It took us four drops to break the iPhone XR's camera

the iPhone XS proved that it can take a beating in our fall test, but is the cheaper iPhone XR as strong?

At first glance, the iPhone XR shares many of the features of its high-end brother: an edge-to-edge display, a glass on each side and a metal bumper. But it is built slightly differently. For starters, its larger 6.1-inch screen has more breakable surface than the 5.8-inch display of the iPhone XS. It is also encased in an aluminum frame, instead of the stronger stainless steel that surrounds the glass of the XS and XS Max.

The glass itself is different too. The screen is covered with the same glass as the XS and the XS Max, which, according to Apple, is "the most durable glass ever seen on a smartphone", but the back is different. It's stronger than last year iPhone X — which broken to the first drop in our test last year – but not as robust as that of the iPhone XS. And he has a single camera on the back with a slightly more pronounced hump.

To find out if and how this would affect the durability of the phone, we took our brand new bright yellow iPhone XR on the sidewalk to perform real (unscientific) fall tests, just like its older siblings.

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What is the resistance of glass on the iPhone XR?

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Drop 1: pocket height, screen down

I started with a pocket height drop, or about 0.9 meters, at which height many accidents occur. The same file that broken iPhone X from last year.

I dropped the screen of the iPhone XR to test the toughest glass first. Unfortunately for the purpose of our test, he barely touched the screen – by the time he landed, he had already turned around and his back had broken the fall. The right side hit first, then bounced off the side of the camera, and then flipped in the air for his final landing: the screen side down.

From where I stood, it looked like the back had survived without a scratch, but once I picked it up, I noticed that the sapphire crystal window of the camera had a C-shaped crack running around it. from top to bottom with a white ding at the source. The aluminum frame also had visible scratches on the side that removed the gold layer, thus exposing the silver underneath. The screen, meanwhile, did not seem too worn, with some spots on the edge that scratched when I put my fingers on it.

I took a few snapshots with the camera and noticed that most shots looked pretty good despite the crack. The crack became apparent when recording the video, if the light reached it at right angles.

With the screen and the back glass still intact, I decided to continue our fall test.

Drop 2: Height of the pocket, screen down

Because the screen did not hit the ground first during the last fall, I decided to lower it again to the same height of 3 feet. This time, I held it with both hands to better control the fall.

The top of the screen interrupted the fall, and then the right edge and the bottom were caught, which allowed the phone to bounce and rotate 180 degrees until it Land again, screen side down, upper right corner touching ground first. .

Depending on the strength put on the screen this fall, I was expecting some damage. But when I returned it, the screen was fine. There were some white lines on the edges of the glass, but most turned out to be cement particles and were immediately rubbed. There were still some small bumps in the glass on the top of the screen, but nothing too noticeable.

Drop 3: eye level, free fall

To increase the stakes, I brought our iPhone XR to the eye level, or 1.5 meters. It's about the height at which it would fall from your hands if you take a picture, another common situation.

I started with the phone in landscape mode with the screen facing me, as if you naturally held your phone when you take a picture, and then let it fall.

The top rear corner of the frame above the camera interrupted the fall, then bounced off and hit the other edge of the frame. He took off again and landed in the back of the vehicle.

There was no visible damage on the screen, but the scrapes on the aluminum frame had multiplied, the worst corner at the top of the camera where the phone hit first. The back was still beautiful, but a closer look revealed a small fracture in the lower left corner of the glass. Aside from the camera and the smashed frame, this phone was still in great shape.

Drop 4: eye level, side of the screen down

During the last test, I decided to pass the front window through the ring and let it drop screen side at eye level (5 feet).

I knew it was serious by the time the phone hit the ground. He made a thud and even raised a light cloud of dust as he landed almost flat on his screen.

And of course, when I returned, I noticed a cluster of cobwebs coming from the earpiece to the outside. I could even feel the tiny fragments of glass that were starting to come off as I ran my fingers over the top of the phone.

The rear window was still intact, but that marked the end of our fall test.

The breakdown

It took four bad drops on a rough sidewalk to finally break the screen of our iPhone XR. Due to the nature of our tests, it is unclear whether the iPhone XS (which survived this fourth and last fall) is more durable than the XR. I suspect that even the iPhone XS would have cracked after this face-plant in the end. What is clear to me is that Apple has made the glass of its new phones stronger than its predecessors. IPhone XR and iPhone XS held longer than expected iPhones from last year 8 and X, and even some of its competitors.

Even if the iPhone XS has a slight advantage with regard to surviving falls, the iPhone XR will cost you at least $ 250 less. It is also cheaper to repair. The replacement of the screen without AppleCare + will cost you $ 199 compared to the $ 279 of the iPhone XS and the $ 329 that it costs to repair the 6.5 inch screen of the XS Max. (You can find prices in the United Kingdom and prices in Australia here.)

Replacing the camera, however, will not be so simple. A cracked lens is classified under "other damage", which is $ 399 that you will have to pay. That alone is reason enough to put a thick holster on your iPhone XR.