iPad survives fall from the edge of space thanks to its G-Form case

By chrisoldroyd
last updated

An iPad has survived a massive 100,000 foot fall in the latest publicity stunt for case manufacturer G-Form. The iPad was solely clad in a G-Form 6oz Extreme Edge case and taken into space on a weather balloon.

The company released a stunning hi-def video Thursday where the nearly naked iPad is shown hanging above the Earth in the blackness of space. In the video, the iPad is lifted to over 100,000 feet by a weather balloon which bursts at altitude, then releasing the iPad to free-fall to Earth where it crash lands on a rocky hillside in the Nevada countryside. Perhaps even more remarkable than the dramatic hi-def footage itself is the fact that the iPad survives the adventure, remaining fully functional.

The video is really impressive on its own, without taking into account the magnitude of the fall or the fact that it is an iPad. It’s not something I would be willing to try with my iPad 2 but it is definitely a great way to show some faith in your cases!

Source: YouTube

chrisoldroyd
chrisoldroyd

UK editor at iMore, mobile technology lover and air conditioning design engineer.

41 Comments
  • I still don't know if I should believe that.
  • Fake. What are the chances it falls on its back. Luckily it didn't . Fake I say. Just the shock would smash the screen.
  • Looks like they added that weight to make it fall on it's back.
  • funny, the go-pro (or whichever camera they used to film the fall), survived the fall as well, with no G-Form case....
  • would not have been hard at all to fake that, all they would have had to do is make two of the exact same set up and "find" the one that never went to space. still, i dont think they did fake it.
  • Did u see the iPad going up? Why they didn't film the front of it? I know the case it's important but there was no
    iPad there. Put a demo video on film the front and door again . Il buy it after
  • It fell on its back because that's where the half-pound GPS radio was attached. The camera and bits of weather balloon were providing some extra drag, too. iPads have accelerometers anyway, too bad they didn't leave an app running to record what the shock actually was -- or maybe that would have spoiled the fun.
  • I really want to believe this is real. Would be very cool.
  • It looked to me as if it flipped over when it hit, yet the guy picked it up and it was facing up. Plus I would think that the iPad itself would not survive the shock of impact at that speed. Anyone notice that the disney/pixar movie was starting when he picked it up at the end?
  • To my aging eyes, I didn't see anything on the screen when he said it was "fully functioning"
  • I more amazed that the camera that wasn't in case continued to work after the impact :)
  • nice marketing stunt. but mr. blow jobs is better.
  • maybe the should of had it land on asphalt and I would have been convinced that the case was that sturdy.I also didn't see anything on the screen afterwards...course i don't have the greatest eyesight either
  • Dont believe it. It would of broke I gaurentee it.
  • So, you are an authority on engineering and impact force mitigation, but you do not know that the phrase is "It would have broken, I guarantee it." Implausible.
  • Omg I didn't use correct English on the Internet! The world is going to end.
    Wish you nerds could just get over it. At least I'm not typing in Ebonics.
  • Waddup wit dat? You ain't had to go there playa. :-)
  • Close. You are claiming to be super smart, and then immediately out yourself as not. It's not your poor English that is off-putting. It's the conviction you have when you obviously do not know what you are talking about. That's all.
  • I never claimed to be super smart there buddy. Common sense tells you that you drop an item like an iPad from that height that it would break.
    I forgot how perfect you nerds are and that every ounce of wording has to be grammatically correct, you tell me if that's worded right professor perfect, sine I don't really care if it is or not
  • Well if you are going to type and "guarantee" things on the internet, next time make sure you sound older than a third grader and you wont get flamed! Also, since you are an expert on things falling from lower space and breaking, clue us in on why a case engineered to take a fall like that wouldnt work? You do know we live in a modern age right? We even have these 4 wheeled thingies that can travel around with people sitting in them, its crazy!
  • Calm down. Maybe he posted the comment using Siri...
  • LMAO!!!
  • According to Apple's website, the max operating altitude is 10.000 ft. This was filmed from 90.000 ft. higher. The iPad broke because of the altitude and outside temperature. So I say this video is fake.
  • I suspect that "operating altitude" refers to available device functionality, at various altitudes. So, you seem to have answered a question a couple of us had about why the movie seemed to be starting over, when the host picked the iPad back up. If the device stopped functioning, stuttered, or something, maybe the movie started, again, then.
    Dunno, but it's probably good publicity.
  • why do i hear footsteps just after the ipad has landed? (watch from 1:41)
    fake, no doubt about it
    if you want full protection for the ipad, wait until lifeproof brings it out.
  • I saw this yesterday on 9to5mac.com along with most other articles on TIPb.
    The source is not YouTube. That is where the video came from but that us not how you originally found it.
  • I know what case I'm putting on my iPad next time I go into outer space.
  • I think the initial impact is on that long bar attached to the iPad. The remnants of the weather balloon are attached to one end of the bar, causing drag that would ensure the leading edge of the object would be the opposite end of this bar. That part impacting first into soft gravel, coupled with the fact that it whips onto its back with the case, camera and GPS unit and I can see how the iPad could survive. They never said this one was their first attempt :)
  • True enough. They only needed it to survive once for the video.
  • I would really like to believe this is a realy video, but I cannot for several reasons. It's a great marketing video because it's getting views, but still fake. I like my portenzo! www.portenzo.com
  • Did you notice the aircraft contrails that this iPad fell through during descent? Imagine if this contraption had been sucked into a jet engine. G-Form would have some explaining to do.
  • 1) They are lucky this didn't land on someone's head
    2) They littered the weather balloon
    3) They could have dropped it from 5000 feet to get the same result. Terminal velocity.
  • I would be surprised if this were even legal if they could get permits. to many unknowns to drop something from that height with now way to control it. I guess we will have to wait for the myth busters to try it to find out if it is real.
  • Terminal velocity indeed. "edge of space" is just a gimmick they are using.
  • Indeed. When I read the title I thought they may have taken out far enough to actually have to deal with heat from atmospheric re-entry. I was disappointed.
  • Funny that the weed on the right side of the iPad is on the left side when he picks it up... Ijs, I'd like to believe this but it doesn't seem probable.
  • The camera also survived it was not in a g-form case? So I call it inconclusive and a waste of 3 min of my life
  • The demo of dropping it from near space is all for the WOW factor. The unit will reach terminal velocity (I think I am using the correct term) and will maintain a certain speed for when it hits the ground. That speed could be reached at far lower altitudes. I doubt it is fake, it probably can take that impact on its back. But the front is what I would break, and probably only from edge of my couch, not the edge of space.
  • People are either really funny, or just retard. People are complaining that it is fake, who the F* cares, most of use saw it survive the 1000 or 10000 foot (what ever it was) can clearly survive and work. So if it works from that fall, why should you care if it is real or not in this video. I doubt any of us will ever drop an iPad more the 100 feet (and that's just me being generous).
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