Apple's new iPhones are the strongest yet, but they will still shatter on impact.
What's going on, I'm rich Dmaro. This is rich on Tech.
Well, every year we can look forward to the new iPhones, and then we can look forward to all the torture tests that various companies do, and Square Trade is one of them. They just did all of their tests with their robots and they find that the new iPhones are Apple's strongest yet. They're even beer resistant, but they will still shatter on impact.
Let's take a look at some of their findings.
So for starters, Square Trade says, overall, they did find the iPhone tens to be stronger than the iPhone ten and the iPhone tens Max even stronger. The company assigns a breakability score from zero to one hundred. The higher the number, the more at risk the phone is for breakage. The iPhone tens Max scored a respectable seventy out of one hundred, placing it at a medium risk, while the iPhone ten S scored an eighty six out of one hundred, which is a high risk.
This is kind of so prizing because you would think.
The bigger phone would actually be more at risk for breakage because it just has more surface area and more mass.
But that's not the case.
The iPhone ten S scored the worst in face down drops, back down drops, and bendability, which also surprises me because you would think that a small phone wouldn't bend and a big phone would. We all remember ben Gate, right. Keep in mind, all this research is to place a little doubt in your mind and to sell you insurance on your phone, which I know a lot of people do buy. And I actually do like Square Trade because it's a better value than what you can get from
the carriers. It's about nine dollars a month versus up to seventeen dollars a month from the big guys like Verizon AT and T T Mobile. Keep in mind you will have to pay deductible every time you make a claim, which is anywhere from twenty five dollars to one hundred and forty nine dollars, and I will compare it against what Apple Care offers a little bit later on in the podcast. So Square Trade uses robots to test the
devices in a bunch of different ways. Drops, slides, tumbles, dunks, basically all the things you hope to never do with your phone, but it happens. My dad's iPhone recently dropped out of his pocket. Then he proceeded to run it over with his car, and yeah, he needed a new one immediately.
It happens.
And please back up your devices because you don't want to lose your stuff. If you happen to be not backing up and you think you'll do it tomorrow, do it today. One of the new tests they ran was a beer test. Square Trade filled a dunk tank with one hundred and thirty eight cans of paps blue ribbon, then they dropped the new iPhones inside.
Now, the new iPhones come with a.
More durable water resistance rating of IP sixty eight, which means they can be in almost five feet of water and other liquids for thirty minutes. Square Trade said the phones function normally after this test, which is something that Apple said they would do. They pointed out during their knot on stage that they did test them personally with a bunch of different random liquids, including coffee and beer. Last year's devices had an IP sixty seven rating, which
is slightly less durable. Now, if you do get your phone wet, Apple does recommend that you dry it out for at least five hours. Do not plug it in for five hours to charge it after you get it wet.
You can, however, use wireless charging during this time.
Now, the all last design of the ten s means that the face down drop will probably be your worst enemy. On the iPhone Tens, the front screen shattered on the first drop. The iPhone Tens Max cracked on the first drop, but Square Trade says it was still usable. For this reason, I always recommend a case that has a lip over the front, basically a case that comes just over the edges of the front of the screen, because that will help.
You in a face down drop.
Now, on the side drop test, Square Trade says that the steel frame did help reduce damage, but on the backdrop test, both phones shattered on the first drop, and in the case of the iPhone Tens, the back of the device actually came apart from the frame.
And finally, when it comes to repairability, they had a master.
Technician look at what it takes to pop these phones apart and do some repairs. They found that there is much more adhesive inside the phones, which helps with the water resistant.
But if you've ever taken a part of gadget.
It's this little sticky adhesive that can prove kind of tricky. The iPhone ten S features a single battery, unlike the iPhone ten and the tens Max. Square Trade says both phones will cost more to repair than before. Just how much they're expecting about three hundred and ninety nine dollars to replace the front screen and about five hundred ninety nine dollars to replace a shattered backscreen. Again, that's without insurance if you paid out a pocket and that can
definitely vary based on where you bring it. So of course this all sounds super scary, and a good case can mitigate many of these concerns. I personally like the offerings from Tech twenty one. The Spec Presidio Grip is my all time favorite case, and the outer box is great if you're super clumsy. That's kind of like a little tank on your device. But we all know that the best case can't protect you from everything, including drops that are really bad.
Theft and loss.
Now, most people I know with an iPhone do consider Apple Care a given. This year they added theft and loss into the mix, which is kind of comforting for a lot of people.
If you lose your phone.
However, you are going to pay for the privilege of having this protection. Apple Care Plus for the new iPhones costs fifteen dollars a month for twenty four months, or three hundred dollars if.
You out right.
This gives you two years of protection. Deductibles are twenty nine dollars for screen damage, ninety nine dollars for other repairs, and two hundred and sixty nine dollars if you lose your phone or if it's stolen.
So do the math.
You pay three hundred dollars for the Apple Care Plus plus two sixty nine. You're talking basically five hundred and sixty nine dollars, which is pretty much half the price of a new phone if you lose it or if it's stolen. Keep in mind, you can always go with the standard Apple Care Plus, which is nine to ninety nine a month for twenty four months, or if you want to pay in full, you can pay two hundred dollars.
That will not give you the loss and theft protection. Though.
The big difference is that you can save money monthly with Square Trade because remember, it costs about nine dollars a month and you're gonna get the same repairs, but the big difference is Square Trade does not cover against theft or loss, but they will repair or replace your phone if you bring it to them in pretty much any condition, in any other circumstance. As long as you have it, they will replace it or repair it under their plan. I've talked to them about this and they
are pretty good. But like I said, they do not do anything when it comes to loss or theft.
So there you have it.
Square Trade's latest tests on the brand new iPhone ten and ten S Max. You can find pictures of what these phones look like after their little torture tests on my website. Just go to richon tech dot tv or check the show notes.
I'm Rich Jimiro. Thanks so much for listening. I'll talk to you real soon