in an Otterbox Defender (fortunately!)
Click to expand...
I do not use cases and neither does my son. But my wife does…and I made my daughter use one when I got her the SE2. Her old 6s (which was used in a case by my wife before my daughter got it) has a cracked screen because my daughter has zero concern about damaging her stuff (for some reason).

But the SE2 I got her was on installments, and it was us (my wife and I) paying for it. So into an Otterbox Defender it went (and has stayed). Given how she treated the 6s without a case, I cannot imagine how many times that case on her SE2 has protected the phone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The Cockney Rebel and ElPaso
I think the last time I dropped my iPhone was my 8+ back in 2021. Kinda my fault. Was walking while scrolling on my phone, tripped over the kerb and fell down down my phone face down against the pavement. Ended up cracking the front of the screen around the home button area, but otherwise, the rest of the display was fine. Funnily, that would be the last iPhone I used without a case. Unrelated to the fall though. I find the iPhone 6-era of iPhones were more comfortable to hold with their rounded edges. The new iPhones, with their more oblong design, less so. Whatever your misgivings of Jony Ive, that man knew how to design objects that just felt right in the hand. 😎

Other than that, my 13 pro max and now my 17 pro max have gotten along just fine. 😬
 
Abazigal said:
I think the last time I dropped my iPhone was my 8+ back in 2021. Kinda my fault. Was walking while scrolling on my phone, tripped over the kerb and fell down down my phone face down against the pavement. Ended up cracking the front of the screen around the home button area, but otherwise, the rest of the display was fine. Funnily, that would be the last iPhone I used without a case. Unrelated to the fall though. I find the iPhone 6-era of iPhones were more comfortable to hold with their rounded edges. The new iPhones, with their more oblong design, less so. Whatever your misgivings of Jony Ive, that man knew how to design objects that just felt right in the hand. 😎

Other than that, my 13 pro max and now my 17 pro max have gotten along just fine. 😬
Click to expand...
I'm just going to speak here about rounded sides.

My phone progression from 2015 has been this: iPhone 6+ -> iPhone 6s+ -> Pixel 3a XL -> iPhone 11 Pro Max. The 11PM is my current iPhone. The 6+, 6s+, Pixel and 11PM all have rounded sides.

I have yet to enter the era where Apple got back to flat sides like my iPhone 5. I found the 5 much more comfortable to hold and pick up. There is less surface area with rounded sides for my fingers to grip and hold on to versus flat sides.

So, while you guys out there since the iPhone 12 have all had flat sides (and some complain about it), I'm still stuck in the rounded edges era (and have been since 2015) where you want to be.

I'll trade you!
 
eyoungren said:
I have yet to enter the era where Apple got back to flat sides like my iPhone 5. I found the 5 much more comfortable to hold and pick up. There is less surface area with rounded sides for my fingers to grip and hold on to versus flat sides.
Click to expand...

Maybe it’s the way I grip my phone. I find the rounded edges of my 8+ seem to exert less pressure against my palm and fingers and so feel more comfortable.

31d6ed737a716bc491198ac46a6ee094.jpg


Still my favourite design by far.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TVreporter, Andeddu and eyoungren
Abazigal said:
Maybe it’s the way I grip my phone. I find the rounded edges of my 8+ seem to exert less pressure against my palm and fingers and so feel more comfortable.

31d6ed737a716bc491198ac46a6ee094.jpg


Still my favourite design by far.
Click to expand...
You're probably right about grip. Here is how I hold my iPhone 11PM and iPhone 5. Note, I am right handed, but I hold my phone in my left hand and use my right hand for touching/swiping. Yes, I use all my phones with two hands no matter the size. Anyway…

PXL_20260612_151224856.MP.jpgPXL_20260612_151243909.MP.jpg

I tend to hold towards the bottom of the phone. I have found that making sure my pinky finger is under the bottom edge and my index finger directly on the back of the device gives me stability, grip and control. Trying to hold on to a round side phone just by gripping the sides is one reason I've dropped phones.

Also, since I do not use cases and my phones either are in phone holders or flat on my desk/table, flat sides are easier to pick up. With rounded sides I have to make sure I get a good grip before picking up. This thread is about drops, and I've dropped more rounded side phones trying to pick them up then I have ever dropped a phone with flat sides.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: goldmac2006
Last time I dropped my Air was on the rug last month, so not much. I have dropped my Air on my concrete driveway twice (no case once, Pitaka case the other time) and it is flawless other than a nick and scuff in the titanium. That same driveway broke my 13 Pro and 15 Pro screens, so Ceramic Shield 2 amazes me.

Also, I dropped this thing down a flight of stairs onto a hardwood floor (real wood) last year and it did not sustain any damage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Brettka7
Dropped mine last year. It worked its way halfway out of my pocket while I was driving and then took a leap when I opened the car door and fell like 2-3 feet onto concrete. No case. The back was shattered quite thoroughly, but the front was fine. AppleCare took care of it and it was fine. I dropped it onto a wood floor the other day and nothing happened.
 
The Cockney Rebel said:
I dropped mine this morning, on my laminated flooring.

It bounced a bit, but with the Apple silicone case, it sustained no damage!

How about you?
Click to expand...
Dropped my 17 PM a few times on tile flooring, concrete flooring, laminate flooring and bathtub, not damage as it is in a thin case.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Antaris
Nineteen months in, no drops. I'm pretty mindful when using my 16PM, so I don't anticipate any. But accidents do happen...
 
In freezing cold, by sheer whoospie accident, I dropped my 17PM onto frozen parking lot surface. With screen protector, in a case designed to withstand a 22'/7m drop (Zagg Rainier), mine dropped 4.5 feet, zero dents, zero damage, onto that hard cold unforgiving surface.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The Cockney Rebel
I drop mine about once a day and thankfully its fine as its in a case. I'm not one of these people that has specific routines of where to put my phone or wipes it with a microfibre cloth lol, it just gets used.
 
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