Many people still believe that foldable smartphones are inherently more fragile than regular slab-style devices. This is despite the fact that foldable smartphones have had half a decade to evolve and overcome their growing pains. But the question remains: are foldable smartphones fragile?
We decided to find out for ourselves by Honor Magic V3 to a series of durability tests. Let’s see, once and for all, whether foldable phones really do stand behind slab-style phones in this very important respect. If you’re ready, grab some popcorn and press play below.
So here’s what happened. We tested the water resistance, first in terms of immersion and then the ability to withstand water pressure. Then we put it in a washing machine to verify a claim from Honor that it can survive something like that without any problems. It turned out to be true. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a hydraulic press on hand to verify the other internal test of the marker.
Next, we froze the Magic V3 in a block of ice to test its ability to withstand extreme temperatures. The phone passed all of these tests with flying colors. We tried to scratch the plastic protector on the folding screen, and, well, that happened really easily, just with your fingernails. It was just the replaceable protector, so it’s not as bad as it sounds.
The Magic V3’s hinge probably got the worst treatment. We put a 5kg weight on it and it didn’t budge. Then we used the phone as a hammer, which dented it a bit – but normal operation wasn’t affected. And finally, we did a few drop tests, and we’re not going to spoil those for you – make sure you watch the video to the end to see the results.