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The Toughest (And Weakest) Phones Currently On the Market (tomsguide.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the drop-test dept.

New submitter Daneel Olivaw R. shares a report from Tom's Guide: To measure each phone's toughness, [Tom's Guide] dropped it from both 4 and 6 feet onto wood and concrete. After each test, we recorded the damage to the phone. If a phone was rendered unusable -- the screen totally shattered, for instance -- then we stopped dropping it. [More details on the testing process can be found here.] Each drop was worth a maximum of 5 points; if a phone made it through all of the rounds unscathed, it would earn 35 points. The more severe the damage per drop was, the more points were deducted. If a phone was rendered unusable after a given drop, it would earn no points, and would not undergo any subsequent test. In total, there were seven tests. [...] If a phone died in the 6-foot edge drop, it was penalized an extra 10 percent. If it died in the 6-foot face drop, it was penalized 5 percent. And if it died when dropped into the toilet, it lost 2.5 percent. We then divided the total score by 3.5, to put it on a 10-point scale. Here are the scores of each device:

Motorola Moto Z2 Force - Toughness score: 8.5/10
LG X Venture - Toughness score: 6.6/10
Apple iPhone X - Toughness score: 6.2/10
LG V30 - Toughness score: 6/10
Samsung Galaxy S9 - Toughness score: 6/10
Motorola Moto G5 Plus - Toughness score: 5.1/10
Apple iPhone 8 - Toughness score: 4.9/10
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 - Toughness score: 4.3/10
OnePlus 5T - Toughness score: 4.3/10
Huawei Mate 10 Pro - Toughness score: 4.3/10
Google Pixel 2 XL - Toughness score: 4.3/10
iPhone SE - Toughness score: 3.9/10

63 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. iPhone X is a surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's still never leaving it's case.

    1. Re: iPhone X is a surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Please tell me you mean the glass case at the mall kiosk.

    2. Re: iPhone X is a surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What a bullshit RNG test this was. They should have performed the same tests on at least twenty of each model for the test to have any meaning.

    3. Re:iPhone X is a surprise by jellomizer · · Score: 2

      It isn't a surprise it is where I kinda expected it to be.
      Despite the Slashdot hate of all things Apple, and MacRumors undying love of Apple. Apple actually makes a decent competing product that deserves to be in the price range that it is in. However it isn't #1 in any particular measure but near the top in most measures. Normally if there is any few particular aspect that you want out of a phone, there are normally phones better then the iPhone. But as an overall phone Apple tends to keep up with the rest, and stays at the top of the pack.

      The iPhone SE at the bottom of the list, is Apples budget phone, which is modeled off the iPhone 4 Released almost 8 years ago. So I don't expect it to be having the latest glass technology, but the cheaper stuff they used 8 years ago.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    4. Re:iPhone X is a surprise by tsa · · Score: 1

      Why? Just because the SE looks a bit like the 4 it doesn't have to be made of the same materials.

      --

      -- Cheers!

    5. Re:iPhone X is a surprise by epine · · Score: 1

      Apple actually makes a decent competing product that deserves to be in the price range that it is in.

      With Apple, the price of the product includes both the phone and the restrictive walled garden.

      Whether the price is justified or not depends on your attitude toward walled gardens.

      Turns out, walled gardens are very popular among garden gnomes owned by Shire folk, but in truth, some of them have never wandered close enough to the garden boundaries to figure out there's a wall after all. That garden gnomes owned by Shire folk devour seed cakes almost as persistently as hummingbirds just might have something to do with their reduced, un-ranger range.

  2. That's why you get a metal case by 50000BTU_barbecue · · Score: 1

    Like this for example. There are others with a 17mm mount over the camera so you can screw on lenses like this.

    --
    Mostly random stuff.
    1. Re:That's why you get a metal case by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      Metal? Wouldn't it be better to have a rubber or elastic polymer case that can absorb shocks rather than just transmit them?

    2. Re:That's why you get a metal case by davecb · · Score: 2

      No, actually. You want a case that doesn't let the phone distort, which breaks stuff. Mere deceleration isn't all that evil for phones (unlike human heads (;-))

      --
      davecb@spamcop.net
    3. Re:That's why you get a metal case by 50000BTU_barbecue · · Score: 1

      The one I got has a silicone rubber inner lining. I was too lazy before to find the specific case... This is the one I got.

