This iPhone 8 Review Puts the Phone Through the Ultimate Durability Test

Turns out Apple's new iPhone 8 handles abuse pretty well.

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The iPhone 8 was announced a couple weeks ago, but it is officially available to buy in stores today (Sept. 22). That can only mean one thing: the YouTube reviews are about to start pouring in. Most of these reviews, especially the ones that test the durability of a device, can teeter dangerously between cringe-worthy and extremely useful, and YouTuber JerryRigEverything’s review is no different.

Like in most of his other phone reviews, Jerry wants to find out just how scratch-resistant the new iPhone 8 is. He takes several tools—including a razor and a Mohs' hardness pick—to the phone's screen, camera, and metal casing, and measures just how much abuse an iPhone can take. With the new iPhone 8, Jerry discovered that it is no more or less scratch-resistant than the iPhone 7. That means the iPhone 8 screen and glass back is impervious to keys and coins, which is what most of us care about anyway.

The front camera is protected by the slab of glass that covers the entire front of the phone, but things aren’t so simple when it comes to the rear camera. As Jerry notes, Apple claims it uses a sapphire glass for the rear camera, which should be the most scratch-proof of all materials and should only be vulnerable to a Mohs' hardness of 10. Jerry discovers this isn’t the case, as the camera has roughly the same scratch resistance as the rest of the glass on the phone—somewhere between a 6 and an 8.

The iPhone does pass Jerry’s bend test with flying colors; no amount of bending makes even a dent in the iPhone 8, so you can store it in your skinny jean pocket with a clear conscience.

Jerry’s final and most cringe-worthy test is the fire test, which is exactly what it sounds like: he takes a lighter to the phone’s display and keeps it there for several seconds. You’ll be glad to know that the display’s pixels go black, but eventually return to normal. But you should absolutely not try this with your own phone as it could lead to permanent damage.

While Jerry didn’t perform a drop test, everything else that he proves in his video suggests that the iPhone 8 is a very durable phone, resistant to most scratches, bends, and even fires.

What about the inside of the phone? The folks at iFixit have conducted their own breakdown of the iPhone 8 and found that the battery is slightly smaller than that of the iPhone 7. The new phone’s battery has 6.96 watt-hours vs 7.45 watt-hours. According to Apple, though, this discrepancy should not result in a significant difference in battery life.

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