14 DAY TRIAL // Finland’s top security firm F-secure got ahold of an iPhone 5s and decided to freeze it up to see how the Touch ID fingerprint sensor fares in sub-zero conditions.
If you yourself are wondering what happens to an iPhone 5s after it’s been frozen, the answer is “nothing.” Absolutely nothing. The screen works, the buttons work, even the Touch ID works just fine.
In fact, F-secure showed that the iPhone 5s remained in good working condition even after being frozen down to -22° (Celsius).
The company froze their iPhone 5s to put Apple’s claims to the test. On the tech-specs page of the iPhone 5s, Apple lists the following environmental requirements.
Operating ambient temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C) Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C) Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing Operating altitude: tested up to 10,000 feet (3,000 m)
One question left unanswered is why Apple starts off with -20° C for non-operating temperature, given that the phone (technically) isn’t designed to work below 0° C anyway.