14 DAY TRIAL // The Apple Watch finally started to ship out to eager consumers and a lot of people have gotten their hands on the new gizmo over the weekend.
So we are finally seeing the intelligent timepiece being put to the test under real life conditions. Which includes throwing the watch on hard platforms to see whether or not it can survive the shock.
And just a few days following the official rollout, we’re already flooded with a plethora of images showing the Apple Watch with an unsettling broken display.
“And so it begins”
American journalist, blogger, columnist and podcaster Mike Elgan has just re-published a Google+ post of a fellow Apple Watch owner who claims that the display on his smartwatch already cracked.
“I think I’m getting over my Apple addiction. The clasp opened when I was taking my hand out my pants pocket. Apple wants $239 to fix a $350 watch. What a screw,” the user says.
However, as a torture test performed by CNET revealed, it took a 4+ lb / 1.8 kg heavy cast-iron pan to break the device’s screen, as you can see in the first video below. Since the watch weighs so little, its display will never break from a fall. Or could it?
Another drop test video shows that just dropping the watch flat on the display from about 3.5 ft / 1 m will cause the device’s display to crack. Although we can see the screen is still powered on.
However, if we’re to look at posts on social media on the matter at hand, there are plenty of instances demonstrating that if you get your Apple Watch smashed, you will have an unusable device on your hands (unlike with the iPhone).
Even the sapphire glass version is susceptible to damage
What’s even more worrisome is that some users are reporting that even without actually bumping the devices, a scratch has popped up on the Apple Watch’s sapphire glass.
With this in mind, you should know that screen protectors for the Apple Watch from established brands are already available for sale, as it seems you might need the services of one such accessory.
They are usually made of temperate glass and are designed to defend the glass underneath from shattering by absorbing the impact which would otherwise go into the display.
Without memory of ever bumping it (even gently), a scratch has shown up on my Apple Watch's sapphire glass. Weird. pic.twitter.com/BMDtLAglnF
— Oscar Tijerina (@TN9Design) April 27, 2015
