iPhone stress test: how did it do?

The Internets are a cruel place when it comes to first generation uber-hyped gear. So goes the iPhone stress test conducted by PC World. Now, how do you think that 3.5-inch sheet of glass stacked onto a slim 11.6-mm chassis held up? Well, in tests which found the iPhone in a 30 to 40 rep shake 'n bake with a bag full of key chains; on the business end of a deliberate cold-steel scratch attempt on the display; and dropped to concrete at heights (note plural) of up to about 6-feet, it came away with just a few scuffs along the metal edge. Right, no damage to the display. Be sure to check all the behind-split-finger gore in their video.

Read -- Stress Test
Read -- Video

[Jozef @ Jun 30th 2007 6:18AM]

Its hard to watch!
Why would you do that, when there are people like me (few), that have no phone, and a massive contract bill because of ORANGE!!!!
I could of accepted it! Even in its fragile state!

[lysdexia @ Jul 7th 2007 6:28PM]

could of? retard

[Dilbert @ Jun 30th 2007 6:27AM]

I think the only thing that would happen to your iPhone if you dropped it on concrete while walking in the street is that it would desapear before you even had time to retreive it.... it's actually in the fineprints in the iPhone manual "do not left unattended when close to fanboys" < /ironic>

[jilie @ Jun 30th 2007 6:34AM]

Will it bend, will it play doom and whatever, end of the coverage.

[Michael Leung @ Jun 30th 2007 6:37AM]

OMG...
But it is still working!

[beatromantic @ Jun 30th 2007 6:42AM]

That's impressive! I was kind of on the fence about getting one (No A2DP, 3rd party apps, blah blah blah... We're on Engadget, everyone knows the specs) but when I strolled past the Apple store at 7:30 and they still had a stack I went ahead and took the plunge. I figured at worst, I could hold it for a couple of days, hear some new "real world" reviews, and then decide.

Between this and playing with it at the store (where I learned the keyboard was a definite NON-issue -- I typed with two hands faster than I could with my Crackberry!), I think I'll open it up and activate it. Yeah, its definitely not going to replace my Blackberry but it'll give it a good "fun for its money".

I just wish their bluetooth headset was for sale. For whatever reason, I'm in love with that small earpiece.

[Michael Leung @ Jun 30th 2007 6:41AM]

Yes!
Just put in into "Will it blend",
I think most people will watch it in YouTube=P

From Hong Kong

[Michael Leung @ Jun 30th 2007 6:42AM]

"put it into"
Sorry!

[Camperton @ Jun 30th 2007 7:08AM]

I reeeeeeeeeally enjoyed that. Especially when he kept repeatedly dropping it on the concrete... nice to know it can stand some abuse.

[Jeff Lewis @ Jun 30th 2007 7:14AM]

Hi. Welcome to Chem 30. What is the Mohs Scale. Glass has a hardness of around 6-7. Iron is 4.5. Titanium is 6. Quartz is 7.

Take out your keys and try to scratch a glass window or a mug. Unless the glass is already defective it's unlikely you can do it. The reason glasses shatter is because they're thin self-supporting structures and when dropped, they deform enough to shatter.

The glass screen of the iPhone is a hardened glass sheet held against a solid block of electronics and shell, so it's unlikely it'll deform enough to shatter if dropped and unlikely it can be scratched by keys.

Now.. you want a serious test?

Stick it in your back pocket and sit in a hard chair.

Or you could try to replicate what happened to my MP3 player - it was in a jacket pocket and got trapped between my hip and the seat armrest at a theater which ended up putting enough pressure on the display that it cracked the outer plastic shell (fortunately, not the display).

Or heck, just pick it up and try to FOLD it and snap it. That would be about the same as dropping something on it while it's resting at an angle against a hard object.

[Camperton @ Jun 30th 2007 7:29AM]

Come on engadget put it to Jeff's Jeopardy test.

[BobTurbo @ Jun 30th 2007 7:43AM]

And what happens when you fall over onto a rock that hits the iPhone near the center with your body providing leverage. Also what about sliding it along concrete and pathways.

[John @ Jun 30th 2007 5:15PM]

Yeah, the whole 'dropping it onto concrete' thing was kind of a given... you aren't going to break it by applying pressure to an edge of it like that. An actual stress test to show what would happen if you had it in your back pocket and sat down on a curved chair would be more interesting.

[Jason @ Jun 30th 2007 4:59PM]

soon after the end of the video the blogger for PC world screams in agony "f***ing apple"

[wasabi @ Jun 30th 2007 7:36AM]

they forgot the piss test.

[techwarrior @ Jun 30th 2007 9:25AM]

sick!!!

[Chrisboff @ Jun 30th 2007 9:19AM]

Seems like some people are determined to prove that the iPhone can be broken =)

[Benson Leung @ Jun 30th 2007 9:22AM]

And yet, no matter how hard they try, they fail.

If you believe idiots like Rob Enderle, the iPhone's screen is supposed to crack instantly when you drop it on any surface. Clearly that is not true, and is more durable than people thought.

[Nazzyon @ Jul 23rd 2007 8:45AM]

No matter what the phone can do. All I know is just I am not just into it.

It is still a low end

[Marty @ Jul 4th 2007 6:44PM]

What I am most concerned about is the upper bound operating temp of 95 degrees F. It is over 95 here in San Antonio about half the year. Does this mean indoors use only? And what do I do when it gets above the safe storage temp of 113 put it in the fridge?

[GazzyC @ Jun 30th 2007 10:36AM]

OH NO NOT A TROJAN!!!!!

I wonder if it got past Opera browser!

