They're chunky and heavy, and not the most attractive handsets around. But rugged phones are designed to shake off abuse, while filling their girth with huge batteries and useful tools. The latest model from Ulefone has all that in spades, plus pocket cinema chops.
Shenzhen-based Ulefone was founded in 2012, and considers itself "one of the world's largest manufacturers of high-quality mobile devices and accessories." It's probably best known for its Armor line of rugged smartphones and tablets, which have been well received by the tech community.
The Armor 34 Pro is the company's latest rugged phone offering, and combines a monster battery, industry-leading pico projector, powerful camping light, and a night vision camera.
At 25,500 mAh, the built-in battery isn't the most capacious in the rugged smartphone crowd. But it is reckoned good for 1,380 hours in standby, 138 hours of making/taking calls or 33 hours of video playback on the 6.95-inch FHD+ (1,080 x 2,460) display that refreshes up to 120 times per second, peaks at 600 nits, and is topped in Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
This Pro can also share its juice with other mobile gadgetry while out and about thanks to 10-W reverse charging. And when it's time to top up its own Li-Po cells, 66-W cabled fast charging is supported – though wireless charging is not.
While pico projectors are by no means rare in rugged phones, their light sources usually top out at 100 lumens. Ulefone's pocket cinema device not only shines at 150 lumens but also features autofocus, manual vertical keystone correction and an upward throw angle for visuals at up to 100 diagonal inches – though the max resolution of 854 x 480 pixels will likely see users aiming for a somewhat smaller rectangle.
The projector is activated by a dedicated button to the side of the housing, and as well as enabling movie nights at camp or in the backyard, it could also serve up presentations at team meetings or help share digital documentation with fellow field workers. The handset is also home to a 98-dB speaker so that soundtracks can be "heard loud and clear." But audio can be played through a portable Bluetooth speaker (optional) if preferred.
The Armor phone lives up to its moniker with MIL-STD-810H durability as well as IP68/IP69K sealing. This translates to continued operation for at least 30 minutes when submerged in water to a depth of 2 meters (6.6 ft), it can also survive drops from a height of 1.5 m (5 ft), resist being choked by dust, and continue to work in temperatures as low as -30 °C (-22 °F) or heating things up to a scorching 55 °C (131 °F). The phone even includes dual 1,300-rpm fans to help keep internals from running hot.
Processing brains shape up as a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 octa-core chipset with integrated GPU and onboard AI, supported by 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM (as well as another 16 GB of virtual memory if needed) and 512 GB of UFS 3.1 storage plus up to 2 TB of microSD expansion. The camera array to the rear sports a 50-megapixel main with a 1/1.3-inch imaging sensor and a large F1.95 aperture, a 50-MP ultra-wide and a 64 GB night vision camera.
That last module makes use of four infrared LEDs and proprietary NightElf 3.0 algorithms for the promise of "clearer night shots even at longer distances." The setup doesn't bring color to the dark's hidden secrets though, for that you'd have to seek other brands such as FossiBot. The Armor 34 Pro's remaining camera is a 32-MP/1080p selfiecam holepunched in the display.
Rounding out the key specs is a 1,000-lumen camping light sporting 585 LEDs, with various modes including SOS available and a nifty red/blue emergency warning feature. There's 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4, along with the ability to connect to GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS and NAVLC satellites for global positioning ease.
The handset runs Android 15 out of the box, with Ulefone promising to do without the usual app bloat found on many of today's smartphones. And rare for a smartphone these days, a 3.5-mm headphone jack is included. A uSmart expansion connector also features for use with compatible endoscopes, microscopes and so on.
The Armor 34 Pro rugged smartphone will go on sale from June 16 – official pricing has yet to be revealed though AliExpress is currently listing the handset for US$1,200.
Product page: Ulefone Armor 34 Pro
