The Redmi Note 7 launches as the first smartphone following Xiaomi’s decision to make the Redmi series an independent brand.
Ahead of its launch, there were multiple videos that showed the phone could take a beating. Popular YouTube channel, JerryRigEverything decided to see how true the claims are and put the phone through his famous durability tests. The result is surprising.
Xiaomi says the Redmi Note 7 is covered in Gorilla Glass 5 on both sides. It will survive scratches from keys and coins but harder metals will create grooves. The phone also passed the flame test as the LCD display recovered after the heat was removed.
Where the Redmi Note 7 failed is in the bend test and that is because of the frame which is made out of plastic (the buttons and SIM tray too). Since the structural support is weak, the glass on the back shattered and the display also got damaged.
Upon opening the device, it was discovered that Xiaomi added a porous metal behind the plastic frame to provide support. However, one of the breaking points in the frame – the power button – doesn’t have that metal support. The other breaking point – the SIM tray – had its metal support broken off. Apparently, the metal is brittle and couldn’t handle the external stress.
READ MORE: Xiaomi Redmi 7 FCC certification reveals key specifications including variants
Nevertheless, the Redmi Note 7 is still a pretty great device though it is nowhere as strong as Xiaomi/Redmi has made it out to be. Switching to glass is a distinguishing feature of the Redmi Note 7 but an aluminum frame would have been a better choice of material. Based on this result, you may want to throw on a strong case to provide extra protection.
