In the latest drop test, the durability of the iPhone SE 3 has been significantly improved. Apple says the iPhone SE 3 has “the toughest glass in the smartphone industry,” and the latest drop tests show it’s on par with the iPhone 13 Pro lineup.
Allstate Protection Plan conducted a series of rigorous drop tests and found that the iPhone SE 3 is indeed more resistant to drops than the previous generation. This test is divided into 4 items, including screen face down, back face down, corner down, and a 30-minute immersion test. The test results are as follows:
Facedown drop test
The iPhone SE 3 survived a 6-foot drop onto the sidewalk with only minor wear and tear, the same as the base iPhone 13 and 12 models. That’s impressive considering both the iPhone 13 and 12 have a protective ceramic front panel, while the iPhone SE is hardened glass.
Backside down drop test
Unlike the iPhone 13, the iPhone SE 3 cracked the first time it was dropped from 6 feet. Structurally, it lacks the protective flat aluminum siding of the iPhone 13, which may be partly why its glass back is more vulnerable.
Side drop test
The iPhone SE fell sideways once from 6 feet on its curved aluminum siding, with only minor scuffs, the same as the iPhone 13.
30-minute immersion test
The new iPhone SE is rated iP67, which means it can be submerged in one meter of water for 30 minutes. (The iPhone 13 is IP68 rated, which means it can survive 6 meters of water for 30 minutes.)
In testing, it did survive 1 meter of water for 30 minutes without issue. Initially, it did suffer some audio muting after exiting our water immersion test but returned to its original volume after an hour.