Moto Z Force Droid Edition's ShatterShield survives drops, phone still dies

I now have a zombie Moto Z Force Droid Edition. No, it's not the name that killed it. It was the drop test. And while I'm normally not a fan of killing a phone just to watch it die, we had good reason this time. Moto's ShatterShield.

This is the multiple-layer system that it put in the Droid Turbo 2 — and now in Verizon's Moto Z Force — to keep the phone's screen from shattering should it be dropped. That doesn't mean it's a rugged phone. That doesn't mean you should repeatedly drop it onto concrete. That means should the phone take a spill — like all phones do at some point — the screen should survive.

Yes, there's fine print. (There's always fine print.) And it reads thusly:

The display and embedded lens are warranted against shattering and cracking for four (4) years from the original date of purchase; scratches or other damage to the protective lens is not covered by this warranty, but should always be in place to prevent scratches and other damage to the underlying components. This phone is not shockproof or designed to withstand all damage from dropping. All other warranty exclusions, including scratches and other cosmetic damage, intentional damage or abuse, normal wear and tear and other limitations apply.

So I wasn't surprised after one-two-three-four-five drops that the screen quit working. ShatterShield isn't meant for the sort of abuse I subjected it to. (The phone still boots, actually. It still works. It's just as if the display became detached.)

But it did not shatter. It looks beat to hell — because it was. But ShatterShield did its job.

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