What it takes to break an iPhone screen.

I witnessed an interesting experiment. Concluded that the biggest reason to have a case is for 1) grip and 2) protection of the soft aluminum case of an iPhone, and less so for the glass. Glass is much more scratch resistant than aluminum.

Mileage will vary of course. I will say that through all these attempts, the screen didn't scratch before it broke!

We placed an iPhone 6 into that thin, $4, clear TPU case I have. Minimum protection, zero lip on the front.


Went outside to a rough asphalt blacktop driveway. Dropped the phone face down from about 4 1/2 feet. Bang! No damage at all. Did it again, Bang!, no damage, not even the slightest.



Okay, a third time, but we throw it up a bit more. Bang, nothing. Fourth time, and like the rest, no damage.

oh bother! We then find a nice above ground large boulder, with sharp protruding edges. Hit it with a sharp point right on the glass with no chance that 'non lip' is giving protection, or just hitting the flat surface area. Bang, nothing.



Crap, go a 6th time, Bang, nothing. And then the 7th time, Bang, and the whole glass shatters from point impact. Finally.

Each accident will be different, but we were surprised. And the most dangerous hit is the one where the point of impact is smaller than the area of the protecting lip from a case. A drop where no iPhone case can protect from, ever!!!

Something to think about. Maybe we worry too much.
Enjoy.




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It's a very good question. I do have some experience on the impact on thrown devices under high acceleration , and the view is 1) the mass is so small of the individual internals, that the translated force on them very small. ( mass times velocity equaling momentum) and 2) being solid state electronics, there are no moving parts.

A small exception would be any spring-like devices like optical stabilization components. Again the mass of these would be tiny.

Besides, one hopes not to give a device 8 sharp drops as above


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