By Nick Gelling
Product Test Journalist | Kaipūrongo Whakamātautau Hautaonga
Our lab checks the fragility of every smartphone we review by repeatedly dropping each one onto concrete from waist height.
You might be surprised to learn most phones pass our drop test with only minor damage – scuffs on the corners or small dents. A few even come out looking as good as new. Reinforced glass has come a long way.
However, our tumble test still claims some hapless victims. Of course, there is an element of luck. But with so many quality phones on the market, why take a chance by buying one that our lab test suggests will smash easily?
If you have your eye on a new phone that isn’t listed here, make sure it’s durable by checking our comprehensive smartphone reviews.
Want to see our tumbler in action?
You can see our rigorous durability testing, including the drop test and scratch resistance test, toward the end of this video.
Phones that smashed in our test
4 phones that stayed completely intact
It’s hard to believe, but a few phones can survive 100 drops onto concrete with no cracks, dents or even superficial scratches. That kind of durability will cost you, though.
While these phones all got perfect scores in our drop and water resistance tests, our scratch resistance test is near-impossible to pass flawlessly. So, none managed durability scores of 100%.
