Dropping and abusing the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Galaxy S24 Ultra: is there a toughness winner?

Much has been said about the titanic titanium Galaxy S24 Ultra vs iPhone 15 Pro Max battle, but here’s something else: a drop test.

Don’t forget that this doesn’t make the Galaxy S24 Ultra or the iPhone 15 Pro Max fragile or “bad” in any way – when a phone drops (especially one that costs over a thousand bucks), only the gods can help us as luck is what matters the most. I’ve seen “fragile” phones survive epic abuse, and I’ve also seen “tough” devices crack after a benign fall.

A video by the PhoneBuff YouTube channel shows what happens when you put together the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Galaxy S24 Ultra in a drop test (via Gizmochina).

Both the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the iPhone 15 Pro Max are built with titanium inside, but the Galaxy S24 Ultra also has Gorilla Armor glass for a significant improvement in durability compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The drop test starts with the Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max being dropped flat on their backs. It shattered the glass back panel on both phones with the damage more visible on the S24 Ultra. The camera lenses also suffered due to the test. According to the host, this round goes to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Next, in round two, both flagships are dropped from the corner to test the titanium frames. The devices got minor dents but the iPhone also started losing some glass. This round ended in a draw, according to the host.


Round number three is dubbed “Face Drop” and it’s painful to watch. Both phones are dropped on a concrete floor flat on their front. Compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the S24 Ultra suffered more damage to the screen with cracks, which is surprising given the Gorilla Armor glass that’s used here. The functionality of the selfie camera and fingerprint scanner were compromised on the Samsung flagship. On the iPhone, things worked as normal. A clear win for Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The last round had the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the iPhone 15 Pro Max dropped repeatedly face-down on a metal surface – pure sadism. The iPhone suffered badly and got a vertical line on the screen on the second drop and by the seventh drop, the screen just went plain white. The Galaxy S24 Ultra, although abused beyond belief, is still functional and the award for this hardcore round goes to the S24 Ultra.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra earns an impressive overall score of 37 points from PhoneBuff, narrowly surpassing the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which closely trails with 36 points. While the iPhone 15 Pro Max shines with a perfect 10 out of 10 in the initial three rounds, it falters only in the fourth and final round.