iPhone 6S and 6S Plus torture test: Bending, dropping and extreme heat

We can put #Bendgate — the viral panic attack over last year’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus bending in people’s pockets — to bed.

Since its debut on Friday, the iPhone 6S Plus has already faced the music with a new set of bend tests, enduring as much as 100 pounds of pressure. Now, phone-insurance firm SquareTrade is going way beyond just bending with a full breakability test comparing the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus and the Samsung Galaxy Note 5.

The factors tested were grippability, weight, water damage, a corner drop, a face-down fall, bendability and temperature extremes. You can see the tests in action in the video above, but here are the highlights:

  • The iPhone 6S Plus was able to endure 180 pounds of pressure, making it much stronger than its younger iPhone 6 Plus.

  • The iPhone 6S withstood 170 pounds of pressure while the iPhone 6 bent at 110 pounds, SquareTrade says. The Note 5 also withstood the same amount.

  • SquareTrade added the Thermo Rig to its testing lineup for the first time, simulating temperature environments your phone would usually face — a hot car or a cold night outside. The Note 5 won this battle. At zero degrees, it lasted almost two hours making a video call while the iPhone 6S Plus lasted more than an hour, and the iPhone 6S only lasted 30 minutes.

  • The notorious face-down drops are still not in your favor. All three phones failed to survive a fall on pavement, coming back up with shattered screens.

Based on factors such as physical characteristics and SquareTrade’s drop, drunk, bend and extreme temperature tests, devices are rated on a 1-10 scale, 10 being the higher the risk of the device breaking due to an accident.

The ultimate winner? The iPhone 6S with a score of 4.5. The iPhone 6S Plus and Note 5 both scored a 5. Overall, the three phones are right in the middle of the scale with medium risk.

squaretrade test results

Image: SquareTrade Inc

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