Moto Z2 Force's "Largest" Phone Drop Proves Nothing

Motorola seems to have acquired the skill of spinning words. It says "shatterproof" but never says "scratchproof". It says "largest phone drop" but it never really says "epic" or even "useful". In what is unambiguously a marketing move that has no practical purpose, Motorola got 100 people to drop their shatterproof Moto Z2 Force to the ground, pick them up again, and show that they're all good. Without actually showing that they're all good.

Those 100 people aren't 100 random strangers but 100 employees from Motorola's Chicago office. They drop the phones from shoulder height, first in rapid succession like falling dominoes and then simultaneous, and pick up the phones again to show them to the camera. Problem is, the clip is too short to actually inspect if not a single hairline fracture could be seen. Chances are, there aren't any, but there might be a few scratches instead.

Motorola received a lot of flak for the Z2 Force, primarily for how the screen could be scratched even with a fingernail. In its defense, Gorilla Glass has gotten us spoiled and had us expecting scratch resistance even when there isn't any. Motorola later clarified that its ShatterShield tech used a special kind of shatterproof plastic, not scratchproof glass.

Complaints about the Moto Z2 Force didn't stop there, though. In addition to the dismal battery which might force (no pun there) you to get a battery Moto Mod, the initial exorbitant price tag shocked consumers. Motorola later pulled down that number and blamed it on math.

This new ad, because that's really what it is, doesn't exactly prove without shadow of a doubt how effective that ShatterShield protection really is. Fortunately, there are other videos that truly put that to the test. It simply means that 100 Motorola employees try to assure you there's no reason to fear the drop. But what are the chances that all 100 of them use those exact same phones as their daily drivers at all.