Good news for you iPhone 5 owners. Apple's handset may have been taken a beating due to its high-profile launch, leading many to complain about scratches, camera issues, and Wi-Fi connectivity problems. Often compared to the Samsung Galaxy S3 (and losing in some tests), here's some good news for Apple fans: the iPhone 5 is less toxic than the Samsung Galaxy S3.
This may not be a major concern for many smartphone buyers, but with the amount of usage that today's smartphone gets, it's something to take note of.
The iPhone 5 ranked fifth in iFixit's overall rankings for the least chemically hazardous phones with a score of 2.75 out of 5 (the lower the better). The Galaxy S3 placed ninth with a score of 2.99.
Read the full report at iFixit.
iFixit teamed up with HealthyStuff to test 36 phones, with the top six, including the iPhone 5, being ranked as "low concern." The next 24, including the Galaxy S3, were rated as "medium concern."
iFixit rated the smartphones "by chemical (for each of 12 commonly found hazardous chemicals, such as bromine, mercury, and lead), by component (case, screen, solder, circuit board, etc.), and overall."
Last place went to the iPhone 2G.
Another interesting observation is that the iPhone 4S ranked second to only the Motorola Citrus as a chemically-safe handset.
The analysis revealed that newer smartphones have fewer toxins, and that every phone that was ranked as "high concern" (the six that scored the worst) was released before 2010. So for all you buyers out there - sure there's the differing benchmark speeds, and the recent reports that the Galaxy S3 LTE is faster than the iPhone 5, but at least it looks like both phones are relatively safe for you to use, with the iPhone 5 being the less toxic of the two.
Does iFixit's list affect your smartphone purchasing in any way?
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