Don’t Fall for Drop-Test Marketing: Truth About ‘Durable’ Phones in 2026

Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen several new smartphones being launched in Nepal. In particular, two brands have been aggressively promoting durability as their biggest selling point. Xiaomi recently launched the Redmi Note 15 Pro+, while Honor introduced its latest X9d smartphone. Both phones have IP68 and IP69K ratings, and both brands claim 2.5-meter drop resistance. 

Sounds Great but….

On paper, that sounds great. But the way these brands are marketing this durability feels misleading. I also came across social media videos from Xiaomi and Honor that showcased extreme durability tests.  

In one of the videos, the phone was taken paragliding and dropped from an insane 1000ft. However, there’s an important detail many people might miss: the phones were not dropped onto concrete. They were dropped onto grass, which is a soft surface. 

Xiaomi, for example, uses Gorilla Glass Victus protection. Honor uses its own proprietary glass technology. So, for small accidental drops, the probability of the screen cracking has decreased significantly. You might still see dents or scratches, but the phone is likely to survive. Shock resistance has improved, and modern phones can survive small accidental drops. 

Water resistance has also improved drastically. With IP68 and IP69K ratings, water damage is now almost non-existent for most users. It’s unlikely your phone will die from water exposure anymore. So, yes, smartphones today (even in the midrange price segment) are definitely more durable than they were a few years ago. That part is true. 

But in real life, phones don’t usually fall onto soft grass or in a controlled environment. They fall onto concrete, tiles, or surfaces with sharp edges. And if the point of impact is wrong, even the most “durable” phone will be destroyed. For example, we dropped both the Honor X9d and Note 15 Pro+ from a height of 1.5 meters, and they both cracked. 

Glass is glass, and glass breaks.

Why Influencer Drop Tests Don’t Reflect Everyday Use

Brands hire influencers, drop phones from ridiculous heights, perform dramatic stress tests, and claim extreme toughness. But we don’t really know how much editing goes into these videos or how controlled the conditions are. 

Some facts about Honor X9d & Note 15 Pro+

However, we (Gadgetbyte) also need to take some responsibility ourselves. We, as tech reviewers, have contributed to this trend in the past. We have created durability-focused videos with phones like Honor X9b and X9c. And yes, durability is a good thing to have. But the bigger issue is what brands are compromising in order to push this durability narrative. In both Redmi Note 15 Pro+ and Honor X9d, three major areas have clearly taken a hit: Camera, Software Version, and Performance. 

Starting with the cameras, the sensors and lenses on both these phones are quite weak, given their price tags. There’s no proper portrait lens, the ultra-wide camera is low resolution, and videography performance is average at best. If you enjoy photography or portrait shots, these phones simply won’t satisfy you.

Performance is another concern. Both these phones use average chipsets that are not very powerful. Hence, gaming performance is limited, often capped at around 60 FPS, and overall responsiveness is not what you would expect in 2026's premium midrange phones.

On top of that, both these brands are also cutting corners with storage and memory. Both Xiaomi and Honor are still offering slower UFS 2.2 storage and LPDDR4X RAM, at a time when UFS 4.0 and LPDDR5X RAM have become the norm. Likewise, both these phones come with Android 15 out of the box, and not the latest Android 16. Redmi offers 3 years of OS updates, but Honor hasn't committed to any. 

So, the simple rule of thumb is this: durability is important, but it should not be the only deciding factor.

Conclusion

We suggest that all our viewers not fall for extreme drop-test marketing videos. In real-world usage, if a phone falls the wrong way, it will get damaged. That’s why we suggest you use high-quality tempered glass and a solid protective case.

So, before you buy a smartphone, make sure what your priorities are. For example, if you have a budget of Rs. 50-60,000 and value performance, go for performance-centric smartphones like the Nord CE 5 and the Infinix GT 30 Pro, as durability-focused models won’t deliver top-tier performance. If you care about cameras, portrait photography, and software experience, something like the Nothing Phone 3a Pro makes far more sense, as it offers one of the best telephoto lenses in its segment and produces excellent portrait shots. And if you want years of software updates, the Galaxy A36 offers 6 years of Android update commitments. So, make the right choice!