How often do you drop your phone?
- Thread starter Jeff J
- Start date
Maybe twice over the past year? And that was because it fell off the kitchen table. I don’t walk around with it out. I don’t keep it on my person while I’m at home - it lives over by the keys and the wallet and such. It stays in my car at work.
All of which makes me feel very shake-cane-at-clouds, but the benefit is I don’t have all that many opportunities to drop it
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All of which makes me feel very shake-cane-at-clouds, but the benefit is I don’t have all that many opportunities to drop it
.A couple of times. I don't know where they get their numbers, but I assume they have some basis. I know I don't treat mine as carelessly as some people I've seen. Last time it fell on the ground was because I fell down.
Never. I have to be careful with it, I couldn't afford to get a new one if I break the one I have.
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It's a statement from Apple. They might be interpreting accelerometer data.
I can absolutely buy that number. What I don't buy is those of you saying never.
I bet my wife drops her phone close to once a day or two. Usually that's sliding off the couch. I bet I'm not that far behind. And I don't use a case. Phones aren't Fabergé eggs. They can take a beating.
I bet my wife drops her phone close to once a day or two. Usually that's sliding off the couch. I bet I'm not that far behind. And I don't use a case. Phones aren't Fabergé eggs. They can take a beating.
My partner had some sort of cheap Nokia smartphone. She has no case and drops it all the time. While it would get cracks and such, it managed to keep working.
Then she dropped it into a puddle of cold, highly salty water in the salt flats in Bolivia.
It promptly turned off and would not turn on.
For about a day. Then it turned on and kept working for another 6-12 months. I still don't understand how.
Then she dropped it into a puddle of cold, highly salty water in the salt flats in Bolivia.
It promptly turned off and would not turn on.
For about a day. Then it turned on and kept working for another 6-12 months. I still don't understand how.
Depends on how you define "drop." Dropped from my waist all the way to the ground? Never, not once, since I owned my first phone 25 years ago when they all were folding designs. A couple inches? Maybe twice. I pay cash upfront for my phones, and am immediately cognizant of the risk to my wallet unlike some seemingly casual investment on payments incorporated into your cellphone bill. I spend real money for this shit, today, I just did that tonight when I ordered a Pixel 9 Pro for money out of pocket today, and yer damn straight I'm gonna protect my investment just like I did all the rest before it.
It's a thousand fucking dollars. Why would you not protect it with your life?
It's a thousand fucking dollars. Why would you not protect it with your life?
I remember once a couple of months ago (first drop since I got the phone a few years ago) and then in a dream last week.
In the dream, I woke up and was still in bed and somehow dropped the phone and was trying to restart it. I was thinking how can I be so clumsy, I almost never drop it.
Then I woke up for real and it took a few minutes to realize that the whole dropping phone part was in a dream.
In the dream, I woke up and was still in bed and somehow dropped the phone and was trying to restart it. I was thinking how can I be so clumsy, I almost never drop it.
Then I woke up for real and it took a few minutes to realize that the whole dropping phone part was in a dream.
I can fumble my phone just walking around with it. I’m not trying to, it just… happens. Also, some of my comfy-around-the-house attire has pockets that just aren’t that great. When I sit down at my desk and lean back, my phone will slide out of my pocket and hit the floor. It’s a pretty short drop. With that all said, I have my phone in a case with screen protectors and a camera protector. I haven’t actually damaged a phone in a very long time. Apple’s phones are pretty solidly built.
I pay "real money" for my phone as well. It's just a phone though. Protecting it with your life seems ridiculous.
I've had my Pixel 9 Pro XL since the day it came out. No case, no screen protector. It's as naked as the day I unboxed it. It's also in completely fine condition. I don't even notice any wear on it anywhere.
Phones have gotten remarkably durable. People hear "glass" and they think 100 year old windows being broken by kids throwing rocks. That's not the shit going on your phone. Modern strengthened glass is crazy.
That said, my favorite phone as far as build materials was the Essential PH-1. Ceramic back and titanium frame felt really great. It's too bad they flopped.
I mean, my wife and daughter drop theirs all the time as well. Doesn’t mean I do.
I certainly have dropped my phone in the last 25 years or so of having one, but I can’t remember doing it in the last year.
Maybe we don't have the same definition of drop. Never knocked it off your nightstand? Never had it slip out of your hands onto your desk? Never slipped off the arm of the couch? Those are all drops to me.
