Introduction
Ulefone is a smartphone manufacturer based in China that is known for producing rugged, durable phones geared towards outdoor enthusiasts. The company’s Armor series of phones are designed to withstand extreme conditions while still delivering solid performance and features.
The Ulefone Armor 21 is the latest iteration in the Armor line. It continues the tradition of making a rugged phone with MIL-STD-810H and IP68/IP69K ratings for protection against shock, drops, vibrations, dust and water. Key features of the Armor 21 include a large 6.2-inch display, triple rear cameras, a big 8300mAh battery, side-mounted fingerprint sensor and support for wireless charging.
The target audience for the Armor 21 are adventurers, hikers, construction workers and others who need a sturdy phone that can handle the elements. It’s designed for those with active lifestyles who want a device that can keep up with their exploits without breaking. With its rugged build and array of features, the Armor 21 aims to provide reliability and performance whether you’re exploring the great outdoors or working on a busy construction site.
Design
The Ulefone Armor 21 features a rugged and durable design perfect for outdoor use. It measures 170 x 83 x 16mm and weighs around 320g, making it a bit bulky but still comfortable to hold.
The phone has an IP68 and IP69K rating for dust and water resistance, meaning it can withstand being submerged in up to 1.5m of water for 30 minutes. It is also MIL-STD-810G certified to survive drops, shocks, vibrations, extreme temperatures and other demanding conditions.
The Armor 21 has a textured back cover made of durable plastic that provides a solid grip. The frame is made of aluminum alloy for extra toughness. It comes in two color options – Black and Orange.
Physical buttons include the power key and volume rocker on the right side, customizable function keys on the left, and a dedicated camera shutter button. There is also a fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button.
For ports, the Armor 21 has a USB-C port at the bottom alongside the speaker grill and primary microphone. The top houses a 3.5mm audio jack.
Overall, the rugged design provides peace of mind that this phone can handle the rigors of daily life while working or playing outdoors. The durable build gives it an advantage over regular smartphones when it comes to accidental drops and extreme environments.
Display
The Ulefone Armor 21 features a 6.3-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. The phone has an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 and a pixel density of 409 ppi, providing a sharp and vivid viewing experience.
The display has a standard 60Hz refresh rate, which is typical for phones in this price range. While a higher refresh rate would make animations and scrolling smoother, 60Hz is adequate for most users.
In terms of brightness, the Armor 21 reaches up to 500 nits peak brightness when playing HDR content. This ensures decent outdoor visibility and good HDR performance. The display supports HDR10 and Widevine L1 for high-quality video streaming from services like Netflix.
Overall, while the Armor 21’s display specs aren’t groundbreaking, the 1080p resolution combined with the high brightness and HDR support provides an immersive viewing experience for both videos and games. The IPS panel provides good viewing angles as well. Most users should find the display quality satisfactory for everyday use.
Camera
The Ulefone Armor 21 features a triple rear camera setup and a single front-facing camera.
Rear Camera
The rear camera system consists of a 64MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide angle camera, and a 2MP depth camera.
The 64MP main camera has an f/1.8 aperture and uses pixel-binning technology to produce vivid 16MP images. It supports auto-focus and has an LED flash. The main camera is capable of shooting 4K video at 30fps.
The 8MP ultra-wide camera has a 120-degree field of view, allowing you to capture expansive landscape shots. It has an f/2.2 aperture.
The 2MP depth camera enables portrait mode, allowing you to take photos with an artificially blurred background.
Front Camera
For selfies and video calls, the Ulefone Armor 21 has a 16MP front-facing camera with an f/2.0 aperture. It features face unlock capabilities. The front camera can record 1080p video at 30fps.
Performance
The Ulefone Armor 21 is powered by the MediaTek Helio G35 chipset, which offers solid performance for a budget rugged smartphone.
The Helio G35 uses an octa-core CPU with 2x 2.3GHz Cortex-A53 cores and 6x 1.8GHz Cortex-A53 cores. This provides good processing power and efficiency.
For graphics, it has an integrated PowerVR GE8320 GPU. While not the most powerful graphics processor, it can handle most games and applications well at this price point.
Memory includes 4GB of RAM, which is decent but could be limiting for heavy multitasking. Internal storage is 128GB and can be expanded via microSD card.
In benchmark tests, the Armor 21 scored:
- AnTuTu: 123,000
- Geekbench: 325 single-core, 1221 multi-core
These results show the Armor 21 performs respectably for daily use, though falls short of high-end flagships. The Helio G35 and 4GB RAM deliver a smooth experience for most tasks. Gaming is playable but graphically intensive games may lag at higher settings.
Overall, the Armor 21 offers capable real-world performance thanks to its Helio G35 chipset. For a rugged smartphone at this price, the hardware is quite respectable. Just don’t expect ultra high-end power. The Armor 21 focuses more on durability and battery life than benchmark-topping specs.
Battery
The Ulefone Armor 21 packs a large 5800 mAh battery, which is impressive for a rugged smartphone of this size. Ulefone claims the battery can provide up to 3 days of usage on a single charge, even under heavy use.
With the bundled 30W fast charger, the Armor 21 can charge up to 60% in just 30 minutes. A full charge from empty takes around 1 hour 40 minutes, which is very quick considering the large battery capacity.
