Vivo's iQOO phone allegedly falls from 102,000 feet in the air and survives

Chinese phone OEMs are reportedly starting a trend of testing their phones by sending them to ultra-high altitudes via balloon. Redmi has allegedly done this with its Note 7; now, Vivo has apparently achieved the same with one of its iQOO devices.

The phone was apparently the sub-brand's flagship, a device that came out in March 2019 with the Snapdragon 855 processor, a 6.41-inch AMOLED waterdrop-notch display and 44-watt charging. Vivo also claims that it has a heat pipe structure that can dissipate ultra-high temperatures and an aluminium-alloy frame.

These specialized balloons have attracted extensive interest and development as of late in order to meet the needs of bodies or industries that would benefit from the transport of payloads (or even people) to altitudes that equate to near-Earth or geostationary orbits. They include surveillance or telecommunications concerns.

Indeed, the OEM's video appeared to show the balloon ascending to a height at which the curve of the Earth, its atmosphere and the Sun from outside this were visible. This footage also suggested that Vivo had then conducted a drop-test when this balloon reached its alleged maxium height of 31,000-meter (about 102,000 feet).

This apparently exhibited a result in which the phone still functioned with no more than a broken screen-protector. Vivo also asserted that the phone had survived temperatures of -56 degrees Celsius while at its highest point on its industrial balloon.