Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge Survive Water, Not Falls: SquareTrade Study

You can dunk Samsung's new smartphones in water, but don't drop them on a sidewalk, a new study finds.

SquareTrade, a company that offers extended-protection plans for gadgets, said the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge still functioned after being submerged in water for 30 minutes. Audio was "permanently muffled and distorted" after the dunking, but the Samsung phones still outlasted Apple's iPhones in SquareTrade's water tests.

The study, released Monday, also found that Samsung's new phones are more prone to breaking than the iPhone 6s, which survived 30 seconds in a tumbling test chamber, similar to a dryer without heat. The test is meant to mimic repeated drops phones often face. Both Samsung models had minor cracks on the screens and significant damage to their backs. The iPhone 6s Plus, a larger version of the 6s, did worse. Its screen completely shattered in SquareTrade's tests.

The screens of all four phones cracked when dropped face down on a sidewalk. The Samsung phones also cracked when dropped on their corners, while the iPhones had only cosmetic damage, according to SquareTrade.

The new Samsung phones came out Friday. They're not designed to be used underwater - the touch screens don't function until dry - but Samsung promises that the phones can still work after spending up to 30 minutes in up to five feet of water.

That covers accidental drops in toilets and bathtubs, and exposure in a rainstorm, though pools and oceans may introduce other contaminants, such as chlorine and salt.

Explained: Camera Improvements in the New HTC 10

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Freedom 251: 30,000 Units Sold, Components for Up to 2.5 Million Will Be Imported

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Here’s a list of phones which are first-of-their-kind. From feature phones to smartphones, flat screen to curved, fragile to shatterproof, mobile phones have evolved over the years. Although many industry analysts would like to call the current level of innovation reaching a stagnation point, there still are some manufacturers which have been able to surprise consumers by truly packing something different in their smartphones. We have compiled a list of phones which offer first-of-its-kind features, and they are not merely concepts. 1. Motorola X force - Shatterproof display Display today is the most vulnerable yet the most neglected element in modern smartphones. But Motorola finally paid heed to the fragile screen with the launch of the the Motorola X Force – the world’s first smartphone with a shatterproof display. The phone uses the Moto ShatterShield display technology, which is said to be an integrated system consisting of five layers designed from material...

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