Apple made quite some headlines by launching the iPhone 15 a few days ago. Some of the biggest upgrades that Apple’s new ‘Pro’ series iPhones bring include a titanium build and a USB Type-C port. While the USB Type-C port on the iPhone 15 Pro turned out to be a no-holds-barred implementation, its titanium body doesn’t seem to match expectations about the extra strength, at least in a recent drop test.
Popular YouTuber PhoneBuff conducted a drop test comparison of the Galaxy S23 Ultra with the iPhone 15 Pro Max to test whether the upgraded titanium body of the latter offers some real-life benefits. He used robotic arms to make the test as fair as possible outside of lab conditions.
Galaxy S23 Ultra wins drop test against iPhone 15 Pro Max despite the latter’s titanium build
After a back-facing drop from a waist-level height, the iPhone’s back shattered, with wide cracks all around the glass back. In comparison, the Galaxy S23 Ultra suffered smaller cracks on two corners. Despite the titanium body, the iPhone did worse than the Galaxy, which has an aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection on the front and the rear.
In the second round, the YouTuber dropped both phones with one of their corners facing down. In this test, the titanium frame of the iPhone created a spark when it contacted the concrete slab. The titanium frame was fairly undamaged, but the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s aluminum frame got slightly deformed. However, the rear glass of the iPhone started falling off. Both phones were fully functional after the second round of the drop test.
In the third test, the smartphones were dropped with their screens facing down. The screens of both phones cracked significantly after this test, but the Galaxy S23 Ultra did slightly worse due to its curved screen. However, both phones continued to function perfectly, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s in-display fingerprint reader was functional as well. After the final drop test round, in which both phones were dropped from a higher point. The Galaxy S23 Ultra looked similar to how it did after the previous drop test, but the iPhone 15 Pro Max showed even more shattered glass on the front and the rear.
After averaging points from all four rounds of the drop test, the Galaxy S23 Ultra won the test despite featuring an aluminum frame. So, it doesn’t look like there’s any significant real-world benefit to having titanium, at least with Apple’s implementation.
Galaxy S24 Ultra is rumored to feature titanium body
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is rumored to feature a titanium body, and we hope it brings improved strength than the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The thing about titanium is that it is stronger than aluminum for the same weight, but Apple used titanium to reduce the weight of the iPhone 15 Pro by 19g compared to its predecessor, so it wouldn’t have been stronger anyway. In comparison, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is expected to keep the same weight as its predecessor, so we are expecting to see some benefits of the rumored titanium frame compared to the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
