Xiaomi Founder Explains Why the Firm's Smartphones Aren't Water-Resistant

Xiaomi is one of the manufacturers that hasn't launched a water-resistant smartphone yet, and Founder Lei Jun has revealed the reasons for not launching one. Jun says that any damage to the handset will deteriorate water resistance and with time it won't be able to resist water. Further, Jun added that making a water-resistant device will make the device costly.

According to Jun (via TechWeb), water restistance is one of the most demanded features from its consumers. He however confessed that Xiaomi may add the feature if consumers are ready to pay up to 20 to 30 percent of the additional cost needed to add the water resistance. Jun's clarifications also made it clear that the Chinese company currently has no plans to launch a waterproof device for some time at least.

Water resistance added by manufacturers came under questions last year when Sony claimed that users may void their Xperia device's warranty if used under water. The revelation was surprising considering that Sony has repeatedly touted the water resistance on its devices in the past.

From the current lot of smartphones, Samsung's premium Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are water-resistant and come with IP68 rating which means they can survive for up to 30 minutes in 5 feet of water.

Xiaomi on Friday made the first Chinese developer ROM available to download. The Chinese company kept its promise it made back in May and released the first MIUI 8 China Developer ROM (version 6.6.16) and has also revealed the changelog.

The Chinese company had last week unveiled the Redmi 3X with an identical design same as the Redmi 3S in China. The biggest difference however was that the new Xiaomi Redmi 3X was exclusive to Chinese mobile carrier, China Unicom, and was priced at CNY 899 (approximately Rs. 9,000).