With the launch of the iPhone 5, several companies are performing tests and benchmarks on the new device. One common effort is to put any new iPhone in a series of drop tests to see how well it survives common falls.
Android Authority (via iPhoneinCanada) posts a drop test comparison video between the Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5 and actually finds in favor of the iPhone 5.
Well, as much as we hate to admit it, the iPhone 5 did amazingly well in our drop test, while the Samsung Galaxy S3 came out in pretty bad shape. It’s the cold hard truth that we can’t hide and we can’t ignore. .... The hard aluminum shell of the iPhone 5 withstood the impact pretty well, and the glass protecting the display remained intact. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S3 predictably lost its back cover and suffered damage to the casing and the front glass. Sad, sad, sad.
Meanwhile, iFixYouri (via 9to5Mac) also posted a video showing their version of the drop test which also tested dropping the iPhone 5 from various heights.
The iPhone 5 survived all the falls until they finally threw the device screen down. They describe the device as the "most durable iPhone" they've seen.
Monday November 2, 2026 1:22 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is releasing five new products this Friday, November 6, following pre-orders that opened last week, including its first touchscreen MacBook Pro models.
The following new products will be available from Friday:
iPad mini with OLED display and A20 Pro chip
iMac with M6 chip
14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip
14-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen
16-inch MacBook Pro with OLED...
Monday November 2, 2026 7:27 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's busiest season isn't over yet. Far from it. With two hardware launch dates still to come in November, plus software updates and new smart home accessories running into December, there's more on the way from Apple before the end of 2026, so be sure to stick around.
Below, we've rounded up what's still coming, along with one date in particular that's worth watching if you're a holiday...
Tuesday November 3, 2026 7:34 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today announced that its Festival Place store in Basingstoke, England will be permanently closing on Saturday, November 21.
Apple Festival Place
Apple had already announced that the store would be closing in November, but it had not provided the public with a specific date until now.
Apple's store inside the Festival Place shopping center opened in 2011, so it had a 15-year run....
* Screen resolution * screen tech (OLED - better contrast ratio) * 2x more RAM * wireless charging * two baseband chips (simultaneous LTE data and voice) * bigger battery (better battery time for talk and stand by) * wireless charging * memory card (more storage)
* Screen resolution - Irrelevant. ppi is high enough on iPhone to not see pixels.
* screen tech (OLED - better contrast ratio) - Opinion. IPS lets me see in daylight better
* 2x more RAM - Irrelevant. I have games on my iPhone 4S that play better than on a Android device with double the RAM. It's about how the OS is designed, not how much RAM you have.
* wireless charging - Opinion. I find this to be more of a gimmick. It's not hard to just snap in a cable at the bottom in half a second. And I don't want to lug around a huge charging pad everywhere I go.
* two baseband chips (simultaneous LTE data and voice) - I agree, for Verizon and Sprint customers this is better.
* bigger battery (better battery time for talk and stand by) - Comes at the downside of a bigger screen, which is tough for one-handed use and smaller hands.
* wireless charging - You already said this but it makes your list look bigger.
* memory card (more storage) - 64GB isn't big enough for you? I do like how it's expandable though, but again, the price to pay is the size and width of the device.
One more thing. Dear Fandroids and Windows Phone geeks (and iPhone fans too by the way). SPECS DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY MAKE YOUR PHONE BETTER THAN OTHERS.
