iPhone 12 Scratch Test And Drop Test: Extremely Hard To Crack!!!

For the new iPhone 12 lineup, Apple has used a new type of glass for screen protection called “ceramic shield” that’s said to be the toughest glass ever found on a smartphone. The iPhone maker claims the same thing every year, but this time, it may be different as this isn’t the ordinary glass we know.

It may look and feel like glass, but this ceramic shield is a combination of ceramic and glass, making it harder than most metals. But we don’t know how tough it actually is, which is why CNET has carried out a dropping test with the iPhone 12.

Breaking down the glass

The ceramic shield is applied on the screen only while the back of the phone is protected with the same iPhone 11’s glass. Both of them are made by Corning.

In addition to the protective glass, the iPhone 12 design also contributes to how well it holds up to drops. The glass now lies flush with the frame instead of curved up, which Apple says will double the durability of the front and back.

All four iPhone 12 models feature the ceramic shield on the front and the same glass on the back. The frame material is the only difference, the Pro models come with stainless steel frames while the other two come with aluminum frames. How the frame holds up to drops may differ between materials, but the protection of the glass remains the same on all the models.

In this test, the tester used a blue and a green iPhone 12.

Let’s start with the scratch test.

Round 1: Pocket/purse tumble

The iPhone 12 was put in a makeup bag along with some culprits that scratch the phones, including six quarters, keys, and a metallic pen. The tester shook the bag vigorously for half a minute to simulate what may happen after a few weeks in use.

The tester used a cloth to wipe the phone but didn’t find a scratch on the frame or the screen.

Round 2: Sliding the phone on tile

To see how the iPhone 12’s screen holds up in contact with hard surfaces like the kitchen counter, marble table, or bathroom floor, the tester slid the device back and forth 10 times on a textured ceramic tile, on the screen then on the back.

There was a bid of debris on the screen, but there weren’t any visible damages to the screen found either. It was trickier to check the back of the phone as the camera module made it impossible for the phone to lay flat on the back.

With a few slides at an angle, the glass wasn’t damaged but the metallic paint around the bottom camera rubbed off. It wasn’t noticeable and the lenses remained in pristine condition. The tester slid the phone again but this time, the camera module was hanging off the tile’s edge. There were two microscopic scratches on the back, one of which was on the Apple logo and the other was below the logo. Both the scratches were thinner than the hair and 0.25 inches long.

Round 3: Rubbing the phone on sandpaper

This time, the tester decided to rub the phone with 80-grit sandpaper, which is like sliding it on the sidewalk or the driveway.

The back and front of the phone were rubbed back and forth on the sandpaper 10 times under light pressure. This scraped the phone on both sides with the screen damaged the most. There were lines running through the middle of the display horizontally. Some lines are deep enough to feel with the fingernail but the phone was still working.

There was less damage on the back due to the camera module but it had visible scrapes on the lower edges and in the center. Meanwhile, the lens frame’s metallic finish also peeled off but the lenses remained scratchless.

Now, it’s time for the drop test

Round 1: Screen down, 3 feet

If you drop the phone, you will most likely drop it from your pocket or a similar height. And if the phone lands on the sidewalk or the street, the screen may break easily.

In this round, the iPhone 12 was dropped from 3 feet high with its screen faced down. The top then the bottom hit the sidewalk. It bounced once in the air and landed flat with the screen side down. There were a few dents on the aluminum frame.

Round 2: Back side down, 3 feet

Now, the phone was dropped with its back faced the ground. The top landed first, again, then the bottom. It landed with the back side down.

This time, the drop ended with a louder thud, the bottom half of the back was broken. The edge felt a little rough due to the dents but no shards fell off the phone’s back.

Round 3: Screen down, 6 feet and 6 inches

The back was now cracked so the tester continued with the screen side. First, the top left corner hit the ground, then the right side, but the phone flipped and landed with the back side down. There was a noticeable dent on the top that hit the ground first but that turned out that the glass remained intact, only the frame had a metallic residue.

Round 4, 5, 6: Screen down, 9 feet

The screen was still holding up strong, so the tester increased the height, which could only happen in real life if you drop the phone from the second floor.

Though the phone was intended to land on its screen, it ended up landing exactly the same as the previous round. That means the top of the phone hit the ground first and it landed with the screen up.

This time, the dent on the top right corner of the frame became deeper, but the screen stayed intact. The phone was dropped two more times and it landed on the screen in the final drop. There were some more bumps on the frame but the screen looked like just coming out of the box.

From this test, we cannot confidently say that the iPhone 12 screen is the toughest in the industry, but it does make the phone extremely hard to crack.

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