The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 looks stylish and boasts top-notch specs, but a drop test will result in quite a lot of broken glass.
Durability is a very important aspect when considering the purchase of a new device — especially if it's a high-end flagship with the price to match. The new-generation Samsung Galaxy Note 5 recently made its debut as the company's latest flagship phablet, boasting powerful specifications and the same metal-and-glass physique of the Galaxy S6.
While the device looks and feels good, the use of glass doesn't exactly make it the sturdiest handset out there — and a new drop test video shows just how fragile the glass of the Galaxy Note 5 can be.
Drop tests are a good way to determine whether a new device would be able to handle the occasional drop without cracking, and this video shows the Galaxy Note 5 dropped from waist level, which is a reasonable height to simulate normal use.
A drop test machine handles the test, dropping the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 from various positions and different angles. Unsurprisingly, all scenarios end with plenty of broken glass.
The first round of tests involve dropping the Galaxy Note 5 on a tile surface from a height of about three feet. When landing on its back, the phablet's rear cover cracks on the first drop. Dropping the phone on its bottom side results in little-to-no damage to the frame, but dropping it on its front, face first, sees the front glass of the device crack from the impact. The display itself, however, doesn't suffer any damage.
The next round of tests replaces the tile surface with concrete, which results in more significant damage. The back-drop test sees the Galaxy Note 5's rear glass shatter completely, and even the rear camera glass gets cracked. The display, however, survives.
The Galaxy S6's display stopped responding to touch when it went through the same test, but the Galaxy Note 5 remains functional for the most part, with only the bottom right side becoming unresponsive. The drop on its side onto concrete, meanwhile, sees the Galaxy Note 5 survive with little damage to the metal frame, but the front glass still cracks. The video doesn't show the back of the device after this side-drop test on concrete, but the rear glass is likely cracked as well.
Next up, the machine drops the device face-first on concrete, from the same height, which shatters the front glass and also inflicts noticeable damage to the display, leaving a vertical streak on the right side. Intriguingly, it's the same display area affected in the back-drop test on concrete.
The folks over a PhoneBuff, who conducted this Galaxy Note 5 drop test, used the same machine to test the endurance of other devices out there so they can properly compare how one handset compares to others in terms of durability.
Comparing the Galaxy Note 5 drop test results to those of other handsets that went through the same ordeal, PhoneBuff concludes that Samsung's new phablet is more durable than the Galaxy S6, but less durable than the iPhone 6 and the HTC One M9.
Check out the video below to see for yourself just how the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 survives these drop tests on tile and concrete.
