Durability is a huge issue when buying a smartphone. You don’t want to have to replace your phone, often at the cost of hundreds of dollars, just because of a momentary slip.
Third-party warranty provider SquareTrade ran Apple’s new iPhones through the gauntlet, and they did well, but not quite as well as the Moto X.
As it turns out, the new Moto X performed the best out of the four phones tested, surviving a five foot drop on its corner with only a dent, and making it through the company’s other tests unscathed. The iPhone 5S came in second, surviving the drop test with a couple of dings, but sliding clean off a table when pushed, while the other three phones remained securely on the table. Apple rival Samsung’s Galaxy 4S came in last place, after failing to turn on following both the drop and submersion tests.
“We were expecting that at least one of the new iPhone models would up its game but surprisingly, it was the Moto X that proved most forgiving of accidents,” Ty Shay, Squaretrade’s Chief Marketing Officer, said in a statement. “This is the first time we’ve tested the breakability on a Motorola phone, the only phone we’ve ever tested that’s made in the USA. We were pleased to find that it withstood our drop, slide and dunk test with only the slightest dent. It looks like Google is giving Apple and Samsung a run for their money.”
Though the Moto X gets top marks for durability, it’s hard to say if that will translate into sales for Google-owned Motorola Mobility, which still faces heavy competition in the Android space from Samsung.
