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Nexus 5 drop test: will it survive?

Nexus 5 drop test: will it survive?

Posted: 07 Nov 2013, 09:07 , posted by Victor H.

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Tags : T-Mobile -T-Mobile + AT&T -AT&T + Verizon -Verizon + Sprint -Sprint + Android -Android + Google -Google +

The Nexus 5, Google’s showcase device for Android 4.4 KitKat, is now here and cruel-hearted gadget torturers have it in their hands for a drop test. Would the Nexus 5 survive being dropped on its back, bottom and front? Or would its Gorilla Glass 3 protected display shatter into pieces?

Android Authority has got a white Nexus 5 and has tested the phone’s durability right in front of the Googleplex, next to the Android statues of cupcakes, gingerbreads and jelly beans.

We won’t spoil it for you, but we should mention that the Nexus 5 features a non-removable battery and the back cover is not meant to be removed by the user either. However, unlike other smartphones like the HTC One, the construction of the new Nexus is not unibody. There are separate parts.

With no further ado, it’s drop test time and the results are right below.

source: Android Authority

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28 Comments

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posted on 07 Nov 2013, 09:15

1. Kishin (Posts: 706; Member since: 30 May 2013)

I knew it!! right away

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 10:09

14. PhoneArenaUser (Posts: 5498; Member since: 05 Aug 2011)

Interesting how cameras OIS functionality survived all this. Sad, but looks like LG Nexus 5 plastic is very weak.

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 11:45 2

20. jaytai0106 (Posts: 1888; Member since: 30 Mar 2011)

Yeah... I still never understand how people have the courage to do a drop test XD I'll be like, sorry guys.. I can't drop this phone... I'm too weak...

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 12:15 4

21. akki20892 (Posts: 3902; Member since: 04 Feb 2013)

Nothing like Nokia.

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 14:27 4

23. ihavenoname (Posts: 1693; Member since: 18 Aug 2013)

Nokia made Nexus would be awesome. Just saying.

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 15:08 4

24. akki20892 (Posts: 3902; Member since: 04 Feb 2013)

I hope Nokia will make phone like my profile picture.

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 09:17 4

2. KickRocks (Posts: 251; Member since: 22 Mar 2011)

Damn, that hurts to watch.....................Oh well, still loving mine

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 09:17 3

3. Piotrek007 (Posts: 113; Member since: 07 Dec 2010)

The fact that at the end this screen was actually working, is really impressive !! o.0

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 09:27 4

4. .KRATOS. (Posts: 431; Member since: 15 Mar 2013)

It looks that gorilla glass 3 quite durable it haven't skipped any drop without breaking.

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 10:42 1

16. RODJOS (Posts: 12; Member since: 23 Oct 2013)

Consistent :D

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 09:28 5

5. danwatson (Posts: 117; Member since: 03 Jan 2012)

So much for the improvements in gorilla glass. You still break the screen when dropping it so I really don't see what all the hype is. The only thing Gorilla glass seems to stop is small scratches while in your pocket...maybe. Other than that, the screen busts up just like it did before the company existed.

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 15:44

25. caustictoast (Posts: 31; Member since: 07 Aug 2012)

Corning, the makers of Gorilla Glass, have actually been around since 1851. Although before you were more likely to find their glass in the kitchen than in phones.

posted on 08 Nov 2013, 02:34

28. Penny (Posts: 1801; Member since: 04 Feb 2011)

Well, consider this: Gorilla Glass may actually be getting stronger with each iteration. In fact, that's a really safe assumption. However, because the glass is getting stronger, manufacturers are probably just trying to use less of it with thinner layers in smartphones. If they used the same thickness of Gorilla Glass 3 as they did with Gorilla Glass 1, the new one would probably fare better.

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 09:30 3

6. ArtSim98 (Posts: 3535; Member since: 21 Dec 2012)

I was surprised by the holes it got into the front

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 09:34 1

7. InspectorGadget80 (unregistered)

Man this guy is a idiot for dropping phones

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 09:43 7

9. PhoneArenaUser (Posts: 5498; Member since: 05 Aug 2011)

No he is not, since he makes much more money from that than these phones costs.

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 10:29

15. RODJOS (Posts: 12; Member since: 23 Oct 2013)

YouTube Partners potentially can earn around $7,000usd for every 1,000,000 views.

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 09:37 1

8. ihavenoname (Posts: 1693; Member since: 18 Aug 2013)

I accidentally dropped my S4 Mini (with GG 2) glass down to the tarmac and it was all fine, no signs of dropping. Why GG 3 can't stand the drop?

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 09:45 5

10. daniel_bargs (Posts: 325; Member since: 27 Nov 2010)

Gorilla Glass is a scam! Bragging their glass can withstand a thousand pounds of force using a machine... but this real life scenario, its magic or trickery is not working.

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 09:48 1

12. PhoneArenaUser (Posts: 5498; Member since: 05 Aug 2011)

The more Xperia Z and Xperia Z1 torture test I watch, the more I like Dragontrail glass. :)

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 16:25 1

26. dmsrfl (Posts: 74; Member since: 21 Sep 2012)

seriously, what's the point of Gorilla Glass that can't handle a fall.

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 09:47 1

11. Planterz (Posts: 2119; Member since: 30 Apr 2012)

Unless it's designed and advertized as a rugged phone, there's no effing point in drop tests. They'll all fail. Survival is a matter of luck, no more. Thin bezels and protruding glass increase the chances of failure, of course, but with the right (or wrong, rather) set of circumstances, the screen will crack or shatter from a drop.

Buy a decent case like an Otterbox, and at least you can reduce those chances, but drop it enough times, and eventually it'll break.

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 10:03

13. Ravens (Posts: 7; Member since: 07 Nov 2013)

I'm actually really surprised, because my lg optimus 2x with gorilla glass 2 live on today. Heck I even tell people I don't care if I drop my phone (then I proceed to drop it in front of them).

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 11:00

17. improv (Posts: 96; Member since: 09 Sep 2013)

I've never dropped my phone from making a call or texting but I have dropped it a couple times from just carelessness of how I'm getting my phone out of my pocket and where I've placed my phone. I had an iPhone 4S (glass front and glass back) that survived well for the past 2 years but recently (right after I bought my nexus 5, lol), it slid off my lap while I was sitting down and the front screen got the familiar webbed design. Because of this, I welcome the nexus 5's backplate because it probably has more friction than my lap :D. I'll probably be taking better care of it though...

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 11:09

18. Augustine (Posts: 1043; Member since: 28 Sep 2013)

Excuse me, it seems that I have something in my eye...

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 11:13

19. Klamba92 (Posts: 212; Member since: 25 Jun 2012)

What is the point of these drop tests all these phones are fragile and are going to break crack once dropped! This will be good once once we have bendable displays! Also has anyone else noticed that each year the phones get worse? I mean the galaxy s2 faired the best but gs3 and 4 did worse and they supposedly had better glass!

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 12:38

22. Evil_SaNz (Posts: 259; Member since: 20 Oct 2011)

Rabbit Glass

posted on 07 Nov 2013, 19:59

27. RORYREVOLUTION (Posts: 3131; Member since: 12 Jan 2010)

I don't get it, my Motorola Droid X survived fall after fall, my near 300 pound drunken friend accidently stomping on it with steel toe boots on and it had first gen GGlass and yet after all these years they have somehow made it worse.