Apple has gone bigger and better with its latest iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6 smartphones. A new study reveals that the devices are sturdier than the iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy S5.
The study was conducted by SquareTrade, which provides protection plans for smartphone users. SquareTrade observed the durability of four smartphones: Samsung Galaxy S5, iPhone 6, iPhone 6Plus and iPhone 5s. The company based its observations on eight primary factors, such as weight, size, quality of the rear and front panels and grip.
SquareTrade also measured how further the smartphones in question slid when they were pushed while on their back. The endurance of the devices, upon being dropped from a height of 4 feet and submerged for 10 seconds in water, was also gauged.
The company deployed robots to perform the tests so that consistency was maintained. The phones were rated on a 10-point scale for durability, where 10 stood for the highest risk.
The findings reveal that the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 performed the best out of the lot on several tests, which gauged the susceptibility of smartphones to accidents and damage. The iPhone 6 passed the slide test with flying colors as well.
Not far behind in the durability scales was the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. However, the phablet lost out on some points owing to its colossal size as it was prone to slipping out of a user's hands. SquareTrade revealed that even though the iPhone 6 Plus is sleek, users may have difficulty gripping the handset. The phone did not fare well when it was dropped from a height of 4 feet. Even though the glass screen did not shatter, the case detached from the glass screen.
Another Apple smartphone, last year's model iPhone 5s, also fared better than Android when it came to toughness. The 4-inch iPhone 5s ousted the 5.1-inch Samsung Galaxy S5, which fared poorly on plenty of tests, especially the slide one. The slide test judged a phone's ability of slipping. The chances of a phone falling from the edge of a table were higher if it slid a lot.
Overall, all the four devices performed decently, with little separating them in terms of breakage risk. All performed well in the water dunking test and had an overall medium risk when it came to breakage.
However, when it came to the 10-point durability score, the iPhone 6 fared the best with a score of 4, followed by the iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 5s at 5 and 6 points, respectively. The Samsung Galaxy S5 performed the worst overall with 6.5 points.
SquareTrade's marketing officer Ty Shay concluded that smartphones were becoming "more and more durable," owing to OEMs taking more care.
