The iPhone 4 / 4S’ design was always hailed as being among the best-looking in the smartphone market, but because of the glass front / back design, it wasn’t all that durable; people I know have had their device’s glass completely shattered from innocent 3-4ft drops. Samsung’s Galaxy S series of smartphones, on the other hand, were always plasticky but a whole lot more durable. This was the case for the years 2010-2011.
Now, however, it seems that the tables have turned in favor of Apple, both looks and durability-wise, as yet another iPhone 5 vs. Galaxy S III durability test video shows the former beating the latter.
The durability test in question comes from the folks over at SquareTrade insurance in the form of a video uploaded on their YouTube channel.
First things first: SquareTrade’s tests are not very scientific. Two of the three tests they’ve conducted – dropping the phones at shoulder height, immersing them underwater, and dropping progressively heavier items on their display – play out differently on iPhone vs. Galaxy. For example, in their drop test, the Galaxy S III lands smack! on its face whereas the iPhone lands on its bottom edge. In the last test where they dropped a 20 oz. (0.5kg) bottle on the device’s displays, the bottle lands very comfortably and evenly on the iPhone whereas on the Galaxy S III, most of its weight is at focused on one small area of the bottle, resulting in much higher pressure on impact.
However, the water test was evenly balanced. From the tests, it appears as if the iPhone 5 is somewhat waterproof! While the Galaxy S III was completely bricked within four seconds, the iPhone continued to play PSY’s Gangnam Style. The only casualty was its touchscreen; display, speakers, hard buttons continued to work after being taken out of the water.
The iPhone 5’s glass display may be able to last through multiple drop tests, but its body is still susceptible to scratches and scruffs which, by the way, Apple has officially said is completely normal for aluminum-based designs. This is good news for iPhone 5 case manufacturers, but bad for those of you who believe that keeping their iPhone un-cased is the best way to go.
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