We Dropped $18,000 Worth of Phones, and These Are the Toughest (and Weakest)

[mprospero]

We took all of the top smartphones and dropped them onto wood, concrete (and even into a toilet) to see which handset is the toughest in the land.

We Dropped $18,000 Worth of Phones, and These Are the Toughest (and Weakest) : Read more

 

[hannibal]

Well... Some surprises in there...

 

[josmala]

I think you missed the actually durable android phones Cat S61 and the Doogee S60, Here's some durability testing of those kind of phones, Cat is for older model. S40 is far less durable based on specs, but its durability test with meat hammer is quite ok.

https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4S-AT3tsvg
https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKkwtQotK9o
https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4LLDzXTIRE

 

[Ramachandran_3]

did you test which is the best phone for TALKING which is the primary job of a phone. I agree the service provider also contributes to SOME EXTENT (only some extent) for the efficiency of voice. But the speaker and mic in the phone are equally important.

 

[hismerecry]

What about the iPhone 8 Plus? Wouldn’t it get a better score than the 8 because it has more surface area to dissipate energy or same score?

 

[mischon123]

But, will it blend?

 

[william.16537]

You should use real world objects to drop the phones on. NOT a concrete square that also bounces when the phone hits it. The impact force is much less than a regular concrete slab. Improve your testing.

 

[therealduckofdeath]

I think you're missing Samsung's Active model in this comparison? I see you have the equivalent Moto Force model so it would be prudent to have the bigger brand's rugged model in a durability test.

 

[eric716]

How can you afford to buy so many phones to "destroy" them?
I realize that is based on full MSRP, but still!!!
Perhaps a quality online entity such as Tom's Guide either gets them heavily discounted, or is a very lucrative enterprise, given the revenue from ads.

 

[Roshen]

Didn't drop a Nokia. Hmm...

 

[jojomani13]

Why not the Essential phone which is made of titanium?

 

[glennquagmire911]

Jojo, I can tell the Essential will be in the middle of the pack or worse. The titanium edges and ceramic back are very tough, but the energy transfer to the glass causes the front face to crack. Like so many of the phones, the corners are not reinforced and the Gorilla Glass 5.0 on the front sticks out further than the slim edges of the phone. Dropped mine from about 3 feet the first week and it landed on the corner and I got a small spider-web of cracking in that corner. Essential's limited warranty does not cover the glass. I would call it a design flaw, however, Essential does not agree.


Most of the newer phones are designed similarly and are all having glass cracking problems. TG is only one tester and one set of results. Other reviews of the newer phones have some results that vary from Tom's Guide. One well know YouTuber who reviews phones showed the iPhone X's glass back breaking from short drops quite easily.

VISA offers extended protection on the devices you buy with it. Use that Visa credit card (not debit) because it may just get your phone replaced when you need it.

 

[gpaddict]

No Samsung S8 Active?, not that I ever plan on dropping mine!