With the launch of the iPhone 5, several companies are performing tests and benchmarks on the new device. One common effort is to put any new iPhone in a series of drop tests to see how well it survives common falls.
Android Authority (via iPhoneinCanada) posts a drop test comparison video between the Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5 and actually finds in favor of the iPhone 5.
Well, as much as we hate to admit it, the iPhone 5 did amazingly well in our drop test, while the Samsung Galaxy S3 came out in pretty bad shape. It’s the cold hard truth that we can’t hide and we can’t ignore. .... The hard aluminum shell of the iPhone 5 withstood the impact pretty well, and the glass protecting the display remained intact. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S3 predictably lost its back cover and suffered damage to the casing and the front glass. Sad, sad, sad.
Meanwhile, iFixYouri (via 9to5Mac) also posted a video showing their version of the drop test which also tested dropping the iPhone 5 from various heights.
The iPhone 5 survived all the falls until they finally threw the device screen down. They describe the device as the "most durable iPhone" they've seen.
Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon.
Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week.
iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you.
Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports.
In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by Juli Clover
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products.
Here's what's supposedly coming:
An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found.
Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker.
According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
Wednesday December 10, 2025 12:22 pm PST by Juli Clover
The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup.
Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and...
Thursday December 11, 2025 4:19 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's next-generation Studio Display is expected to arrive early next year, and a new report allegedly provides a couple more details on the external monitor's capabilities.
According to internal Apple code seen by Macworld, the new external display will feature a variable refresh rate capable of up to 120Hz – aka ProMotion – as well as support for HDR content. The current Studio...
* Screen resolution * screen tech (OLED - better contrast ratio) * 2x more RAM * wireless charging * two baseband chips (simultaneous LTE data and voice) * bigger battery (better battery time for talk and stand by) * wireless charging * memory card (more storage)
* Screen resolution - Irrelevant. ppi is high enough on iPhone to not see pixels.
* screen tech (OLED - better contrast ratio) - Opinion. IPS lets me see in daylight better
* 2x more RAM - Irrelevant. I have games on my iPhone 4S that play better than on a Android device with double the RAM. It's about how the OS is designed, not how much RAM you have.
* wireless charging - Opinion. I find this to be more of a gimmick. It's not hard to just snap in a cable at the bottom in half a second. And I don't want to lug around a huge charging pad everywhere I go.
* two baseband chips (simultaneous LTE data and voice) - I agree, for Verizon and Sprint customers this is better.
* bigger battery (better battery time for talk and stand by) - Comes at the downside of a bigger screen, which is tough for one-handed use and smaller hands.
* wireless charging - You already said this but it makes your list look bigger.
* memory card (more storage) - 64GB isn't big enough for you? I do like how it's expandable though, but again, the price to pay is the size and width of the device.
One more thing. Dear Fandroids and Windows Phone geeks (and iPhone fans too by the way). SPECS DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY MAKE YOUR PHONE BETTER THAN OTHERS.
