Don’t drop the iPhone X. No, really. Apple’s $999 smartphone, which launched to much fanfare last week, uses a new design that features glass on both the front and rear of the phone. Unfortunately, that glass won’t stay shiny for long if it suffers a fall, and you’ll face a hefty bill if you do need to repair it.
“The iPhone X can probably handle your everyday wear and tear, but dropping it without a case is out of the question,” Vanessa Hand Orellana said in her story for CNET. “We learned it only takes one bad drop to break the glass on this phone. Even the stainless steel frame is susceptible to damage.”
Fans lined the streets outside Apple stores on a cold Friday morning last week, waiting for stores to open their doors at 8 a.m. local time. But the new smartphone, priced at $1,149 for the 256GB version, raises the iPhone to a dizzyingly high level of cost, suggesting buyers be extra cautious with their phone.
But some have already done the unthinkable and sent their prized device to an early grave.
Some people regretted not waiting longer to use it.
It hasn’t been easy.
One buyer managed to break the glass on both sides.
Drop test videos show how the iPhone X really, really can’t stand too much of a tumble.
Here’s how CNET’s phone looked after two drops.
If you do drop the iPhone X, it’s going to cost a ton to get it repaired. Replacing the front screen costs $279, but the rear can cost a staggering $550. The alternative is to take out AppleCare+ at $200, which extends the 90-day support to two years and covers up to two incidents of accidental damage. Under the care plan, screen damage repairs are $29 and all others are $99.
Gadget repair site iFixit disassembled the device and found the iPhone X has an awkward design that makes repairs difficult. The rear camera bump, which houses the two lenses used to enable the background-blurring Portrait Mode, overlaps with the glass.
“Glass on front and back doubles the likelihood of drop damage—and if the back glass breaks, you’ll be removing every component and replacing the entire chassis,” the iFixit team said in their report.
Oh, and if you’re thinking about getting a screen protector to mitigate the damage, you might wanna be careful. YouTuber Daniel Romero managed to break his screen protector soon after placing it onto his new iPhone X.
In a statement to CNET, Apple said:
The new iPhone is designed to be durable, but not indestructible, and goes through rigorous real world testing. iPhone X is made from the most durable glass ever in a smartphone with a 50 percent deeper strengthening layer using our dual ion-exchange process, further reinforced by an internal laser welded, steel and copper structure. And the surgical-grade stainless steel band that wraps around and reinforces iPhone X is a special Apple-designed alloy that is both durable and more pure. If anyone is concerned about dropping their iPhone and damaging it, we suggest using one of the many beautiful cases available to protect iPhone.
