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Torture Tests: iPhone 7 Likes to Swim, But It’s Scared of Heights

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Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
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By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
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September 19, 2016, 10:23 AM ET
Apple Inc. Unveils Next Generation iPhone And New Watch
Philip "Phil" Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple Inc., unveils the new iPhone 7 during an event in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016. Apple Inc. unveiled new iPhone models Wednesday, featuring a water-resistant design, upgraded camera system and faster processor, betting that after six annual iterations it can still make improvements enticing enough to lure buyers to their next upgrade. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesDavid Paul Morris — Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Another day, another terrible torture test for the iPhone 7.

This time around, the folks over at SquareTrade, a company that sells warranty protection on technology, put both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus through the paces to see how they held up against water, pressure, and drops. The company found that the Apple (AAPL) iPhone 7 models, which now offers a waterproofing feature, performed quite well in the water test and were still functional after 30 minutes in water.

When it came to drop tests, though, the iPhone 7 models were rendered shattered messes.

During the water test, SquareTrade left the iPhones submerged in water for 30 minutes. The company noted that when they were pulled from the water, they “both survived with only temporary audio muffling.” Then, it was time to place pressure on the iPhone 7. The company found that, like the iPhone 6s, the iPhone 7 started to bend with 170 pounds of pressure. The iPhone 7 Plus bent at 180 pounds, matching its predecessor, according to SquareTrade.

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While that might sound like good news, don’t even think about dropping the iPhone 7 models on a sidewalk. After just one drop on their faces, both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus had shattered screens. The iPhone 7 was rendered useless on its second drop in SquareTrade’s testing, and the iPhone 7 Plus was “unusable” after the third tumble.

SquareTrade’s testing comes along with similar testing by popular technology build reviewer JerryRigEverything, a YouTube user who published his video of an iPhone 7 torture test last week. His testing included similar bendability evaluations, but added in some other torturous acts, including taking a lighter to the smartphone’s screen. Overall, the iPhone 7 performed middling in that testing, as it did in SquareTrade’s evaluation.

The warranty company, which evaluates all kinds of devices, assigns each product a “breakability score” that determines how likely it is to break. Its score is dependent upon its performance across several tests, including the water test, a face-down drop, and a tumble test, among several others. The iPhone 7 scored a five out of 10, earning it a “medium risk” of breaking. The iPhone 7 Plus landed at the slightly higher six out of 10. To put that into perspective, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7, which has been recalled due to overheating and potential explosion concerns, has a 6.5 out of 10. The higher the score, the greater the risk of the smartphone breaking.

“The iPhone 7 generation is the first to compete with Samsung’s water resistant ratings in its latest smartphones,” Steve Abernethy, executive chairman at SquareTrade, said in a statement. “After putting them to the test, there’s no doubt the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus aren’t scared of going for a little swim. Still, when it comes to surviving a sidewalk drop, we saw no improvement. Broken screens are still the leading cause of smartphone damage—and both Apple and Samsung still have a lot of work to do.”

For more about the iPhone, watch:

Apple launched its iPhone 7 last week.

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