The iPhone 5S has been touted as the fastest smartphone on the market, and the iPhone 5 has been said to be 2.5 times more touch-responsive than any Android phone on the market (including the Moto X).

To add to the celebration, Apple is rejoicing over its stock price climb today, as well as the 9 million iPhones that were purchased this past opening weekend (nearly twice as many as last year’s opening weekend). We get it: Apple’s iPhones are popular to own and Apple’s engineers work to make the iPhone faster each year.

However, a smartphone can be more popular and faster than other devices yet still come up short in durability. Unfortunately, this is the plight that befalls the iPhone 5S in SquareTrade’s latest durability tests.

Moto X and iPhone 5S in Drop Test

Moto X in SquareTrade Drop Test
Image Credit: SquareTrade

 

Sunday’s SquareTrade tests placed the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C against some high-end Android smartphones such as the Galaxy S4 and Moto X. The tests consisted of 5-foot drops, not to mention table sliding and water resistance. In the 5-foot drop, the Moto X held its own against the iPhone 5S, with minimal scratching. The iPhone 5C did not fare so well and continued to work – even though the iPhone 5C’s screen shattered.

iPhone 5C in SquareTrade torture test
Image Credit: SquareTrade

 

Moto X and iPhone 5S in Sliding Test

Table sliding tests are done to see how well the phone will fare against floor collisions. In this test, the iPhone 5S performed the worst out of the four smartphones, sliding off the table completely. The plastic iPhone 5C fared better in this demonstration, beating out both the iPhone 5S and the Galaxy S4. To top the four smartphones, however, was the Moto X: it slid only three feet on the table, besting Apple’s Touch ID marvel.

 

Moto X in SquareTrade Slide Test
Image Credit: SquareTrade

 

How Low Can You Go? Moto X and iPhone 5S Dunked

The water resistance test is a small demonstration that consists of dunking devices underwater to see which one will stop playing music or videos first. While the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S remained functional, the Moto X also breezed through the small water resistance test. Keep in mind that SquareTrade does not maintain the devices in water for long periods of time. Had this happened, the Moto X would have likely outlasted the other devices (its water-repellent coating withstanding some water intake, though not all).

 

SquareTrade Responds to Torture Test Results

SquareTrade’s Marketing Chief had this to say about the final results:

We were expecting that at least one of the new iPhone models would up its game but surprisingly, it was the Moto X that proved most forgiving of accidents. This is the first time we’ve tested the breakability on a Motorola phone, the only phone we’ve ever tested that’s made in the USA. We were pleased to find that it withstood our drop, slide, and dunk test with only the slightest dent. It looks like Google is giving Apple and Samsung a run for their money.

The Moto X may not have all the specs of a Galaxy S4 or iPhone 5S to compete in the feature race; at the same time, however, it seems to be a phone that can stand up to the elements in a bit better fashion than the other three smartphones. Now that Republic Wireless is offering the Moto X for $299 off-contract , you may want to snatch one of these up come November.