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Apple’s iPhone 7 Tortured by a Razor Blade and Bent to Near-Death

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
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By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
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September 16, 2016, 1:33 PM ET

It was only a matter of time before someone put Apple’s new iPhone 7 through a torture test.

A reviewer who goes by the name JerryRigEverything published a video on YouTube on Thursday showing the many ways he beat, cut, and scorched Apple’s (AAPL) latest smartphone. For the video, he gouged the screen and home button until they scratched, took a razor blade to the phone’s backplate, and even bent it with his hands to see whether it would bend or break.

First, JerryRigEverything used special tools with varying degrees of sharpness to scratch the iPhone 7’s screen. He noted that most smartphones he tests start to scratch at level six on a scale of two to nine. Once he got to level six, the iPhone 7’s screen started to scratch, and that those scratches were even deeper as he moved to level 7. That means that “coins and keys won’t scratch it,” but other sharper materials could leave abrasions on its display, he says.

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Then, the real fun began. JerryRigEverything used a key on the iPhone 7 to determine how easily he could scratch its backplate. While the black matte iPhone 7 he tested held up well, it was no match for a razor blade. In fact, he was able to deeply scratch the iPhone 7’s aluminum backplate with ease. JerryRigEverything also found that, like the iPhone 7’s display, its camera lens has a hardness level of six, making it resistant to key and coin scratches.

Apparently not one to let a smartphone screen live on with only a scratch, JerryRigEverything then took a lighter to the screen to see when its screen would start to buckle. It ended up taking 10 seconds until the screen’s pixels started to get hot and turn black. Soon after, however, the pixels recovered and the screen became “cool to the touch,” he says.

Not even the iPhone 7’s spine was safe from JerryRigEverything’s torture test. Holding the smartphone in both hands, the popular YouTube user bent the device using his hands as strongly as possible to see if it would bend or break. Before long, he found that the display would start to detach from the iPhone 7’s body and that it isn’t all that flexible. He added that bending it in the wrong way could cause the waterproofing adhesive to give way, leading to less protection against possible water intrusion.

“Overall, Apple has made another solid phone, and I appreciate the build quality,” JerryRigEverything said to end his review.

For more about the iPhone, watch:

Apple’s iPhone 7 went on sale in several markets worldwide on Friday.

About the Author
By Don Reisinger
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