The Reasons Why Xiaomi Won’t Budge And Make Waterproof Smartphones

Xiaomi increases its ecosystem with new and shiny objects every day and offers some pretty great phones on a budget, but it hasn’t waterproofed any of them yet. It seems like this feature is the least of their concerns, despite growing customer needs. Yet the company’s founder, Lei Jun, stated that it couldn’t be farther from the truth. He knows waterproofing should be one of their next steps, but has reasons to postpone it. #mobilemagic

CEO Lei Jun went on record to explain that he has two main concerns when it comes to waterproofing. One is an increase in cost that translates into a pricier device, with about 20-30% above their current offer. If that happens, Xiaomi wouldn’t be the go-to company for affordable smartphones anymore. They could lose a large part of their customers.

Then, to ensure water resistance you have to do everything in your power to make devices almost impossible to damage or compromise. The second the ports are not sealed with flaps, for examples, internals will come in contact with water. Even the Galaxy S7, which has sealed insides, becomes vulnerable if the frame is damaged.

The answer to why Xiaomi hasn’t made water resistant smartphones yet is… they don’t think it’s absolutely necessary for now. What do you say – is this feature crucial to you?