The Samsung Galaxy S4 has a boatload of features, but is extra durability one of them? Its predecessor, the Galaxy S III, lost a few drop tests to its chief rival, Apple’s iPhone 5. How will the brand-new flagship do? Someone decided to find out. Dropping the GS4 and iPhone 5 from various heights onto concrete, a gentleman from TechSmartt recorded his extensive test from three different cameras: One trained on him, a GoPro cam on the ground for capturing the impacts, and each phone’s own camera. So how did they do? As expected, both phones successfully endured drops from pocket and chest height with minor scuffs. Things got interesting when they fell from over-the-head height and above, however. Falling from a seven-foot drop, the Galaxy S4 began to show its limits. After hitting the ground on a corner edge, a spiderweb crack appeared on the screen. It didn’t cover the whole screen and the phone continued to function, but it was much more damage than the iPhone 5 exhibited after an identical drop, which again had only minor scuffs.
The iPhone 5 scored a knockout punch after both phones were subjected to 10-foot drops. The GS4 had to throw in the towel with an almost completely shattered screen and broken camera — the phone also stopped working shortly after the fall. The iPhone, on the other hand, once again survived with relatively minor damage — just the aforementioned scuffs and a small notch on the top right of the screen. Exploring what it would take to seriously damage the iPhone, the tester then dropped the iPhone 5 again, this time face first, but it still came out okay. Finally, he drove over the phone at slow speed with his car, but again the phone came out unshattered and functional. The video creator, Matthew Jones, says in the video’s notes that he produced the video without bias, examining only how each phone holds up to “physical abuse.” Both phones were “bare naked,” with no screen protectors, he wrote. The Galaxy S4 may be less durable than the iPhone 5, but from the test it appears to hold up to punishment better than the Galaxy S III, whose screen would often shatter when dropped on concrete from ear height or higher.
How much do drop tests and durability matter to you when buying a new phone? Let us know in the comments.
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