WATCH: iPhone 8 Scratched And Burned In Durability Test

Apple officially released its iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus this week — and reviews appeared to be primarily positive among tech critics for functionality. But in order to assess the devices for durability, some reviewers and vloggers have taken to dropping, submerging and even burning the new phones.

YouTube reviewer JerryRigEverything, known to put various tech products through the ringer for his vlog, tested Apple’s latest generation of iPhone for the strength of its metal, glass and safeguard against potential bending — a problem discovered by iPhone 6 reviewers and subsequently dubbed “Bendgate.”

While the phone’s glass and metal could be scratched by the YouTuber’s sharper instruments in a hardness test, JerryRigEverything noted that the phone would likely be protected against being scratched by keys or similar items. However, the phone’s color was damaged when the YouTuber took a razor blade to the phone’s aluminum cover, and the phone’s external camera lens — which Apple claims is made of sapphire — was able to be scratched by level-6 Mohs picks.

“Sapphire is a super premium and expensive and durable material that resists scratching until level 8 or 9 on most [hardness] scales,” he said. “But when I test Apple’s sapphire with my Mohs picks, I see visible marks at level 6 and level 7 and a deep-catching groove at a level 8. It looks like Apple’s still using their own proprietary blend of sapphire.”

The phone, however, withstood the vlogger’s bend test as well as flame held to its glass, with JerryRigEverything dubbing the iPhone 8 a “well-built” device.

Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, said in a statement earlier this month that the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 plus signaled “a new generation of iPhone that improve on everything we love about iPhone.”

“iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have new glass and aluminum designs, new Retina HD displays and A11 Bionic — the smartest chip ever in a smartphone,” he said. “Packed with more advanced cameras with Portrait mode and Portrait Lighting, and the highest quality video capture in a smartphone, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus enable the freedom of wireless charging, all with AR optimization like no phone ever before.”