Zack Nelson Samsung Galaxy S9 Durability Test

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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Even if you care less about the next greatest thing in the world of smartphones, Zack Nelson and his durability test is always a good watch. As a side note, please make sure you don't accidentally leave your phone over at Zack's house; this guy, in the words of Nathan Explosion, "Brutal."

Check out the video.

With new aluminum and thicker glass we are already off to a good start while testing the Galaxy S9. The scratch test is first, followed by a series of other tests including a flame test and a bend test. Bend testing the Galaxy S9 is the ultimate test of structural durability. Hopefully it survives...
 
Impressed but the better one is the drop test no?
 
Impressed but the better one is the drop test no?
you would think, but I do stupid things like putting my keys in the same pocket as my phone, so scratch tests for me are more relevant.
 
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I really want to continue to buy android but the bloatware is a complete joke on $800-1000 phones. I bought pixel xl gen 1 but it is overpriced to remove bloat. S9 is a decent deal if you buy direct (no bloat)... I really wish this was a bigger issue.
 
I have to be honest; these videos always confuse me. I mean, he is taking a box cutter to the earpiece grill, and a box cutter and angling it to cut it super deep on the sides. It also looks like he is using some sort of specialized tool to scratch the surface of the screen. These tests make no sense because they are trying too hard to scratch it. None of it represents real-world probabilities. The durability test should consist of only these:

  • Put the phone in a ziplock bag with a bunch of keys and shake it around for 5 minutes. Maybe even throw in a closed pocket knife.
  • Dunk the phone in water to different depths for 5 minutes each.
  • Heat test. Put the phone in a oven for 20 minutes at the lowest setting (120 degrees max) to simulate if you left your phone on your dash on a hot day.
  • Drop test from waist height and chest height on all angles of the phones.

That's it. I mean, I could fuck up a phone really well if I TRY which is what these videos do but I don't feel like they simulate real life at all. Everytime I watch these videos i'm like "Okay... so what does this prove?" (after watching the person scratch the shit out of the phone using a box cutter).

But that won't get views.
It's all about the views.



I was thinking the same though. This guy literally destroys a phone using methods the phone will most likely not be exposed to.

Imagine when phones have real AI. They won't put up with this shit.
 
  • Heat test. Put the phone in a oven for 20 minutes at the lowest setting (120 degrees max) to simulate if you left your phone on your dash on a hot day.
Yeah.. that won't cut it for a heat test.

You leave a phone in the sun under a windshield like that, especially in certain parts of the country where the air inside the vehicle can get to 160F or hotter on a hot day and the phone is going to be in the 225F+ range.

The lighter test is kinda dumb IMO though.
 
These tests are shit and just for views. Real durability testing looking nothing like this.

I’ve been involved with durability testing of handheld products and we didn’t consider it a “pass” until five devices were each dropped 26 times in a row on a control surface. Devices was dropped on each corner (8), each edge (12), and each face (6) from a determined height of 3 or 4 feet onto 1.5 inch thick plywood. So overall, it was 130 drops into plywood everything we did the test.

This would flat out destroy most cell phones, but can be used to validate protective cases work decently.
 
I have to be honest; these videos always confuse me. I mean, he is taking a box cutter to the earpiece grill, and a box cutter and angling it to cut it super deep on the sides. It also looks like he is using some sort of specialized tool to scratch the surface of the screen. These tests make no sense because they are trying too hard to scratch it. None of it represents real-world probabilities. The durability test should consist of only these:

  • Put the phone in a ziplock bag with a bunch of keys and shake it around for 5 minutes. Maybe even throw in a closed pocket knife.
  • Dunk the phone in water to different depths for 5 minutes each.
  • Heat test. Put the phone in a oven for 20 minutes at the lowest setting (120 degrees max) to simulate if you left your phone on your dash on a hot day.
  • Drop test from waist height and chest height on all angles of the phones.

That's it. I mean, I could fuck up a phone really well if I TRY which is what these videos do but I don't feel like they simulate real life at all. Everytime I watch these videos i'm like "Okay... so what does this prove?" (after watching the person scratch the shit out of the phone using a box cutter).

The scratch tool is a hardness test. Each tip is harder than the last. So if your keys are hardness 6, and the screen only scratches on hardness 7 test, your keys will never scratch the screen. However if the screen scratches at hardness 5, your keys are in for a good time.

As side note, last year or the year before something odd happened. Instead ot scratching, the tool, for the lack of a better term, "wrote" on the screen. So there was a slight fight with samsung. On one had samsung was right that the screen never got scratched with the lower hardness tip, on the other hand it did do permanent damage to the screen because you could never remove the deposit.
 
:rolleyes:

Yes the tests are excessive but with a little imagination it's not hard to glean where the device stands in various areas under real world use. I'd put this in the category of useful infotainment.
 
Yeah.. that won't cut it for a heat test.

You leave a phone in the sun under a windshield like that, especially in certain parts of the country where the air inside the vehicle can get to 160F or hotter on a hot day and the phone is going to be in the 225F+ range.

The lighter test is kinda dumb IMO though.

Agreed in Phoenix 120 F is not even close to what my dash gets to with my card out in the sun. Most days I cant even touch the steering wheel when i first get into my car in the summer
 
Yeah.. that won't cut it for a heat test.

You leave a phone in the sun under a windshield like that, especially in certain parts of the country where the air inside the vehicle can get to 160F or hotter on a hot day and the phone is going to be in the 225F+ range.

The lighter test is kinda dumb IMO though.

That 225F+ figure it absolutely ridiculous. I will give you the 160, but nowhere on this planet is a car getting near 200F. Besides, even for the 160+ degrees... few places in this country would get there. I am merely saying that on average, these tests are outrageous. Perhaps a more accurate case would be 150 for 30 minutes. I live in Southern Florida which obviously isn't Phoenix, but places like mine and Phoenix are the outliers and doesn't represent the vast majority of places which is what these tests should be doing... testing the averages.

http://acprocold.com/blog/hot-car-get/
 
I think FL in August is worse. I have been in Hollywood in the middle of July and the humidity was unbearable.
 
I think FL in August is worse. I have been in Hollywood in the middle of July and the humidity was unbearable.

The humidity here is absolutely unbearable which is why I am moving to Colorado as soon as I can. 30 years is enough of this shit.
 
That 225F+ figure it absolutely ridiculous. I will give you the 160, but nowhere on this planet is a car getting near 200F. Besides, even for the 160+ degrees... few places in this country would get there. I am merely saying that on average, these tests are outrageous. Perhaps a more accurate case would be 150 for 30 minutes. I live in Southern Florida which obviously isn't Phoenix, but places like mine and Phoenix are the outliers and doesn't represent the vast majority of places which is what these tests should be doing... testing the averages.

http://acprocold.com/blog/hot-car-get/

INSIDE A CLOSED UP vehicle in southern Arizona.

I can guarantee you that something left on the dash on a day where the outside temp is 110F+, the air inside a vehicle can reach 160F+.

If you leave something on the dash IN THE SUN, you can absolutely have that item get to 225F or higher, especially if the item is a darker color.

It gets hot enough to WARP/MELT plastic (which generally has a meting point over 300F) and then some.

It is the land of blacktop literally melting and vehicles leaving tracks in it if they drive over it. Even walking on it on really hot days will make your shoes stick to it.
 
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