      --
      Mostly random stuff.
    4. Re:That's why you get a metal case by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I'd like to see tests with various cases and bumpers. Very few people use their phones without some kind of case.

      Similarly, screens should be tested with protectors applied.

      Kind of benchmarks vs. real world performance.

      --
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      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    5. Re:That's why you get a metal case by burtosis · · Score: 2

      You want distance to slow down. Accelerating over a large distance and suddenly stopping is how hammers break stuff. Say you drop 6 feet and stop over the 0.01" your cellphone corner dents inward - the kinetic energy gained through acceleration is the same as deceleration so in a napkin calculation the g forces are simply the ratio of distances, in this case 7,200g which makes your phone screen shatter and plastically deforms the metal case. Give that an elastic component and you could add 3/16" to reduce this to a manageable 384g. Adding a rigid metal case helps with bending, not with impact unless it has an elastic component, though mostly just with phones that have a plastic internal frame.

    6. Re:That's why you get a metal case by 50000BTU_barbecue · · Score: 2

      "Accelerating over a large distance and suddenly stopping is how hammers break stuff."

      Actually, it's just a practical way to exert a lot of force. A hydraulic press exerting the same force that builds up over weeks will break stuff just the same. The suddenly stopping has nothing to do with it. A common misconception. Neither does accelerating over a large distance. How would the material know what the hammer was doing before? Or whether it was accelerating or just moving by a constant velocity?

      --
      Mostly random stuff.
    7. Re:That's why you get a metal case by sysrammer · · Score: 1

      I agree with both. I got a case both elastic on the edges yet with a stiff back. I'd say it weighs a goodly percent of the iphone8s, but it handles the butt: I sit on it all the time, with no concern. I considered getting just an edge bumper, but I knew that, for one reason or another, I'd end up sticking it in my back pocket, forget about it, then sit on it and shatter it.

      --
      His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
    8. Re: That's why you get a metal case by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      People who sit on their phones are just idiots.

    9. Re:That's why you get a metal case by war4peace · · Score: 1

      "Accelerating over a large distance and suddenly stopping is how hammers break stuff."

      Actually, it's just a practical way to exert a lot of force. A hydraulic press exerting the same force that builds up over weeks will break stuff just the same. The suddenly stopping has nothing to do with it. A common misconception.

      Only if you completely ignore inertia and material elasticity.

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    10. Re:That's why you get a metal case by infolation · · Score: 1

      A few years ago I accidently dropped a Nokia 100 burner phone 5 floors down a fire escape onto a concrete basement floor (approx 15 meters). Apart from a broken latch on the plastic back (fixed with gaffa tape), the phone was in perfect condition and continued to work for years afterwards.

    11. Re:That's why you get a metal case by 50000BTU_barbecue · · Score: 1

      Like I said, a common misconception.

      --
      Mostly random stuff.
    12. Re:That's why you get a metal case by war4peace · · Score: 1

      *facepalm*

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    13. Re:That's why you get a metal case by sjames · · Score: 1

      I don't understand why I would want to pay more for a phone to get one that's super thin, then spend more still to get a metal box to put it in rather than buying a more rugged phone in the first place.

      Oddly, rugged phones tend to be cheaper with an otherwise comparable feature set.

    14. Re: That's why you get a metal case by tsa · · Score: 1

      All people are idiots, wether they sit on their phones or not.

      --

      -- Cheers!

    15. Re:That's why you get a metal case by dargaud · · Score: 1

      Metal ? Like a faraday cage around your phone ? And then you get 90% signal attenuation and 10 times faster battery drain.... Awesome idea. Wasn't that the problem of the iPhone 2 or 3 that had a metal case and you had to hold just right to maybe have a slight chance of getting a signal with ?

      --
      Non-Linux Penguins ?
    16. Re:That's why you get a metal case by burtosis · · Score: 1

      "Accelerating over a large distance and suddenly stopping is how hammers break stuff."

