EXPERT ADVICE
iPhone 4 Sole Survivor of Blazing BB Gun Assault

Print Version

E-Mail Article

Reprints

iPhone 4 Sole Survivor of Blazing BB Gun Assault

By Jesse Herman
MacNewsWorld
Part of the ECT News Network
09/02/11 5:00 AM PT

Our iPhone screen repair services won't die out anytime soon, but even the critics have to give the iPhone 4 props for BB gun resistance. In our improvised durability test, the iPhone 4 screen did not dent, scratch or really show any signs that it was shot at all. My feeling is that the iPhone 5 screen will stop bullets in the air, Matrix style.

The world’s leading SSL certificates now offer more protection and security. Now from Symantec. Download your free trial of the world’s leading SSL certificates at verisign.com/ssl/free-30day-trial.

Although it's not likely to be published in any journals, I carried out an experiment to help determine which smartphone manufacturer makes the strongest glass digitizer screens: Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Motorola, Samsung or HTC.

My test: I shot the screens with a cheap BB Gun.
The first round was with the screen taped to a wall. The next was in a box with no backing. At the end, I just repeatedly tried to smash the screen on the corner of a desk. Like I said, this was really scientific.

All of the parts used are original parts from phones that were defective because of issues like water damage frying the ribbon cables. Smartphones are notorious for cracked screens, with the Apple iPhone drawing the most criticism.
After shooting the screens with a BB gun, it seemed obvious that the iPhone 4 is easily the most resistant to weak gunfire. Ironically, though, the iPhone 4 has received more criticism for easy screen breakage than any prior phone. Following is a summary of the results, by company.

Apple: Surprisingly Resilient

We tested both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3G screens. The iPhone repair business resulted in hundreds of shops opening up all over the country because of the relative ease of both breaking and repairing broken 3G screens.
In the test, iPhone 3G glass survived the round one firing squad but in round 2 (without the wall background), it shattered easily.
The iPhone 4 screen did not dent, scratch or really show any signs that it was shot at all. This was amazing, considering the ample amount of criticism it has received for breaking easily.
The iPhone 4 glass sits on top of the frame, which can make it more vulnerable. Also, the glass is not as thick on the top and bottom, so dropping it on a corner can be a very bad thing.
Our iPhone screen repair services won't die out anytime soon, but even the critics have to give the iPhone 4 props for BB Gun resistance. My feeling is that the iPhone 5 screen will stop bullets in the air, Matrix style.

Motorola: Downright Miserable

We see tons of broken screens from Motorola, especially for two of its most popular phones: the Atrix 4G and Droid X.
We tested the Atrix, and it failed miserably -- it was the only phone to break with a wall directly behind it. This was not big surprise, due to the fact that Motorola is known for making products that break rather easily.
If there is ever a screw that gives us a bunch of trouble to remove, it's likely a Motorola phone. Don't get me wrong, it makes some really cool phones, but as the Atrix proved, it makes really cool phones with cheap parts. HTC: Pretty Hardy HTC makes some sweet smartphones. We tested the HTC Thunderbolt, which is one of the bigger, bulkier phones on the market. The Thunderbolt held up quite well, and like the iPhone 4, it did not even break when we violently slammed it against the metal corner of a desk.
The BBs did leave slight dents, though, and I imagine if the BB gun had cost more than $20 and we could have pumped it, the glass would have busted.
As it stands though, the glass held up quite well. Still, I have a feeling that some of HTC's thinner phones, such as the Incredible, would have shattered like the Atrix. Samsung: Somewhat Sturdy I'm a big fan of the Samsung Galaxy line of phones and designs, although replacement parts are expensive. We tested the Samsung Continuum, which is not the newest or oldest release.
The glass cracked during round two, which was comparable to the results we got with the iPhone 3G glass. I have a feeling other Samsung screens would have tested out the same. However, because of the design, my thinking is that Samsung phones typically hold up quite well.

Why Does iPhone Glass Break?

If the screens had still been on the phones (as if they were new) when we shot them, they probably would have performed about the same. On some phones, the LCD and glass adhere together, while on others, they do not. Any amount of space should make one prone to breaking.
At any rate, dropping a phone on its edge on concrete is usually a death sentence no matter what you own. But the iPhone 4 easily won the BB gun test.
The iPhone's glass is thicker in the middle, where we shot it. On the edges, it thins out, and most cracks occur when iPhones are dropped on their edges.
The iPhone is typically the easiest phone to repair when water damaged, as well. Quality parts simply produce better repairs than those that are cheap. They clean up better, even if the corrosion is very bad.
So, to all the iPhone haters, this test proved to me what I already knew: Apple does it better.