Anyone have real durability data on smartphones?

Ok, it's time for a new phone for me. I'm done messing with my current moto z play. It is fragile. It breaks all. the. time.

I've had a smartphone in my pocket all day every day since about 2008 when I got my first iPhone. I've had iPhones, a moto g (which I still have as my backup phone) and this moto z play. Never had a case on anything and never so much as cracked a screen on anything except this moto z play.

Less than a month after I got the moto z play it fell out of my pocket while driving. When I parked, I opened the door and it fell from the car to the ground (like about a foot). Cracked screen. Back in June or so I had the screen completely shatter on me. I got a case and had the screen replaced. A couple weeks ago I noticed the screen was cracked AGAIN (and I don't even remember a drop - I think it cracked in my pocket when I was helping my brother in law move!). Last night it fell off my bed to the floor and cracked the screen more, but worse, the entire touchscreen is now unresponsive. Beautiful. I've had this phone 18 months, averaging a screen break every 4.5 months is not acceptable, especially when I went 8.5 years straight without a screen break before that (some luck probably, but it's a significant difference).

I want to buy a new phone, but I want something sturdy like the old iPhones and my old moto g (actually if there was something exactly like my old moto g that is just much faster I would be interested). Where do I go to get real info on the toughness of these things?

ive been using a samsung s6 activ in an otterbox. for 3 years. 

its been run over 3 times,  totally submerged in water, doused in gasoline, dropped off a 3rd story, and hit with welding slag. its been in my pocket is car accidents, falls, ass kickings, etc. 

never missed a beat. 

id buy another today. 

I buy slightly used iPhone's and call it a day. I've never had one broken

Otter box is your friend. All our iPhones and iPads are in them at work and I’ve only seen one break.  Our post dispatchers are outside all day in all weather and they get dropped on sidewalks, into puddles, etc. After cracking three screens on my personal phone I picked one up myself and haven’t had an issue since.

In reply to Wally :

I have an Otterbox on my iPhone(7?) with the larger screen, but the rubber outer case softened and no longer fits snugly all the way around the outer case. It’s not built nearly as rugged as the one I had for my 5c either. 

i've been daily-driving an iPhone 6 (model A1549) since Aug 2015.  It's had this two-piece Spigen case on it since day 1.  

No screen protector.  It's been dropped a few times, but has never missed a beat.  Hasn't really suffered the iPhone battery life problem.

my wife has the identical phone, got them both the same day.   Again, zero issues.  She's had an OtterBox on hers since day 1.  hers has been dropped way more times than mine.

After about 18 months, my Charge connector wouldn't engage.  Took it to nearest Verizon store, and they pulled a wad of pocket lint out of the charge port.  Problem solved.  

 i carry it in my pocket when i run, so it gets wet with sweat pretty frequently.   in the winter, i tuck it into the hip area of my compression shorts to keep it warm, otherwise it will shut down because of discharge rate vs temp.  so it definitely gets sweaty on those days.   no issues.

+2.  would go back for the re-tap.

Samsung Galaxy S-7 edge, I'm on my 2nd one. I don't carry, other than from desk to vehicle and back so most of the time the phone sits and I don't use it very often at all, like maybe 10-15 calls a month and a couple picture uploads a month. I'd call them fragile, one small drop in a rubber case killed the screen in the first, phone unusable, was told screen can't be replaced. The second phone suffered the first short drop in a rubber case which also cracked the screen. Initially it wouldn't function but regained usefulness after a couple days but it's done a weird flashing section of the screen since. I expect it to die at any time. Would not recommend.

Buy desired phone. 

Buy LifeProof case. 

Never break a screen or have water damage ever again.

My progression of phones goes like this:

Moto Droid
Galaxy S3
iPhone 4 (for about two months before I gave it to my nephew.  I'm android through and through)
Galaxy S5 Active
Google Pixel 2

None of them broke.  After three years of the S5 Active, the screen sometimes flickered when the battery was low, but none of them ever failed to work flawlessly.

z31maniac said:

Buy desired phone. 

Buy LifeProof case. 

Never break a screen or have water damage ever again.

 

The ONLY downside to a lifeproof (other than cost) is that your voice is slightly muffled. 

I am now firmly in the case plus spring protector camp. Twice I have broken a cell phone. First was when it fell in the recliner, and when I folded up the recliner it got crunched. Second one it was laying on pile of freshly folded clothes, and a... something... fell on it, and hit it on the screen. You could have dropped whatever it was 100 times and it wouldn't land like it did on the screen. If it had the screen protector, it would have been saved.

I've had otterbox, lifecase and now a "survivor" case. All have kept the phones safe, dry and unharmed. They also keep the charge port covered for pocket duty. 

Does it not piss anyone else off that you have to buy an additional phone protector product (or TWO!) and that you cannot just buy a phone that doesn't break?

I keep my phone in my pocket, so cases and stuff are just more junk for me to lug around, and makes it harder to get the phone in and out of the pocket. not to mention, some of these cases are $50-100!

As I understand it, the big culprit to phone speed and failures is the battery.  After years of battery abuse, they start putting out fewer milliamps and the processors don't fully clock to their speed.  For years I made sure to get a phone with a replaceable battery, but they seem to last longer than my attention span.  I bought a new battery for the S3 and never felt like I needed it, so I did not get one for the S5.  By the time I noticed any performance issues or battery life issues in the S5, it had been 3 years and I wanted a better phone anyway, so battery health hasn't been the limiting factor in needing to upgrade.

