Did you know that the global tech brand HONOR has a laboratory spanning nearly 6,000 square meters in Beijing? In this location, HONOR products undergo a series of tests to ensure they meet industry standards before being placed on the shelves and sold to customers.
HONOR Terminal Reliability Laboratory
The laboratory conducts mobile phone hardware reliability testing, simulating various scenarios of how users interact with their mobile phones. The test project settings include tests of mechanical reliability, environmental adaptability, failure analysis, and protection reliability.
Mechanical Strength and Durability Test Area
The mechanical strength and durability test ensures the stiffness of the entire mobile phone, as well as the strength of the earphones, USB interface, and buttons. This testing is performed tens of thousands or even millions of times to account for the user’s service life of over two years. The sitting pressure test and twist tests are also conducted in this area.
Protection Reliability Test Area
HONOR conducts protection reliability testing to ensure its phones meet the ingress protection (IP) standards and other relevant benchmarks. It includes waterproof testing from IPX2 to IPX6 using a rain test machine, a sand and dust test chamber to test its dust protection rating, and a salt spray corrosion test to ensure it will not corrode within a certain period. Higher-level waterproof tests include two buckets to test its water pressure protection, such as IPX8 and 5ATM.
Mechanical Impact Test Area
Remember when HONOR set a new Guinness World Record for dropping its mobile phones simultaneously? The mechanical tests for these took place in the Mechanical Impact Test area. Mobile phone directional drops, roller tests, and low-height micro-drop tests are conducted here.
There are 0.5m and 1.0m rollers simulating multiple drop scenarios in different falling postures, reaching over 500 times. This is followed by a 1m directional drop test for six sides and four corners, reaching 50 times in total, and on various surfaces, like cement floors, granite, sandpaper, and more.
It also simulates scenarios where a user is holding a device, and it falls from heights of 1.0m, 1.2m, and 1.5m, as well as micro-drop tests from heights of 10cm and 20cm to simulate users dropping their phones onto a table. The data gathered are used to improve the product’s design and anti-fall qualities.
Detection Area (Before-and-After Reliability) Test Area
All device prototypes are tested in the Detection Area before and after the reliability testing. This determines the impact of the end-to-end reliability testing process on the function and performance of RF, audio, camera, display touch, baseband, and other modules.
This testing equipment merges functional and performance testing equipment on the production line, enabling fully automated testing to meet different product needs during the research and development stage.
Environmental Reliability Laboratory
HONOR devices also undergo comprehensive environmental reliability testing, including high- and low-temperature cycles, temperature shock, and high-temperature and high-humidity conditions, as well as other rigorous tests on their audio, RF, and other components.
Mobile phones also undergo conventional temperature and humidity aging to evaluate their medium- and long-term service life. Meanwhile, extreme tests, such as the double 85 test and the temperature cycle TTF, are used to simulate design risks and enhance product quality.
Introducing advanced equipment and experimental test environments improves product reliability, simulates usage scenarios, and guarantees more secure Honor products for users.
Failure Analysis Laboratory
The laboratory spans 800 sqm and analyzes failure modes, mechanisms, and root causes of failed samples at the R&D stage, proposing improvements in design, technology, and manufacturing processes. It can also analyze structures and materials ranging from macroscopic (phones, devices) to microscopic (micron/nanoscale).