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Digital Trends
a day ago
- Digital Trends
See if the new Nothing Phone 3 bends or breaks in this durability test
Marketed by Nothing as its first true flagship (though some beg to differ on this point), the Nothing Phone 3 garnered a lot of interest when it officially launched at the start of this month. Of course, it wasn't long before the new $799 handset fell into the hands of popular tech YouTuber Zack Nelson (he of JerryRigEverything), who took no time at all in putting it through its paces in his carefully designed and very unscientific durability test. As usual, the box cutter makes an appearance early on. Here, the Nothing Phone 3 would've recoiled in horror if smartphones were capable of such a thing. But they can't. So it didn't. Nelson scrapes the blade down the phone's sides, which are made of anodized aluminum and therefore scratch up pretty badly. During his enthusiastic dragging of the cutter across the phone's various surfaces, Nelson points out that the Nothing Phone 3 has a USB-C 2.0 port, which he describes as 'wildly out of date for a flagship,' adding, 'When you have the same specs as an iPhone, you know you're at least three years behind.' Most Android flagships are using USB-C 3.2, which transfer data 20 times faster than 2.0, Nelson notes. Next, out comes the naked flame, which is held close to the phone's 6.6-inch OLED display. A nasty mark appears after about 20 seconds. 'The burn mark is permanent, so don't try this at home,' the YouTuber cautions. Next up, the bend test. Nelson's infamous bend test, applied by his own bare hands, has caused some phones to snap in two. But the Nothing Phone 3 is build of solid stuff and shows no flex at all. Nice. 'The Nothing Phone 3 definitely survives my durability test,' Nelson concludes. Impressively, it also survives the YouTuber's teardown, which involves removing the back panel to take a closer look at the Nothing Phone 3's innards. Watch the video (top) to find out more.
Digital Trends
08-07-2025
- Digital Trends
Watch this durability test on an ‘iPhone Ultra Mini'
Tech YouTuber Zack Nelson — he of the popular JerryRigEverything channel — recently mused about whether folks would spend less time on their smartphones if the display were much smaller. He revealed how he once tried to reduce his own smartphone use with Samsung's Z Flip 5, but soon realized that because he did so much of his work on a smartphone, trying to use a smaller screen the whole time just turned out to be a hassle. In his latest video, Nelson pondered whether a tiny iPhone would be popular with people wanting to cut down on screen time. He then produces a 3.8-inch 'iPhone Ultra Mini,' which is in fact a $59 Android phone made to look like the latest iPhone — only it's much, much smaller. 'Would you buy the iPhone Ultra Mini?' Nelson asks, before proceeding to carry out his infamous durability test on the diminutive device. Beginning with the scratch test, Nelson notes that for $59 you'd expect the display to be made of glass, but it holds out well, with the YouTuber noting that the handset is 'off to a good start with real glass on the surface.' However, dragging his box cutter over other parts of the device, it quickly becomes apparent that the iPhone Ultra Mini has plastic sides. Opening the SIM card tray, Nelson discovers that it also takes an SD memory card, prompting him to comment: 'Now we know that a phone the size of a credit card does have room for SIM and SD card tray, there's no excuse for modern flagships to not have one anymore.' No, Apple has never offered a built-in storage slot with the iPhone. After using his box cutter to carve out the Apple logo on the back of the phone, and explaining that the device has only one camera and not three, Nelson holds a naked flame to the TFT LCD screen. A mark appears but then quickly disappears after he removes the flame. Then for the bend test, a test that some phones have indeed failed. Despite applying some real force, the phone stays intact. At this point, Nelson points out that the phone only has Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, prompting him to describe it as 'a glorified iPod touch.' Apple has experimented with a smaller phone before. The 5.4-inch iPhone mini launched in 2020 as a flagship‑level, pocket‑friendly smartphone. However, due to consistently poor sales, Apple discontinued it in September 2023 and apparently has no plan to bring it back.
