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How I broke the rugged Sonim XP3300 Force (review)

CNET editor Jessica Dolcourt takes on the Incredible Hulk of cell phones in a durability test, and wins. Maybe.

Headshot of Jessica Dolcourt
Headshot of Jessica Dolcourt
Jessica Dolcourt VP, Content Operations and Commerce, CNET Group and CNET Labs
Jessica is a passionate content strategist and team leader across the CNET family of brands. She leads a number of teams, including commerce, performance optimization and the copy desk. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on the iPhone and Samsung devices. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began her leadership role managing CNET's How To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones to home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick in the UK.
Expertise Content strategy | Team leadership | Commerce | Audience engagement | Tips and FAQs | iPhone | Samsung | Android | iOS
Jessica Dolcourt
Sonim XP3300 Force
If you push it, it will break. Josh Miller/CNET

The joke's on you, Sonim XP300 Force. You taunted me with your thick rubber sidings and waterproof, mud-flap-protected charger port and headphone jacks. You bragged with your impressive laundry list of certifications for withstanding heat, cold, humidity, dust, salt, and shock. You laughed in the face of water.

But now you're cracked, over, kaput. Spilling shards of glass as effortlessly as a dog shakes of water after a swim. All I did was toss you a few feet into the air. It's true; I have it on video.

OK, so maybe it could have been a few feet higher than your 1.5mm-thick Gorilla Glass screen is certified to handle. And nevermind that your three-year warranty covers drop damage and worse.

You may have bested my hammer-and-nail test, the vase-of-water dunk test, and the stomp-the-heck-out-of-you boot test, but if I push you beyond your promised boundaries, the jackhammer and I will always win.

Watch this: Sonim XP3300 Force