The results of the iPhone 12 drop test are as follows: Ceramic shield is as tough as it sounds

Apple Play brand new iPhone 12A new type of glass called a “ceramic shield”, Which he says The hardest glass ever on a smartphone. Every year Apple makes similar claims about its glass, but this time may be different because this is no ordinary glass. While it looks and feels exactly like glass, the ceramic shield that covers the curtain, as the name suggests, is a combination of glass and ceramic (which is harder than most metals). It’s brand new cover material for the iPhone and it’s the opposite of what we’ve ever tested before.

And testing it is exactly what we did. To find out how this new content captures elements, we put together two brand-new iPhone 12s through a few scratch and drop tests. And as it turned out, this new glass is incredibly durable. (This competitor says he has a screen Three times harder than the Apple Pal’s ceramic shield.)

IPhone 12: Breaking the glass

The ceramic shield covers only the front of the iPhone 12. – The screen. Covered with glass like last year’s iPhone 11, Apple Paul says it’s the hardest in the industry. Both types of glass are made by Corning.

Aside from the glass, there are other factors that can play a role in how well this phone drops. The glass on the iPhone 12 is flushed with a metal frame instead of bending like the previous models Dello which further exposed the glass. Apple Paul says the choice of design alone will make the rear twice as durable as the previous models.

All four models of the iPhone 12 (IPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Max) Has the same ceramic shield on the screen and the same type of glass on the back. The only difference in content is the frame. The two Pros have a stainless steel frame, while the Mini and 12 have aluminum. The performance of the frame may vary depending on the material, but the glass should provide the same kind of protection throughout the board. For our tests we used the regular iPhone 12 in blue and green.

Scratch 1: He escaped the clutter of his pocket / purse

For the first test, I put the iPhone 12 in a small makeup bag with some common culprits that scratch our phone: a set of keys, half a dozen quarters and a metallic pen. I shook the bag vigorously for about 30 seconds to mimic what happens after a few weeks of bouncing out of a purse or pocket before I check.

After wiping the phone with a cloth, I did not find a single scratch on the glass or the frame of the iPhone 12.

Click on the video below to see the results from the start and drop tests.

Scratch 2: No scratches on the screen after sliding on the tile

Next, I want to see how the screen catches if it comes in contact with hard surfaces like a marble table, kitchen counter or bathroom floor. I slid the iPhone back and forth 10 times on the textured ceramic tile, first with the screen, then the back of the phone.

There was talk of debris from the tile on the screen, but I’m struggling to find any visible damage to the glass after cleaning it. Testing the back of the phone was difficult. The raised camera module does not allow the phone to flatten on its back, so I did a few slides with the phone in one corner. This did not damage the glass, but it did seal off some of the metal paint on the frame around the camera. It was barely noticeable and the lenses themselves were still in pristine condition. Then I did it again, with the camera module, hanging the edge of the tile. After a closer look at the back, I finally found two microscopic scratches, one on the silver Apple Pull logo and the other directly on the blue glass. Both are thinner than a nice hair strand and about an inch longer.

Scratch 3: Rubbing it on sandpaper

After passing two scratch tests with flying colors, I decided to do one more (extreme) test on this iPhone 12: rubbing with 80-grit sandpaper. This is probably the real world equivalent of sliding your phone down a driveway or sidewalk, which hopefully won’t happen often.

I rubbed 10 times back and forth on both sides sandpaper, applying light pressure. At this point, both sides of the phone were wrecked. The screen suffered the most damage, with lines running horizontally through the middle of the phone. A few of them were deep enough to feel with my fingernails, but it was still in working condition. The back of the phone is significantly less damaged, again due to the protection provided by the redesigned camera My module, but it still has scraps visible in the center and on the lower edge. The metallic finish on the lens frames continued to peel off, but the lens itself was still itchy.

The phone is tampered with by scratched glass and breaks during the fall, so my colleague, Chris Parker, managing producer at CNET, uses another new iPhone 12 for our drop tests on the sidewalk.

Leave 1: 3 feet, down from the side of the screen

This is a normal time when you can leave your phone in and out of your pocket. While dropping a phone from hip height can be harmful, if it lands on the street or sidewalk, you will come up with a broken screen.

When the hip height is lowered, the top of the iPhone 12 hits the ground first, then the bottom. It then bounced once more in the air before landing flat on the sidewalk, turning the screen side down as intended.

The aluminum frame had a few drains around the edge of the phone, but nothing serious.

Drop test 2: 3 feet, back down

Next, Chris dropped the same, but this time with the back of the phone landing.

The iPhone 12 looks pretty heavy: it landed almost the same way as before, at the top (where the camera is my module) first, then at the bottom. He finally landed down the sidewalk.

The main difference on this drop was the sound when it landed, the trunk louder than before. Sure, once we turned it on, we saw that half of the phone was broken. The edges felt a little rough to the touch, mainly from the dents on the frame, but there were no shards on the back of the phone, and it felt smooth despite the cracks.

Cracked in the back, we only narrowed our drops to the screen.

3: 6 feet, 6 inches, screen side down

This is as high as Chris can put the phone down without the need for a ladder.

The upper left corner of the screen, opposite the camera module, first flips, then to the right, then to the left until it flips, to the left of the descending screen. The most notable tooth was at the top where it first hit and it seemed to have cracked the screen right where it found the metal frame. But after rubbing it we realized it was just metallic remnants from the frame and the glass was still in perfect shape.

4, 5 and 6: 9 foot drop, screen side down

With the screen still strong, we decided to go to an even higher altitude, using a step ladder to reach nine feet. Again this isn’t a real drop unless you slide your phone off the second floor balcony, but we wanted to see how far we could take it.

At nine feet it also became difficult to control the landing. When Chris aimed to put it flat on the screen, the iPhone 12 had its own mind and landed almost the same way as the previous six-foot drop. The upper right-hand corner of the screen first hits the ground, then bounces to the left and lands on the side of the screen.

The pit at the top right of the frame widened further, but the screen survived again.

We repeated this drop twice more in the hope that it would flatten somewhere on his face, but the weight of the camera made it difficult to land at that angle, especially at that height. Eventually the iPhone 12 landed with the screen on the last drop, but only because it bounced off the side of the porch step. The frame had a few more bumps and bruises, but the screen still looked new from two feet nine feet behind three feet. The only way out was to climb the roof or rent a scissor lift, which we weren’t quite ready to do.

Let’s break it down

Because our tests aren’t scientific, we can’t say for sure that the screen is stronger than any other phone on the market, but we can say with certainty that even our iPhone 12 tiles were incredibly hard to crack (and scratch). And sidewalks.

The back of the iPhone 12, however, is not as drop resistant superpower as the screen. And when you feel comfortable using this phone without a screen protector, we and Apple Pal – Applecare Plus to replace the screen or back without coverage, recommend using the iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro with the case, which costs 9279 Is. 9 549 Depending on the repair.

In a statement to CNET, Apple Play said, “The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro represent the biggest leap of durability on the iPhone … The iPhone 12 models have passed rigorous real-world testing and are designed for durability, but not indestructible. If someone is worried about leaving their iPhone and damaging it, we suggest using one of the many beautiful cases available to keep the iPhone safe. ”