iPhone 15 Pro Max passes an important drop test

From overheating issues to a bug that prevented some users from setting up their device, there's certainly been more than a few setbacks for Apple's launch of the new iPhone 15.

However, there's been good news too! The reviews for the phone have been overwhelmingly positive. Mashable's own Stan Schroeder tested out all 4 models – iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max – and highly recommends the phones.

And this latest test from Consumer Reports should help curb fears regarding reports that the largest in the new line of Apple's flagship product, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, breaks too easily.

According to Consumer Reports, a non-profit product testing organization, the iPhone 15 Pro Max has passed the group's drop test. 

Consumer Reports found that the new iPhone performed just as well as previous iPhone models and as well as similar smartphones from other companies. The iPhone 15 Pro Max even "successfully resisted 110 pounds of pressure in a bending test."

"We measured the force using a high-precision Instron compression test machine, applying pressure in the center of the device and along the length of the phone to see whether that might cause the glass on the back to break," Consumer Reports says. "The phone emerged with no cracks."

A second iPhone 15 Pro Max model that Consumer Reports used to test also withstood 100 drops in the a tumbler, which the organization says is "lined top and bottom with stone to simulate waist-high falls onto a concrete surface." 

The result? "Only minor scratches," says Consumer Reports.

The testing from Consumer Reports is significant as it comes amid the spread of a number of reports showing the iPhone 15 Max Pro easily bending and cracking under pressure. Perhaps the most viral video showing this comes from YouTuber JerryRigEverything. In his test, he holds the iPhone 15 Pro Max on both sides and pushes on the back of his phone with his thumbs. The iPhone can be seen bending and the back of the phone soon cracks.

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Consumer Reports used an Instron machine to conduct a similar experiment, applying 110 pounds of pressure. The iPhone 15 Pro Max can be seen bending but does not crack in this test.

The tests by both JerryRigEverything and Consumer Reports are used to simulate what happens to the device when, say, a user sits down while the iPhone 15 Pro Max is in their back pocket for example.

It's important to note that the Consumer Reports test does not necessarily invalidate what others have found. It simply shows that perhaps the iPhone 15 models are not more prone to breaking than previous iterations of the phone or other similar devices from other manufacturers. Any physical damage to your iPhone 15 may just be the result of that specific tumble, drop, or fall.