Wednesday, November 28, 2012

How Samsung stress tests phones (starring SFW robo-butt)








If you’ve ever wondered what kinds of rigors your smartphone go through in the lab before it ends up at your local wireless store, you’ll be happy to learn that Samsung is giving us a peek at its process. The company posted a video that shows everything from massive button mashing to a simulation of someone sitting down on the device.



According to the video, Samsung smartphones go through at least five major tests before they can be given a seal of approval: a button-pressing test, a scratching test, a sitting test, a bending test, and a water test. Everything is automated so every device gets the exact same treatment and nothing is left up to lazy, imprecise humans.



Perhaps the most interesting stress test is the one that tests the device’s ability to endure scratches. It is placed in a veritable torture machine filled with churning spikes and other objects. This one doesn’t seem to put the phone through its paces too severely but it is still cool to watch.



Surely everyone has a story of a cell phone they accidentally dropped on the ground, or sat on, or put in the same pocket as their keys. And for as many people who ended up with an unusable phone after that incident, there is probably someone else whose phone got away unscathed.



Samsung no doubt hopes this video will help sway at least some people to go with one of its phones for their next purchase. Granted, they might not be able to withstand the same kind of torture as Panasonic’s Toughpad, but it sure looks like Samsung takes some pretty strong measures to ensure its devices are durable.






via Engadget




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