iPhone 15 Pro Max Battles Flagship Galaxy And Pixel Phones In Horrifying Breakability Test

Some of the latest and greatest phones from Apple, Samsung, and Google underwent a new round of Allstate Protection Plan's breakability test. The results were not surprising, proving once more that glass is glass and users should always take precautions to protect their expensive investments.

Insurance provider Allstate has been doing its breakability tests for more than a decade now, and its latest round includes flagships that should handle the worst that a controlled test can throw at them, right? As the video below demonstrates, while obviously not all devices are made the same, glass construction—regardless of whether it's Gorilla Glass or Ceramic Shield protection—has concrete as its Kryptonite. 
Allstate subjected the iPhone 15 Pro Max ($1,200), Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra ($1,200), Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 ($1,800), and Google PIxel Fold ($1,800) to a battery of drop and dunk tests to see how they fared. All of these phones survived the submersion test of 30 minutes, but the six-foot high drop test conducted from a rig to ensure equal drop height and angle for each instance was quite revealing.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23, in the screen-down test, shattered on the first drop and were rendered unusable due to loose shards of glass. The raised bezels around the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Pixel Fold might have their saving grace, because even after two screen-down (opened mode) drops, they suffered screen dents and some frame damage. However, in closed-mode, the displays on both foldables shattered as well.

The video also shows the rig dropping the iPhone 15 Pro Max and S23 Ultra onto their backs. Since they were made of glass, well, you know how that went.

While all durability tests like Allstate's will likely yield different results due to various factors, it gives users and potential buyers an idea of how fragile their devices can be. In this case, Allstate conducts these tests to help owners make educated decisions in protecting their phones, be it through having some kind of insurance protection plan, the costs of DIY or third-party repairs, or simply buying a good phone case and screen protector.