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Chris Parker / CNET
the iPhone 12 Mini it’s a hard phone to crack. We’ve already tested the 6.1-inch iPhone 12, but decided to do it all over again with the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 Mini to see if the smaller phone gave different results. Mainly, we wanted to see if we could break the screen. Spoiler: We didn’t, but we managed to break other things in the process. Covered New Apple Ceramic Protective Glass, the iPhone 12 Mini’s screen turned out to be virtually indestructible in our drop test. It also appears to be even better at handling repeated drops than its bigger screen sibling.
Read more: Is the iPhone 12 waterproof? We took him swimming to test his water resistance.
Although it looks exactly the same as normal glass to the naked eye, the ceramic shield on iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max it is not ordinary glass. It is glass that has been infused with ceramic crystals, and according to Apple, it is the toughest glass ever in a smartphone. Because our testing methods are unscientific, we can’t be sure if that statement is true, but our experience with the iPhone 12 suggests that it has the toughest screen of any phone we’ve tested. The 6.1-inch screen on our iPhone 12 ended up virtually unscathed after falling onto concrete seven times at different heights. The back of the phone, however, is made from the previous generation glass and we managed to break it at the second drop.
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini share the same aluminum and glass frame made by Corning (the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max have stainless steel), so we weren’t expecting much different results, but we wanted to find out if the One more phone small and light would affect the results.
Corning says that, in general, larger devices may be prone to flexing more than smaller ones, and heavier phones may see higher energy on impact, but do not necessarily predict performance during a drop event. since design can also play an important role. part.
Chris Parker, senior video producer at CNET, dropped an iPhone 12 Mini Product Red on the sidewalk for our test.
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The iPhone 12 Mini is hard to break
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Read more: Here are CNET’s reviews of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Mini, and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
1: 3 ft drop, screen down
This is roughly the distance from your pocket to the ground and one of the most common heights you can drop your phone from. If the ground is uneven, such as on a sidewalk, this fall can be fatal to your phone screen.
The iPhone 12 Mini hit the ground at an angle and bounced before settling down, despite Chris dropping it screen-down. After wiping some dust off the sidewalk, the screen looked like new. However, the metal frame didn’t look that good. It had a large scratch in the upper right corner where it landed that rubbed off the red paint, exposing the metal at the bottom. The bottom of the frame suffered the same visible damage and also had some small dents. The contrast between the phone’s bright red and the aluminum made the frame damage more noticeable than what we experienced on our mint green iPhone 12. This was a trend that we continued to see during our drop test.
The first drop from hip height hit the aluminum frame, but the screen was fine.
Chris Parker / CNET
2 drop: 3 feet, backside down
Chris repeated the same fall, but this time with the back of the phone facing the ground. This was the drop that cracked the back of the iPhone 12 in our previous drop test, but the Mini fared better.
The phone hit a little at an angle again, but this time the side of the phone hit the ground first, then spun on the opposite side, causing it to bounce through the air again and then crash into the back again. looking down.
The damage to the aluminum frame was significantly worse and the upper right corner of the phone at the top of the camera had dents. But the back of the phone (and the screen itself) still seemed to be in perfect condition.
The second drop from hip height dented the frame, but not the glass.
Chris Parker / CNET
3 drop: 6 feet, 6 inches, screen facing down
While you are less likely to drop your phone from this height, it is still within the realm of possibility if you were taking a photo (or even a selfie for taller people) from this height.
Again, the Mini landed screen down, but it didn’t land completely flat. The top of the phone hit first, causing it to take off again and complete a 360-degree turn before landing screen-down on the sidewalk again.
The screen survived once more, but the frame around it had more dents. One of the dents in the aluminum frame seemed to nearly penetrate the glass where the two of them were, and I was concerned that it would compromise the display in the future.
The damage to the frame almost seemed to transfer to the glass.
Chris Parker / CNET
4 drop: 6 feet, 6 inches, rear side down
Next, we replicate the drop with the back of the phone facing down.
This time, the back of the phone landed almost flat on the ground, but the impact caused it to bounce and flip, landing with the screen facing down.
The rear glass was still intact, but both camera lenses were damaged. The ultra-wide camera had a visible crack running through the side, while the main rear camera frame and lens had some tiny dents. The crack was not visible through the viewfinder when we opened the camera app, but it could cause lens flare and could continue to break over time.
The fourth drop from 2 meters broke the top lens of the iPhone 12 Mini’s camera module.
Chris Parker / CNET
5 and 6 drop: 9 feet, screen facing down
With the iPhone 12 Mini’s front and back glass still intact, we decided to up the stakes and bring the phone to nine feet. Chris had to drop them off a ladder and making them fall as planned became more difficult.
The first drop was a wash because the screen barely made contact with the ground. The phone landed on top of the metal frame and bounced a bit, so we tested it again.
The second time he landed with the screen facing the ground, flipped over in midair and finally ended up with the screen facing up. The metal frame looked like a war zone at this point, but the screen was totally fine.
The dent in the upper right of the frame was still growing, but the ceramic shield screen had survived once more.
7: 9 ft drop, rear side down
We repeated this fall with the back of the phone facing the ground, but from that height it did not stay still after the initial impact and made numerous turns in the air before landing with the back towards the ground.
This drop eventually did some damage to the back of the phone. It had three small fractures starting in the lower right corner: two small and a longer one that extended up the length of the frame almost to the upper right corner.
Although we couldn’t break the screen, the rear of the iPhone 12 Mini finally cracked after the seventh fall from nine feet.
Chris Parker / CNET
Let’s break it
Based on our drop tests of the iPhone 12 and now the iPhone 12 Mini, the ceramic shield is the strongest part of these phones. Both the lens and the back of the iPhone 12 Mini cracked in our drop tests, but the curb was no match. for the screen, covered by the ceramic shield, surviving consecutive falls from extreme heights.
That being said, you may want to put at least a slim case on the phone to protect the camera and keep the frame looking new. At least, that’s what Apple suggested when we shared the results.
“IPhone 12 models have undergone rigorous real-world testing and are designed to be durable, but not indestructible. If anyone is concerned about dropping their iPhone and damaging it, we suggest that they use one of the many beautiful cases available to protect it. ”
