The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max feature an all-new chassis design made out of what Apple says is grade 5 titanium. A drop test video yesterday raised early concerns about the durability of this new design, particularly as related to the new curved edges.
Now, JerryRigEverything has posted his annual durability test with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, and he has some concerns…
Throughout the durability test, we can see the new grade 5 titanium put through scratch testing, heating testing, sandpaper, and more. As expected, the titanium does indeed scratch when you take a knife to it. The matte back glass, however, is far more scratch resistant.
The display also fares quite well during the scratch testing as well, as do the three camera covers on the back of the iPhone 15 Pro. But things get more interesting pretty quickly.
“It’s time to see if the new blended aluminum titanium grafted hybrid structure compromises the structural integrity of the iPhone 15 Pro Max,” JerryRigEverything says as he starts to put pressure on the device. Within just a few seconds, you hear a snap and the back glass has completely shattered.
“I did not see that one coming,” he says. “You’ve been watching me durability test smartphones for about 11 years now, and most phones do not break. iPhones especially do not break, like ever. And [the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s] snap was abnormally quick.”
Top comment by NekoMichi
While it's concerning to see, remember that a sample size of 1 doesn't really mean anything statistically. More units have to be tested to see if this is repeatable.
For example, Zack previously also tested the Moto Razr Plus and had a similar instance of the back glass breaking from thumb pressure, but a month later in a follow-up video he repeated the same test on another unit and it didn't break.
Without further tests, we can't conclude if this is a common manufacturing flaw affecting all iPhone 15 Pro Max or if he just got a defective unit.
Internally, the iPhone 15 Pro Max survives the test. The screen and frame of the device are also both unscathed. It’s just the back glass that succumbs to the pressure.
JerryRigEverything speculates that this could be due to the titanium having five times the amount of tensile strength as aluminum, leading to the glass back not being able to withstand even small amounts pressure and flex. On the bright side, Apple has made it far cheaper to replace the iPhone 15 Pro’s back glass this year.
You can check out the video below for the full details. It’s a fascinating look at the iPhone 15 Pro’s new design, but also with some interesting tidbits about titanium itself.
In David Guetta’s hit song “Titanium” from 2011, Sia sang: “You shoot me down, but I won’t fall. I am titanium.” It looks like the same can’t be said for Apple’s version of titanium in the iPhone 15 Pro.
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