Under torture tests, the iPhone SE doesn't stack up
With every new iPhone, we see the requisite teardown to discover the underlying components inside the device. Then come the torture tests, to see just how much abuse the new model of iPhone can take before it suffers catastrophic failure. Extended warranty provider SquareTrade has recently put the iPhone SE through the wringer, so let’s see how it stacks up against the slimmer 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones.
The bend test
Under 178 pounds of pressure, the iPhone SE suffers this fate
This is the big one, since much has been made of the tendency of the iPhone 6 Plus to bend. The smaller iPhone SE bent at 160 pounds of pressure, while the iPhone 6s bent 10 pounds later. At 178 pounds of pressure, the compact iPhone SE suffered “catastrophic failure,” while the iPhone 6s Plus was only beginning to bend.
Shatter tests
Don't repeatedly drop your iPhone SE, or this will happen
SquareTrade puts devices through two shatter tests: a facedown drop from six feet and and a drop on the corner. All three models shared the same fate in the facedown drop, with their screens shattering. In the corner drop test, however, the iPhone SE fared much worse than its larger cousins. It split along its side after 10 drops, while the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus only suffered minor cosmetic damage.
What about submersion in water?
After 10 minutes submersion in water, the iPhone SE shuts off for good
After less than a minute of being submerged in five feet of water, the iPhone SE shut off for good. By way of comparison, the iPhone 6s lasted a full 30 minutes, only losing audio. As for the iPhone 6s Plus, it began malfunctioning after 10 minutes and eventually died, as well. Of course, we never really thought these devices were waterproof.
Same as the iPhone 5s, actually
More than two years ago, the iPhone 5s yielded similar results in comparable tests. Since the iPhone SE is designed after the older handset, these results aren’t surprising at all. Now, though, we have the video evidence to see it in action. Watch the video below, or click here if it fails to load.