Researcher Sam Kohl (Sam Kohl) from AppleTrack published the first crash tests of the iPhone 15 Pro on YouTube. Judging by its video, the new rounded edges of the titanium frame are less resistant to drop tests than the rugged design of the iPhone 14 Pro.

In the drop test, the iPhone 14 Pro remained in almost perfect condition until the end, while the 15 Pro’s glass collapsed in about half of the tests, with spider cracks initially appearing in the corners. Repeated falls caused increasing damage to both the rear and windshield of the Pro. Eventually, the bottom half of the iPhone 15 Pro screen failed completely (only white pixels were lit) and the rear camera module was completely disconnected from the case.

While the iPhone 14 Pro’s flat band of stainless steel frame absorbed most of the impact, the iPhone 15 Pro’s rounded titanium edges appeared to spread the impact across the front and rear glass, causing spider cracks to form. The hardness of titanium is higher than that of stainless steel, but this also has the opposite effect, since the less rigid stainless steel frame has better damping properties. The elastic and lightweight titanium frame transmits much more kinetic energy due to the effect of glass.

Testers noted that while the iPhone 15 Pro isn’t as drop-resistant as the 14 Pro, it still holds up well, as it only takes a few drops on concrete to crack the glass.

It should be added that the various crash tests of the devices are deliberately academic and unscientific, and the repeatability of this is a big question mark.