Next to his favorite Bentley getting into a scrape, there can be few things which sound more likely to give Jony Ive nightmares than a chemical element capable of causing the catastrophic structural failure of aluminum.
Unfortunately for Jony, that chemical — referred to as gallium — not only exists, but has somehow gotten into the hands of oddball YouTube stress tester TechRax. All in the name of clicks science, TechRax has previously established himself as enemy number one to Apple’s Industrial Design team — doing everything from assaulting new iPhones with DeWalt angle grinders to crushing an Apple Watch Edition between two magnets.
Check out the video below to see how the aluminum iPhone 6 manages against its toughest challenge yet.
And here’s another pretty cool video I found while research gallium, showing how it can affect the structural integrity of even a solid sheet of aluminum.
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
18 responses to “Aluminum-attacking chemical poured over iPhone 6 is Jony Ive’s worst nightmare”
I’ve never understood device-destruction porn.
People like watching stuff break.
If you could use extra income from $50-$300 on daily basis for doing an online job from comfort of your house for few hrs a day then try this…
What they want to prove? Shame on them!!! Please give the iPhone 6 value in money to Nepal or something….
They make much more off ad revenue from this crap than the value of the phone… it would be cool if they donated a portion to Nepal or whatever though.
Why don’t you send money to Nepal instead of using it to buy whatever device you use to post this comment, you hypocrite?
Horror movie for everyone with a central nervous system… Shame
“You can hear it sizzling.” That’s the battery about to blow up in your face, idiot.
Waste. Some people would kill for an iPhone 6… literally.
He earned enough for 3 more phones with this video
I’m not talking about earnings, I’m talking about wasting a phone some others can’t even afford for the sake of ruining it. Its like throwing food out in front of starving African kids.
The resulting alloy reacts VIOLENTLY with water… and it’s on his fingers. How were the Al(OH)3 burns? If you’re going to play chemist, learn some chemistry.
Destruction videographers are not the smartest bunch.
Your headlines are such crap.
I must be missing the point here. Yes, iPhones are not made of Unobtanium nor indestructible. If you drop gallium on top of them, they melt. The same if you drop them on a steel furnace at >1200ºC or if you leave a road cylinder crush them. What’s the point? They are just supposed to support everyday’s “regular” situations and stresses, not these extreme, unrealistic situations.
In other news, all Phones will be destroyed by placing in a very hot fire.
“but has somehow gotten into the hands of oddball YouTube stress tester TechRax” You can buy it on Amazon… It’s not that hard to obtain…
Yes, I’m sure Jony Ive is losing sleep over this.