The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have finally arrived. For a select few, that means putting Apple's latest smartphones through the wringer to determine just how durable they are, filming the process and putting it on YouTube for all to see.
One of the first out of the gate is YouTube user JerryRigEverything who gets right down to business by testing the iPhone 7's scratch resistance using a set of mineral picks to determine where the phone's glass falls on the Mohs scale.
The results suggest the iPhone 7's glass is on par with other modern smartphones as it took a level six tool to scratch the glass. If you recall, the Gorilla Glass 5 on the Galaxy Note 7 started scratching at a level three - claims that Samsung and Corning disputed.
Moving on, the new solid state home button also scratched at level six which suggests it isn't made of harder sapphire glass. The same was true with the glass covering the rear camera which means Apple doesn't appear to be using sapphire anywhere on the iPhone 7.
The matte black anodized aluminum on the rear of the device held up well to scratches from a key although a razor blade was able to scratch it without much effort. The rear LED flash cover and antenna bands appear to be plastic as they were marked easily using a razor blade.
In the screen burn test, the iPhone 7 lasted nearly 10 seconds while in contact with a flame from a lighter before the pixels got too hot and shut down. Interestingly enough, the pixels came back to life once the screen had a few seconds to cool down.
In the bend test, we can see that the waterproofing adhesive lining the underside of the display becomes exposed, almost certainly rendering the device less water resistant than it once was.
With regard to the removal of the headphone jack, the YouTuber sees this as a bad move as the single Lightning port used for headphones and charging will no doubt wear out quicker as it will see more use. Just how long it'll last, however, won't be known anytime soon.