Digital Trends
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Watch the Switch 2 do something unexpected in this intense bend test
Zack Nelson of the popular JerryRigEverything YouTube channel is more used to putting smartphones through his demanding durability test, but he clearly couldn't resist doing the same with Nintendo's just-released Switch 2 handheld to find out if it's a 'pass' or 'fail' when it comes to hardiness. 'Out of the millions of Switches made, you kinda gotta feel sorry for the one that ends up on my desk,' Nelson says at the start of his video, suggesting that the device is in for a pretty rough time. And it doesn't start well for the Switch 2, with Nelson's scratch test on the display showing marks at level 3, confirming a plastic screen. 'There's a permanently installed plastic layer on top of the Switch 2 display,' the YouTuber notes, adding, 'Anything metal that comes into contact with this screen will indeed leave a mark,' while it should hold up fine against plastic objects. Next up is the wince-inducing section of the test where Nelson drags a box cutter blade over the device, starting with the plastic Joy-Cons. Sure enough, the controllers do not come out well. What emerges, though, is how Nintendo has again inlaid the white letters into the buttons, so no matter how much they wear down over time, the letters will always remain visible. After more scratching and scraping, out comes the naked flame, which takes only 10 seconds of close contact with the LCD display to darken a bunch of pixels. The good news is that they quickly recover, leaving little to no trace of what just happened. And then comes the part that many folks look forward to in Nelson's durability tests — the bend test. It's pretty straightforward, with the YouTuber applying force to the device with his bare hands to see if 1- it bends, 2- it cracks, or 3- it splits in two. Some smartphones have actually suffered the indignity of 3, but how would the Switch 2 fare? Well, as Nelson gradually increases the level of force, the Joy-Cons simply pop off, something he described as 'a good thing' as it protects the rest of the device from experiencing more stress. Reassuringly, the Joy-Cons coming away like that (ie. without using the release levers) caused zero damage to the internal pins or port that secure them to the main device, and to Zack's delight these parts remained intact even as he repeatedly forced the Joy-Cons off of the display. 'The Switch 2 would have to go through some extremely wild and crazy situations beyond what we do here to sustain any permanent structural damage,' Nelson concludes, adding that the handheld is nevertheless susceptible to cosmetic damage.
Android Authority
02-06-2025
- Business
- Android Authority
Does it bend? Watch JerryRigEverything try to break the Galaxy S25 Edge in durability test.
TL;DR The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge has survived a bend test by YouTube channel JerryRigEverything. The channel also put the phone through a number of other durability tests. Samsung's new phone has a titanium frame and uses Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 on the front. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is finally available, and it brings a thin and light design. Does this slim and light design come at the expense of durability, though? Well, YouTube channel JerryRigEverything put the Galaxy S25 Edge through its trademark durability test. Perhaps the biggest durability-related question is whether the phone, which is made out of titanium, can withstand a bend test. Fortunately, the phone didn't catastrophically break under pressure. 'The Galaxy S25 Edge, as thin as it is, survives the bend test with flying colors,' host Zack Nelson noted during the video. The phone still seemed to function fine, although the rear panel popped off slightly. That's a pretty impressive result in light of the slim design. What else to know about the S25 Edge's durability? The Galaxy S25 Edge also features Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 on the display. The YouTuber showed that the display experiences scratches at level six of the Mohs hardness scale, followed by deeper grooves when using a pick on level seven of the scale. This lines up with most phones, including the S25 Ultra, although last year's S24 Ultra started scratching at level six and saw deep scratches at level eight. Nelson also took a knife to the phone and found the buttons could pop out somewhat easily. However, the camera housing and lenses stayed firmly attached. Furthermore, the phone's screen didn't seem seriously damaged, if at all, after a lighter was held to it for 30 seconds. This durability test is a big win for the Galaxy S25 Edge in light of its slim design. Samsung's phone does make compromises elsewhere, though, as it has a small battery and lacks a telephoto camera. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Digital Trends
02-06-2025
- Business
- Digital Trends
Galaxy S25 Edge bend test: Tough … or fragile?
Samsung's recently released Galaxy S25 Edge is thin. Very thin. In fact, with a thickness of just 5.8mm, it's the slimmest Galaxy S series smartphone to date. The handset's leanness had popular tech YouTuber Zack Nelson — he of JerryRigEverything — wondering: 'Is it going to turn into a Flip 6 if I put it into my back pocket?' Nelson's phone durability test famously involves lots of scraping and scratching on a phone's display and frame. A naked flame is also deployed to see how the screen stands up against extreme heat. And then, at the end, he bends the phone using his bare hands to see … well … if it manages to stay intact, or, in the case of some of the handsets he's tested, if it snaps in two. 'My understanding of this physical world we live in makes me think that this should be a very easy snap, with some glorious carnage and sparks and battery juice seeping out of the cracks of our newly obliterated S25 Edge,' Nelson says as begins applying pressure to the phone's back panel. And, impressively, it remains intact. When he bends it from the front, however, you can see the back panel slightly separating from the frame, at a point just above the power button. But that's it. The Galaxy S25 Edge stays in one piece and continues to function in the usual way. 'The Galaxy S25 will not bend or break even under very extreme circumstances,' Nelson concludes. In an upcoming video, he's going to look under the hood to find out precisely how Samsung constructed the phone to make it so strong. Now that the Galaxy S25 Edge has been shown to have a sturdy build, attention will switch to Apple's rumored rival handset, the iPhone Air, which should drop this fall. No doubt Apple engineers have been bending the Air every which way to test its structural integrity. After all, they desperately want it to avoid a wince-inducing disintegration in Nelson's, or anyone else's, durability test.
