Allstate Pits iPhone 15 Pro Max Against Galaxy Z Fold 5, Other Popular Handsets

Allstate Protection Plans, which provides insurance for electronic devices like the iPhone, has shared the results of its annual device drop tests, which pitted Apple’s latest handset, the iPhone 15 Pro Max against other top-end smartphones.

Allstate’s drop and dunk tests pitted the $1,200 iPhone 15 Pro Max, the $1,200 Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, the $1,799 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, and the $1,799 Google Pixel Fold against each other. These handsets, all constructed from glass, are the most expensive smartphones available from Apple, Google, and Samsung.

For the dunk tests, Allstate placed each smartphone in water for 30 minutes. The drop test saw Allstate testers dropping the devices onto a sidewalk from six feet. An apparatus was used to drop them from the same exact height and angle.

All of the tested smartphones have good water resistance ratings, so they easily survived the dunk test, operating properly after the plunge. However, the combination of sudden de-acceleration trauma and concrete poisoning has been the end of many a device, and these glass smartphones were no exception. None of the devices came away from the drop test unscathed.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max fared quite badly in the front screen-down drop test, as the device shattered on the first drop, making it unusable due to shards of loose and raised glass. The Galaxy S23 met the same fate.

Allstate reports that the Z Fold5 and the Google Pixel Fold both withstood two screen-down drops, although they did sustain screen dents, scuffing, and frame damage. Allstate points to the raised lip around the interior edge of each display. (Screen down is defined as the main screen that is visible when the devices are opened.) However, when the two foldable smartphones were dropped on their closed outer displays, both devices shattered.

As for backside-down drop tests, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the iPhone 15 Pro Max both shattered. While the Pro Max remained functional, two of its cameras were no longer operational due to damage to their glass lenses.

Allstate Protection Plans has been conducting these tests for several years with each new generation of the iPhone, and over the years there hasn’t been a large amount of improvement in the results despite Apple’s strengthening of the device’s glass. While Apple is using a stronger back glass and a “Ceramic Shield” on the front glass, glass is breakable and there isn’t much you can do to prevent breakage when dropped from a high enough height.

It should be noted that even though Allstate Protection Plans conducts its tests using the same variables, there’s always an element of unpredictability in testing and the tests don’t reflect real-world results.

Drop test results like this underscore the need to purchase a highly protective case — the type of case that’s designed to protect against falls onto hard surfaces. While these types of cases add bulk to your iPhone, they do protect well against drops onto surfaces like concrete.

It is also a good idea to spring for AppleCare+. which covers two incidents of accidental damage each year, charging only a $29 deductible. AppleCare+ is an especially good idea if you prefer to use your iPhone without a case.