Apple makes gorgeous looking and highly desirable products, but unfortunately for buyers, the iPhone and iPad are among the most breakable devices in the world. Back in February, SquareTrade tested a bunch of gadgets, and rated the iPad mini as the most breakable, with the iPad Air in third place, the iPhone 5c in fifth, and the iPhone 5s in eighth.
It was hoped by many that Apple’s new phones would have sapphire crystal screens, but in the end the tech giant went for ion-strengthened glass. There’s good news for Apple users though, and that’s new breakability tests conducted by SquareTrade show the new devices are Apple’s least fragile to date.
The tests, which are carried out by robots to ensure consistency, assessed the new phones against eight criteria -- size, weight, panel strength (front and back), a drop test, a slide test, a gripability test and test for water resistance.
The tests show how far the phones slide when pushed across a table on their backs, how well they withstand drops from four feet and how well they perform during and after being dunked in water for 10 seconds. The phones are then rated out of 10 for durability, with 10 signifying the highest risk.
Overall Apple's iPhone 6 scored the best with a 4, the iPhone 6 Plus managed a 5, and the iPhone 5s achieved a 6. In comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S5 only managed a 6.5. The Samsung phone got poor marks on several tests including the slide test (how easy it is for a phone to slide off a table and fall on to the floor).
Although the iPhone 6 Plus didn’t fare too badly, in the drop test the glass screen survived, but the case came away from the phone. Nasty.
You can watch the tests in this video.
In related news, according to a new study organized by SquareTrade, UK consumers have spent close to £5 billion (or £78 per head) on getting broken smartphones and tablets repaired in the past two years. It also reveals that more than a third (37 percent) of respondents have damaged their phones in some way. 27 percent admit to not owning a case to protect their device, and 70 percent don’t have any kind of protection or insurance.