We bashed smartphones: the surprising abuse they can handle now
We dropped them face first on a hard floor. We dropped a block of wood on their screens and finally smacked one with a hammer.
Along with a couple of metro Atlanta consumers, I was invited to test the resilience of new and recent models of the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and other brands. The session was organized by Protect Your Bubble, an Atlanta-based provider of protection plans for electronic devices.
The durability of smartphones will become even more crucial as we use them for increasingly important tasks.
It's harder than I thought to kill these things (which Protect Your Bubble and its PR firm supplied). Though screens cracked or shattered, the devices kept working through multiple bashings. Even after I took a hammer to the screen of a Galaxy S4. Even after I grabbed nails and jabbed them down on the screen.
But the smartphones we tested eventually did give out.
About the Author
Matt Kempner is an award-winning journalist who seeks out intriguing twists about people and subjects beyond what the AJC might typically cover. A former columnist and editor, his past assignments have included business investigations, energy, the economy, entrepreneurs, big business, consumer spending, politics, government and the environment.
