An iPhone 17 Pro survived a fall of more than 100,000 feet from the space after being protected by a RhinoShield AirX case, completing an extreme durability test that also earned a Guinness World Records title.
RhinoShield partnered with UK aerospace company Sent Into Space for the June 24 attempt near Kiruna, Sweden. The phone was carried beneath a high-altitude balloon before being released from 30,607 meters, or 100,418 feet — more than three times the typical cruising altitude of a commercial airliner.
The device then fell back toward Earth for about 25 minutes, facing temperatures reported as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius. There was no parachute or secondary protective layer to soften the descent. Guinness World Records rules also required the phone case itself to make direct contact with the ground first.
A record-breaking test in the Swedish wilderness
The landing took place in remote, uninhabited wilderness near the Esrange Space Center. Although tracking equipment narrowed the search area to roughly two kilometers, the recovery team still spent more than five hours looking for the device.
When the iPhone was finally located, it showed no visible damage. Reports said the device could still be switched on and off, make phone calls and take photos following the fall.
The successful attempt secured RhinoShield and Sent Into Space the Guinness World Records title for the highest drop of a mobile phone in a phone case onto natural landforms. The phone had fallen from a height greater than three times that of Mount Everest and returned to the ground intact.
How RhinoShield prepared the AirX case
RhinoShield said the AirX case was developed around a mono-material design and is made from a single recyclable material. Its protective structure was inspired by car airbags and the shock-absorbing cushioning used in athletic footwear.
Before the stratospheric test, the company’s engineers carried out sub-zero freezing tests and atmospheric pressure testing to prepare the case for the conditions it would encounter at altitude. RhinoShield Brand Experience Manager Mujou Hsiao said the team prepared for the worst while hoping the case would withstand the uncontrolled descent.
The company said the record attempt was intended to demonstrate that recyclable, single-material phone cases do not necessarily have to sacrifice durability. RhinoShield has used mono-material designs as part of an effort to make its cases recyclable, while the AirX project pushed that approach far beyond a conventional laboratory drop test.
The result turned an unusual product test into a verified world record: an iPhone released from the stratosphere, recovered hours later in the Swedish wilderness, and found still functioning after a 100,418-foot fall.
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