Apple iPhone XS Survives Drop Tests

Apple’s new iPhone XS has survived drop tests to prove that it’s a tough phone to crack, a [...]

Apple's new iPhone XS has survived drop tests to prove that it's a tough phone to crack, a positive sign for people who are rough on their devices.

Whether it's because you're frustrated with a mobile game and fling it across the room or just have too many items in your hands and let the device slip, making contact with the ground is an inevitable part of a phone's lifespan. For some devices, this spells the end of its life, but according to CNET's iPhone XS drop tests, it's going to take more than a few drops for the phone to break.

CNET put the phone through a series of drop tests that it conducts on every device, the same ones that it said led to a cracked iPhone X, one of Apple's most recent devices behind the new iPhone XS and XS Max. While the tests are admittedly not scientific measures of the phone's durability and the crack-preventing nature of the glass that covers the phone, CNET says that the simulated drops are meant to replicate some real-life examples of people dropping their phones on pavement.

In the first test, the iPhone XS was let free three feet off the ground, roughly the height of a pocket to show what it'd look like if someone lost their grip on the phone immediately after drawing it from their pocket. The phone was dropped screen-side down but landed on the top edge of the phone before flipping face down. Minor scuffs were found on the metal frame with the smallest dent in the glass on the top-left corner of the device, but there were no cracks to be seen in the same test that cracked the iPhone X after one drop. Replicating the test again, this time with the screen face up, it landed on its left-hand side and suffered a few more blemishes on the frame but the glass was intact.

The third test raised the stakes by bringing the phone up higher to five feet with the drop letting it loose on a free-fall descent. It's the height that people would usually hold it when taking a photo, CNET said, with the steel frame breaking the fall. Landing on the top-left corner of the phone and bouncing around, the device had some small dents on the corner that made initial contact with the pavement, but other than that, no cracks were to be seen.

Finishing the series of tests with a final drop from five feet, screen-side down, it landed on the top-right corner near the camera with some cement debris being transferred to the device. With a few dents marking the raised edge of the camera, the camera's glass remained intact with no other noticeable damages spotted on the phone.

The iPhone XS and XS Max are now available to order with the shipping having begun on Sept. 21.

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