Razer Phone Durability Does A Bit Better Than Its Predecessor

Razer didn't actually make a new smartphone from scratch. It had acquired Nextbit, who made the Nextbit Robin, and whose design language eventually ended up in the Razer Phone as well. But as much as the Robin was considered a breath of fresh air in a crowd of clones, it fared very poorly under the mighty hands of JerryRigEverything. With the Razer Phone looking a lot like the Nexbit Robin, one might ask whether it is just as fragile. Happily, the answer is "no", but with some caveats.

The Razer Phone's LCD screen, which is the only type of panel capable of 120 Hz refresh rates, is curiously using only Gorilla Glass 3 instead of the now common Gorilla Glass 5. Fortunately, when it comes to the Mohs scratch test, glass is still glass, so it only started scratching at a level 6.

The metal sides of the phone were easily scratched by a strong razor, which isn't that abnormal. The fingerprint scanner was also easily scratched but, fortunately, still worked perfectly. Unfortunately, the back side of the Razer Phone tells a slightly different story. Despite being covered by glass, cover on the camera lenses was scratched by the same blade. Perhaps worse, keys can easily leave permanent marks on the aluminum back of the phone.

As for the all-important bend test, the Razer Phone fortunately survives, which can't be said the same of the Nexbit Robin. It doesn't survive unscathed, however. It gets a visible bend, a crack on one of the weakest points on the volume button, and a kink on the power button. It's still completely functional, though.

So while the Razer Phone is thankfully more durable than its spiritual predecessor, it still isn't the sturdiest in the market. From scratches to small bends and cracks, you might want to consider wrapping it in some case. Since the phone isn't exactly the most beautiful in the market, that might not be much of an aesthetic sacrifice anyway.