[Snap]

The iPhone 11 Pro Max is definitely one of the most anticipated phone launches of the

year. Apple has launched three different versions of the phone this time: the 11, the 11 Pro,

and the 11 Pro Max. So I figured I'd durability test the most expensive of the three. Apple's

done some pretty interesting stuff with this new version. There's a lot to check out and

take in. Let's get started.

[Intro]

So iPhones have been able to fast charge for a few years now. But even though the iPhones

could charge fast, Apple only included a slow 5 watt charger in the box, which I don't think

was very fair. This year though, that's changed with the Pros. Apple has included an 18 watt

fast charger in the box, which is a plus one for Apple for not making their customers go

out and buy extra accessories to utilize their phone at full potential. It's definitely a

step in the right direction.

This 11 Pro Max is the Midnight Green version, and has the same frosty finish that we saw

in the Pixel 3 and the OnePlus 7. It helps keep fingerprints to a minimum. Let's jump

into the scratch test.

Apple claims that this year they have the toughest glass ever in a smart phone, which,

you know, sounds like a very “Apple” thing to say. Even if this is the toughest glass

of all time, it's still made of, you know, glass. Glass is glass, and glass breaks.

If anyone ever comes up with something stronger than glass, they'll definitely be calling

it something different. Until then, we see scratches at a level 6 with deeper grooves

at a level 7. The screen still definitely won't be scratched up by keys, coins, or razor

blades. But it'll also still crack if you drop it. We'll talk more about that in a second.

Up here at the top notch we have a metal speaker grill - pretty solid. Won't be falling out

on its own. Another fairly substantial improvement this year is with the selfie camera. Of course

numbers aren't everything, but with 4K and slow motion on the front camera, Apple is

actually competing with other flagships. I personally won't be posting any flowing hair

selfies on Instagram any time soon. But still, it's definitely a step in the right direction.

There is the same plastic edge around the glass screen, which is a good impact layer

between the two extremely hard materials: glass and stainless steel. The vast majority

of smartphones these days are made from aluminum. It's lighter, cheaper and more malleable than

most of the metals so it's fairly easy and inexpensive to form into a phone. The sound

you hear though is stainless steel. Steel is a much stronger metal than aluminum. So

strong, in fact, it's difficult for my razor blade to get a bite on the metal. Steel is

a 5 ½ on Mohs scale of hardness, which is about the same level as my razor blade. Aluminum

would be a 3 or 3 ½ , which makes it much easier to scratch than stainless steel. Apple

has taken their perceived premium branding and actually used a premium material to match.

The phone is still plenty expensive of course, but the price tag is a little more justified

by the materials being used. It's a step in the right direction. There's still no expandable

memory card slot which is good since it leaves me with something to complain about. But there's

also something extremely good about this port that not many people have caught.

This phone is ip68 water resistant. And you're probably thinking to yourself, 'What's cool

about that? Most flagships these days are 68 water resistant.' And yeah, you're right,

but instead of doing the same basic 1 and ½ or 2 meters deep for 30 minutes of submersion

that every phone manufacturer does to get that ip rating. Apple went above and beyond

and doubled the depth to 4 meters for 30 meters. I'll explain more during the teardown, but

the takeaway is the iPhone 11 Pro is by far the most water resistant phone on the market

right now. That's a huge step in the right direction. Apple has actually innovated, and

I think that deserves a thumbs up. Yeah, Apple still has the dumb proprietary screws and

no headphone jack. But with jacks being lost from every phone faster than Thanos can snap

his fingers, it's hard to keep calling it a negative when everyone is doing it.

Let's talk about the back glass for a bit. Remember, my razor blade is about 5 ½ on

Mohs scale of hardness. The glass is a 6. So my razor blade isn't doing any damage to

the surface of the glass. The glass is actually damaging my razor blade, like sandpaper on

wood. But it's only the rough parts of the glass that's causing the abrasion. The smooth

Apple logo does nothing. But let's say you happen to have the copper cooling vapor chamber

from a Galaxy Note 10 in your pocket. It looks like that hurts. What if your phone rubbed

up against a piece of plastic. Would that hurt the glass? Visually it looks like the

answer is yes. But actually the answer is no. The etched surface of the level 6 glass

s microscopically rough and is literally taking tiny chunks off of the softer materials as

they brush up against the surface of the glass. But this material transfer dust can easily

be brushed off leaving the phone looking just like new. There might be a tiny bit of residue

left over still, but it's good to know that these marks aren't permanent. Coins leave

pretty hefty marks on the glass. Quarters leave a residue. Even Abraham Lincoln, you

know, from back when presidents were respected, leaves his mark on the glass. The cloudy surface

of the glass is slowly wearing away at all my coins and the dust is being left behind

on the surface. This random screw leaves a mark. And, of course, keys which are also

usually made of soft metals. They leave some pretty major residue behind.