[Matt @ Jun 30th 2007 10:24AM]

No problems on my Mac. ;)

[js @ Jun 30th 2007 10:28AM]

Running an iPhone over by a car: now that is a very interesting pressure test.

[dwayne leroice @ Jun 30th 2007 11:24AM]

when they said "the iPhone may not be the best choice for people who need to compose a lot of e-mail." thats almost exactly what steve ballmer said. He said since it doesnt have a keyboard it wouldnt be a very good emailing device.
Go on you tube and type in steve ballmer laughs at iphone

[noah @ Jun 30th 2007 11:25AM]

Ah, it better be tough seeing it's all screen. Glass FTW?

[Jonathan Worrel @ Jun 30th 2007 11:41AM]

Wow, that sure is pretty impressive. Looks like if I bought one, I wouldn't need to go out and get an InvisibleShield for the screen. Thanks Apple1

[Carnaval13 @ Jun 30th 2007 12:43PM]

iPhone Gen 1 much better than iPod Gen 1. Very impressive. Saw one last night at a restaurant. The guy was really pleased with it and he was already fast with the keyboard and touch screen moves.

[Adrian Williams @ Jun 30th 2007 6:46PM]

One test he didnt do phone in your pocket you hit it on the edge of desk test

[Drew @ Jun 30th 2007 2:52PM]

what happens when you drop it in the toilet?

[Andrew @ Jul 12th 2007 9:22PM]

It flickers after a few seconds then dies, see the review at ars technica :P

[Neptune5 @ Jun 30th 2007 4:53PM]

the same thing that happens when you drop anything else in the toilet.

[zach @ Jun 30th 2007 4:29PM]

Does anybody know if you can put a version of SQL on the iphone...if so can you provide a link or a name for it?

[Paul Siebuhr @ Jun 30th 2007 5:05PM]

Thats one tough icookie.

[Jesse @ Jun 30th 2007 5:52PM]

We're missing the real question here people.

Will It Blend?

[Rob @ Jun 30th 2007 9:22PM]

always fun to destroy stuff

[Michael I @ Jun 30th 2007 10:03PM]

(Tear) That was more suspenseful than mi III, but what wasn't

The following program contains suspenseful and violent sequences...
VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED

[dee-dee-deetarded @ Jun 30th 2007 11:03PM]

Speaking of destroying things, didn't Apple just destroy the phone market? No, I have nothing against the iPhone, although five year exclusively with AT&T? Scratch that thought, will anyone ever unlock this thing with the iTunes protection? Or, will they make a more inexpensive sibling to the iPhone? I got off track on subjects, didn't I?

[Cactus @ Jul 1st 2007 5:03AM]

More importantly... Will it Float?

Back to you Dave.

(surely it sinks)

[offgrid @ Jul 1st 2007 10:38PM]

I'm wondering how it works in -30 temperatures...

http://www.go-offgrid.com

[Octothorpe @ Jul 1st 2007 10:41AM]

Rigorous test? Wow, my v1 razr puts up to more abuse than that (and no, I'm not a razr fanboy, in fact I HATE my razr), but lets see some better, more objective testing, preferably by a non-fanboy.

My iphone questions

1. Will it Blend

2. How does is survive being run-over
a. By a car on concrete
b. By a car on asphalt
c. by a car on gravel

3. How well does it like being dampened (heavy rain, etc., possibly testable in a shower)

4. Does it like being dropped from a height?

5. Does it fare well to being left in a sunny windshield on a hot day for 8 hours while I'm at work?

6. Does it play nice with a phone eating dog?

7. Does it like ex-ray machines

8. does it like magnets

9. does it like being dropped in a gutter on a rainy day?

10. Does it like to go waterskiing? motorboating?

11. How frikkin' long before someone, anyone is able to hack it to accept a non att/cingular/whatever the hell they call themselves now sim card.

[gboone @ Jul 1st 2007 11:08AM]

I was waiting for the skydive. I want to know what will happen to my iphone when it falls to from the sky with gathering speed. I can only assume it's thought process would be something like: "What's happening? Who am I? Why am I here? What's my purpose in life? What do I mean by who am I? Okay okay, calm down calm down get a grip now. Ooh, this is an interesting sensation. What is it? Its a sort of tingling in my... well I suppose I better start finding names for things. Lets call it a... tail! Yeah! Tail! And hey, what's this roaring sound, whooshing past what I'm suddenly gonna call my head? Wind! Is that a good name? It'll do. Yeah, this is really exciting. I'm dizzy with anticipation! Or is it the wind? There's an awful lot of that now isn't it? And what's this thing coming toward me very fast? So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding name like 'Ow', 'Ownge', 'Round', 'Ground'! That's it! Ground! Ha! I wonder if it'll be friends with me? Hello Ground!" I kind of what to know what happens. Do the iphone and the ground become friends

[lysdexia @ Jul 7th 2007 6:39PM]

its
it's

retard

[gboone @ Jul 7th 2007 7:15PM]

Someone apparently has never read or seen the movie for "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" or read any writing book ever written for the english language. If you had, you probably would know that you use the apostrophe in "it's" when you mean "it is". If you really wanted to correct my grammar you should have written:

it's
its

retard.

[Jordan Gary @ Jul 1st 2007 7:59PM]

IPHONE IS GREAT!!! TOUCH SCREEN!!! JUST MISSING 3G

[Jackola @ Jul 3rd 2007 8:37PM]

I don't think he tried hard enough. I want to see him go mad crazy with the keys... I want to see Ghallager style beatings here.

[brienedick @ Jul 4th 2007 12:54AM]

Heh, HHGTTG reference ftw.

Good to see the phone takes abuse, btw.