Today we're going to be durability testing two phones at the same time: the iPhone 12
Pro Max and the iPhone 12 mini. Honestly, there isn't a whole lot of difference between
the phones except for the size. But the size isn't enough that we should check the structural
integrity. After all, the Max is the biggest iPhone Apple has ever made. Quick little cash
fact with Jerry though. This $10 bill might look normal from the outside. It's got Alexander
Hamilton on the front. You know, the guy from the musical. But when you shine a light behind
the bill, the ghost of Alexander Hamilton appears, which is kind of spooky since he
was killed in a pistol duel. Huge thanks to Ridge Wallets for sponsoring this video. I've
had my Ridge Wallet for about 2 years now. It's a front pocket wallet. And while they
have over 30 different colors and styles, my favorite is the Burnt Titanium. But this
Carbon Fiber's pretty cool as well. The carbon fiber fibers are woven into a 3K pattern,
overlaid with epoxy resin, and finished off with a matte scratch resistant coating. You
can test out one of these Ridge Wallets for 45 days, and if you don't like it you can
send it back for a full refund. The Forage Carbon Wallet is made from compressing carbon
fibers and resin, which makes a different unique pattern for every wallet. It's also
got that same scratch resistant matte coating on the top. And they all hold 12 cards, plus
cash. If you use the code “jerryrig” you can get 10% off your order and free worldwide
shipping. I've definitely been happy with mine. I'll leave a link down in the video
description.
Now it's time to durability test the new iPhones. Let's get started.
[Intro]
The iPhone 12 Pro that we've already tested is the medium sized version which sits between
each of these new iPhones. The typical design is the same. The only thing that really changes
is the size. And the fact that the Mini is made from aluminum instead of stainless steel.
But we'll get to that in a minute. As you can see there is no charger in either of the
boxes, but Apple is always removing something so no surprises there. The size difference
though is surprising. The Max is pretty much the same size as my Note 10 Plus. And the
Mini is about the size of the old iPhone SE.
The phones are mirror images of each other. Four icons to a row on either device. Personally,
I think with more screen real estate on the Max it would be nice if the larger iPhone
could fit more stuff, or even do a split screen like the Androids can. Maybe they'll catch
up in a couple years. Another difference between the phones is the camera units. The iPhone
Mini only has 2 cameras, while the Max has 3. I'll get to that more in a second. The
Mini starts at $729, while the Max is $1,099. As far as the screen material goes, Apple
is using their new ceramic shield on the display. Ceramic shield is their special form of glass
that has ceramic crystals embedded into the matrix. Yeah, we've already tested this once,
but what's better than one test? Three.
Ceramics usually scratch at around 8 or 9 on Mohs scale of hardness. It's right up there
with sapphire. And I'm no materials expert, but Apple says by embedding ceramic crystals
into the glass matrix it's improved the shatter resistance. But they don't mention much about
the scratch resistance. After working my way up through Mohs scale of hardness, we can
take a look at the screen. And we do see scratches at a level 6, with deeper grooves at a level
7. But with that being said, it does look like the level 6 scratches are much more prominent
than usual. We see the same thing on the Max, which also has ceramic shield The level 6
scratches are there, just not as visible. It's hard to accurately show with just one
phone since it is still glass. The difference becomes much more dramatic when we see a ceramic
shield placed next to the regular glass from last year. If we look at the previous iPhone
11, the difference in damage is much more visible. So while both screens can scratch
at level 6, I do think Corning's onto something with this new ceramic shield stuff. It does
seem slightly more scratch resistant, and it's even more impressive if those 4x more
shatter resistance claims are true. But no matter how durable a smartphone claims to
be, it's always just better to accidentally scratch or damage a $10 screen protector,
instead of the $1,000 phone. Accidents happen.
Since the screen on these new phones is totally flat, dbrand's screen protector sits just
over the frame. The red Mini has the screen protector installed, while the Max does not.
So if the phone does ever come in contact with something sketchy, like a razor blade
rubbing all up on the surface...or, you know, a power drill. Sorry Siri. With the screen
protector there is nothing to stress about since not only is the screen protector undamaged,
the phone is even more undamaged with its protective layer. I'll leave a link for the
screen protector down in the video description. After 2020, we all deserve a little less stress.
Speaking of damage though, it's time to check the difference between aluminum and stainless
steel. The iPhone 12 Mini has an aluminum frame. Aluminum is a softer metal. And as
we can see, it covers every single side of the phone. Stainless steel is quite a bit
harder. My razor struggles getting a good bite Since the blade is made from stainless
steel as well. The painted surface can still scratch so it's not invincible. Stainless
is also heavier than aluminum, but I'm a fan of that. Heavy phones just have a nicer feel
to them. The back glass is also different. The Mini has a smooth glossy feel, while the
Max is textured or frosted. The cameras as well are different. The Mini mimics the iPhone
12's two cameras with its 12 megapixel normal and 12 megapixel ultra wide lens. While the
larger iPhone, the Max, mimics the iPhone 12 Pro's 3 cameras, it does have slightly
larger sensor sizes which we'll have to see from the inside during the teardown. It's
got the 12 megapixel normal lens, the wide angle lens, and a 2.5x telephoto lens, which
is half a point improvement over the iPhone 12 Pro's 2x zoom. The Max has a lidar camera
as well. It is odd that Apple would only increase the telephoto by .5, while other phones exist
with 5 and 10x optical zoom. But they do like playing it safe.
The iPhone Mini has a 5.4 inch display, while the Max has a 6.7 inch. Both are the super
retina OLED. It's kind of like the proverbial David and Goliath...except for neither of
these phones are the good guy since they are both just trying to take your money. I left
my lighters in place for about 50 seconds which is a pretty long time. Neither of the
phones sustained any permanent damage, minus the oleophobic layer evaporating of course.
The OLED pixels are unaffected. It makes me wonder if those ceramic crystals are doing
a better job of insulating from the heat.
Now for the bend test. Can the aluminum frame of the iPhone 12 Mini hold up under pressure?
When bending from the back there is a very subtle give to the frame, but no curve, cracks
or kinks to speak of. Nor when bent from the front. The iPhone 12 Mini is a solid little
tank of a smartphone, right alongside it's regular sized iPhone 12 Pro. The iPhone 12
Pro Max though, with it's increased physical size and footprint is also a non-flexing structural
behemoth. The stainless steel with it's inlaid glass panels on front and back are incredibly
stiff, even with its ginormous size. Apple has once again made some structurally solid
phones. They are, of course, still glass on both sides and still need to be protected.
But other than that, structurally, this new generation of iPhones feels and looks pretty
great.
The display of the Mini is freaking out a bit. Not being as responsive as it should
be. Probably from the fire. But a quick turning off of the screen and turning it back on again
corrects the touch sensitivity and brings it back to normal. Which of these phones do
you want to see taken apart? I'm leaning towards the Max so we can see how much bigger those
sensors are inside of the camera. And I have to redeem myself for breaking the iPhone 12
Pro screen in front of everyone. So let me know which one you want to see opened up down
in the comments.
Come hang out with me on Instagram and Twitter. And thanks a ton for watching, I'll see you
around.