Apple Watch Beats Scratch Tests

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How scratch-resistant are the various flavours of Apple Watch? Consumer Reports says the answer boils down to "very," even if the basic "Sport" model rates worse than its more expensive "Watch" and "Edition" siblings.

Apple scratch testApple uses two kinds of glass in the Watch-- the Sport features "Ion-X" glass (a material similar to Corning's Gorilla Glass), while the more expensive aluminium-bodied Watch and gold-plated Edition feature sapphire crystal. Consumer Reported tested both displays using the Mohs Hardness Scale, a 10-point mineral toughness test created by German geologist Friedrich Mohs back in 1812.

Essentially the test involves scratching the material in question (in this case the Watch display) with minerals of increasing toughness, starting from 1-rated talc and ending with 10-rated diamond.

So, how well did the Watch do? The Sport display has a rating of 7, which is impressive enough for a consumer device (Consumer Reports also performed an "unscientific attempt" using a steel key which didn't scratch the glass). An Unbox Therapy video does have the Sport being scratched with sandpaper-- but Consumer Reports says sandpaper often contains corundum, a super-tough mineral "relative" of sapphire.

However the the true toughness test winner is the sapphire display, which has a Mohs scale rating of 9. This means it can be only scratched with nothing less than the toughest material in the world, diamond.

In other words? Consumers can rest easy that their Watch is more than capable of taking the punishment regular daily use might involve. Unless they decide to give it a close encounter with a belt sander or a diamond ring on it, or course…

Watch Apple Watch-- Will it Scratch? (Unbox Therapy)

Go The Science Behind Smartwatch Scratch Resistance (Consumer Reports)