With every passing yr, Apple tries to make its expensive smartphones increasingly immune to bodily injury. In lots of respects this mission has been a hit: actually as we speak’s iPhones are much more waterproof than was the case a decade in the past. And the Ceramic Protect characteristic launched with the iPhone 12 in 2020 means the glass of the display screen is tougher to interrupt, too.
One of many trumpeted upgrades for the most recent 16-series iPhones is the inclusion of a brand new model of Ceramic Protect, which Apple claims is “two times tougher than any smartphone glass.” Which may be correct, however don’t suppose it means you may toss your iPhone 16 Professional on the ground and stroll away scot-free.
The insurance coverage agency Allstate Safety Plans commonly checks the drop- (and dunk-) resistance of assorted gadgets, and yesterday revealed how the iPhone 16 bought on within the newest spherical of simulated spills. The information isn’t totally optimistic.
The corporate makes use of what it refers to as a “DropBot” to simulate falls from six toes (which is probably on the excessive facet if we’re imagining the telephone being dropped from a pocket or hand until you’re a large) to provides a common (and constant) sense of how nicely every machine stands as much as this sort of impression. And the reply is that even the newest iPhones don’t stand as much as it very nicely.
“When dropped face down on a sidewalk from six feet, the 16 Pro Max shattered, and the display failed completely, rendering the device unusable,” Allstate studies. Dropping it on the again panel was much less catastrophic, however nonetheless inadvisable: whereas remaining absolutely practical, the telephone shattered and suffered important injury to the digital camera housing.
“So while the iPhone 16 may be the smartest smartphone to date, one thing hasn’t changed,” the corporate concludes. “It’s still made of glass.”
This will sound dangerous… and definitely isn’t reassuring to listen to. However as MacRumors factors out in its protection of the story, that is only a actually laborious check. The iPhone 16 Professional Max has glass on each back and front, and no glass-based smartphone has ever survived Allstate’s DropBot check.