Anyone who says they've never dropped their phone on their face while laying in bed is a liar, they're just too embarrassed to admit it.
I have never, not once, used my phone while in bed. It stays in a completely different part of my domicile. Even while travelling, it’ll be on the far side of the hotel room.
My ipad is MUCH heavier when it smacks me in the face parts
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I've dropped my current phone maybe 4 times in the last 8 years (yeah, yeah). And those were all fairly short distances, more fumbles than drops. I have a basic Spigen case, no screen cover, and the phone looks almost mint. I'm typically a bit clumsy, so it's surprising I haven't dropped it much more often. I'm another cash-purchase owner, so perhaps that's a subconscious factor.
Yes, I would say that’s the issue. In that vein I drop my phone into my coat pocket all the time.
You’re gonna have to call me a liar because I have never once dropped my phone onto my face. What are you doing holding it directly above your face? Just prop yourself up on some pillows and look at it out in front of you like I am doing right now. Then you’d just drop it on your chest if you dropped it, which I have done I will admit. Didn’t think that was the spirit of the question but hey I have been wrong before.
Maybe once or twice in the last year, if you can count slipping off a coffee table or couch onto the carpet 'dropping it'. I have had very few significant drops of my phone in the last 20 years that had any potential for damage, and only one where damage actually occurred.
Indeed, I saw that ad today and it was touting a feature of their newest phone. So, marketing BS basically.
I rarely use my phone in bed, and never in a manner that could lead to it falling on my face. I don't hold my phone that way, it's uncomfortable for my arms to do that for more than a few moments. I do not do stuff on my phone to fall asleep. Ever. That's what TV is for. All night Star Trek marathon, every night.
Indeed, I saw that ad today and it was touting a feature of their newest phone. So, marketing BS basically.
I rarely use my phone in bed, and never in a manner that could lead to it falling on my face. I don't hold my phone that way, it's uncomfortable for my arms to do that for more than a few moments. I do not do stuff on my phone to fall asleep. Ever. That's what TV is for. All night Star Trek marathon, every night.
I can't say that, in 25 years of owning portable phones, it's ever been possible to drop a phone onto my face. It's kind of like receiving a neck injury from your steering wheel.
My first phone was a Blackberry, in the early 2000's. I have had about 5 cell phones. My current phone is a Galaxy S42, that I've had since it first came out. Forget "the last year". I have NEVER dropped any of my phones.
I've seen phones which the glass is cracked way more than they can read anything on the screen, as in, run over 5 times by a steamroller, and mine is like I just took it out of the box.
Won't hold a charge for shit, anymore, though. I have to keep it on a charger, and it tells me, "38 hours to full charge"
I've seen phones which the glass is cracked way more than they can read anything on the screen, as in, run over 5 times by a steamroller, and mine is like I just took it out of the box.
Won't hold a charge for shit, anymore, though. I have to keep it on a charger, and it tells me, "38 hours to full charge"
I can't say never, but it's gotta be a count on one hand number per year, though. LOL @ the idea of dropping it on my face.
I rarely drop them, especially from a standing height. Standing height drops happen every few years. Lesser drops, eg knocked off arm of chair onto a hard floor, happen maybe a handful of times a year at worst. I have never used a case and I have yet to break a screen somehow. I've always used Android phones from various brands. Anecdotally I have noticed more smashed iPhone screens than Android but don't know whether the figures back that up. It could be that Android phones are cheaper to repair or replace so people don't keep using them with smashed screens.
Well, since clothing manufacturers refuse to give me pockets, requiring me to either carry a separate bag to dig through while my hands are full of other things, or else carry my phone in my hands all the time ... while carrying other things ...
... and because my grabby things are perfidious assholes that don't reliably grab things ...
I have dropped my phone a lot. Dropped it in line at a fast casual restaurant, just while I was standing patiently waiting for my turn at the counter. No reason, my hands just suddenly decided "we're not holding this any more." Dropped it while walking up to the lobby door of a hotel -- granted, this was at 4am in the morning and I was impressively drunk at the time. Dropped it in my kitchen while trying to pick it up from a counter. Dropped it while trying to put it on a nightstand. Knocked it off the arm of the sofa.
I have a screen protector and a case to protect my phone from me. I don't want either of those things, but until reality changes, here we are.
