Moto Z2 Force scratches but doesn't bend

Smartphones these days have gotten us spoiled, and it's not just from their convenience. The ubiquitous Corning Gorilla Glass, which is used on all but the cheapest smartphones, has made us come to expect that our premium, and usually expensive, smartphones won't scratch so easily. So when Motorola put out its latest shatterproof model, the Moto Z2 Force, many were shocked, even disgusted, at how the phone traded scratchproof for shatterproof. Fortunately, that is the only thing it traded, as JerryRigEverything proved in his usual round of durability tests.

Motorola clarified, although belatedly, that their ShatterShield tech does not use glass as suspected. It is a natural consequence of making a screen that didn't shatter easily when dropped. Instead, ShatterShield used a sort of plastic that, while tougher than most plastic screens, still exhibits the same drawbacks.

Unfortunately, that immediately means that the Moto Z2 Force will fail two out of three JerryRigEverything tests. Here, the mostly useless burn test does leave a more permanent mark, as you can expect from overheating plastic.

The screen scratches easily as you might have already heard. You don't even need a Mohs pick to do so. Your fingernail, which might be a level 2 or 2.5 on the Mohs scale, will do the trick. Unfortunately, that scratchability happens to extend to the front camera as well, which is covered with the same ShatterShield protection.

The good news? That's pretty much all you can criticize the Moto Z2 Force for in terms of durability. It's all-metal body won't scratch easily unless you have really sharp objects lying around or if you do so intentionally. The rear camera lens is, thankfully, covered with glass, so it's not as susceptible as its front counterpart. And, best of all, thanks to the sturdy metal body and malleable plastic screen, the smartphone doesn't yield to Zack Nelson's mighty hands. Sadly, JerryRigEverything doesn't do the test that matters the most: a drop test that will test if the Moto Z2 Force's sacrifice was pretty much worth it.