This iPhone was dropped from over 30,000 metres and it survived

Think your iPhone can survive a drop? What about from 1 metre? 3 metres? Or how about a drop from over 30,000 metres?

That’s what a Taiwan-based smartphone case maker wanted to find out, so it conducted what could be one of the most epic iPhone drop tests yet by sending it more than 30km above the ground.

It all started from the CEO’s crazy idea

Rhino Shield. Pte.Ltd. and Sent Into Space Ltd. (UK) teamed up to break the record for highest drop of a mobile phone in a phone case (natural landforms). The company dropped the iPhone 17 Pro equipped with its special phone case from a height of 100,416 feet (30,607 metres) above Earth. That’s more than triple the height of the world’s tallest mountain Mount Everest 29,031 feet (8,848 metres).

Recovered in Kiruna, Sweden, the phone landed undamaged despite being dropped from such height. As a result, this feat earned a Guinness World Records title for RhinoShield.

According to Mujou Hsiao, Brand Experience Manager, it all started with the crazy idea from the company’s founder, Eric Wang. Initially, the plan on the 50 consecutive 15-metre drops or most durable mono-material case.

The company even considered dropping it from hot air balloons, while skydiving, or weather balloons. But, it felt that those heights were not enough. That is, until Eric said:

‘If we’re going high, let’s go as high as humanly possible.’

And that was how the idea for “Stratospheric Drop” was born.

How did they pull this off?

The phone was carried more than 30km above the ground by a balloon before it was dropped, leaving everyone involved in the stunt nervous as it plummeted back down towards Earth.

For context, the standard lab drop tests are around 1.2 m. For extreme testing, RhinoShield regularly drop its phones from the 6th floor of their office (about 23m). But the stratosphere is 26,000 to 36,000 m, over 1,000 times higher than its office building.

In order to fulfill the requirements for the Guinness World Records, Sent Into Space created an Ejection Payload comprising the phone, a camera to capture the impact, a tracking system to confirm the descent speed, and a stability-inducing drogue chute to ensure the phone hit the ground first. Dr Chris Rose, Head of Projects at Sent Into Space said:

“The chute size was calibrated precisely to offset velocity increases caused by the additional mass of the recording equipment, enabling the speed of the Ejection Payload to match the terminal velocity of an unencumbered free-falling phone. This was verified by an independent third party at leading academic institution.”

Sent Into Space also recommended setting up the base at Esrange Space Center in Sweden, a restricted zone twice the size of Luxembourg (roughly 5,200 to 5,600 square km).

The location was purposely chosen so the phone would land in an uninhabited wilderness area, minimising the risk of anyone getting hurt. Even so, finding it proved challenging. Mujou said it felt like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“Finding a single phone in a wilderness that vast was like finding a needle in a massive haystack. The tracking was narrowed down to 2 km, but it still took us more than five hours to find it.” – Mujou Hsiao, Brand Experience Manager

With help from Sent Into Space, the team eventually managed to locate and recover the iPhone.

On top of that, external factors such as unpredictable crosswinds, descent speeds, landing surfaces, and deadlines were some of the huge challenges faced by team as they are only in Kiruna for a week.

It also doesn’t help that there is a strict helicopter payload limits, only four people (excluding the pilot) could go up for the initial search: two engineers from Sent Into Space equipped with tracking gear, and two videographers. So, they had to wait for a long time before getting the result.

When the team finally recovered the phone, they found out the phone was completely undamaged. Notably there are no visible cracks on the phone screen, and it doesn’t seem there’s any damage with the phone’s internal parts or hardware.

Guiness then confirms the phone is fully functional and congratulates the team for their new world record.

Air Cushioning designed as airbag for phones

According to RhinoShield, the Air X Ultra-Cushioned Phone Case is designed to absorb up to 81% of impact force, helping prevent internal phone issues over time such as camera lens misalignment, antenna signal degradation, battery deformation, and microchip damage caused by repeated hard drops.

The case features a 360-degree air-cushioning system that acts like an airbag for your smartphone. When dropped, the sealed air chambers absorb the initial energy, while an internal compression structure redirects the remaining impact away from delicate phone parts.

Rhinoshield AirX Ultra-Cushioned Phone Case available in Malaysia

Unlike traditional protective covers that weaken after multiple drops, the AirX Ultra-Cushioned Phone case uses specialised ShockSpread material to maintain long-lasting shock resistance. 

The phone case also includes embedded side buttons to guard against side impacts and ergonomic side chambers that provide a comfortable, non-slip grip.  Additionally, the case is constructed from a single recyclable material. So, that’s a plus if you are into the Green Earth initiative.

The AirX Ultra-Cushioned Phone Case is customisable with various designs, color options, and compatible magnetic accessories. If you are interested, the price starts from RM289.00 and you can order it from authorised RhinoShield distributors in Malaysia, such as Distexpress Malaysia on Lazada and Shopee

So, if you have slippery fingers or constantly drop your phone, this phone case might be worth considering.