Apple sets new 16,000-foot iPhone drop test after 737 fuselage fail
- Reference: 1704740408
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/01/08/apple_iphone_16000_drop/
- Source link:
The device, which was reportedly [1]found by X user Sean Bates on Sunday, was undamaged despite a 16,000 foot drop, with the only issue being the end of a charging cable that appears to have been plugged in when the phone was sucked out of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet after an [2]emergency exit seal blew out minutes after takeoff.
According to Bates, who was only out helping because he "wanted an excuse to go on a walk" and responded to the National Transportation Safety Board's call for debris search volunteers, "I found a phone sitting on the side of the road that had apparently fallen 16,000 feet."
[3]
Bates said the device had "no scratches on it," and wasn't locked, either. After opening the phone a travel confirmation and baggage claim ticket for Flight 1282 showed up on the screen. A call to the NTSB revealed it was the second such device to be discovered.
Quick video I just posted to TikTok summarizing how I found that passenger's phone [4]pic.twitter.com/saCoMyA9ra — Seanathan Bates (@SeanSafyre) [5]January 8, 2024
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy [6]confirmed during a briefing Sunday that two phones from the flight have been found and are being examined for additional clues that might shed light on the incident. The emergency exit plug, which hadn't yet been recovered when the phones were found, was later discovered in a nearby yard.
Batterygate payouts begin
If you're not as thrilled with your iPhone's performance as someone whose just survived a three-mile drop, some relief may be coming your way.
Multiple sources [7]reported over the weekend that Apple has begun to issue checks as part of its "Batterygate" [8]settlement reached last year. Claimants appear to be getting checks for around $92.
UK iPhone owners who experienced battery throttling are still waiting, however, as a similar case is still winding its way through UK courts.
Bates' iFind was equipped with a case, though the make and model weren't shared despite multiple requests from respondents. Judging from the pictures there was a fairly study case on the device.
[9]Apple bags patent for folding phone that closes as it's dropped
[10]Your phone's cracked screen may one day heal itself, but try not to drop it for now
[11]iPhone plunges 13,500 ft from skydiver's pocket - and lives
[12]Apple patents NEVERSMASH iPHONE for fumbling fondlers
Then again, it's not the first time an iPhone has fallen out of an airplane and been recovered with minimal damage. A [13]skydiver who lost his iPhone during a 14,000 foot jump last summer found his device in working order. Meanwhile, environmentalist Ernesto Galiotto [14]lost his handset out the window of a small airplane in 2020 and later found it on a beach unharmed.
We've reached out to see if the iMaker has any closer-to-Earth drop test data but haven't heard back. ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://twitter.com/SeanSafyre/status/1744138937239822685
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/08/boeing_737_max_9_airplanes/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZZx@lmT@GgReI3ybYSb4ZAAAAUI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://t.co/saCoMyA9ra
[5] https://twitter.com/SeanSafyre/status/1744203705178845510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[6] https://www.youtube.com/live/0jeO5fwRXLo?si=hPtlXEo-JaNcx_RF&t=1082
[7] https://www.macrumors.com/2024/01/06/apple-starts-iphone-batterygate-payouts/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/15/apple_batterygate_saga/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/20/apple_granted_patent_for_folding/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/11/selfhealing_smartphone_screens/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2011/07/19/skydiving_iphone/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2014/12/02/apple_invents_the_selfsaving_neversmash_iphone/
[13] https://9to5mac.com/2023/05/03/watch-iphone-14000-foot-drop-survive/
[14] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9063473/iPhone-survives-drop-plane-2-000feet-records-fall-ground.html
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Fake news
Now that basically everyone has an iPhone it's not such a big deal. Not like the first couple years when they came out and people would go to extraordinary lengths peacock with their phones and make sure everyone knew they had an iPhone. Like some precursor to the desperate wannabe influencer who annoys everyone around them in an attempt to get the "perfect" shot or angle or whatever.
Re: Fake news
"Now that basically everyone has an iPhone it's not such a big deal."
Found the model 14 owner.
"Now that basically everyone has an iPhone ..."
Hardly, although Apple would like you to think so. As of 2022, some stats for all phone brands are [1]here , and as of January 2023 " [2]A total of 5.44 billion people use mobile phones in early 2023, equating to 68 percent of the total global population " (again for all brands).
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_smartphone_penetration
[2] https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2023-global-overview-report
> Fake news
It is rather Apple's marketing as usual. I think it was Apple, who first started showing non-skippable ads on YouTube.
Make phones that do not break after falling 1 meter down the pavement. That would be innovation! Or too hard for you, Apple?
And forget ugly plastic cases, hiding beautiful designs.
Terminal Velocity is Terminal Velocity. If the case/phone makers test at that speed, no additional height will make a blind bit of difference
Makes a difference to the Marketing folks...
And I imagine that terminal velocity is rather modest. Even if they fall edge on at the start they are light enough and with a large enough surface area they would be tumbling soon. I wonder if they'd fall any faster from 16,000 feet than they would from say 100 feet.
You doubt right and wrong :D. At 16000 feet it will fall a lot faster due to the thin atmosphere, but as soon as it gets closer to the ground it is as you say: Probably same speed upon landing.
Yeah but what speed did it get up to in (Ssx)? https://www.theregister.com/2007/08/24/vulture_central_standards/
Cases don't really matter
The force of the impact will still pass through the entire device. Those stupid laws of physics don't end at the outermost barrier. Cases are mainly useful for preventing cosmetic damage and providing some additional friction so you can hold onto Cupertino's slipphones.
Re: Cases don't really matter
" The force of the impact will still pass through the entire device "
However there are numerous ways of dissipating the energy more gradually and at least partially isolating fragile components (ranging from 'bubble pack' to active shock absorbers) Indeed there's a whole branch of engineering dedicated to this. The question is not whether it's possible, but whether the case manufacturers took the trouble to apply the necessary principles to their design. In most cases (no pun intended) they don't but some might.
Re: Cases don't really matter
We did not see the landing. Trees and soft grounds can lower the impact a lot. And its aerodynamics don't support the best falling speed.
Could have been worse
What are the odds of someone being killed by the iPhone falling on their head whilst out walking.
Different headline then...
Death by iPhone
Re: Could have been worse
Yes, the door plug might have hit someone (more likely than a phone, as it's a lot larger).
Re: Could have been worse
Odds of being killed if you get hit on the head by a falling iPhone? I'm not sure, but at least it wasn't an old Nokia candy bar phone.
Re: Could have been worse
One of THOSE falling from 16,000 feet would make the Tunguska Blast look like a hiccuping butterfly.
Re: Could have been worse
I died a little inside when my parents got iPhones as I have no desire or will to learn how they work and never will. I point blank refuse to have anything to do with them. It's not that I am anti-apple I just can't be arsed learning a whole new system.
Sucked?
Everything I've read about this says 'sucked out of the plane', but surely it was blown out of the plane?
"I found a phone sitting on the side of the road that had apparently fallen 16,000 feet."
Apparently ? Not disputing the fact that you found it, but if it was undamaged, how can you say that t had fallen 16,000 feet ?
Re: "I found a phone sitting on the side of the road that had apparently fallen 16,000 feet."
They found a ticket on the phone for the plane that had a hole in it.
What a shame
If the phone had only had skitracks running, the owner would have had bragging rights secured for decades.
Fake news
Do they mean to tell me that Apple users don't have anything less than a death grip on their precious fondleslabs?