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iPhone XR Just as Breakable as iPhone XS Based on SquareTrade Drop Test

Monday October 29, 2018 7:00 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple's lower-cost iPhone XR is just as breakable as the higher end iPhone XS and XS Max, according to new drop test results from warranty company SquareTrade.

Much like the glass-bodied OLED iPhone XS, the iPhone XR's LCD display and aluminum-framed glass back panel both suffered serious damage when dropped on a hard surface.


The iPhone XR was subjected to the same tests that SquareTrade did for the iPhone XS and XS Max back in September. During the face down drop test, which saw the device fall six feet onto concrete, the iPhone XR's LCD display shattered after the first drop.

The drop was serious enough that the XR's screen malfunctioned and became unusable, which was the same thing that happened to the XS during its drop test.


A back down drop test from six feet also saw the iPhone XR shatter on the first drop, resulting in loose glass right around the camera.

The XR successfully survived a bend test, beating out the iPhone XS and matching the performance of the larger iPhone XS Max. The iPhone XR bent at 260 pounds of pressure but didn't crack and continued to work fine, the same result SquareTrade saw with the iPhone XS Max. The iPhone XS, though, cracked at 250 pounds of pressure.
The LCD screen in the iPhone XR has a similar level of durability as the OLED screen featured in the iPhone XS and XS Max. Our tests show that across the board - with both LCD and OLED screens - the all-glass designs of all three new iPhones are susceptible to cracking from drops, which is the most common cause of damage," said Jason Siciliano, vice president global creative director at SquareTrade.
It doesn't cost as much to repair a broken iPhone XR as it does an iPhone XS or XS Max, but it's still pricey. Out-of-warranty iPhone XR screen repairs cost $199, while fixing other damage, which includes a cracked back panel, will cost $399.

Apple offers AppleCare+ for the iPhone XR for $149, which allows for two incidents of accidental damage coverage. With AppleCare+, screen repairs cost $29 while other damage costs $99.

Related Roundup: iPhone XR
Tag: SquareTrade
Buyer's Guide: iPhone XR (Buy Now)
[ 103 comments ]


Top Rated Comments

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Substance90
12 weeks ago
Can we stop calling the XR a "low-cost" device? Apple doesn't offer low-cost products, period. They have a mid to high-end and an ultra high-end range of products. Calling these devices otherwise is only helping Apple, Samsung, Google and co. redefine what a smartphone should cost.
Rating: 31 Votes
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Baymowe335
12 weeks ago
Breaking News: An insurance company says glass phones are breakable.
Rating: 27 Votes
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Steve121178
12 weeks ago
Glass breaks if dropped. Who knew?

It's about time people stopped watching these nonsense drop test videos. It only encourages them to keep doing it year after year. You have to be very simple to not realise an object primary constructed of glass will break if dropped.
Rating: 14 Votes
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n-evo
12 weeks ago
Not to sound sour but all these drop tests are just a senseless waste. In times where there is a growing awareness about the environment, labor conditions, dwindling resources, etc. I wish popular news outlets would just stop promoting them. I mean, after so many generations of glass and aluminium smartphones we should have a pretty good idea about what happens to these devices after a drop.
Rating: 8 Votes
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Detektiv-Pinky
12 weeks ago

They still sell the 7 you know. So they do offer low cost devices. Just not this one.


I think you mean, they still sell outdated tech, that gets dropped sooner from iOS updates, for a slightly lower price...
Rating: 6 Votes
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ChrisCW11
12 weeks ago

Not to sound sour but all these drop tests are just a senseless waste of limited resources. In times where there is a growing awareness about the environment, dwindling resources, etc. I sometimes wish popular news outlets would stop promoting them. I mean, after so many generations of glass and aluminium smartphones we know what happens to these devices after a drop.


Really? The millions of people that line up to replace a 1 year old phone just because its the newest phone from Apple is not a waste of resources?

I am sure this company is recycling these phones, or even returning it to Apple where they recycle them. I am sure the few hundreds of phones that are used to test for durability by various review sites, not to mention most likely hundreds of phones and prototypes Apple probably burned through developing and testing the phones in house, are not a significant impact on the environment compared to simply selling millions of phones on a yearly cycle for no real reason other then profit.
Rating: 6 Votes
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Substance90
12 weeks ago

They still sell the 7 you know. So they do offer low cost devices. Just not this one.

An old high-end device is not the same as a new low-end device. I buy all my Apple stuff used at least one year after launch but that doesn't mean that these products are low-cost. They just cost less because they are used or old.
Rating: 5 Votes
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deeddawg
12 weeks ago
Wait, so you're saying when you drop a piece of GLASS onto CONCRETE from a height of six feet, it BREAKS???

Holy cow, better call Captain Obvious!
Rating: 5 Votes
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oldoneeye
12 weeks ago
Why are people accepting :

* Dropping a phone breaks it - people drop things
* If it breaks it costs >50% of the cost to fix it ?

If it has to have a glass back .... at least make it easily fixable....
Rating: 4 Votes
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Tozovac
12 weeks ago

Glass is actually a good material, especially for wireless charging etc. Unfortunately some people are careless & break things easily.


For that matter EVERYTHING is droppable and ultimately breakable. But once again, for an item specifically DESIGNED from the get-go to be portable and on-hand at all times, why does it come out of the gate with hard, fragile corners and/or seemingly no noticeable improvement to durability over the past 10 years.

Then again, this narrowminded trend of focus on appearance is just a sign of our times. Car bumpers are no longer designed to withstand gentle touches in parking lots, but are heavily sculpted, pointed, over designed styling exercises that can leave a mark or crack with even the slightest contact with another car.
Rating: 4 Votes

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