Samsung's Galaxy S8 takes a run through SquareTrade's breakability gauntlet

Shawn Knight

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Device protection plan company SquareTrade has published the results of its breakability test for Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 smartphone. As you’ll see, the handset performed “significantly worse” than its predecessors in testing although the results don’t appear to be curbing consumer interest.

In the 6-foot, face-down drop test, the beautiful displays of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ were pretty much destroyed after a single drop. The same results were exhibited when the device was dropped on its back and during the tumble test.

In the dunk test where devices are submerged in five feet of water for 30 minutes, the Galaxy S8+ exhibited muffled and distorted audio but otherwise seemed alright. After about 30 minutes out of the water, audio on both devices was almost completely restored, SquareTrade noted.

Jason Siciliano, vice president global creative director at SquareTrade, said that Samsung had to knock it out of the park with the Galaxy S8 after making global headlines with major product defects and other scandals over the past year.

While the nearly all-glass design of the S8 makes it a beautiful phone, Siciliano notes that it’s extremely susceptible to cracking when dropped from any angle. Even so, he said they’re certain it’s going to be a hit.

SquareTrade found that 89 percent of Samsung owners reported having a positive view of the brand despite recent controversies and that 36 percent plan on buying an S8 in the next six months.

Overall, the Galaxy S8 earned a breakability score of 76 (medium-high risk) out of a possible 100 points (the higher the score, the higher the risk of it breaking due to an accident).

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I'm not a fan of the all glass case design, unless the glass can take a bullet with no scratches. Even then, it would looks gross over time with all the finger prints and would probably slip out of your hands.
 
I've had an S7 without a case for about 7 months now and it has some scratches on both back and front. The home button looks like hell, obviously not the same material as the case. A quick google search reveals it's a common issue. The bezel looks to be in very good condition.

I don't carry anything in my pocket other than my phone and I don't throw it around. Previouly I owned an iPhone 5S that I never put a case on and it seemed to be in better condition after nearly two years. I can see the S8 standing up well to scratches without the home button.
 
And we are back to the "normal" phones with bezels thanks to the case.
Either that or risk destroying your beautiful device. Manufacturers have lost the plot now anyway, they concentrate too much on aesthetics thanks to 'us' demanding form over function.
 
What the actual F is the deal with devices thats not allowed to have proper bezels anymore?
Who in their right mind thinks its practical and good to just have a giant screen?

Makes me wonder if the designers of these things ever actually use them, even with my oneplus I press the apps on the edges of the screen constantly just by holding the phone in my hand. It's hella frustrating and means now I need to hold it super lightly and increase the drop risk because any firm grip triggers the edges of the screen.

***** designers need to go back to school or something.
 
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