Video: iPhone 7 vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Drop Test – Which Will Survive?

We’ve seen a slew of head-to-head tests between the 2016 flagships from Cupertino and South Korea in recent weeks, including the epic iPhone 7 vs. Galaxy Note 7 speed test and water submersion test. And while the results of those two battles rendered the Galaxy Note 7 gimping away from the ring in shame, it appears that a new drop test has surfaced, revealing that perhaps the tides are starting to turn in Sammy’s favor for a change.

Such a shift would represent a bit of good news for the South Korean tech-giant, especially as it faces a whopping $1.5 billion liability for all those exploding batteries (and associated fines, fees, and legal expenses).

As you’ll see in the video below, however, which was provided to us courtesy of PhoneBuff, the demonstrator shows the iPhone 7 Plus and the Galaxy Note 7 being dropped on both their backs, bottoms, sides, and faces, from 1 meter (3.28 feet) and moving up from there.

Starting with the back drop first, the video shows us that the iPhone 7 had a clear leg up over the Galaxy Note 7 from the get-go — more that likely because of the latter’s Gorilla Glass 5 overcoat on the back side, which is obviously more susceptible to breaking than Apple’s 7000 series aluminum, which stood firm and strong, revealing only minor scuffs after this portion of the test.

The bottom drop, however, resulted in an evidently equal amount of scuffing on both devices. Although, to be fair, the iPhone 7 was clearly the winner, seeing as how the bottom drop also exacerbated the existing cracks on the Galaxy Note 7. Similarly, the side drop resulted in some additional, minor scuffing on both devices; but again, nothing seriously damaging.

The real show unfolded when it was time for the devices to square off in the face drop. The goal was to determine, after 50 rounds, which device, if any, could still place a phone call. And while both the iPhone 7 and the Galaxy Note 7 suffered massive amounts of screen damage during the face drop, both devices could, surprisingly enough, still place calls after the last round.

The flagships thusly moved on to a special bonus round, during which, unfortunately for Apple fans, the iPhone 7 was rendered completely destroyed after just 10 additional drops. The Galaxy Note could still place a call, and so the South Korean flagship ended up winning this super epic, gut-churning drop test.

I think we can all take away a valuable lesson from the experiment, though: and that, of course, would be to never underestimate the protective value of a quality case.