“The sapphire glass cover on the Xiaomi Mi 9 rear camera gets damaged at level 6 on the Mohs scale, even though sapphire can withstand damage till level 9”
Xiaomi’s flagship smartphone in 2019 is the Mi 9 (first impressions) and besides all other marquee features, it has a truly eye-catching design. But is it strong and durable enough to withstand daily wear and tear? Well, Zack from YouTube channel JmerryRigEverything is popular for his durability tests and the latest smartphone to go under his knife is the Xiaomi Mi 9. Here are the results of the Mi 9 torture test.
The good news is that the Mi 9 fares well in most tests including the scratch test, the bend test, and the burn test as well. Zack gives it passing numbers and that’s great for a glass coated metal body smartphone. However, the rear camera module that’s advertised to be protected by sapphire glass isn’t up to mark. The triple camera module protrudes above the surface of the rear and scratches at level 6, even though sapphire would be tough enough to resist any damage till level 9 on the Mohs scale. This means that Xiaomi might have gone for an inferior sapphire material, at least in terms of scratch resistance.
In a related story, the Xiaomi Mi 9’s unique software features, such as the Game Turbo Mode, dark mode, fingerprint animation, and new always-on display features are coming to more models, said Xiaomi Internet General Manager Li Weixing on Weibo. These features will first be made available in beta mode and then to stable users. Below is a list of devices set to get these features.
Game Turbo Mode
New fingerprint animation and shortcuts
- Mi 8 Pro, Mi 8 Explorer Edition
New Always-on Display design and features
- End of March – Mi 8, Mi 8 Pro, Mi 8 Explorer Edition, Mi 8 SE, and Mi MIX 3
Dark Mode
- End of March – Mi 8, Mi 8 Pro, Mi 8 Explorer Edition, Mi 8 SE, Mi 8 Lite, Mi 6X, Mi MIX 3, Mi MIX 2S, Mi Note 3, Mi MAX 3, Redmi Note 7, Redmi Note 7 Pro, Redmi Note 6 Pro, Redmi 6 Pro, Redmi Note 5, Redmi S2