Monday, December 9, 2024
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Apple’s iPhone X is the toughest ‘non-ruggedized’ smartphone

Tom’s Guide dropped 12 of the most popular smartphones as part of its first annual Drop Everything special report, and the Motorola Moto Z2 Force emerged as the world’s toughest phone. Thanks to its shatterproof display, it survived multiple drops on wood and concrete from four and six feet — as well as a plunge into a toilet — without sustaining a single crack.

However, Apple’s iPhone X proved to be the biggest surprise in the Tom’s Guide‘s report, as it was the toughest non-ruggedized phone. Apple’s $1,000 handset suffered less damage than most of the competition after being dropped on its face from four feet.

“Our goal with this Drop Everything report was to determine which phones are toughest and which are weakest using a series of real-world tests,” says Mark Spoonauer, editor-in-chief of Tom’s Guide. “We will be adding this testing to every major phone we review so that shoppers will know which ones can hold up best to everyday abuse.”

The iPhone SE proved to be the least-durable phone in the testing; it cracked so badly that it couldn’t make it to the final round. Google’s Pixel 2 XL also performed poorly, as its screen washed out completely on the left side after a 6-foot drop.

Tom’s Guide scored each of the 12 phones based on the extent of the damage and how far each phone progressed in its testing. The Samsung Galaxy S9, for example, scored a six out of 10, which put it toward the middle of the pack.


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Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.