Moto X emerged as a clear winner in the durability test to which it was put along with three other smartphones including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) latest iPhones and Galaxy S4. According to protection plan Company Square Trade Moto X was the leader in surviving through drops, slides and water. Apple iPhone 5S came in at second place followed by Apple iPhone 5C, and the last one was Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930)’s Galaxy S4.
Moto X is the first phone launched by Motorola after it was acquired by Internet giant Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). The phone was released in August, and is the first smartphone to be assembled in the United States.
Moto X comes out clear winner
These five smartphones were tested in different situations, so it is unclear whether Moto X is the undisputed winner. Square Trade conducts this durability test to examine how far smartphones pass through challenges such as accidents like toilet plunges, counter drops, and unintended table slides.
Features that Square Trade took into account are front and back panel design, edge built materials, size, weight, friction quotient, water resistance and grip ability. Devices undergoing the test are dropped by robots from a height of five feet; glided on a table and immersed in water for 10 seconds. The final results come after rating the breakability of each smartphone.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5C could not stand the drop test, and also did not pass after it was soaked in water. However, iPhone 5S performed well even after being submerged in water, but corners of the phone were affected in the drop test. Also, in the slide test, the device nearly slipped off the table.
Samsung’s Galaxy S4 was the biggest loser as the device stopped working after the 5 foot drop to the ground, and also failed in the water test.
Apple failed to continue trending upward
“We were expecting that at least one of the new iPhone models would up its game, but surprisingly, it was the Moto X that proved most forgiving of accidents,” said Ty Shay, chief marketing officer at SquareTrade.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) rolled out the high end iPhone 5S and plastic coated iPhone 5C recently. iPhone 5S is equipped with much coveted fingerprint sensor technology, better camera and speedier processor while iPhone 5C, on the other hand, comes in different colors and surpasses iPhone 5 in front camera tests.
Historically, it’s been a trend with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to make the latest model tougher than the previous one, based on previous drop tests done by Square Trade, according to Shay. However, the latest models aren’t as durable as last year’s iPhone 5.
