Galaxy Note 7 Scratch Test Sees How Well The High-End Android Holds Up

At this point, we know all there is to know about the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. We have spent hands on time with the device and recently published our review of the smartphone. If you want to know how durable the Note 7 is before you plunk down your cash or use that upgrade you have been holding onto, this is your chance to see just how well the screen holds up. JerryRigEverything has the phone on its test bench and will be performing one of its scratch tests on the device to see how durable the screen is.

Screen durability is more than just surviving drops. What many want to know more than drop survivability is just how well will the screen fare when it is stuffed into your pocket with your change and keys. Scratch resistance is exactly what this test will show us. The Note 7 is covered in Gorilla Glass 5, the latest version of the Corning glass we are all familiar with.

The test uses a series of pics that are each harder than the next and rubs them on the screen repeatedly to see at what hardness the screen begins to scratch. The range runs from two up to nine with each larger number being harder and more likely to scratch the screen than the previous. Currently the tester says that most smartphone screens don't start to scratch until they reach level six on the hardness scale.

As soon as the scratch test began to run, something very unexpected happened. Rather than scratches not showing until level six as is common, the Gorilla Glass 5 covered Note 7 began to show scratches at level three hardness. That is only a single step above plastic in scratch resistance. This means that while the Note 7 might fare better in drops than older devices, it will scratch much more easily and that is likely the more common damage that the smartphone will be subjected to than drops. The fingerprint scanner also stopped working after heavy scratching.