Can you imagine using your phone without a screen guard or a case? I, for one, cannot. But Apple believes that its iPhone 12 can be used without a case, and is so durable that it handles some messy rough, and tough use well enough. The ad features a chef, treating his phone with utmost disregard for the exaggerated — or maybe not — happenings that take place in his kitchen.

The chef in the ad can be seen breaking eggs, using knives to chop vegetables, and dropping flour and other stuff on his iPhone 12 dropping and dirtying it, something an iPhone user would rather not prefer to do. We also see the phone tumble out of his hands and fall on the floor, which we suspect is wooden and hence softer. To top it all the chef rinses and cleans the phone under the tap, something that highlights that the iPhone 12 is water-proof in reasonable circumstances.

While the chef is washing his phone, the tagline comes in: “Relax, it’s an iPhone.” The description of the ad reads “iPhone 12. More spill and splash resistant than ever. Ceramic Shield, tougher than any smartphone glass. Relax, it’s an iPhone.”

The front features a screen covered with ceramic glass. On the other side too, there is the similar layer of tough ceramic glass. Apple in the past has emphasised that ceramic glass is “tougher than any smartphone glass.” It also claims the iPhone 12 is 4X more durable and should survive falls and bumps better. The iPhone 12 is also IP68 certified for protection against water and dust.

To add to its durability is the iPhone 12’s design, the glass on both sides of the iPhone 12 lies flush with the aluminum unlike its predecessors with glass that bulged out.

It’s a fund ad but is the iPhone 12 really that tough and can withstand rough and tough use. We have our doubts. At the end of the day, it is a delicate gadget, like all other smartphones, and ceramic layer or not, the iPhone 12 too can shatter, crack or break if you use it roughly. So, we will definitely not suggest you throw it at a wall after a frustrating call. It will break.

We also suggest that if you have the iPhone 12 you use it with a cover because, despite the ceramic layer on the front, we have seen that the phone does get scratches.

As far as water is concerned, what Apple shows in the ad is definitely doable. Almost all high-end phones nowadays which come with waterproof design can be washed under a running tap. But be careful of water. If you put your waterproof phone, or the iPhone 12, in water that has high mineral content or is saline like seawater, that can damage it fairly quickly. If you are washing your phone, you should also not use any soap or detergent. That too can damage the phone fairly quickly.