An iPhone 8 drop test carried out by SquareTrade, a provider of extended warranties for electronic devices, showed the fragility of the glass back of Apple's latest smartphone.
Apple fans who have just purchased the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, as well as those who are planning to buy the iPhone X, should definitely be very careful.
iPhone 8 Drop Test By SquareTrade
Apple incorporated glass backs into the 2017 iPhone models to enable wireless charging. However, with the addition of the feature comes the added risk of breakage, as glass backs are much more fragile compared to the aluminum ones of previous iPhones.
During the unveiling of the iPhone 8, Apple said that its glass back is the most durable glass to have ever been added to a smartphone. However, this turned out to just be marketing speak, as SquareTrade's iPhone 8 drop test showed that durability is not one of the stronger points of the device's glass back.
SquareTrade dropped the smartphones from 6 feet up on all sides, ran them through a tumbler, and also carried out a new "shot drop" test that simulated the device flying off the roof of a car at 22 miles per hour.
The results are not surprising, as it is common knowledge that glass easily shatters. SquareTrade gave the iPhone 8 a breakability score of 67 and the iPhone 8 Plus a score of 74, on a scale of 1 to 100 where 100 is the most breakable.
Drop tests carried out by others featured the same story, as a glass back is just very fragile compared to aluminum ones.
iPhone 8 vs Galaxy Note 8 Glass Back Durability
The flagship smartphone of rival Samsung, the Galaxy Note 8, also has a glass back, and SquareTrade compared its breakability to the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.
While the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus had high breakability scores, the Galaxy Note 8 fared even worse in the drop tests with a score of 80. The curved back of the Galaxy Note 8 heightened the risk of the glass back shattering when the smartphone falls on its side. A broken screen also renders the Galaxy Note 8 inoperable due to the lack of a home button to input any form of control, and the smartphone also has more fragile internal cables that are more prone to damage compared to the iPhone 8.
Doing better than the Galaxy Note 8 is a very small consolation for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus though. The iPhone 8 glass back is very expensive to replace, as the iFixit iPhone 8 teardown confirmed that it is a very difficult procedure. Owners of the smartphone are highly recommended to protect it with a case and be extra careful when handling it.
