Most phone cases are tested by dropping a handset from a desk, staircase, or whatever height the marketing department believes sounds vaguely military. Rhinoshield chose the stratosphere. Damn. Mous must be wondering whether its own stratospheric stunt could have earned a Guinness World Records certificate, too. What a missed opportunity!
Anyhoo, if dropping a phone from the stratosphere sounds familiar, well, that is because Urban Armor Gear did it 11 years ago. It sent an iPhone 6 up to 101,000 feet (30,785 meters). However, the fall was a controlled descent. While the phone survived, its journey down was slowed by a parachute, and it had a flight rig (which broke on impact, btw). Dramatic, yes. The same test? No. It did not dive into Earth like a meteorite.
Working with Sent Into Space, Rhinoshield released an iPhone 17 Pro wearing its AirX case from 30,607 meters (100,419 feet) above Kiruna, Sweden. No parachute. Guinness World Records also required the case to make direct contact with the ground first. I mean, it makes sense. This was not about the phone, but the case.
The phone landed in uninhabited wilderness, where the search team spent over five hours hunting for it. Imagine deliberately throwing away an iPhone and then having to explain why you cannot find it—after spending an unimaginable amount on logistics doing so.
When recovered, the phone was reportedly undamaged and fully functional. The stunt earned the companies the Guinness World Records title for the highest drop of a mobile phone in a phone case over natural landforms.
The AirX uses a recyclable mono-material construction with air cushioning inspired by automotive airbags and sports footwear. It survived a spectacular fall, although a wilderness landing is not the same as meeting your kitchen tiles at an unfortunate angle.
The AirX is not the only case with airbag-inspired tech. The TORRAS Q3 Air Pro also features similar tech, but I don’t think they are about to fund a stratospheric drop to prove it. Imagine the money spent on adjudication, sending a phone into the stratosphere, and then paying a recovery team to locate it.
Images: Guinness World Records.