... and because my grabby things are perfidious assholes that don't reliably grab things ...
I have dropped my phone a lot. Dropped it in line at a fast casual restaurant, just while I was standing patiently waiting for my turn at the counter. No reason, my hands just suddenly decided "we're not holding this any more." Dropped it while walking up to the lobby door of a hotel -- granted, this was at 4am in the morning and I was impressively drunk at the time. Dropped it in my kitchen while trying to pick it up from a counter. Dropped it while trying to put it on a nightstand. Knocked it off the arm of the sofa.
I have a screen protector and a case to protect my phone from me. I don't want either of those things, but until reality changes, here we are.
I imagine it's easier to make a phone last a long time when you buy it from the future, but isn't forward compatibility an issue when you first get it?
I've had my current phone for about 16 months and I don't believe I've ever dropped it. I remember dropping my previous phone once. I have knocked phones off my night stand, but not for some time. I just rearranged things so that can't happen.
Thinking about this being based on accelerometer data, I wonder how many are just false positives. Not that I doubt that people drop their phone that much, but I know I've had phones and watches misinterpret my movements so much that I don't accept any of that as being totally accurate.
Of course, if this includes all of the old iPhones that people give to their toddlers, that could skew the averages quite a bit.
Thinking about this being based on accelerometer data, I wonder how many are just false positives. Not that I doubt that people drop their phone that much, but I know I've had phones and watches misinterpret my movements so much that I don't accept any of that as being totally accurate.
Of course, if this includes all of the old iPhones that people give to their toddlers, that could skew the averages quite a bit.
If you can get a phone the day it comes out, then it might seem a bit ridiculous, true. But when a broken phone means the difference between having one or having to get by using a dollar store special until the next hand-me-down phone comes available from friends or family? You treat that phone like it was a bleedin' Fabergé egg, believe me.
I wanted to go without a case when I got my Pixel (6a). However! When I placed it face-down on my nightstand at bedtime it would slowwwwly slide off because the screen was so slick. It took me three times to figure out it wasn't something I was doing. You know, the first time you think "whoops, I guess I laid it too close to the edge" and after the third time I set it down, kept the light on and watched it.
Minor drops, like "off of nightstand", "from arm of couch", or "onto face while in bed"? Yeah, they happen every so often. Major drops, like from chest height? Once a year, maybe less.
* Ok, it's 24 months of bill credits against the monthly price. Net result is I still scored the phone for the cost of sales tax.
Depending on how often you upgrade and what you do with your old phone, there's some real money to be saved by timing your phone upgrades. I traded my Pixel 7 Pro up to a 9 Pro for half price and The Boy went from a Pixel 7 to 9 for free* from T-Mo last Black Friday. I think even the 6 series got swept up into that. The schedule might not work for you or you might do something else with your old phone like donate it or pass it on to someone else.
* Ok, it's 24 months of bill credits against the monthly price. Net result is I still scored the phone for the cost of sales tax.
My phone is a work tool and I'm always pulling it out to shove in an instrument or periscope behind a wall. It gets knocked around but still doesn't have any screen cracks/scratches after six (?) years. Samsung impresses me.
Doomlord_uk
Ars Legatus Legionis
When I get stressed, I tend to drop things more often.
I've dropped my phone twice this year. It is in a good, otterbox case, so I haven't damaged it (thank goodness).
Karma seems to take more pleasure in me dropping my earbuds. I really like my little Anker noise canceling buds, but every time I drop the case, it pops open and the buds go speed-racering all over the place. I haven't lost one yet, but I wish Anker would make a locking case for klutzes like me.
I've dropped my phone twice this year. It is in a good, otterbox case, so I haven't damaged it (thank goodness).
Karma seems to take more pleasure in me dropping my earbuds. I really like my little Anker noise canceling buds, but every time I drop the case, it pops open and the buds go speed-racering all over the place. I haven't lost one yet, but I wish Anker would make a locking case for klutzes like me.
Doomlord_uk
Ars Legatus Legionis
To be honest, whilst I never drop my phone I do bash my watch on various things quite often. Honestly my Galaxy smartwatch is a miracle of modern engineering because there isn't a mark on it. Yet, anyway.
I have a Watch 6 Classic, it's 47mm (huge on my wrist), and I bounce it off something at least once a day. Still works fine.