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

Trendingnow

1

Gen Zers are arriving at college unable to even read a sentence—professors warn it could lead to a generation of anxious and lonely graduates

2

'We didn’t see this coming': Wall Street eats its forecasts as stocks sell off globally on fear of AI bubble ahead of SpaceX IPO

3

'The golden years are not golden': Boomers are hoarding most of America's wealth and power because they're terrified of outliving their money

1

Gen Zers are arriving at college unable to even read a sentence—professors warn it could lead to a generation of anxious and lonely graduates

2

'We didn’t see this coming': Wall Street eats its forecasts as stocks sell off globally on fear of AI bubble ahead of SpaceX IPO

3

'The golden years are not golden': Boomers are hoarding most of America's wealth and power because they're terrified of outliving their money
TechBest Companies

Samsung Galaxy S8 Torture Test: An Easily Breakable Smartphone

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 24, 2017, 2:05 PM ET

If anything is certain, dropping the Samsung Galaxy S8 on the sidewalk is a bad idea.

The folks over at SquareTrade, a company that offers warranties on electronics and appliances, tortured the Galaxy S8 in a video published on Monday, subjecting it to a series of tests to discover how it would hold up against falls on pavement and other beatings. It found that the Galaxy S8’s glass design makes it vulnerable to serious cosmetic damage.

In its testing, which CNET earlier reported on, SquareTrade started first with a “face drop test,” in which it drops the handset face-down on the pavement at a height of six feet. On just the first fall, the smartphone’s display glass came loose and cracks dotted the screen. It was a similar result on the Galaxy S8’s glass back, which was also dropped at a height of six feet. After the fall, the handset’s backplate had “spiderwebbing” glass cracks and other dings.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

Samsung (SSNLF) released the Galaxy S8 on Friday. The device is the company’s latest high-end handset, offering an all-glass design and curved 5.8-inch screen. It’s designed to compete at the high-end of the smartphone market and costs $750. The Galaxy S8+, which comes with a larger, 6.2-inch screen, costs $850.

Many Galaxy S8 users have touted the handset’s design over the last several days on social media, and the device’s look and feel earned impressive reviews from media outlets. But if the SquareTrade test is any indication, its good looks won’t protect it from damage.

After its drop test, SquareTrade, which has performed similar tests on competing devices like Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone, put the Galaxy S8 into a box for its 60-second tumble test. After the test was over, the smartphone’s front and back glass panels were shattered and the glass became loose. The front camera also suffered some damage.

SquareTrade then dunked the handset into five feet of water for 30 minutes. While the smartphone was still operational, SquareTrade said that it suffered from some “audio muffling and distortion.”

Ultimately, SquareTrade warned users in the video that both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ carry a “medium-high risk” of suffering damage due to accidental drops or spills.

“S8 is the first phone we’ve tested that’s cracked on the first drop on all sides,” SquareTrade wrote.

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

Brian Schimpf gestures with both hands as he speaks on stage.
Startups & VentureBrainstorm Tech
Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf says economic warfare is the ‘new normal’ for military conflicts—and the U.S. needs to get serious
By Lily Mae LazarusJune 8, 2026
2 hours ago
Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China’s biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
AsiaAlibaba Group
Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China’s biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
By Kate O'Keeffe and BloombergJune 8, 2026
3 hours ago
Twitch CEO: Social media has become ‘antisocial’ and can’t match the shared, human connection of livestreaming
Big TechBrainstorm Tech
Twitch CEO: Social media has become ‘antisocial’ and can’t match the shared, human connection of livestreaming
By Sebastian HerreraJune 8, 2026
3 hours ago
Two men sitting on chairs on a stage
Future of WorkBrainstorm Tech
Your career needs a ‘gym membership’ to keep up with continuous AI advancements, says Campus founder Tade Oyerinde
By Amanda GerutJune 8, 2026
3 hours ago
ChatGPT maker OpenAI confidentially files for IPO, a week after Anthropic
Startups & VentureOpenAI
ChatGPT maker OpenAI confidentially files for IPO, a week after Anthropic
By Bloomberg, Shirin Ghaffary and Bailey LipschultzJune 8, 2026
4 hours ago
Anthropic’s Boris Cherny, creator of Claude Code, says there are days he manages tens of thousands of AI agents at once
AIBrainstorm Tech
Anthropic’s Boris Cherny, creator of Claude Code, says there are days he manages tens of thousands of AI agents at once
By Sharon GoldmanJune 8, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

Gen Zers are arriving at college unable to even read a sentence—professors warn it could lead to a generation of anxious and lonely graduates
Success
Gen Zers are arriving at college unable to even read a sentence—professors warn it could lead to a generation of anxious and lonely graduates
By Preston ForeJune 7, 2026
2 days ago
'We didn’t see this coming': Wall Street eats its forecasts as stocks sell off globally on fear of AI bubble ahead of SpaceX IPO
Economy
'We didn’t see this coming': Wall Street eats its forecasts as stocks sell off globally on fear of AI bubble ahead of SpaceX IPO
By Jim EdwardsJune 8, 2026
16 hours ago
'The golden years are not golden': Boomers are hoarding most of America's wealth and power because they're terrified of outliving their money
Economy
'The golden years are not golden': Boomers are hoarding most of America's wealth and power because they're terrified of outliving their money
By Nick LichtenbergJune 7, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 8, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 8, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 8, 2026
13 hours ago
Trump stunned as stocks fall on great jobs report. Barclays explains why ‘we are entering the warning zone'
Big Tech
Trump stunned as stocks fall on great jobs report. Barclays explains why ‘we are entering the warning zone'
By Eva RoytburgJune 7, 2026
1 day ago
SpaceX's IPO will also be a massive selling event triggering big price dislocations across the stock market as investors dump shares to buy SPCX
Investing
SpaceX's IPO will also be a massive selling event triggering big price dislocations across the stock market as investors dump shares to buy SPCX
By Jason MaJune 7, 2026
1 day 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.