The sleek, new HTC U11 has a neat design and powerful specs, but it just failed a standard durability test from JerryRigEverything.
If you thought "bendgate" was over after the bendy iPhone 6 in 2014, think again. Just recently, the BlackBerry KEYone failed the bend test, and now the HTC U11 failed it as well.
YouTuber JerryRigEverything frequently takes new smartphones and subjects them to torture tests, including scratch, burn and bend tests, to determine how durable they are. These tests are obviously more hardcore than normal daily use, but they still provide valuable insight as to how tough a smartphone is.
HTC U11 Durability Test
The new HTC U11 flagship aced the scratch test thanks to its tough Gorilla Glass protection and passed the burn test with flying colors as well, withstanding an eight-second flame with no issues or damage. The smartphone's unique Edge Sense feature remained unscathed after these tests.
When it comes to the bend test, however, things get uglier. Upon applying pressure on the handset from the back to the front, the HTC U11 started to bend noticeably. When JerryRigEverything proceeded to apply pressure from the front to the back, the smartphone's front glass panel cracked and the display gave in.
HTC's previous U Ultra smartphone passed JerryRigEverything's bend test without suffering any damage, but its flat glass panel is not as rigid as the HTC U11's. At the same time, the new HTC flagship combines the metal frame with the glass panel without using a plastic buffer in between, which could explain why the pressure from the bend test took a heavier toll on the smartphone.
HTC U11 Bend Test Fail
The tester points out that a more rigid frame would've kept the HTC U11's structural integrity and prevent the glass from bending. On the other hand, a tougher frame likely wouldn't have allowed HTC to implement the unique Edge Sense feature, which makes the HTC U11 squeezable for accessing shortcuts.
While passing the burn and scratch tests, the HTC U11 came out of the bend test with quite some serious damage. That's not to say that the smartphone will easily bend in a pocket or in a bag, but it does indicate that it's not as resistant as other smartphones currently available on the market.
That said, HTC U11 owners or those looking to buy the smartphone might want to invest in a sturdy protective case as well, to ensure the handset remains unharmed. Otherwise, the HTC U11 is still an impressive smartphone with a sleek design and powerful specs all around, ready to compete at the high end of the smartphone market.
HTC U11 Specs
As a reminder, the squeezable HTC U11 features a 5.5-inch QHD display with Gorilla Glass 5 protection, an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 4 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of native storage space. Other specs include a 12-megapixel UltraPixel main camera with dual LED flash and UltraSpeed autofocus, a 16-megapixel selfie cam, a 3,000 mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging capabilities, and Android 7.1.1 Nougat on board out of the box. The smartphone also comes with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant on board.
To get an idea of the HTC U11 durability, check out the video below.