When I bought the Pixel, I didn't care that it doesn't have a replaceable battery.  I do like the waterproof part.

Suggestion... when you select a case, get one with a little flap that covers the charging port.  I keep mine upside down in my front pocket.  Every piece of pocket lint, dust, sawdust in the shop, or random flotsam that goes in my pocket seems to find its way into the port.  About once a month I have to dig the detritus out of the port so I can plug it in.

^I've never "broken" a cell phone, so I don't know. 

The only one I've ruined was water. I tweaked my back, was soaking in the bath with epsom salt, dozed off, phone into water. Dead.

In reply to Robbie :

I've never paid more than $20 for a case. Most were under $15. That's the benefit of buying older generation phones. 

I have no direct answer but will share some experience and some Moto insight...

I carry a Moto X Pure 2015.  I love it.  I have not dropped it but I have had trouble with the charging port going dead/shorting.  If your phone is under warranty, you can send it to Moto and they will repair it (the charging port.)  If it is not under warranty you can spend $125 plus $25 expedite fee and they will overnight you a replacement (likely a refurbed handset.)  I have done this.  

I am not sure what they do for cracked screens but I recommend looking into it via this link.  

https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/mcp/service

I really hated my otterbox.  It was huge and clunky, and made with really sticky rubber so it never came out of my pocket without pulling the pocket with it and ejecting whatever else was in that pocket.

I have a Tech21 pop-on case for the Pixel.  It is that shiny vinyl-like stuff that slips in and out with ease and doesn't take up so much room.  Got it at WalMart for $20-30... which is still expensive for what amounts to 50 cents of molded plastic, but I like it very much.  The other thing I like about it is that it makes the buttons really hard to push.  With the Otterbox on the S5A, half the time I pulled my phone out of my pocket to see I was halfway through a losing round of Euchre, or texting nonsense to my uncle's roommate's half step brother-in-law.  I ended up cutting the rubber nub off the case above that button to fix the problem.  Not an issue with the Tech21 case.

Robbie said:

Does it not piss anyone else off that you have to buy an additional phone protector product (or TWO!) and that you cannot just buy a phone that doesn't break?

I keep my phone in my pocket, so cases and stuff are just more junk for me to lug around, and makes it harder to get the phone in and out of the pocket. not to mention, some of these cases are $50-100!

Sure it does. But the fact is that to my knowledge, I can't buy a phone that won't break. 

For more fun, I have two phones! Work and personal. Yay.

whats the latest version of Gorilla glass ?

its seems the cheaper phones do not use the best screen

I am using a Nexus 6 with a fold open case ,  but I do not use it that much , but do drop it too much !

Also FWIW, My Pixel 2 has been submerged at anywhere from 1-5' deep for 4 hours at a time (went tubing on the river and left it in my pocket) and had zero issues.  I have dropped it and whacked it a few times and it seems to really take some abuse.

And, ooohhhhh, that sweet snapdragon processor.  Daddy like.

And also, oooohhhh, that lovely Google Project Fi cell service.  Someone here turned me on to that... who was that?  I went from AT&T at about $80/mo with zero freebies in Canada, to Project Fi for about $40/mo and it works the same in 178 countries.

Curtis said:

Also FWIW, My Pixel 2 has been submerged at anywhere from 1-5' deep for 4 hours at a time (went tubing on the river and left it in my pocket) and had zero issues.  I have dropped it and whacked it a few times and it seems to really take some abuse.

And, ooohhhhh, that sweet snapdragon processor.  Daddy like.

And also, oooohhhh, that lovely Google Project Fi cell service.  Someone here turned me on to that... who was that?  I went from AT&T at about $80/mo with zero freebies in Canada, to Project Fi for about $40/mo and it works the same in 178 countries.

Yeah, I've dropped my Pixel 2 as well, thankfully it just cracked the glass-like stuff on the back and not the front. Also a Project Fi user, cell bill avgs $28-30 per month.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Active.  Waterproof, Macrolon type screen (no, really, it has dings in it but WILL NOT break) and Justjim proof for 3 years. Much like Dusters, it's been dropped, kicked, doused, etc and it still works great. I highly recommend a Pelican case for it.  Yeah, the same Pelican that protects high dollar military electronics and shoulder launched missiles

I thought I didn't need a phone case for a long time, but phones in the last 4-6 years have been designed to be as slippery as possible. After my phone slipped out of pockets a few times without breaking I became a case user. My favorite is the Spigen clear cases. They don't add much bulk to the phone and after some serious drops kept my phone unharmed. I've had my HTC 10 (internally almost identical to the pixel) for 2 years and zero issues. 

I can second the S7 active's durability. I've got a couple scratches on the screen now from a particularly "clumsy" birthday party a couple years ago but no cracks. I imagine whatever the most current active model has the same durability. 

z31maniac said:

Buy desired phone. 

Buy LifeProof case. 

Never break a screen or have water damage ever again.

 

A+ protection. 

F useability. 

It is safe in the case until you need to take it out because your 3rd party cable is a hair wider than factory. Or you actually want to talk on your phone. Or you need to accurately use the touchscreen. I’ve never seen anyone buy a second one.