• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechFortune 500

Torture Tests: iPhone 7 Likes to Swim, But It’s Scared of Heights

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 19, 2016, 10:23 AM ET
Apple Inc. Unveils Next Generation iPhone And New Watch
Philip "Phil" Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple Inc., unveils the new iPhone 7 during an event in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016. Apple Inc. unveiled new iPhone models Wednesday, featuring a water-resistant design, upgraded camera system and faster processor, betting that after six annual iterations it can still make improvements enticing enough to lure buyers to their next upgrade. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesDavid Paul Morris — Bloomberg via Getty Images

Another day, another terrible torture test for the iPhone 7.

This time around, the folks over at SquareTrade, a company that sells warranty protection on technology, put both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus through the paces to see how they held up against water, pressure, and drops. The company found that the Apple (AAPL) iPhone 7 models, which now offers a waterproofing feature, performed quite well in the water test and were still functional after 30 minutes in water.

When it came to drop tests, though, the iPhone 7 models were rendered shattered messes.

During the water test, SquareTrade left the iPhones submerged in water for 30 minutes. The company noted that when they were pulled from the water, they “both survived with only temporary audio muffling.” Then, it was time to place pressure on the iPhone 7. The company found that, like the iPhone 6s, the iPhone 7 started to bend with 170 pounds of pressure. The iPhone 7 Plus bent at 180 pounds, matching its predecessor, according to SquareTrade.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

While that might sound like good news, don’t even think about dropping the iPhone 7 models on a sidewalk. After just one drop on their faces, both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus had shattered screens. The iPhone 7 was rendered useless on its second drop in SquareTrade’s testing, and the iPhone 7 Plus was “unusable” after the third tumble.

SquareTrade’s testing comes along with similar testing by popular technology build reviewer JerryRigEverything, a YouTube user who published his video of an iPhone 7 torture test last week. His testing included similar bendability evaluations, but added in some other torturous acts, including taking a lighter to the smartphone’s screen. Overall, the iPhone 7 performed middling in that testing, as it did in SquareTrade’s evaluation.

The warranty company, which evaluates all kinds of devices, assigns each product a “breakability score” that determines how likely it is to break. Its score is dependent upon its performance across several tests, including the water test, a face-down drop, and a tumble test, among several others. The iPhone 7 scored a five out of 10, earning it a “medium risk” of breaking. The iPhone 7 Plus landed at the slightly higher six out of 10. To put that into perspective, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7, which has been recalled due to overheating and potential explosion concerns, has a 6.5 out of 10. The higher the score, the greater the risk of the smartphone breaking.

“The iPhone 7 generation is the first to compete with Samsung’s water resistant ratings in its latest smartphones,” Steve Abernethy, executive chairman at SquareTrade, said in a statement. “After putting them to the test, there’s no doubt the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus aren’t scared of going for a little swim. Still, when it comes to surviving a sidewalk drop, we saw no improvement. Broken screens are still the leading cause of smartphone damage—and both Apple and Samsung still have a lot of work to do.”

For more about the iPhone, watch:

Apple launched its iPhone 7 last week.

About the Author
By Don Reisinger
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

MoonPay chief legal officer and chief administrative officer Caroline Pham holds a microphone and speaks during a crypto conference
CryptoCryptocurrency
MoonPay acquires Solana trading infrastructure platform in $100M all-stock deal
By Jack KubinecMay 5, 2026
6 minutes ago
dimon
Bankingfinancial services
Anthropic deepens push into Wall Street with new AI agents, full Microsoft 365 integration, Moody’s data partnership
By Nick LichtenbergMay 5, 2026
6 minutes ago
DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis
AIGoogle
UK-based Google DeepMind workers vote to unionize over military AI contracts amid internal backlash over its Pentagon deal
By Beatrice NolanMay 5, 2026
33 minutes ago
Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm raises $2.2 billion for fifth venture fund, promotes CTO Lazzarin to general partner
CryptoAndreessen Horowitz
Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm raises $2.2 billion for fifth venture fund, promotes CTO Lazzarin to general partner
By Ben WeissMay 5, 2026
3 hours ago
three men pose in a grocery store
Startups & VentureGrocery
Exclusive: AI grocery startup Vori raises $22 million to help independent retailers compete with Walmart and Amazon
By Lily Mae LazarusMay 5, 2026
3 hours ago
A Solana token sits on top of several cash bills
CryptoCryptocurrency
Solana firm Jito launches a consumer trading app months after raising $50 million
By Jack KubinecMay 5, 2026
3 hours ago

Most Popular

Diary of a CEO founder says he hired someone with 'zero' work experience because she 'thanked the security guard by name' before the interview
Success
Diary of a CEO founder says he hired someone with 'zero' work experience because she 'thanked the security guard by name' before the interview
By Emma BurleighMay 3, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, May 4, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, May 4, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 4, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of May 4, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 4, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 4, 2026
1 day ago
America got rich and got sad. A top economist says 2020 broke something that hasn't healed
Economy
America got rich and got sad. A top economist says 2020 broke something that hasn't healed
By Nick LichtenbergMay 3, 2026
2 days ago
As economic despair mounts, Russian official admits the country has had enough of Putin's war on Ukraine. 'We can’t even take one region'
Economy
As economic despair mounts, Russian official admits the country has had enough of Putin's war on Ukraine. 'We can’t even take one region'
By Jason MaMay 3, 2026
2 days ago
America is lucky it’s no longer a manufacturing powerhouse—it’s what’s protecting the U.S. economy from the worst of the oil shock, top economist says
Economy
America is lucky it’s no longer a manufacturing powerhouse—it’s what’s protecting the U.S. economy from the worst of the oil shock, top economist says
By Sasha RogelbergMay 4, 2026
22 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.