The Red Hydrogen One is probably one of the
most expensive phones I've ever tested here on my channel, coming in at a whopping $1,300. I originally purchased the $1,600 titanium
version, but that's been delayed for a few more months. Red was nice enough to send out the aluminum
version, along with this massive, sticky paperweight thing to help tide us over until the titanium
version comes out. One of the reasons these phones are probably
so expensive might be because we're paying for the fancy metal and plastic emblems inlayed
into the plastic box. Do people normally display the box their phone
comes in? Announced over a year ago, with many delays,
it's finally time to assess the build quality of the Red Hydrogen One. Let's get started. [Intro] The first impression right out of the box
is that this thing is massive and hefty. Metal is everywhere. With deep, unique, rugged corrugated grips
along both sides and the back panel, it's definitely one of the most unique looking
phones of this year. The biggest high point of this phone has been
the display. Red claims that their 4 view light filled
display creates an experience beyond 3D that the world never saw coming. The Hydrogen One has 2 cameras on the back
so it can take these 3D, holographic picture things. You can get a pretty good idea of what it's
supposed to look like as I wiggle the phone back and forth. Just in real life you don't need to wiggle
the phone to get this effect because it's built right into the screen. It's really kind of like an automatic digital
magic eye. It's interesting for sure. And with a $1,300 price tag, we hold the advertising
promises to a whole new level. I'm not the biggest fan of meaningless advertising
buzz words. So when Red says “the world never saw this
coming,” I've got to step back and point out that HTC did basically this exact same
thing 7 years ago. Seven. Back in the year 2011, a year before my YouTube
channel was even born, the HTC released the Evo 3D with dual 3D cameras on the back. I just picked up this little guy for $60 on
eBay. We'll do a little camera comparison between
the Evo 3D and it's Red Hydrogen counterpart. Holding both phones side by side shows the
exact same 3D depth effect going on with each screen. We get the same shifting pop with both images. This is probably one of those situations where
Red would have been better off not hyping the display. The technology has definitely improved in
the last 7 years, of course, but it's still been around for a long time. And it's not the $1,300 display I feel we
were promised. Let's jump into the durability with the scratch
test. Like always, we check to see what the holographic
screen is made from. Plastic will scratch at a level 3, glass scratches
at a 6, and real sapphire crystal scratches at a level 8 or 9. Red is using Gorilla Glass to cover their
holographic tech, and indeed we see scratches at a level 6, deeper grooves at a level 7. Similar to the Razer phone, we have some massive
speaker grilles at the top and bottom of this phone. The top grille houses dual 8.3 megapixel front
facing cameras that can also produce the same autostereogramic 3D effect as the rear camera. Both image sensors are protected with glass,
along with the other sensors on the right side. The speaker grille itself is made from black
plastic, similar to the Razer phone. The bottom speaker grille is the same black
plastic, which can be removed. Interestingly enough, even though the exterior
plastic grille looks like it has 2 speaker locations, there's only one small interior
slit where the sound comes out. It'll look super glamorous and pretty on the
outside, but rather underwhelming in reality. So far, the Red Hydrogen One is not quite
turning out like it's hypothetical snap chat filter implied it would. These sides, though, are impressive. Made with thick, textured aluminum ridges. There is no phone quite like it. The volume buttons are both made from metal. The rugged aluminum finger grips are mirrored
on the opposite, and this includes a dedicated camera button with a small red plastic inlay. It seems to be Red's theme. No complaints. The fingerprint scanner and power button is
also over here and can be scratched. Although, with the height of the ridges on
either side protecting it from rubbing against anything, I highly doubt scratching will be
an issue. Even then, if it does get heavily scratched,
it still recognizes my fingerprint and functions every single time. The top of the phone is made from aluminum,
along with the SIM and SD card tray. And strangely enough, this flagship still
has a headphone jack. Probably because this phone was announced
a year ago when headphone jacks were still cool. Either way, I'm glad it's here. The bottom has a USB-C port and a lot more
metal. Now for the back of the phone. Red has put a lot of emphasis on their industrial
aluminum design with durable Kevlar panels...which I'm not really sure what they mean by “durable.” It scratches at about the same level as plastic,
and peels up like a giant sticker. At least the copper accessory attachment pad
doesn't peel off...that would be awkward. That part might still be real, although no
accessories exist yet, so it's hard to say for sure. The thick ribbed aluminum back plate is all
metal. You can see the silver shine through under
the black coating. I wonder if these ribs will help guide the
hypothetical accessories into place when they become available. The Red Media Machine logo is made from metal
with an unscratchable red inlay in the center. Kind of neat. The massive camera lens is covering dual 12.3
megapixel cameras, both of which are used for that 3D effect, and have no wide angle
or telephoto options. The dual tone flash is made from plastic,
and we have another scratchable Kevlar sticker panel up here at the top. I'm pretty sure I saw a dbrand version of
this for like $10 bucks. The design of the Hydrogen One is a lot like
getting catfished on Tinder. The pixel orientation of the Hydrogen One
might be a tad different than your standard LCD, so it gets that holographic depth effect,
but it is still an LCD. We should see the pixels on the Red Hydrogen's
5.7 inch 1440p IPS LCD start to go black from the heat from my red lighter. But when the heat is removed, the pixels start
to recover. This proves that taking a lighter to the screen
has been useful at least one time in the last hundred smartphone durability tests. I knew it would be useful someday. Thumbs up to the hardworking lighter doing
his job. And now for the bend test. With how much metal is oozing out the sides
of this phone, it's pretty reasonable to assume it's built like a tank. And the only way to know for sure is to apply
unreasonable pressure to an unreasonably priced device. But when doing so, we get zero flex. Not even a creak or a pop. The Red Hydrogen One might be 7 years late
with screen technology, using misleading plastic speaker grilles with built-in Kevlar stickers,
but they sure did make a very rigid and structural smartphone. Is it worth $1,300? I'm not a big fan of the over-promising, under-delivering
premium costing buzz words, so I'm going to have to go with a “no” on this one...for
now. I definitely see potential down the road though
when the price drops by probably half. Hit that subscribe button if you enjoy watching
constructive destruction. And come hang out with me on Instagram and
Twitter. Thanks a ton for watching. I'll see you around.
Those "kevlar" stickers are hilarious.
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Can't wait to buy it for $200.
Holy shit... I know this phone was destroyed upon release by reviewers, but this review itself is the most damaging... literally :P
Can't believe at how many things are there just to deceive you. What a complete catfish of a phone.
Passed the durability test. But will it pass the real test though? I like the edges of the phone but apart from that everything is not that good for a $1000+ smartphone
"holographic"
FUCK that speaker SCAM is funny !
That is exactly like you have with cheapest Chinese stuff from Banggood etc., where they put stuff to devices that is actually just decoration with NO real tech behind it.
Two speaker grills, but just one real speaker behind; but what more can you expect, it is only 1300 dollars.
This is so on point example how low an American company can go when they are really just a brand.
Or is there really a group of American engineers who are proud of that PATHETIC speaker setup ?!?!
Excited for when it depreciates in value and I can buy one in a year for $299.
Man, I couldn't see even the slightest bit of flex when he tried to bend it. That thing looks like a solid chunk of metal.