The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 remains one of the most attractive and feature-packed phones on the market. With the Note 9 expected to launch sometime in August, you can expect its price to drop considerably in the months ahead. Hurrah!
However, bargain hunters should think twice about picking one up if they’re also likely to drop it. Put simply, the Note 8’s “survival rate” after suffering a fall isn’t that great.
[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/07/samsung-galaxy-note-9-specifications-and-release-date-revealed/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/07/Galaxy-S-Note-410×231.jpg” title=”Samsung Galaxy Note 9: Release Date And Specifications Leaked [Updated]” excerpt=”Better start saving up now Galaxy Note fans, because the next model of Samsung’s flagship smartphone will be launching in just over a month. We now have a pretty good idea of what to expect beneath the hood. Here’s everything we know so far.”]
The tech blog Tom’s Guide recently tested the durability of 12 leading smartphone models by dropping them under a variety of test conditions. The phones – $US18,000’s worth! – were subjected to four- and six-feet drops onto both wood and concrete.
Each test actually consisted of two separate drops – once on the phone’s edge and once on its face. For the coup de grace, any surviving phones were tossed into a water-filled toilet.
The phones were then given a total ‘Toughness Rating’ based on how they fared in each test. Sadly, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 proved to be one of the worst performers, with an overall rating of just 4.3 out of 10.
Here’s Tom’s Guide’s breakdown of what went wrong:
Samsung’s phablet took 4- and 6-foot drops on its face onto a wood surface with ease. A 4-foot fall on its edge onto concrete caused some minor scratches on the bottom edge, but a 4-foot drop on its face cracked the screen in a number of places, including in front of its front-facing camera, which gave selfies a very artistic look.
A 6-foot face drop onto concrete caused the Note 8’s screen to start flashing white, black and green, and the touch screen was completely unresponsive. The stylus was intact, though.
This was the second-worst result on record, with only Apple’s iPhone SE scoring lower (3.9.) By contrast, the iPhone X and Samsung Galaxy S9 received Toughness Ratings of 6.2 and 6.0, respectively. The Motorola Moto Z2 Force came out on top with an overall score of 8.5.
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It seems that Samsung is aware of this issue and is taking active steps to rectify it with its next phone. Leaked Note 9 specifications have revealed a slightly thicker chassis for improved durability.
Of course, none of this really matters if you’re willing to invest in a protective phone case (click here for some personal recommendations.) But clumsy cheapskates would be better off plumping for one of the other phones from the drop test. You can see how each model fared here.
[Via Tom’s Hardware]
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