      Actually, it's just a practical way to exert a lot of force. A hydraulic press exerting the same force that builds up over weeks will break stuff just the same. The suddenly stopping has nothing to do with it. A common misconception. Neither does accelerating over a large distance. How would the material know what the hammer was doing before? Or whether it was accelerating or just moving by a constant velocity?

      Like I said, it's balancing kinetic energy through energy conservation. At the end of acceleration your kenetic energy is 1/2 x mass x velocity^2 and this is the same as the force x distance. When you stop the kenetic energy is zero again. This is also force x distance. So force1 x distance1 = force2 x distance2 so therefore force1/force2= distance2/distance1. Stop suddenly and you need to apply a great force, slowly and the force is less. To smash something with a hammer you need a hard surface, or one that won't move much when hit, otherwise the hammer won't generate a high force due to conservation of kinetic energy. Given constant forces of acceleration and deceleration then it resolves to the ratio of distances involved as I've shown with elementary school math. Energy balance is a simple way to do the math and keep track of the variables. This is high school physics 101. You are mostly correct in that the strain rate is fairly independent of the force needed to break most things so it dosent matter if it's a hydraulic press or hammer the resultant force that is needed to break something is the same. Plastics do creep and there are materials that behave analogous to the non-newtonian behavior of ooblek (corn starch and water) where the strain rate is important. I did my masters thesis in mechanical engineering on impact orientation invariant design, but I'm trying to keep it simple here.

    17. Re:That's why you get a metal case by samwichse · · Score: 1

      How has no one said the word "impulse" in this conversation yet?

  3. Fuck this summary/ad by HornWumpus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The ten toughest non-ruggedized phones.

    You'd think that would have made the summary.

    No I didn't RTFA....nobody saw me, can't prove anything.

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    1. Re:Fuck this summary/ad by GuB-42 · · Score: 1

      The top two are semi-ruggedized. The first one has a shatterproof screen, the second has metal brackets. It makes the iPhone X the winner of the non-ruggedized phones.

    2. Re: Fuck this summary/ad by jimbo · · Score: 1

      It's all about the touchdown.

  4. Chance... by Luthair · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Well not exactly chance, but its all in how the phone hits the ground - a sample size of 1 can hardly be considered meaningful indicator.

    1. Re:Chance... by markdavis · · Score: 5, Insightful

      ^^^ +1

      You can drop a phone JUST RIGHT only a few feet from soft ground and have it shatter, or the same phone from 5 feet on concrete and it survive fine. A sample size of 1 tells you almost nothing. I would venture it would take at least 10 drops, each test being a NEW phone, before you could get even a slight chance of knowing anything useful. And even then, it would only tell you about that height and that material it was dropped onto. Of course, that would be VERY expensive testing!

      Even discounting the sample sizes of just ONE phone, dropped REPEATEDLY, who actually carries a phone without at least SOME type of case? Nobody I know...

    2. Re:Chance... by petes_PoV · · Score: 1

      a sample size of 1 can hardly be considered meaningful indicator.

      Well, please feel free to drop your phone down the toilet and let us all know how well it held up.

      --
      politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
    3. Re:Chance... by Mr0bvious · · Score: 2

      This was a "test" done by Tom's Guide, their test was useful as a fart in a storm.

      --
      Never happened. True story.
    4. Re:Chance... by green1 · · Score: 1

      Exactly this.
      I had one phone that I dropped from 25' up on to concrete and it survived just fine, but a month later I dropped the same phone one foot on to packed dirt and the screen shattered. It's all about how it lands

    5. Re:Chance... by sysrammer · · Score: 1

      idk, we knew nothing before, so it's something. They put some thought into it. Somewhat more thought out than what I did when I was looking at buying a new phone. I'm at the apple dealer, I toss my caseless BB on the ground and it goes bouncing along the carpet. I say to the salesman, "can you do that with your iPhone?". He says yes and does so. In this case it was a "poorly designed test", though, because he didn't take the case off, and he made sure it landed flat on its back.

      So, the trick is to add this data point, and Tom's Hardware's data points, and I think there's an app you can buy that makes a game out of finding out how high you can throw your iPhone so maybe we can get data points from an online feed; bake in some statistics and see what we get.

      --
      His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
    6. Re:Chance... by ericlondaits · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I carry my phone without a case, for the same reason I'd carry a baby without one... don't drop it.

