Watch the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 get dropped on concrete and dunked in a pool

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Allstate Protection Plans, aka Squaretrade, has a history of testing phones to the point of destruction, so of course, they were always going to put the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 through its gauntlet of robotic testers.

The thing is, the newest foldable on the market turned out to be the “strongest foldable phone” they’ve ever tested and its screen even survived a drop test that no other phone managed.

Now, if you’ve been following foldables since their first release, you’ll understand what an achievement that is. The first Galaxy Fold was a disaster, with issues even before it went on sale after Samsung rushed the launch. Then it was Motorola’s turn, with the ill-fated reincarnated Razr, and a hinge that umm, forgot how to fold.

Let’s forget all of that now though, as the Galaxy Z Fold 3 has ironed out those wrinkles. Allstate Protection Plans put the foldable through its now-infamous Foldbot, did their screen-shattering Dropbot test (twice!), and also dunked it in a pool for thirty minutes. The upshot? The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the strongest foldable they’ve tested, and they expect it will pass the 200,000 folds that the full Foldbot test entails.

As you can see in the video above, the Dropbot test was passed with only minor damaged areas. The biggest surprise? The screen didn’t shatter in the Open Face-Down Drop Test, the only smartphone to do that in eight years of testing. That’s probably down to the flexible OLED, but the exterior screen didn’t fare that well. When dropped closed, the Galaxy Z Fold 3’s exterior screen shattered to an unusable state, with raised and loose glass.

Better handle with care, else you have to pay the $149 to replace the exterior screen, or the $479 to repair the main screen.

Oh, and in case you were wondering how the Galaxy Z Flip 3 fared? Well, Allstate is testing that now so we’ll have the results to share once they’re done, along with a comparison of how its hinge fared vs the Galaxy Z Fold 3 once the Foldbot is finished all of its 200,000 folds.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.