How addicted are we to our phones?

IMAGE: MASHABLE: CHRIS MINE

Wallet? Check. Keys? Check. Phone? [Cue moment of panic as you rummage to find it]. Check. [Cue audible sigh of relief]. Our mobiles have become our trusty sidekicks, accompanying us anywhere and everywhere — they're almost like security blankets.

And the numbers surrounding mobile use are, unsurprisingly, daunting. As of January 2014, 90% of adults in the U.S. had cellphones, including a whopping 98% of 18-29-year-olds, the most robust contingent of smartphone users. These stats become even more significant when you consider just how we use our phones as a society, and the ways this has grown.

Check out the infographic below to get a better sense of our mobile usage — click the hotspot "apps" to see how our mobile addiction breaks down, from how much we use our phones, to what exactly we're using them for, to where we're using them (toilet tweeters, we're giving you side-eye).

Infographic design: Chris Mineses/Mashable, Rachel Graf contributed infographic research and copy.

Samsung's Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are excellent nutcrackers

 

Share Tweet

Samsung's Galaxy S6 is hands-down the best Android smartphone you can buy. It's got the whole package, including a crazy sharp display, beautiful premium design, powerful performance and an amazing camera.

Those are all great things, but did you know the Galaxy S6 is also an excellent walnut cracker replacement? Yep, one "tester" decided to see how tough the S6 and S6 Edge are by using them to split nuts wide open.

The videos, first discovered by The Daily Dot, show the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge enduring the highest levels of abuse. It's strangely satisfying, too. Not because we like seeing expensive gadgets getting tortured, but because the Gorilla Glass 4 protecting the phones' casings actually survives — with virtually no damage.

In the video above, you can see a person placing walnuts on a Galaxy S6 and then using a Galaxy S6 Edge to crack them. And in the video below a Galaxy S6's side is used to karate chop some walnuts and show 'em who's boss.

It goes without saying that nobody should try this at home. Leave these kinds of nut-cracking tests to the, um, professionals.

This isn't the first time we've seen the Galaxy S6 subjected to extreme "tests." As one owner demonstrated, the phone can survive a ruthless smash to the ground and walk away without a single scratch. It can also survive longer than an iPhone 6 when submerged in a pot of boiling water.

The Galaxy S6 may not have a removable battery or a microSD card slot like its predecessors, but it is tough as nails.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

IKEA's new wireless charging line-up includes an iPhone 6 adapter

IKEA's wireless charging adapter for the iPhone.

Last month we reported on IKEA's move to release a range of furniture with the ability to wirelessly charge your devices, and now we have more details regarding pricing and design.

But the biggest surprise includes a set of smartphone adapter cases that allow you to seamlessly plug your iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphones into the company's new wireless charging system.

The adapters turn smartphones not already equipped with the Qi wireless charging standard into ready-to-charge devices that can be placed on any of the company's new charging platforms.

Included in the line-up of adapters are the iPhone 6 ($25) and Galaxy S5 ($15), as well as adapters for the iPhone 4 and 5, and the Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4 models. And, as you might expect, IKEA remains consistent with its unique naming construction, calling the adapters the VITAHULT (see photo above).

IMAGE: IKEA

IKEA has also offered closer looks at its charger-enabled lamps (from $69 up to $119), circular and oval movable charging platforms (from $28 up to $65) and nightstands (from $60 up to $110).

In addition to the pricing being fairly affordable in comparison to most IKEA products, the aesthetics of the tech-enabled furniture pieces are stylishly minimalist, much like something you might find in a design museum.

IMAGE: IKEA

Although IKEA hasn't given a solid date for when the devices will be available, the company is promising to deliver the wireless charging devices by late spring, which means we should see these in stores in just a few weeks.

Can the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 survive boiling water?

Smartphone bend tests? Booooring.

It's pretty common to see crazy YouTubers perform cringe-worthy drop tests, blend tests and even gun tests on new smartphones, but a boiling water test? On the iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S6, two phones that aren't even water-resistant or waterproof? Now, they're just grasping at straws.

We're not sure what possessed YouTube user "TechRax" to do a "boiling hot water test" on the two best smartphones out there. Whatever the reason is, the results are in: It took 10 seconds for the iPhone 6's screen to turn black and destroy itself. The Galaxy S6, however, powered through a little over a minute before it started to overheat and shut down apps.

At the the midway point, the YouTuber then takes a cooking utensil and smacks the phones around. Um, OK...

And as if cooking his smartphones wasn't ridiculous enough, the YouTuber then rinses them off in a "cold water bath." The Galaxy S6 doesn't turn on, but the iPhone 6 somehow manages to display its Apple logo, although it wasn't able to boot-up.

The lesson here? Don't boil your smartphones. Stick to eggs. Also, don't try this at home. It's a waste of two great smartphones.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.