When I bought the Xiaomi MI 5 cell phone a few years ago, I was quite surprised by how light it was the first time I grabbed it. In fact, it even surprised my mom, who is not a techie friend. Its weight was only 129 grams. It was definitely one of the lightest cell phones to be a high-end Android at the time. Unlike the competition, let's say a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (whose weight is 157 grams, almost 30 grams more than really noticeable!) Was a good deal because the Mi 5 cost 200 dollars less, and offered a similar top performance, by having similar technical specifications, including CPU, RAM and storage..
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The middle area, approximately under the power button, is the weakest and most prone to breakage of the old Xiaomi Mi 5, due to a fragile internal structure of the device, which is vulnerable to undue pressure. This problem has had other Xiaomi devices, such as the Redmi Note 3 or Redmi Note 7.
Apparently and in part, the reduction in costs and weight of that Xiaomi Mi 5 is in the internal structure of the cell phone, which easily allowed the mobile to break with undue pressure, as can be seen in this YouTube video and its test of bending. With the force of the hands the device can be completely broken, rendering it totally useless. This is not the case with the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and twelve out of fifteen other phones tested by the creator of both videos on YouTube. In other words, most devices normally survive this bending test..
One of the reasons why the Xiaomi MI 5 is so fragile and cheaper is that it only integrates a low-quality aluminum inner frame to support or house the screen and components of the device, while other devices, such as some LG, Motorola or iPhone incorporates a double inner frame that gives them greater rigidity and resistance to this type of event. Obviously this is a worrying factor , since the phone could suffer this accident with relative ease in the pocket of the pants or when sitting on it.
Considering the above, it is a good idea to take into account the weight of a device when evaluating it. The heavier it is, the more materials it has inside and it will surely be less brittle. When a cell phone is "surprisingly" light for its size, as it happened to me when I grabbed the Xiaomi Mi 5, it can be suspected of poor quality, and you will have to check your review on the Internet or preferably on the YouTube channel Jerry Rigs Everything . This has happened with other Xiaomi cell phones, such as the Redmi Note 3 or even the Redmi Note 7 of 2019, but not with other models of this brand, such as the Mi Note 10 , which is very solid and strong against breaks , so I do not know can you say that all Xiaomi is bad in this section. Incidentally, in other areas such as scratches or burns, the Mi 5 is as good as other "top" models of its time.
If you bought a fragile cell phone or have no other option, either for its good price or for another reason, you can buy a "case" or protector, which should be rigid to help prevent the phone from breaking or bending and ending up unusable after undue pressure..
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