- A YouTuber didn't believe that foldable smartphones are as durable as manufacturers claim they are.
- So he recruited volunteers to open and close the flip smartphones repeatedly on a live stream.
People are going wild over an ongoing YouTube live stream where testers repeatedly open and close flip smartphones until they break.
Titled "The Great Folding Test Vol. II," the project was started by Polish Youtuber Kuba Klawiter, better known as Mrkeybrd, to test the durability of Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Motorola's Razr 40 Ultra.
The stream, which went live on August 2, has been going on for nearly a week. Over 800 people were viewing the stream at press time.
As for the results: The Razr 40 Ultra broke down after 126,367 flips, but the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is still going strong, with 293,335 flips at press time.
"Wow still not over," one person said in the stream's live chat.
"Oh my... Still folding…" another person wrote.
According to the project's website, the stream was created to test whether phone manufacturers are exaggerating how durable their flip smartphones are.
"Smartphone producers seem to think consumers will be impressed by their ratings of 400,000+ folds, performed in a more controlled setting and most likely by a machine designed to fold the smartphone only in the way it was intended," said the website. "But machines aren't human."
Klawiter told Insider that "the live stream has had over half a million views" to date.
"At this point, we're not sure if it's us folding the phone or the other way around," Klawiter said. "We are tired but happy and a bit surprised by the constant interest of the viewers. There are a couple hundred people watching the live stream no matter what time you tune in."
And as the name suggests, this isn't the first time Klawiter and his team of volunteers have done such a test. Last year, the YouTuber ran a similar experiment with Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 3. For that particular test, the Galaxy Z Flip 3's hinge broke after about 418,500 folds.
And it looks like the latest iteration of the Galaxy Z Flip is going to fare just as well, given how long the stream has been airing. Some viewers jokingly expressed sympathy for the Samsung smartphone.
"Z Flip: just kill me already," one person said in the stream's live chat.
Others were just amused by how Klawiter was able to find volunteers who were willing to engage in such a mindless activity.
"I definitely wouldn't do this unless they gave me a new z flip," another person said in the chat.
Editor's note: August 8, 2023 — This story has been updated with responses from Klawiter.