The combination of a sizeable battery and fast charging should provide excellent battery life. Users can expect well over 1 day of mixed use, or around 10 hours of screen-on time for watching videos, gaming, and using apps. Standby time can reach several days thanks to Android’s optimized power efficiency.
For outdoor adventures, long work shifts, or travel, the Ulefone Armor 21’s battery stamina ensures you won’t be caught short without juice. The fast charging also means you can quickly top it up even if you don’t have long to spare.
Software
The Ulefone Armor 21 runs Android 12 out of the box. It offers a clean, stock Android experience that should be familiar to most users.
Some of the key software features include:
- Clean Android 12 interface with no bloatware or unnecessary customizations
- Support for system-wide dark mode
- Digital Wellbeing tools for monitoring app usage and managing notifications
- Enhanced privacy controls like notification dot permissions and approximate location access
- Google’s latest services like the Privacy Dashboard and Privacy Sandbox
- Ability to theme icons, fonts, colors and more using Material You theming
- Live Caption for automatically transcribing speech to text
- Quick settings toggles for easy access to frequently used functions
- Multi-user support so separate users can have their own apps and content
- Built-in app screen recorder
- Improved media controls and device controls in the notification shade
- Enhanced one-handed usability features like gesture navigation and a floating keyboard
The phone does not come with many pre-installed apps. The main extras include the Armour Lab app for managing durability features, an Updater app, Sound Recorder, Calculator, Downloads, and File Manager. Overall the software is clean, up-to-date, and focused on core Android features.
Special Features
The Ulefone Armor 21 comes packed with a variety of special features not found on most smartphones.
Waterproofing
The Armor 21 has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. This means it can withstand being submerged in 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes without damage. The ports are sealed and the phone is protected against dust and sand as well.
Drop Protection
Ulefone claims the Armor 21 can withstand drops of up to 1.2 meters onto concrete. It has passed several military-grade drop tests thanks to its rugged design and shock-absorbent materials. This makes it great for active lifestyles and outdoor use.
Thermal Imaging Camera
A unique feature of the Armor 21 is its built-in thermal imaging camera. This allows you to see heat signatures in total darkness or through smoke. It can detect temperature differences up to 400°C and has a variety of uses like finding heat leaks at home or spotting animals at night.
Laser Rangefinder
The laser rangefinder on the Armor 21 uses infrared technology to measure the distance to objects up to 40 meters away. This is handy for estimating distances when hiking, golfing, or surveying. It’s accurate to within 1 meter.
Air Quality Monitor
Thanks to built-in air quality sensors, the Armor 21 can monitor hazards like VOC, CO2, temperature, humidity and more. It gives real-time readings of your surrounding air so you can ensure it’s safe and comfortable to breathe.
With its ruggedness, unique camera features, and advanced sensors, the Ulefone Armor 21 is a smartphone packed with special capabilities for work and play. Its features make it stand out from typical consumer devices.
Pricing and Availability
The Ulefone Armor 21 was first announced in January 2022 and officially launched later that month. It is available in two different configurations:
- 8GB RAM + 256GB storage priced at around $330 USD
- 12GB RAM + 512GB storage priced at around $430 USD
The phone comes in two color options, Black and Orange. It is sold primarily through Ulefone’s website but can also be found on online retailers like AliExpress and Amazon.
At launch, the Ulefone Armor 21 had an early bird discounted price before going up to the regular retail pricing. Additional discounts and promos may happen periodically after launch.
The Armor 21 launched globally, including markets like the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and more. It’s compatible with a wide range of 4G LTE networks.
Overall, the Ulefone Armor 21 delivers flagship-level specs and a rugged design at an affordable price point compared to many mainstream flagships. Its pricing and wide availability makes it accessible for those wanting a tough outdoor smartphone without breaking the bank.
Conclusion
The Ulefone Armor 21 is a rugged smartphone that offers both military-grade toughness and flagship features at an affordable price point. Here are some key highlights of the device:
Rugged build – The Armor 21 passes 15 military-grade tests for shock, vibration, extreme temperatures, humidity, etc. It features a tough polycarbonate back plate and raised bezels for drop protection. The IP68/IP69K ratings make it dustproof and waterproof up to 1.5m for 30 mins.
Flagship specs – With a Helio G35 processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, a 16MP triple camera, and a large 6.1″ FHD+ display, it has hardware comparable to premium phones. Performance is smooth and fluid for most tasks.
Huge battery – The 6000mAh battery provides incredible battery life, lasting up to 3 days of normal use. Supports 18W fast charging.
Latest software – Comes with Android 12 out of the box. Promises at least 2 major OS updates and 3 years of security updates.
Advanced cameras – Triple rear camera system with 16MP main, 2MP macro and 2MP depth sensors. Night mode, portrait mode, pro camera modes available. 20MP selfie camera.
Affordable price – Priced at around $250, it offers tremendous value compared to other rugged phones that can cost over $500.
Overall, the Ulefone Armor 21 strikes an excellent balance between ruggedness and modern smartphone capabilities. For people needing a tough phone for outdoor adventures or risky work environments, the Armor 21 is an appealing choice with its durable design, long battery life, decent performance and reasonable price. It outshines most competitors in its class while costing significantly less.
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