Earlier this year, Apple Inc.'s iPhone made headlines when it survived a massive 16,000-feet drop from an aircraft, sparking curiosity about its durability. A recent experiment conducted by The Wall Street Journal aimed to shed light on how the iPhone, along with a Samsung Galaxy, managed to withstand various heights of drops onto different surfaces.
The experiment involved dropping the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S23 from heights of 3, 30, and 300 feet onto grass and asphalt. Surprisingly, both phones survived the 3-foot and 30-foot drops onto grass, with minimal damage. Even when subjected to a 300-foot drop, which was expected to cause significant harm, the phones only ended up with grass stains and dirt in the charging ports. The test, which utilized drones for the 300-foot fall, delved into the role of terminal velocity in determining the impact of such drops on smartphones.
According to Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer turned YouTuber who explained the concept of terminal velocity, the height of the drop doesn't substantially affect the outcome due to this phenomenon. The results of the experiment suggested that the durability of a smartphone, as demonstrated by the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy, is not solely dependent on the design and build but also influenced by factors such as the angle of impact and the surface the phone lands on. This research challenges the conventional belief that a higher drop height would always lead to greater damage.