An iPhone 17 Pro has survived a breathtaking fall from more than 100,000 feet above Earth, earning a Guinness World Records title in an extraordinary test in Sweden.
The smartphone was lifted into the stratosphere by a high-altitude balloon and released from 30,607 metres (100,418 feet) above the ground near Kiruna, Sweden. The phone was protected by RHINOSHIELD’s AirX case and was dropped without a parachute or additional protective equipment.
The descent lasted approximately 25 minutes, exposing the device to extreme conditions, including temperatures reportedly falling to around -40°C to -60°C and atmospheric pressure of only about one percent of that at sea level.
After reaching the ground, a recovery team spent around five hours locating the phone in the Swedish wilderness using GPS tracking. When it was finally recovered, the iPhone was reportedly still functioning. It could be switched on, make calls and take photographs, while showing no significant visible damage.
The spectacular stunt earned RHINOSHIELD and its AirX case the Guinness World Records title for “The Highest Drop of a Mobile Phone in a Phone Case (Natural Landforms).”
The test was conducted in partnership with British aerospace company Sent Into Space and was designed to push smartphone protection far beyond conventional drop testing.
While the achievement does not mean an unprotected iPhone can survive such a fall, it demonstrates the extreme impact protection claimed by the AirX case.
The record-breaking stunt has now turned an ordinary smartphone drop test into a near-space technology spectacle.
