Apple's iPhone 7 looks pale in contrast to Galaxy S8's bezel-less display and futuristic design. However, the smartphone community is widely concerned about the delicate glass panel at the rear of the S8 while the iPhone 7 has no such feature.
It is widely speculated that the iPhone 7 could offer better protection, given its hefty bezels at the top and bottom portion of screen for absorbing impact or shocks when dropped from a certain height. Besides, the iPhone 7 does not come with a rear glass panel unlike the Galaxy S8.
On the other hand, Samsung claims that the rounded corners of the S8 help it in absorbing shock damage and prevent it from cracking during drops.
Nevertheless, IBTimes SG explores how the two flagship phones size up in a couple of drop test comparison videos that were recently posted on YouTube.
As you can see in the first video (above), Galaxy S8 and iPhone 7 were subjected to two different types of drop tests wherein the first indulges in testing out their impact resistance when dropped on the rear panel while the second evaluates the shock-absorbing capability when dropped on the front.
In the first test, both the handsets reportedly came out unscathed with just a few superficial scratches and scuff marks. However, the second test resulted in shattering the display of both phones into pieces wherein the iPhone 7 was found to be completely dead while the Galaxy S8 was found to be working fine.
Moving on to the second video, both the Galaxy S8 and iPhone 7 Plus were put through a stern test of physical durability. The first drop test (from waist height) resulted in the S8's rear panel cracking up while the iPhone 7 managed to go unscathed until the next drop test.
The display of the S8 survived the drop from waist height as it continued to work fine, despite the rear glass panel breaking in.
In the second drop test, however, the glass panels of both the iPhone 7 Plus and the S8 were shattered after being dropped from a height of 12ft. Quite surprisingly, the S8's display continued to work flawlessly while the iPhone 7 had no such luck as it became unusable.
In spite of the glass-back design, the S8 does truly stand out with a highly durable and crack-resistant display. The rear glass panel needs to be covered with a flip-cover or case for protection from accidental damage.
