SquareTrade’s breakability tests show which tablet is the toughest

SquareTrade, the global protection-plan providers, have put ten of today’s most popular tablets to the test to find out how breakable they are.

Each tablet was put though drop, dunk and slide tests to mimic typical everyday accidents and evaluated on factors such as front and back-panel design, edge construction and materials, size, weight, friction quotient, water resistance and grip-ability. It was then give a SquareTrade Breakability Score on a scale of one to ten, with a higher score meaning a bigger risk of the tablet breaking due to an accident.

After testing all ten tablets, it was revealed that size does indeed matter, with the compact models proving much more robust than their larger counterparts. The tablet that received the best score was Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S 8.4, with a breakability rating of just 3.3. It survived the drop test with barely a scratch and was still working after being dunked in water.

The most breakable tablet of the bunch was the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 with its enormous 12-inch display. It was given a high risk rating of 7.6 after it malfunctioned when dunked in water and shattered when dropped on the floor.

You can see how the other eight tablets, including the Apple iPad Air 2, Sony Xperia Z3 and Google Nexus 9, did in the SquareTrade breakability tests by watching the video below.

Discover more of the latest tech reviews in How It Works magazine. In issue 67, we put kitchen gadgets and DSLR cameras through their paces.