When credible rumors first started to suggest Apple would release a drastically thinner iPhone this year, a common response was to speculate about the device’s durability. Would the 5.6mm iPhone Air suffer the same fate as the 7.1mm iPhone 6 Plus, which was hit by the Bendgate scandal in 2014? Or did the launch of the iPad Pro last year indicate that Apple has learned how to make products that are both thin and resilient?
With the first reviews appearing this week and the device only going on sale today, there’s still time for things to go wrong when large numbers of people get their hands on it. But early indications are positive, with one TikToker putting the Air through some hilariously brutal durability tests and declaring himself surprised (in a good way) by the device’s performance.
In one dialogue-free video, which at the time of writing has received more than two million views, Marcus Cupello does his very best to bend the iPhone Air. He begins by just using his hands, but that doesn’t get him anywhere, so he then starts bracing his hand against the edge of pieces of furniture and using the extra leverage. Eventually, he resorts to whacking it with a hammer. But while it flexes slightly, and there are some ominous cracking sounds at the most violent moments, the device refuses to bend in any noticeable and permanent way.
A second video sees a wider range of punishments being inflicted on the poor iPhone Air, with scissors, a screwdriver, a hammer, water, and a blowtorch all brought out to test its durability.
“The iPhone Air is actually quite difficult to bend,” Cupello says, like a frustrated medieval torturer. “I’m surprised. It’s even scratch-resistant. Impressive. Let’s try burning it. Can water get in? All right, I’ve had enough. Why can’t I actually break this phone? It appears Apple [has] actually made the iPhone Air very durable.”
At the end of the video, something seems to go wrong. Cupello is hitting the rear of the phone with a hammer and complaining that he can’t break it, but then suddenly says, “Sh*t. Never mind.” It looks like something has finally given way, but it isn’t entirely clear. Still, after such a brutal set of tests, we can hardly be surprised if the Air has finally given in. The real surprise is that it survived for so long.
Cupello isn’t the only tester to focus on the iPhone Air’s durability. Indeed, at product briefings Apple itself has demonstrated bend tests to some journalists. Julian Chokkattu of Wired, for example, reported: “I watched Apple perform a bend test on the iPhone Air, and it was able to withstand more than 130 pounds of force with no damage,” and says he “gave it a good bend test myself, but it didn’t flex.” But Cupello’s tests are the most thorough, and the most violent, we’ve seen so far.
You can try to break your very own iPhone Air today by heading over to your local Apple Store and picking one up.
Author: David Price, Editor, Macworld
David has been writing about technology for well over two decades, and got on board the Apple hype train when covering the original iPhone launch in 2007. He is an enthusiastic Apple Watch evangelist and feels that the HomePod is misunderstood.