To solidify the point a little further, we can take my Mohs scale of hardness picks and

we can very clearly see that every level of pick leaves material behind on the glass until

we get to level 6 and 7 whose tips are hard enough to finally wear down the surface of

the glass instead. Science. We'll see if all these marks come off or not in a minute.

Let's chat about this camera unit. Apple has carved this camera hump out of the back glass

slab itself, which is very unique. It has a subtle raised lip about half as thick as

a penny. My worry with the raised glass surface is that it has 4 extra edges around the square

for chips or cracks to occur. The good new is, the circular cameras inside the square

stick up further than the glass itself. So it offers a little protection for the back

glass panel and raises it off whatever surface it's resting on.

Like we've seen on several Android phones, the iPhone 11 Pro Max now has the perfect

trifecta of cameras: a 12 megapixel 2x telephoto camera at the bottom, a 12 megapixel wide-angle

camera in the middle, and a normal 12 megapixel camera up top. Since my razor blade is doing

no damage, we can tell it's protected by a scratch resistant material. Up until now Apple

has always claimed this material is sapphire. This year though they didn't. There's no mention

of sapphire anywhere on the iPhone spec list. It looks as though Apple is using the same

hybrid material that they've always used for the camera lenses. Still seeing the weird

fracture scratch things at levels 6, 7, and 8. Apple's hybrid camera lens material is

just as good and probably better than glass, and there should be a category for it. But

at least now there's no misleading vernacular on the website. I think that's a step in the

right direction. If the back glass of the iPhone does crack, cracks won't affect the

camera lenses or the cameras themselves since each of them has their own little individual

metal housing. The cracks will work their way through the glass panel, but not affect

the lenses. Smart move on Apple's part, so if that lip ever does chip, the camera units

will be unaffected.

If you're still worried about scratches or getting reside caught up inside the textured

iPhone surface, you can always add a skin like this limited edition Robot skin. Or if

you're like me and always rock a case, dbrand's got you covered with the Grip Case. It's got

some super clicky buttons, and the skin on the case is interchangeable. I'll leave a

link down in the video description. And huge thanks to dbrand for sponsoring this video.

I know a lot of you, when deciding what phone to buy, ask yourself 'Yeah, but can it withstand

fire?' And don't you worry, I have that covered. The iPhone 11 Pro Max has a 6.5 inch 1242

x 2688 resolution screen. And that super retina XDR OLED withstood the heat from my lighter

for a full 60 seconds without leaving a mark. Remember, the invisible oleophobic coating

evaporates and that covering is kind of important, so don't try this at home. But at least for

now we know that, you know, fire is...hot.

So you might have noticed over the course of this video the heavy marks I made on the

back panel with different metals have already started to rub off when my hand brushes up

against the phone. The dust falls away leaving the phone glass looking almost as good as

new. It really is rather impressive.

I've never had an iPhone fail my durability test before. And I might not always see eye

to eye with the iPhone lineup, but Apple does make very structural and solid smartphones.

And this iPhone 11 Pro Max is no different. There's zero flex. These premium materials

are combined to make an extremely solid build. Apple has used recyclable stainless steel

on this phone and is currently using 100% recycled aluminum to build the MacBook Air,

the Mac Mini, the Apple Watch, and the new 7th Generation iPad, which is something to

be super proud of. There has been a shift over at Apple. Yeah, Androids can still do

more, but Apple has taken so many steps in the right direction with this new iPhone 11

Pro that I'm running low on things to complain about, and that's definitely a good thing

for everyone.

There's a lot more to talk about when we review this from the inside so hit that subscribe

button so you don't miss the teardown. It's free. And come hang out with me on Instagram

and Twitter.

Thanks a ton for watching. I'll see you around.