News Flash: Don’t Drop Your iPhone 6 [Videos]
If you were planning on dropping your beautiful new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus onto concrete or another hard surface, you may want to reconsider your plans, or perhaps buy a case
. Why, might you ask? Well, and this may come as a shock so brace yourself, but it turns out that dropping an electronic gadget composed of machined glass and aluminum onto a hard surface may cause that glass to break, and the aluminum to scuff or dent. Imagine that!
This revelatory news was confirmed by PhoneBuff, who bought two new iPhone 6 models, and dropped them both onto the ground, on camera of course. If this sounds completely pointless and silly, and obviously my little introduction would suggest it’s a bit on the ‘duh’ side, don’t write it off quite yet. These stunts are known as “drop tests” to us in the geek community, and while they’re painful to watch and often considered pointless by normal people, they do serve some legitimate purpose in the sense that they allow users to get an idea for how fragile or tough a device is when dropped… and guess what, we all drop our phones sometimes.
Here’s the video in question with an iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus being dropped in a variety of manners, and yes, the screen does shatter on both models.
But before you decide that iPhone 6 is a wuss because the glass shattered when dropped face-first onto concrete, consider this other drop-test video from AndroidAuthority. The tests are basically the same, dropping it face first, back first, and on it’s side, but… this time the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus completely survive, without any glass breakage. Interesting.
Of course, no two drops are the same, which is why the iPhones fair very well in the second video, but break in the first video, so this doesn’t really leave us with much of an impression on overall toughness or fragility of the iPhone 6 line.
The takeaway should probably be this; if you’re concerned about dropping your iPhone 6 and breaking it, you may want to invest in a good iPhone 6 case to add a bit of protection. If you aren’t worried about dropping your phone, go about your life. If you’re still paranoid about breaking the beautiful big new screens of the 6 with or without using a case, you can always get an insurance policy of sorts by purchasing AppleCare+ for $100, and then you just need to pay an $89 fee to replace the screen if you happen to break it through accidental damage. Otherwise you’d either have to pay for the screen repair out of pocket at whatever cost it is, or worse, buy a new iPhone 6 at full price.
Oh and along the topic of dropping an iPhone, here’s an added bit of humor (or horror) out of Australia; the first iPhone 6 buyer in the nation was interviewed on TV and… immediately dropped the iPhone 6. Oops.
So, if you’re prone to dropping iPhones, consider using a case, ok? There are plenty of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus cases for sale already, so find one that works for you.
My iphone’s LCD broke today. What shall i do? If i repair it would it be like what it was before or not?
I have dropped my naked 6 three times now on to concrete or tile from 4 feet +. Minimal scratching or scratch/scuffing. No broken glass. Slight rattle has now appeared when phone is shaken vigorously. Reading on forums has told me this is sometimes the case w 6 that has not been dropped. Lucky so far- yikes.. Tough phone..
Don’t drop an expensive glass phone. What’s next, auto makers putting stickers all over new cars warning to not run it into a wall or another vehicle. Stupid.
“News Flash: Don’t Drop Your iPhone 6”
News Flash: Don’t Drop •Any• Expensive Piece of Electronics
I’ve never used a case, and drop my iPhone 5 all the time. As long as you don’t do “perfect drops”, as shown in the videos, you’ll be fine. Apple goes to all the trouble to design the perfect phone, and we bury it’s beauty inside a bulky, feature hindering case? If iPhones were meant to be clumsy and hard to use, they would have been born with cases. The better cases make it impossible to swipe up from the bottom, require an adapter cord to plug in headphones, and make it whippin’ hard to double click the home button. Yuck.
You’re obviously picking the wrong cases. I’ve never needed a headphone adapter, had cases with massively useful stands and now use one that amplifies the sound without the use of power. And I’ve yet to see a case that interferes with swiping.
I spent a couple weeks in a hospital, using the 4s to watch Netflix with a good case with a kickstand which was knocked off my table multiple times daily by hospital workers to drop 3-4′ to a linoleum floor without slightest bit of damage.
The high point comes when it’s time to sell the phone after two years, you remove the case, screen protector, and find a pristine device, looking like it just was removed from the box for the first time. I got 70% of what I paid for my 4s after 2 years of use.
The iPhone 6 is huge Wow
That’s what she said.
Wait until you feel the iPhone 6 Plus, it’s enormous. Way too big for most people I think. The 6 is a more usable size as a phone, the 6 Plus is really a small tablet.
I don’t understand why people persist in not protecting their investment with a good case. I know people who use nothing at all. Be sure to get a decent screen protector. Don’t fall for the protection screens made out of glass like for Samsung. We switched from Otter to Pong with the 5s to enhance sound and reduce radiation, per their claims. We found the sound much better on calls. Hopefully we won’t glow at night. We plan on doing the same when we update to the 6 level.
Some people don’t mind having a phone that looks like it’s been through a war after a couple of years. They see the dents, dings, scratches and cracks as badges of honor. That changes when they try to sell it and the buyer says “Yuk”.
I buy iPhones for their functionality and not their looks. That’s why I invest in Applecare and a quality case. By the way, the tempered glass screen protectors are great if you get a good thin one with rounded edges. Much less hassle when swapping cases and is virtually invisible compared to the Zagg type plastic ones.
Of all the iPhone models, the 6/6+ seems designed with the least protection for the screen since the screen blends seamlessly into the case. Aesthetically pleasing, but not particularly practical.
I suspect this design will become infamous for its fragility. But nothing a well designed case can’t protect.
Jony Ive is a great designer but he needs to be reined in a bit.
That’s cuz it’s a girly white phone. A black iPhone 6 wouldn’t break. :)
Well there go my plans to throw my phone onto some brick. Damn.