iPhone 4S vs Galaxy S III vs HTC One X — which one survives a drop?

In a droptest between the Galaxy S II and iPhone 4S, we saw how much more durable the Galaxy S II was (at least in that specific test) than Apple’s iPhone 4S. Curious how the iPhone 4S stands up against Android’s latest flagship devices, Samsung Galaxy S III and HTC One X? We have another droptest to show you.

In this particular droptest, a white Galaxy S III is put against a white iPhone 4S and a white HTC One X. Based on previous droptests and the fact that it has a glass-based outer shell, one would expect the iPhone 4S to come last in this contest. Yeah, not so much. The iPhone 4S fares the best out of all three devices, with only a scratch on the screen after being dropped multiple times from waist and shoulder height. HTC One X comes in second; it has a few scratches on the screen but is still functional after being dropped from the same positions. Galaxy S III, however, is a completely different story. The Galaxy S III survived a drop from waist height with nothing major, not even a scratch. From shoulder height, however, not only did the screen get a “big” scratch but the device came apart multiple times and eventually stopped working. Check it out for yourself:

From this particular test it is obvious the unibody design on the HTC One X and iPhone 4S help it survive versus the Galaxy S III’s traditional two-part design, despite the Galaxy S III being covered in “high-quality” plastic which should technically help it survive drops better than, say, glass. However, if I may play devil’s advocate, this droptest is a bit suspicious in light of the previous iPhone 4S vs Galaxy S II droptest.

If you remember that particular test, the black iPhone 4S’s outer glass casing shattered and the screen cracked after being dropped while the Galaxy S II fared very well. In this droptest the white iPhone 4S comes out unscathed, for the most part. So either there is a huge difference between the materials used for the white and black iPhone 4S, or something fishy is going on. Alternatively, it could just be the different surfaces at play: This new video drops phones on what looks to be black marble whereas the previous video dropped phones on what appears to be the sidewalk. I’m no engineer so I can’t say this for sure but it could be iPhone 4S’s material helps it survive drops better indoors than outdoors.

While I doubt this droptest will sway consumers one way or the other who are trying to decide between the three devices, especially if you consider how most people place their phones in cases, it is interesting to know. Feel free to share your thoughts on the comments below.

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