i've been systematically tearing down anddurability testing every single new smartphone that has come out for the past few years. cell phones are some of the most abused piecesof technology on the planet, and durability is pretty important. today i am going to show you which phone isthe most durable phone of 2016.
Android phones 2017, and which phone is the easiest to repair. and we'll talk about some of the phones thatfailed in 2016 as well. lets get started. [intro]
lets start with the least durable phones of2016. i tested about 30 phones this year. and only 3 of them completely failed my tests. the xiomi mi5... the nextbit robin... and redmi note 3... hands down the weakest phone of 2016 is...the nextbit robin. designed purely from plastic, there is nostructural integrity whatsoever inside the device.
the motherboard screws go directly into plasticinstead of metal like they would on a normal phone. keep in mind, that this isnt a bad phone. i'm sure its great. it just didn't last long enough for me totry it out. now lets talk about the most durable phoneof 2016. this was a really tough choice. so many solid phones this year. my personal favorite: the samsung galaxy s7felt super solid during my bend test.
but both sides of the phone are made withglass, and glass does break easily when dropped, unfortunately. the ceramic mi mix is literally unscratchable,but once again, that ceramic material is even more brittle than glass... and so i have togo with the htc 10 as the most solid and structurally sound phone of 2016. its metal body and angled corners turn thisphone into a very solid beast. but.. this also leads us into our next segment,the least repairable phone of 2016. this award also goes to the htc 10. not only is the thing glued shut.
but there are 14 screws after the glue with13 different connectors and a midframe inside of the phone that makes it a nightmare torepair. the easiest screen to repair in 2016 is actuallythe google pixel. the glass back of the pixel kept it from winningany durability awards, but when it comes to repair-ability, all you need is some heatand pop off two little screws. and the screen is set for replacement. and the best part about it, is that you canreplace the screen without touching any other components inside the phone since they areprotected by a middle separate layer. its a pretty brilliant and fool proof design.
a close runner up for the easiest phone torepair is the lg v20 there is no glue inside of this phone, which is refreshing, but youdo have to remove every single component from the phone before you can swap out the screen,which gives more opportunitie for something to go wrong during the repair as everythinghas to be touched, and reconnected. currently right now at the end of 2016 anlg v20 screen replacement costs 105 dollars, and a pixel screen costs 135 dollars. both of which are about the same price asan insurance deductible. speaking of design, the most innovative phoneof this year is the xiaomi mi mix. with the edge to edge display and ceramicbody, this phone is beautiful and stands out
in a very eye catching way. so huge thumbs up to xiaomi for taking risksand pushing the limits of cell phone design. the least innovative phone of 2016 is theiphone 7. after years of camera optical image stabilizationbeing implemented in other smartphones, apple finally catches up and adds it to their cameraon both the 7 and 7 plus, but then they go and remove the headphone jack. promising that wireless headphones are thefuture. but then apple has so many issues producingthe wireless headphones that they are delayed for the average consumer until january of2017, almost 5 months after they were announced.
i've been using the iphone 7 plus for thelast 2 months to give it a fair chance. and well... i'm switching back to android. ill have my full review posted in anotherweek or so. make sure you are subscribed so you don'tmiss that. the lgg5 had potential to be innovative. but failed pretty hard when it came to advertisingtheir phone correctly. even on their website right now, they arestill claiming that the lg g5 has a metal alloy body.
when clearly it has the warmth of plastic,and thick layer of plastic primer surrounding the entire phone. the word 'alloy' is defined as two or moremetals joined together. not plastic covered metal. and finally, 2016 wouldn't be complete withoutmentioning the note 7. it had the potential to be the best smartphone in the world, but after many explosive recalls, 2 million note 7's have to be returnedto samsung. every major carrier in the usa pushing outan update that will disable the phone entirely at the end of this december.
which means the note 7 will no longer be ableto charge, or make phone calls. so if for some crazy reason you still haveone.. be ready for that. i did a twitter poll earlier today and 75%of you guys keep your phones longer than a year. which means durability is pretty important. if you are looking for a phone on the cheaperend of the spectrum the oneplus 3 does a really good job. either way 2016 was an amazing and fun yearfor phones.
pretty much no matter what you buy... thephone is going to be good. as long as you stay away from the phones thatare on my shelf of shame. which phone is your favorite? let me know in the comments below.
and make sure you are subscribed with yournotifications turned on because i plan on doing a ton more durability tests and teardownsin 2017. thanks a ton for watching! ill see you around.