      --
      As a Slashdot discussion grows longer, the probability of an analogy involving cars approaches one.
    7. Re:Chance... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Well fortunately for you they dropped them a number of times in a number of ways.

    8. Re:Chance... by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      You don't get a sample size of more than one, but you will likely drop your phone more than once. This isn't actually a bad test. They dropped the phones a number of times a number of different ways and assigned a score based on damage.

      who actually carries a phone without at least SOME type of case? Nobody I know...

      And? What are you testing, the quality of the case or the quality of the phone? The base quality of the phone has a lot to do with how well it will survive after you put a case on it. It may even have an affect on which case you chose to buy. In any case this is a baseline test.

    9. Re:Chance... by fred6666 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      so you don't use a car seat for your baby because you don't crash your car, right?

    10. Re:Chance... by OffaMyLawn · · Score: 1

      I actually carry my phone without a case. I do, however, have the Motorola Z2 Force, and have the Motorola TurboPower mod stuck on it all the time (in efficiency mode, the battery life is insane).

      I've dropped it, and had the mod and phone fly in separate directions. Outside of a couple minor scratches on the metal frame, there is no evidence this thing hasn't been used gently everywhere I've had it.

    11. Re:Chance... by Matheus · · Score: 1

      I also don't use a case (I don't like the extra bulk or any of how it hinders access to phone controls) but have to say shit happens.. I mean I grew up when car seats weren't mandatory and made it out just fine but enough others didn't that they added the regulations.

      That being said: Out of the 10 phones I've had in 23 years I've only ever damaged 2 of them.. the rest died of old age (typically can't hold a charge anymore even with new battery or software updates exceeded the power of the phone making it painful to use). I've been a Motorola loyalist for a number of reasons and (even if this article is a Slashvertisement) that Motorola phone sitting at the top of the list has been accurate in my experience. The 2 damaged ones both met roughly the same fate: Drop from distance, face down on a large pointy rock nuked the screen (the most dramatic of which was me recording a video and someone spiking the phone out of my hands!). Basically the worst case scenario for a "shatter proof" (really resistant) screen. The rest have taken plenty of falls to no effect. My first Moto-X took a 20' flight to concrete and didn't even scratch.

      So yeah the "study" is not the best and is definitely more of an ad than research BUT that doesn't negate the results matching reality. Your call whether you choose to use said data in your next buying decision :)

  5. Nothing from HTC? by jfdavis668 · · Score: 2

    Did their market share sink so low that everyone forgot about them?

    1. Re:Nothing from HTC? by jfdavis668 · · Score: 1

      Google bought half the smartphone team, the people HTC had working on the Google phones. HTC is still making their own phones. They just announced the U12 Plus.

  6. 10/10 reference was... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The Nokia 3210 of course.

    1. Re:10/10 reference was... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Nokia 3595 - Toughness score = 10,000,000/10

      And a better PHONE than any "phone" you can buy today!

  7. iPhone X is stronger than it appears by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    The way I've gone with modern phones is, I use it mostly without a case until the first time it gets noticeable damage, then I get a case for the remainder of the time I use it.

    I got the iPhone X at launch and so far it's held up pretty well. It's not like I've never dropped it, I've dropped it onto a number of hard surfaces including a pretty high drop onto concrete where it hit the corner. But so far, you really can't even tell it's been dropped.

    If you think about it, it should hold up better than most previous iPhones - the metal band is pretty resilient, and with it having less surface area than an iPhone plus model along with stronger glass, should be more resistant to damage. The results of the tests reflect that.

    What do I mean by mostly - for hiking I'm not insane, I have a pretty rugged case I break out that is way more than I'd want to deal with with in a city but it helpful around lots of jagged rocks.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:iPhone X is stronger than it appears by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What do I mean by mostly - for hiking I'm not insane, I have a pretty rugged case I break out that is way more than I'd want to deal with with in a city but it helpful around lots of jagged rocks.

      Can you really call it hiking if your cellphone still works?

      It's just a scenic walk.

    2. Re:iPhone X is stronger than it appears by green1 · · Score: 2

      You should try a country with good mountain ranges.

