While I resent the accusation, I am occasionally labeled clumsy. I used to rarely drop things, but lately I’ve found myself knocking over glasses, tearing clothes, and damaging a downright stupid amount of phones; most of these were test units, but still.
Despite the tendency for expensive flagship phones to jump out of my hands or decide to miss my pocket, I never use a case with such smartphones. Even with some of the best foldable phones – the most fragile handsets – I avoid casing longevity.
Am I an idiot? Probably. But I like to see the industrial design of the best phones, instead of wrapping them in less attractive plastic.
Likewise, all the bragging about the best Android phones using Gorilla Glass has fueled my apathy when it comes to extra phone protection. But then one, either by my own hand or by sheer physics, falls to the ground and cracks, buckles, or dents.
Except for the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
I’ve talked about the benefit of titanium on phones, allowing the big iPhone to withstand all kinds of chassis problems; however, it will not patina.
But I still have to praise the brilliance of Apple’s Ceramic Shield glass. Introduced with the iPhone 12, I’ve always simply assumed this was Apple’s answer to Corning’s Gorilla Glass. Still, I now feel like I’ve lost sleep over how good Ceramic Shield is.
After about 10 months of use, my iPhone 15 Pro Max has been put through the wringer. It has slipped off my couch, crashed into my desk, and fallen to the floor, and each time it has emerged unscathed.
Shields up!
The most impressive example was in August, when I visited Liverpool. I threw the phone on a hotel bed and given the weight of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it bounced off the comforter with gusto, flew through an open bathroom door and landed face down on the tile floor with a sickening clatter.
I thought “that’s it, the phone is ready”, and thanked my foresight for having a spare Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra on hand.
But when I gingerly lifted the iPhone off the floor and anxiously turned it over, I saw that it was completely undamaged. I couldn’t find a single dent in it – even the excellent camera module looked fresh and good.
I was genuinely surprised. Such drops have ruined other phones that were unlucky enough to activate the clunky Roland mode.
And I thought that, despite my love for the action button and the consistency of the camera systems, Apple’s Ceramic Shield glass might be my favorite feature of recent iPhones.
So if you’re looking for a durable phone that also looks stylish, rather than giving the impression of a brick, all I have to do is give the Ceramic Shield iPhones my seal of approval – look for one on our page best iphone deals.