Smartphone Torture Test: Galaxy S3 vs iPhone 5

Popular consumer technology website CNET recently conducted a series of endurance challenges for the most popular smartphones on the market.

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First up, the Samsung's Galaxy S3 comes out of the freezer after a chilly two hours.

[Interview : Molly Wood, Executive Editor
CNET ] "Ice build-up on there. Let's try to turn it on. Ok, it comes on. It's sluggish but functional".

But Apple's iPhone 5 also shows it's no slouch in keeping cool under pressure.

[Interview : Molly Wood, Executive Editor
CNET ] "It's nice and iced over. Its screen comes on no problem. Perfectly responsive".

Out of the cold, and into the fire.
Next, we see if the Galaxy S3 can take the heat in the second round of torture tests.
The world's leading smartphone is subjected to scorching hot temperatures of up to nearly 88 degrees Celsius.

[Interview : Molly Wood, Executive Editor
CNET ] "Well played phone, well played. This thing is totally fun. I think it's even snappier than it was after the cold test. Unbelievable!"

The iPhone 5 also seemed unfazed after going through a similar test, being cooked at 90 degrees in an oven for one hour.

[Interview : Molly Wood, Executive Editor
CNET ] "Performance seems unaffected. It's still crazy fast. All right, it seems to be working just fine".

In round three, both flagship smartphones were able to survive despite being completely drowned in a bowl of water for a few moments.

After a grueling set of trials, the two smartphones were neck and neck.
However, cringe-worthy drop tests showed that the Galaxy S3 came out relatively unscathed.

[Interview : Molly Wood, Executive Editor
CNET ] "It seems to me totally fine. Drop test, no big deal".

Unfortunately, the iPhone 5 doesn't fair as well on concrete floors.

[Interview : Molly Wood, Executive Editor
CNET ] "Compared to the Galaxy S3 which went through all the same tests. This obviously came out pretty damaged, and our Galaxy S3 had no scratches at all".

The U.S.-based tech site also put the two gadget favorites through an array of other torture tests, from key scratching to laundry cycles.
The bottom-line is that consumers are paying a high durability price for the iPhone 5's metallic industrial design compared to the Galaxy S3's sturdy plastic exterior.

Paul Yi, Arirang News

Reporter : paulyi@arirangtv.com