Samsung's new Galaxy S9 might be the most durable high-end smartphone you can buy, but it's still prone to cracks and loose shards of glass when dropped.
SquareTrade, an insurance company owned by Allstate that specializes in protecting electronics, performed rigorous drop testing on the all-glass Galaxy S9, Samsung's latest flagship phone.
SquareTrade found that the Galaxy S9, which starts at $720 (R8,600), was more durable than last year's model, the Galaxy S8. The new device also held up better than the iPhone X. Still, the Galaxy S9 shattered on the first drop and suffered what SquareTrade called "extensive damage" throughout its testing.
.First up: the back-down drop test. The Galaxy S9 immediately shattered and showed several cracks.
The Galaxy S9 Plus fared even worse. Not only did it crack and shatter, but the phone had loose glass after its first test.
After being dropped face-down, the Galaxy S9's screen had hairline cracks and loose glass.
The Galaxy S9 Plus had a shattered screen and starburst cracks after the face-down drop test.
Despite the severe damage, the Galaxy S9 actually held up better than the Galaxy S8 in front drop tests.
After the same test last year, the Galaxy S8 had a shattered front and sharp shards of glass.
After a tumble test, both the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus had corner damage and hairline cracks on the front and back.
SquareTrade gave the Galaxy S9 an overall breakability score of 71, or medium risk. The Galaxy S9 Plus received a breakability score of 76, or medium-high risk.
The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus had a breakability score of 76 and 77, respectively.
Compared to the iPhone X, though, that score is pretty good. SquareTrade gave the iPhone X a breakability score of 90, or high risk.
For the complete rundown, check out SquareTrade's full drop test video:
Receive a single WhatsApp message every morning with all our latest news: Sign up here.
See also
- We compared the price of contracts that come with an iPhone X – and the winner is R1,200 a year cheaper than the rest
- The 8 most luxurious private jets in the world
- VBS says it was 'targeted' because it was a fast-growing threat – and shouldn't have been because it was advancing radical economic transformatio
- AI can tell jokes and will soon write better novels than humans, according to a computer scientist
- These are the 5 most expensive South African wines you can buy right now – if you are willing to spend up to R5,000 per bottle
- 'World's most comfortable shoe' now made from South African invasive trees
- South Africa’s top barista showed us how to brew the perfect cup of coffee
- Finding fake grass is becoming tricky in Cape Town
- Use this secret weapon to improve your meetings, suggest SA academics
- An exec who invests Mark Shuttleworth’s money keeps every rejection letter he has ever received – here’s why
- TUC biscuit tweet that makes fun of listeriosis ‘is in very bad taste’
- Video games, chewing gum and driving lessons are some of the products Stats SA uses to calculate South Africa's cost of life
