Phone survives record 100,000-foot stratospheric drop

A smartphone protected by a phone case has set a Guinness World Record after surviving a fall from the edge of space. The device, an iPhone 17 Pro encased in a RhinoShield AirX case, was recovered intact in the Swedish wilderness on June 24, 2026, after being released from a high-altitude balloon at an altitude of 30,607 meters, or 100,418 feet.

The record-breaking stunt was organized by phone case manufacturer RhinoShield in partnership with UK aerospace company Sent Into Space. The attempt was designed to test the extreme durability of the AirX case, which is constructed from a single, recyclable material. According to Guinness World Records, the drop from a height more than three times that of a commercial airliner's cruising altitude earned the title for the highest drop of a mobile phone in a phone case onto natural landforms.

The launch took place near the Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden. The phone and its protective case were carried aloft by a balloon and then released without a parachute, as required by Guinness World Records rules. The rules also stipulated that the phone case itself had to make direct contact with the ground first. During its approximately...