iPhone XS Drop Test Checks If Apple Was Serious

Almost all of today's high-end, and even some mid-range, smartphones have glass backs. While those make for visually fantastic designs, they also come with the risk of breaking and, therefore, expensive repairs. That's why smartphone and component manufacturers spend a lot of resources on creating less breakable glass. But glass is glass and glass will break when dropped from a certain height. That is the principle that JerryRigEverything puts to the test by subjecting the iPhone XS to multiple drops from multiple heights.

Just to be fair, Nelson is testing not one but two iPhone XS. One will be totally naked while one will have the cheapest $5 case you can find on Amazon. The two will be dropped from knee, hip, and ear height to simulate the most common causes of smartphone drops.

In theory, the naked iPhone XS should show some scuff marks when dropped on its corners. The front or back glass might break if they fall flat on that side. And from the height of your ear, it should break regardless.

In practice, none of those happened to either iPhone XS. Yes, there were some scuffs on the case-less iPhone's stainless steel edges, but not enough to actually be a deal breaker. More importantly, the case-less iPhone XS' glass back never suffered even a scratch.

Granted, Nelson didn't do a face-first drop test that would have tested the screen's durability. That would have been a more important consideration, since cracked screens become less useful than cracked backs. But if the front is as strong as the back, then iPhone XS owners might have less to worry about.