iPhone 15 Pro-series durability upgrade disputed in early drop and bend tests

Apple claims to have taken a considerable leap forward in terms of device weight and handling experience with the 15 Pro and Pro Max by conferring a new internal aluminum plate and slight bevelling on their new frames, which are of course now titanium alloy rather than stainless steel as with the 14 Pro series.

While JerryRigEverything host Zach Nelson claims to have verified the presence of the "Grade 5" metal (about US$30 of it per device, apparently) by preparing a cross-section of the new frame for us all on YouTube, its allegedly improved robustness may now be in doubt.

A growing list of vloggers, MobileReviewsEh included, seemed to demonstrate that the iPhone 15 Pro was no less likely to become scuffed, scratched or cracked from even the start of an exhaustive drop test compared to the previous generation.

One extreme case in which AppleTrack's Sam Kohl became determined to kill both a 15 Pro and a 14 Pro on Sydney, Australia's cobbles resulted in findings the newer model was the first to die outright. Furthermore, it lost its rear camera glass into the bargain, prompting Kohl to condemn it as "not the durable titanium phone that I was promised".

Meanwhile, JerryRigEverything also demonstrated that the 15 Pro Max' rear panel cracked easier than a Motorola Razr Plus cover display in response to a bend test - then again, that of the smaller 15 Pro did not.

Accordingly, it is just possible that Apple's new durability-focused design tweaks are not working out as planned; then again, MobileReviewsEh concluded that the 15 Pro might be the more resilient iPhone in some cases: 'accidentally' hitting it with a kettle-bell (and vice versa) several times over, for example.

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