The Essential Phone doesn't use the same old materials we've seen on other high-end smartphones. Rather than an aluminum frame, this phone is made from titanium. Instead of the same old glass panel on the back, Essential opted for ceramic. Are these materials actually any more durable? YouTube channel JerryRigEverything scratches, scrapes, and bends to figure that out. The results: pretty good.

Despite its wacky bezel-free design, the display of the Essential Phone is one of its more standard components. It's covered with Gorilla Glass 5, which scratches at the same hardness level as other phones. The back panel is ceramic, and as confirmed by the video, it is essentially impervious to scratches. It is, however, very slippery and prone to pick up fingerprints.

The frame of this phone is titanium, whereas most phones are aluminum. An aluminum phone will bend at least a little when you apply a lot of force, but the Essential Phone hardly flexes at all. Titanium is also less likely to pick up scratches on the titanium edges. The Essential Phone passes this test with flying colors, but it would have been nice if the designers managed an IP68 rating.