iPhone XS Max is more durable than iPhone XS according to drop test

SquareTrade/YouTube

• Apple’s phones are beautiful but have fragile designs full of glass.
• SquareTrade, a device insurer, has performed so-called “drop tests” on the two new iPhone XS devices.
• The glass on both devices broke when dropped from six feet. 
• But the test found that the iPhone XS Max, with a bigger screen, was only a “medium risk” to break, as compared to the smaller iPhone XS, which was scored as a “high risk” to break. 

Did you spend over $1000 on a new iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max this weekend?

You might want to be careful, because despite Apple saying they use the “most durable glass ever in a smartphone,” the new iPhones tend to break when dropped, according to new drop tests by SquareTrade, a device insurer. 

The new iPhones, like last year’s models, have a glass design — there’s glass on the front, and a glass shell on the back to enable wireless charging. The glass is made by Corning, which Apple has invested in. 

Turns out, in the four tests SquareTrade performed, including a test where the new phones took a spin in a tumbler, Apple’s phones broke nearly every time they were subjected to stress. 

Both the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max broke when dropped on their backs from 6 feet, and both phones failed when they were bent by a machine.

But when dropped face down, the iPhone XS Max proved to be more durable than its smaller sibling. While the screen shattered, the iPhone XS Max touchscreen was still usable. The smaller phone’s screen did not work. 

Watch the video below:

That’s why SquareTrade gave the iPhone XS Max a better durability score of 70, or “medium risk,” compared to the iPhone XS’s score of 86, which the insurer considers “high risk.”

Both improve on the now-discontinued iPhone X, which scored a 90 in last year’s SquareTrade test and was called the “most breakable iPhone ever.” 

SquareTrade, owned by Allstate, uses these tests as a way to sell insurance plans for the new iPhone. If you don’t have insurance or AppleCare, repairing the iPhone XS screen is $279, and any other damage — like a cracked back — costs $549.

A new screen for the iPhone XS Max is $329 and nearly $600 for other repairs.

Apple

But if you are more likely to drop your phone in your beer or other bodies of water than on concrete, you can rest easy. SquareTrade and repair advocate iFixit have both submerged the new phones in beer for hours — and they’ve survived.