Apple's thin and light iPhone Air is built with a durable titanium frame, and as we've seen demonstrated, it is highly resistant to bending even though it's only 5.6mm thick. Less has been shared about its drop protection, but device insurance provider Allstate Protection Plans today shared the results of its annual iPhone drop test. The drop test provides insight into the durability of both the iPhone Air and the iPhone 17 Pro models.
The iPhone Air and the iPhone 17 Pro use Ceramic Shield 2 instead of glass for both the front and back, which Apple says is better able to hold up to drops and scratches. The iPhone Air has the titanium frame, while the iPhone 17 Pro has an aluminum frame. The iPhone 17 Pro's design uses more aluminum than before, with just a rectangular Ceramic Shield cutout at the back for MagSafe charging.
In bend tests, the iPhone Air performed almost as well as the iPhone 17 Pro. The iPhone Air was able to withstand 190 pounds of pressure before it bent, while the iPhone 17 Pro withstood 200 pounds of pressure. The iPhone 17 Pro Max performed even better, only bending at the 240 pound mark.
The iPhone 6, best known as the "bendgate" iPhone, was able to be bent at 110 pounds of pressure.
In face-down drop tests, the iPhone Air and the iPhone 17 Pro's displays shattered from a six-foot fall. The iPhones remained functional, but the Ceramic Shield 2 material was too sharp to use with bare hands.
The iPhone 17 Pro's aluminum frame protected it from damage during a back-down drop test, and it only received minor scuffs at the six-foot mark. The iPhone Air's less durable design resulted in a rear panel crack when it was dropped, but it was still usable.
Last year, the iPhone 16 Pro Max display shattered and the device was unusable after a six-foot face-down drop. In the back-down drop test, the rear glass shattered after a single drop and it wasn't safe to use because of broken glass. This year's iPhone 17 Pro models are much more durable than the iPhone 16 Pro models, and that improved durability does carry over to the iPhone Air. It's not quite as resistant to drops as the iPhone 17 Pro, but it performed better than the iPhone 16 Pro models.
Allstate used to do dunk tests, but iPhone models have such good water resistance at this point that it's no longer worthwhile. The iPhone 17 Pro models and the iPhone Air continue to offer IP68 water and dust resistance. IP68 means the iPhones can survive 19 feet under water for up to 30 minutes.
Since Allstate always performs its drop tests in the same way, with the same apparatus, and from the same height, it's a useful way to see year-over-year changes in drop resistance. It looks like Apple's claims of improved durability are accurate, though Ceramic Shield 2 is still a glass-like material that has the potential to break.
In a real-life situation, the angle of an iPhone's drop, the drop height, and the surface that it lands on will impact the outcome of a fall, and it's still a good idea to have a protective case or a protection plan like AppleCare+.