[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n6eNURznxk?rel=0&showinfo=0&w=704&h=396]
Most cases will protect your iPhone during regular use, and many can handle accidental drops and a little abuse, but very few can withstand deliberate punishment. An amusing new Battle Damage video from Wired uses abusive tests to crown the “toughest iPhone case ever” from four different ultra-protective models: Griffin’s $50 Survivor,* LifeProof’s $80 Fre, Lunatik’s $125 Taktik Extreme, and Otterbox’s $50 Defender. The iPhone 5 units inside the Griffin Survivor and LifeProof Fre don’t make it through the first test, a hard smash of the encased iPhone on a hard floor, but Lunatik’s Extreme and Otterbox’s Defender go onto a second test: attempting to withstand a 50-pound safe while standing in a completely vertical position.
Unless you’re planning to drop a safe on your upright iPhone, the smaller and more affordable Defender seems like a smarter choice. But only Lunatik’s metal-reinforced Extreme survived the safe-dropping test; an iPhone 6 version hasn’t yet been released. Most people will do just fine with regular iPhone cases (or great iPhone battery cases), but if you want something that can protect against Looney Tunes-like antics, check out the video for some nice camera work and screen-shattering fun.
[* Note: Wired claims that the Griffin Survivor case shown in the video is Survivor Slim, but it looks more likely to be Survivor + Catalyst, a now-discontinued $80 model that was marketed as waterproof. Thanks, Nick!]
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Very entertaining.
Awesome!
Cool test – but where the Otterbox was positioned straight up and down, the Lunatik’s is clearly at a slant when you drop the safe. But, again – cool test. No pretense of scientific accuracy – just fun smash and we take what we will from it. thumbs up!
I agree, huge advantage for falling flat. Either way, I still cringed both drops.
I can’t believe the amount of production that goes into these kinds of videos. Then again, people really want to see it I guess. Just seems hard to justify $1500+ worth of iPhones, plus camera equipment and the rather elaborate setup. They must make bank off these videos.
‘Twas entertaining