The Samsung Galaxy S7 and Xiaomi Mi Mix are runner ups

Dec 19, 2016 09:56 GMT  ·  By

As the end of the year is rapidly approaching, it’s time to see which smartphone makers hit a home run this year and designed both strong and high-performing phones in 2016.

Youtuber JerryRigEverything is known for testing the durability of recently launched smartphones, and he has concluded that the HTC 10 is the best phone launched this year, as it's most likely to last for a prolonged period of time.

Out of 30 smartphones tested this year, JerryRigEverything has found that the HTC 10 is the strongest, surpassing other high-end devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Xiaomi Mi Mix, which features a ceramic body. The HTC 10 comes with a metal build, which makes it resistant to drops, but somewhat vulnerable to scratches.

The least durable smartphone launched this year is the NextBit Robin, made entirely of plastic and without any structural integrity on the inside.

On the other hand, HTC 10 is the most durable phone of 2016, but it’s also the least reparable of the year that it's about to end. The device has 14 screws and 13 different connectors that make it quite difficult to repair. By comparison, the easiest screen repair of the past year is the Google Pixel, as it comes with a glass back and a layer between the screen and other components. The V20 is also easy to repair and the screen can be swapped if needed.

The Galaxy Note 7 could have been the best phone of 2016

JerryRigEverything names the Xiaomi Mi Mix as the phone with the most innovative design, considering its edge-to-edge display and ceramic body. The iPhone 7 was deemed the least innovative phone of 2016, one of the reasons being the fact that it took Apple a few years to implement OIS on its iPhone cameras, although the feature has become a norm for other smartphone makers.

The removal of the headphone jack and the delayed AirPods also contributed to this result. The Galaxy Note 7 was also mentioned as the smartphone with the potential to be the best phone in the world, if it weren’t for its battery issues that led to its discontinuation.