I’m not one to enjoy drop or torture tests of smartphones — why throw away a perfectly functioning device? — but despite their futility and wastefulness, I have to admit that they can be entertaining like this video of the HTC One (M8) getting shot by a smart Tracking Point XS1 rifle.

Ricky Ryan, the “tech assassin”, has published his test of the HTC One (M8) with his regular 3 tests: a drop on concrete, in water, and a rifle shot.

The first two are quite uneventful, with the M8 cracking its screen while falling flat on it when hitting the concrete but surviving the water. The third test is the most fascinating, with Ryan using a Tracking Point XS1 smart rifle to shoot the M8 from a 1123 yard distance (approx. 1Km).

The first shot, targeted at the back of the M8 rips right through and goes out the front, leaving a gaping round hole. The phone stays in one piece however, with the metal frame holding it together. That is in stark contrast to Ryan’s test of the Galaxy S5 that was shattered into pieces from the first rifle shot. The second M8 short grazed the screen in its entire length leaving a trail of cracked glass, but it still couldn’t break the metal chassis.

The third shot is the one that finally did it, sending the M8 into the air as separate pieces. But before you watch it, you need to know that the whole test is shot with excellent slow motion repetitions, making the video heartbreakingly beautiful. If you like mobile technology, and the M8 in particular, this will be painful yet oddly poetic.