    3. Re: iPhone X is stronger than it appears by green1 · · Score: 1

      I live in a country with 1/4 the population density of Norway, and where Norway's tallest mountain wouldn't crack the top 100 of ours. We have 3 times more protected nature area than Norway has total surface area.

      Seriously, the reason you have such great cell coverage everywhere is your high population density, and lack of major mountain ranges. It's easy to have good coverage in an area like that.

    4. Re:iPhone X is stronger than it appears by green1 · · Score: 1

      If you can see civilization (including seeing cell towers) you aren't really "getting away from it all"

  8. Will it blend? by thesjaakspoiler · · Score: 1

    That should have been the question.

    1. Re:Will it blend? by AndyMcL · · Score: 1

      I would give you points if I could for the Blendtec reference. Those things rock and are tougher than Chuck Norris (action figures)!

  9. Just get something cheap and light by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    I've got an LG something or other with a cheap plastic back. I've dropped it on concrete more than once. It's like a bug hitting a windshield, not enough weight to go splat.

    --
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    1. Re:Just get something cheap and light by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 2

      It's like a bug hitting a windshield, not enough weight to go splat.

      Q: What’s the last thing that goes through a bug’s mind when it hits a windshield?

      A: Its butt.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    2. Re:Just get something cheap and light by burtosis · · Score: 1

      The weight won't affect the rate it falls in a significant way, and I assume it's similar in size to other phones so the physics is about the same scale. but having a bulky plastic frame that's light gives it great strength to weight and impact resistance. The plastic can deform more than metal giving it more distance to stop and this lowers the forces on internal parts. as long as brittle stuff like the screen is away from the edges it makes for a tough design.

    3. Re:Just get something cheap and light by avandesande · · Score: 1

      I've got my LG in a credit card case... protects the phone and no more wallet

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
  10. Hah! by nightfire-unique · · Score: 1

    I've got a ZeroLemon 10,000mAh TPU battery and case on my Note 3. I scoff at my friends and their cracked displays, and just to prove the point, often toss my phone onto the ground as a demonstration.

    It's possible to engineer rugged devices. It baffles me as to why people don't demand them (and replaceable wear items, such as batteries).

    --
    A government is a body of people notably ungoverned - AC
    1. Re:Hah! by iampiti · · Score: 1

      I guess people don't demand ruggedized phones because they're bulky. I think your solution is fine: The phone itself is pretty thin but you can always add a strong case if you want it to be tougher.
      Anyway, if something isn't made you can't buy it so that may also explain why people don't buy phones with replaceable batteries or with feature X.

  11. Re:dropped in the toilet? by jouassou · · Score: 1

    If it survives the toilet, it probably survives being washed with ethanol.

  12. None of those are cool anyway by Misagon · · Score: 1

    Not a single Japanese flip-phone on that list ...

    --
    "We mustn't be caught by surprise by our own advancing technology" -- Aldous Huxley
  13. dfdsfssssszs by svmsunnnnnn · · Score: 1

    http://www.tmshrink.com// sdfsd

  14. Umm...cases? by valnar · · Score: 2

    Most of this data is irrelevant unless you're a teenage girl who doesn't use a protective case so it'll fit in her back pocket.

  15. The force is not strong by Presence+Eternal · · Score: 1

    The Z2 Force is not tough by any sane metric. I bought one to try out t-mobile, and the display literally got scratched sitting on a cluttered desk waiting to be sold. My Note 4 was pristine after three years of being shuffled around my desk, bed, and in the same pocket as my wallet and favorite pen.

  16. No Samsung S* Active? by Kiaser+Zohsay · · Score: 1

    The Active variants of the Galaxy S line have treated me and my boys well since the S6 Active. I recently upgraded to an S8 Active so my youngest could inherit my old S6 Active. Now they do say they are looking at "nonrugged" phones at the top, but then they call the LG X Venture a "value priced rugged phone", so who knows.

    --
    I am not your blowing wind, I am the lightning.
  17. No sense in being redundant. by trudyscousin · · Score: 1

    If a phone was rendered unusable -- the screen totally shattered, for instance -- then we stopped dropping it

    Then they could determine if it would blend.

    --
    Those who can, do. Those who can't, write technology blogs.