Are iphones particularly tough?

We have no idea whether that is true of the person who, in 2011, answered the question on Quora.

Colin Bignell snipped-for-privacy@bignellremovethis.me.uk> wrote

There is no way that anyone can ever know what the orientation of the phone would be after reaching terminal velocity.

I don't by your claim that it is certain to be the minimum drag config,

Bombs don't work like that and have tails for a reason.

In fact Mike O'Connor on Quora said nothing even remotely like that.

Obviously, that wasn't the person whose estimate I read. I also pointed out that it was unverified.

But clearly the one you read didnt have a clue and couldnt even manage to correctly calculate the terminal velocity for any of the possible configurations. Mike did.

And Mike clearly doesnt either and gets a completely different terminal velocity than your ignorant poster.

I doubt we could even estimate the terminal velocity. Looking at the info here:

A mobile phone wouldn't fall predictably. It might start absolutely vertical (short edge down), but the slightest angle would make it act like a wing and move sideways and slow down - perhaps at some point being almost parallel to and moving parallel to the ground. Depending on what it was doing just before, and as it hit the ground, it could be moving a lot slower than might be thought with a fall from over 5000m, and that doesn't take into account any effect of the trees.

Handwavey crap as usual

It doesn't really matter that it doesn't. It will in nay case spin, and flutter because it is thin and flat and has a C of G roughly in the centre. A bit like a falling leaf.

Complete unscientific crap.

It doesn't matter how you drop a leaf, it always ends up in a spin or a flutter. Because those are the attractors for its chaotic behaviour

Any other possibility is unstable.

I think it depends on what they fall on and which bit hits the ground. I would say that they are as tough as any, but the screen is as always the vulnerable are, so if it was in a case it might have a better chance, and how do you actually know it was not just dropped. I put mine in airplane mode to stop it pinging and farting. Brian