The extra-large Galaxy Note 10+ survived a series of drop tests just a bit better than the iPhone XS Max.
Neither device came out unscathed from being dropped 1 meter onto cement as both are sheathed in glass. The question is whether the screen and back are shattered or just cracked.
A rigorous drop test
The first test done by PhoneBuff involves dropping each handset onto their back. The iPhone XS Max came out solidly ahead — its backplate cracked while the one on the Note 10+ shattered.
The same happened in the second test, in which both devices are dropped onto a corner. Again, the Apple product survived better.
However, the Samsung showed its strength in the face-down drop. Its screen cracked after falling 1 meter onto concrete, but one end of the XS Max’s screen shattered in the same test.
PhoneBuff named the Galaxy Note 10+ the winner of this drop-off based in the difference in the third test.
Previously, the iPhone XS Max beat this spring’s Samsung Galaxy S10+ in drop tests.
The strength of Gorilla Glass 6
It’s possible Samsung won this contest because the Note 10+ was just introduced while the iPhone XS Max came out last year.
The Note 10+ definitely uses Corning’s Gorilla Glass 6 — Samsung advertises that fact. And this new version is designed to survive exactly this type of test. “Corning Gorilla Glass 6 improves upon Gorilla Glass 5 by surviving drops from higher heights, but, more importantly, has been engineered to survive multiple drops,” said John Bayne, VP and general manager, Corning Gorilla Glass.
This newest version of this ultra-hard glass came out last summer, just a couple months before the release of the iPhone XS series. It’s possible it was used in the 2018 iPhones, but Gorilla Glass 5 could also have been used. There’s no way to know for certain because Apple doesn’t reveal who makes the glass that covers the front and back of its devices.
When the iPhone 11 debuts next month, will become the true competitor for Note 10+. If it proves tougher than the XS series in drop tests, this will be evidence that it’s the first Apple device with Gorilla Glass 6.
