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Samsung’s Galaxy S5 leads the way with improved durability
Wed, 16th Apr 2014
FYI, this story is more than a year old

SquareTrade, a top-rated protection plan has announced Samsung's new Galaxy S5 has rated 6/10 on its Breakability Score.

The SquareTrade Breakability Score ranks today's top devices based on how prone they are to break due to accidents.

Evaluating key elements such as front and back panel design, edge construction and materials, size, weight, friction quotient, water resistance and grip-ability, the SquareTrade Breakability Score is based on a number of factors, from physical characteristics to the results of SquareTrade's Drop Test.

The higher a device scores on a scale from 1-10, the higher the risk of it breaking due to an accident.

"According to our research, 28% of smartphone owners, or about 44 million Americans, are considering buying the Samsung Galaxy S5," says Ty Shay, CMO, SquareTrade.

"With this level of demand, we really wanted to put it to the test against other hot Android phones in the market right now.

“It's good to see a major player like Samsung designing phones with accidental water damage in mind.

“We were also surprised to see how well the new S5 did in the drop test – as previous models suffered significant damage."

Comparing the Samsung Galaxy S5 to other highly anticipated new Android phones, the HTC One (M8) and LG Nexus 5, Samsung's latest edged out the HTC One for the victory.

SquareTrade's Breakability Score testing revealed the following:

• The new Samsung Galaxy S5 takes a big step forward in durability, performing well in drop and dunk tests.

• The Galaxy S4 has a Breakability Score of 7

• The iPhone 5s maintains a slight edge over all three Android™ phones, with a Breakability Score of 5.5

• The larger HTC One M8 took a step backward with a score of 6.5, performing poorly in dunk and slide tests.

• The previous generation HTC One is very durable, with a Breakability Score of 4.5

• The LG Nexus 5 scored a disappointing 7, failing dunk and drop tests.