By Josh Render
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iPhone Air faces extreme durability tests — table edges, pressure machines and (yes) hammers
Josh Render
19 September 2025
Apple’s iPhone Air is breaking the internet by not breaking at all
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(Image credit: left image – marcuscupello, middle image – Future, right image – Mediastorm)
If there’s one thing the internet loves, it’s seeing hardware getting broken or destroyed. However, it seems there have been some difficulties with the new iPhone Air, which remains remarkably durable.
The iPhone Air, which was released alongside the iPhone 17 series, is a staggering 5.6mm thick, making it even thinner than the Galaxy S25 Edge. As you can imagine, this level of design invites challenge, so reviewers, YouTubers — and even Tom’s Guide’s own Mark Spoonauer — have tried to bend the phone in half.
@marcuscupello
♬ original sound – Marcus Cupello
As you can see in the above TikTok from marcuscupello with over 2 million views, the iPhone Air survives being forcefully bent over a table edge, hit with a hammer, then forced over another edge before the screen eventually gives. Meanwhile, Apple itself has shown the iPhone Air withstanding 130 pounds of pressure without ill effect.
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One of the more scientific videos comes from Chinese YouTuber Mediastorm, via Android Authority, who tested the iPhone Air against the infamous iPhone 6 Plus.
外观变了，值得买吗？iPhone 17 Pro&Air评测 – YouTube
Both devices were put in a machine that applies downward pressure onto the phones, displaying -60.1 Kgf (Kilograms of force) on the iPhone Air, and -60.2 Kgf onto the 6 Plus. Now, as we would expect after the whole bendgate fiasco a few years back, the iPhone 6 Plus bends almost instantly. However, the iPhone Air retains its shape quite comfortably.
What makes the Air so tough?
So what is it that makes the iPhone Air so much tougher than Apple’s past phones? The secret is the move to titanium as a build material for the frame. The issue the iPhone 6 series had was that it was composed of a single piece of aluminium alloy, which is already relatively soft. Added to this was that the frame was thinnest around the volume buttons, which was the point that often bent when pressure was applied.
(Image credit: Future)
Meanwhile, the iPhone Air’s frame is constructed from titanium, which is much more resistant to bending due to its structural rigidity. Add to this the Ceramic Glass 2 on both the front and back, and the iPhone Air can resist a lot more pressure than its thickness would indicate.
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However, I do still have some issues with the design, namely moving so much of the internal hardware to the camera plateau. For reference, Apple moved the silicon and camera hardware there to allow the phone to fit a larger battery. This area did get warm during testing, such as when playing the Asphalt Legends racing game, but overall, we still highly recommend the device.
While the iPhone Air is quite durable, we’d still recommend looking into some of the best iPhone Air cases to be on the safe side.
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Josh Render
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Staff Writer
Josh is a staff writer for Tom’s Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer.
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The iPhone Air is Apple’s ‘boldest design move since the iPhone X’ — and it’s a huge step toward an iPhone Fold
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