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iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

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Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#411

Crazy considering multiple iPhones (latest being an iPhone 11) haven't survived a few feet fall for me (no case...I'm extremely particular about using a case now).

The photos showed the phone had a cover/case — so maybe that’s very important? (contra Apple’s marketing)

Add in factors of hitting soft ground (grass/brush) and having enough height to rotate into a flat profile instead of hitting a corner.

Now I kinda wanna read about an experiment where someone drops a few hundred phones and compares various models

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#412
My guess is, given state of the charging connector still attached but ripped off (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38914210):

The entire thing fell out of plane (phone + charging cable plugged), then landed in a tree, where the charging cable got tangled in branches and that's when phone broke out of it and fell in grass.

So phone was able to release kinetic energy in 2 big events (+a few branches hit maybe), not a direct splash on the ground.

Wonder if somehow they can analyze the accelerometer data of the phone and figure out if that correlates with that scenario.

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#413
I was in Costa Rica taking an aerial tramway which was about 75 ft up over dirt/rocky hill and my Pixel 6a (with just a basic back case) fell out of my pocket, hit the metal floor and fell out the doorway. The very kind tour people actually went and found it and returned it with not even a scratch on it. Not exactly 16,000 ft, but I was still amazed and felt very lucky. The only damage was my wife being right that I should have put a strap on it.

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#415

Terminal velocity of an iphone should be around 110mph according to this https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6813341/T...

And surely it doesn't need that height to achieve it. So at some point the height stops mattering.

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#416
post #412

My guess is, given state of the charging connector still attached but ripped off ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38914210 ): The entire thing fell out of plane (phone + charging cable plugged), then landed in a tree, where the charging cable got tangled in branches and that's when phone broke out of it and fell in grass. So phone was able to release kinetic energy in 2 big events (+a few branches hit maybe), n…

In skydiving, it isn't unheard of for someone to have their phone fall out of their pocket and survive impact without the screen shattering. That's from ~13000ft, but once the phone reaches terminal velocity, it's all the same impact force regardless of altitude.

I think dirt/grass is just a lot softer than the things we usually drop our phones over, like concrete or tile.

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#418
post #412

My guess is, given state of the charging connector still attached but ripped off ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38914210 ): The entire thing fell out of plane (phone + charging cable plugged), then landed in a tree, where the charging cable got tangled in branches and that's when phone broke out of it and fell in grass. So phone was able to release kinetic energy in 2 big events (+a few branches hit maybe), n…

I'm surprised it didn't break past the strain relief. Everyone with an iPhone has a handful of charging cables that end up like [1]. That's where they tend to fail first.

1: https://www.engadget.com/apple-patent-application-frayed-cab...

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#419

This isn't much more than the original twitter post: https://nitter.net/SeanSafyre/status/1744138937239822685 The most astonishing thing to me is the destroyed charger cable. Also a good reminder that it's a very good idea to have the screen lock after a set time — even if it's long.

People in another spot were complaining that the auto lock maximum is apparently 5 minutes. It seems odd that this number isn't customizable.

Seems odd overall, yeah. But this is Apple we're talking about, they generally don't offer customisation. And when they do, they usually just offer a few options instead of freeform.

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#420
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I use my phone for navigation it doesn't lock itself. I've observed this behaviour on iOS and Android.

iOS kinda keeps the map open outside the lock (at least with Apple Maps). Everything else locks behind it. At least on mine.

Google Maps stays open as well. The phone is locked, but the map stays active on the screen.
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