JerryRigEverything puts iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro Max through the durability test

Iphone 12 Pro Max Scratch Test (Image credit: JerryRigEverything)

What you need to know

JerryRigEverything has run iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max through the usual durability tests.
Apple might be on to something with its Ceramic Shield, but it still isn't scratchproof.

Now that iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max are available to buy it was only a matter of time before Zack 'JerryRigEverything' Nelson took a knife and a power drill to them. And that's exactly what has now happened.

At least I think it has. I was watching through my fingers. Those poor iPhones!

Its time to Durability Test the new iPhone 12 Pro MAX

I don't want to spoil the fun because everyone should watch the full video – Nelson does some great work, even if I couldn't bring myself to do what he does! But there's one thing that does stand out – this round of testing appears to show that the Ceramic Shield adds at least a little scratch protection.

Nelson does manage to scratch the new iPhones at the same rating as an iPhone 11-series device, but the scratches are much less pronounced. Still, anyone wanting to make sure their iPhone stays in pristine condition should still add a screen protector – Apple doesn't tout Ceramic Shield as adding any kind of scratch resistance. It's all about that drop protection, see.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.