Zack Nelson of JerryRigEverything is known for his durability tests and tear devices, so it’s not surprising to hear that he has a good record of trying to build Xiaomi phones. The record highlights the obvious trends: cheaper phones are not as durable as those from the middle to the best. So, how will the Mi 11 fare? Not too bad, for the sake of brevity.
Because of the warmth we make from these new phones, the industrial design has not fundamentally changed over the years, and neither have Nelson’s exams. You can watch the video above or scroll down to see the conclusions if you do not have time.
- The phone, in its TrimsGlass variants, is filled with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus and a frosted glass panel held together with a metal chassis. The rear cameras are protected with clear glass, presumably more Victus.
- As with almost every other glass, the display glass scratches at about level 6 of the Mohs mineral hardness scale. Do not rub sand on it.
- Nelson puts his lighter flame on the OLED screen for 20 seconds before pulling it back. By this time, the burned diodes could recover somewhat, but it was clearly damaged that it could not be normal again.
- For the bending test, the phone cracked slightly, but if there was damage, it was definitely not visible.
The money gap in build quality seems to be the rendering of this ‘premium’ look on budget devices, to structural compromises. It makes us miss smarter polycarbonate designs like the ones on the Pocophone F1, a Xiaomi brand.
