If you’re thinking of purchasing the RED Hydrogen One, you’re probably wondering how durable it is, well, JerryRigEverything has just published a new video on its official YouTube page in which he put the phone to the test. He tested the RED Hydrogen One as pretty much every other device he tests, which means that you’ll see a scratch test and a bend test in the video that is embedded down below. Having said that, the video he published has a duration of about seven minutes, and we’ll go over it in the following paragraphs.
The RED Hydrogen One is made out of metal (at least this variant is, the 256GB model is made out of titanium), which is worth noting, and this durability test begins with a display scratch test. The scratches on the phone’s display are visible after scratching it with a level six pick, while the level seven pick leaves deeper marks on the display. RED announced that the Hydrogen One comes with Corning’s Gorilla Glass protection (unspecified version), and this scratch test more or less confirms that. The phone’s front-facing cameras are protected by glass, while you’ll find plastic above and below the display, housing which protects the phone’s front-facing stereo speakers. That plastic is actually easily removable, as it is shown in the provided video, as long as you have a razor blade or something of the sort. The sides of the phone are made out of metal, including its buttons, well, most of its buttons. The dedicated camera button comes with a layer of plastic, while the side-facing fingerprint scanner can be scratched, but it will work fine even if it gets scratched. The top of the device is also made out of metal (aluminum), like the rest of the metal parts of this phone, same goes for the SIM card tray that is accessible from the top. Same goes for the bottom of the device, it’s metal.
If you flip the phone around, you’ll notice that the most of its back is made out of metal, though there’s some kevlar implemented on the top and bottom of the phone’s back side, and that kevlar scratches easily as well, while it can be peeled off, just like plastic on the front side of the phone. The phone’s dual cameras on the back are protected by glass, while the same cannot be said for the phone’s LED flash, it’s covered by plastic (as on most phones out there), and the glass is not covering it. When exposed to flame, pixels on the phone’s display do start to go back, but recover soon after, as this is an LCD display after all, even though it has some interesting visual tricks. The last test that you can see in the provided video is the bend test, and the RED Hydrogen One shines in this category, which is not surprising considering that the phone is made mostly out of metal, and it’s actually quite hefty, it’s quite a sturdy phone.
Background: The RED Hydrogen One was finally released on November 2 in the US, and it actually costs approximately $1,300, which makes it one of the most expensive non-luxury smartphones out there. This smartphone is manufactured by RED, a very well-known company which manufactures professional cameras, which are extremely expensive on their own, but some of its cameras are actually used to film blockbuster movies, and what not. People had high expectations when it comes to the RED Hydrogen One, but after a number of delays, those expectations were lowered, and the final product also had a number of issues which the company is patching up with software updates. RED did promise that a number of accessories will become available for the device, including some camera accessories which should improve this in a number of ways, but it remains to be seen what will happen.
The RED Hydrogen One does look unique, though, it sports ridges on both sides of the phone which make this device one of the grippier ones out there, while its front-facing speakers, cameras, and sensors also make it look different than the rest of the pack. Something similar can be said for the phone’s back as well, it sports a rather large RED logo, and interesting pattern on top of that, in addition to those kevlar stickers. The RED Hydrogen One sports a 5.7-inch QHD 3D LTPS IPS LCD ‘Holographic’ display, which offers some visual trick, as it makes you see things as they’re shown in 3D… this even is actually similar to what the HTC EVO 3D had to show us seven years ago, as the source pointed out in his video. The RED Hydrogen One is fueled by the Snapdragon 835 64-bit octa-core processor, which is Qualcomm’s flagship processor for last year. There are two 12.3-megapixel cameras included on the back of this phone, while you will find two 8.3-megapixel cameras on its front side. Android 8.1 Oreo comes pre-installed on this device, while the phone includes a 4,500mAh battery as well. The device also ships with 6GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of internal storage.
Impact: The RED Hydrogen One did not exactly excel in the durability test that JerryRigEverything performed, its plastic and kevlar parts are nothing more than stickers, it does seem like they may fall off after some time of using the device. The phone is quite sturdy, though, cannot be bent easily, while its display and cameras are well protected as well, not to mention that all of its sides are made out of metal as well. This is a very expensive device, though, and it’s definitely not for everyone, but those of you who think that upcoming accessories will improve the phone overall, and don’t see its price as an issue, are probably thinking of getting the device. Well, the provided durability test will hopefully offer you some more insight as to what to expect out of the RED Hydrogen One, and help you decide whether the phone is worth the money or not.