With the brand-new release of Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3, reviews and tests of every kind are cropping up all over the internet, trying to see just what the novelty folding phone is made of.
Popular tech YouTuber JerryRigEverything has also chimed in with a recent review of his own. This one is focused on durability, with a fun little twist. In his YouTube video, Jerry takes it upon himself to put the luxury smartphone to the test through all kinds of abuse—but abuse most of which could, mind you, realistically happen in certain extreme real-life situations.
This is perhaps the most methodical and educational tech destruction video, whose goal isn't to mindlessly mangle the Z Fold 3 as violently as possible, but to take you through every unfortunate potential scenario of prodding, poking, scratching, smashing, burning, and bending, and see how well it holds up in the end.
The Test of the Scalpel (featuring some S-pen stabbing)
"It looks like again this year we might see some carnage," Jerry warns from the beginning as he reads Samsung's mile-long warning list on foldable phone care, including not touching the screen with fingernails.
He proceeds with an intense scratch test on the phone's screen as well as camera (both front under-display camera and back camera), both of which are shielded by durable, scratch-proof Gorilla glass. The Z Fold 3 proves extremely resistant to this, holding up to Samsung's claims; it only showed marks with quite extreme pressure applied by the knife on the display.
Jerry also tries jamming the S Pen Stylus hard into the screen—simulating an artist in a violent fit of creative fury, perhaps—but despite Samsung's warnings, that doesn't seem to do jack squat.
The "Armor Aluminum" frame, however, gives way to Jerry's chiseling without much of a fight. He goes to town on both the volume rocker and fingerprint sensor on the side (which also doubles as a power button).
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Despite both looking quite disfigured after he is done, both function perfectly fine in the end when he tests them.
The Test of the Elements
Next, Jerry stubbornly defies Samsung's rating of resistance to the elements. The Z Fold 3 is rated IPX8, meaning it's resistant to some liquids (due to an oleophobic, or oil-repelling, coating), but not dust-resistant. Naturally, Jerry takes a handful of dirt to device, grinding it between the two folding screens as he snaps it open and closed repeatedly.
To Samsung's credit, this abuse doesn't produce any visible damage, or even any pebbles trapped in the crevices. Neither do the hinges get any creakier, staying as silent as always throughout the ordeal.
Whether any dust actually did get inside to potentially cause damage in the future, Jerry promises to reveal in his Galaxy Z Fold 3 tear-down video.
The Test of Fire
In this step, the brutalized Z Fold 3 was forced through the ultimate test: the trial of fire.
Holding a flame directly against the phone's two screens certainly produces an observable effect on the smartphone. The front screen takes 14 seconds to turn off and for the pixels to glow red, whereas the middle (wide) screen lasts twice as long, with less visible damage (namely leaving the pixels a burned white color).
What actual useful knowledge this could provide in a real-world scenario is anybody's best guess. (Forgetting your phone in the oven, perhaps? Talk about absentmindedness...)
The Bend Test
To Samsung's credit, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 stoically withstood Jerry's final assault, even as he tried to forcefully bend it (using his fingers) every which way, in both open and closed position. There was a bit of an audible crack at one point, but no damage showed on the body or anywhere on the (already brutalized) display.
Here is Jerry's entire 11-minute video of violent phone abuse, should you be feeling gutsy enough to watch the carnage in full:
Jerry is clearly very well versed with the Z Fold 3 specs and components even as he attempts to destroy them.
The video garnered over a million views in the first 24 hours, consistent with the hype the new foldable phone has been receiving lately. Although it may be formidably expensive for many, it's impressive and novel technology which seems to only get better with each generation.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 certainly does appear to live up to Samsung's 80% increased durability claim, in any case.
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