Ulefone turns 10 this year, and to celebrate, it’s launching its first rugged phone with the flagship Dimensity 9300+ chipset. The company is also releasing its first small rugged smartphone, which is even more durable despite its small size.
Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal Variant
With the Dimensity 9300+ and 16GB of RAM, the Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra performs as well as any flagship Android smartphone, but it can go where they don’t dare – it has a water resistance rating of IP68 (up to 2m/6.6ft for 30 minutes) and IP69K (hot water jets). It’s also been drop-tested to withstand a drop of 2m/6.6ft. The phone can also survive extreme temperatures, and can operate in temperatures ranging from -30°C to 55°C (-22°F to 131°F).
Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal Variant
Aside from the chipset, the other standout “normal” feature is the 1-inch sensor in the main camera, the Sony IMX989 (50 MP, f/1.9). Daylight photography can also be taken with a 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera (Samsung JN1) or a 50-megapixel selfie camera (JN1 again).
Since this is an Ulefone device, it also has a night vision camera, of course – a 64MP module with 80° FoV (based on the OV64B1B sensor). And as you can tell from the name, there’s also a thermal camera.
Thermography is performed using the ThermoVue Pro app and provides a 256 x 192 px video. This is the highest resolution thermal camera from Ulefone. It is great for both professionals (e.g. checking for leaks) and adventurers (e.g. it is another way to see in the dark). Additional accessories can be connected to the uSmart expansion port (e.g. an endoscope camera).
Moving on to the standard features, the Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra sports a 6.67-inch OLED display, an FHD+ panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2200 nits. This is Ulefone’s first rugged phone with an OLED display, by the way. And that’s not all, there’s also a secondary circular display on the back that shows the time and other information when the phone is face down.
The phone has 16GB of LPDDR4X RAM (+ up to 16GB virtual) and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage, which is expandable via microSD. The card slot can also accommodate two nanoSIM cards.
Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal Variant is the first durable phone with Dimensity 9300+ technology
As is typical for the brand, this phone has a massive battery, 10,600mAh (41Wh). That’s twice the size of your typical phone, so fast charging is essential, and Ulefone doesn’t disappoint – the phone has 120W over USB-C and 50W wirelessly.
This is a 5G phone with support for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4. There’s also NFC on board, as well as an infrared transmitter. It’s equipped with a single speaker, a powerful 1.5W unit, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The built-in FM radio receiver doesn’t even need headphones, as it has an integrated antenna.
Ulefone CEO says: “The Armor 28 Ultra Thermal Variant, a device that combines durability with cutting-edge technology, is our tribute to a decade of pushing boundaries. It is more than a smartphone; it is a reliable companion for those who push boundaries and explore limits.”
Ulefone Armor Mini 20T Pro
This one is small by Ulefone standards, and small in general if you don’t mind the thickness and weight. The Mini measures 133.5 x 63.3 x 24.9mm and weighs 301g.
The Ulefone Armor Mini 20T Pro comes with a 4.7″ (HD+, 20:9) display with a 90Hz refresh rate. There’s no rear display, but instead there are 130 LEDs – 102 white (which can be used as a 500-lumen flashlight) and a combination of 14 blue and 14 red, which can flash red/blue in emergencies. There’s a companion app that you can use to set a 5-30-minute timer for the light, for example.
The Mini is even more durable than the Ultra. It has IP68 and IP69K ratings, but this time it has been tested underwater to a depth of 20m/66ft. It also achieved a drop test of 10m/33ft. Like its siblings, it can operate in extreme temperatures (-30°C to 55°C/-22°F to 131°F).
Ulefone Armor Mini 20T Pro
Either way, this model also has a thermal camera. This time, it’s controlled by the MyFLIR Pro app and delivers 160 x 120 px at 25 Hz (57° FoV). It joins the 50 MP main camera (Samsung GN1) and the 32 MP selfie camera (GD1). The 102 white LEDs are spread around the rear camera, so they create one powerful flash.
The Armor Mini 20T Pro is powered by the Dimensity 6300 chipset, making it more of an entry-level model. It is paired with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM (+ up to 8GB virtual) and 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. The expansion slot is a hybrid solution with space for two nanoSIM cards or one SIM card and one microSD card.
The battery is quite large for a device of this size, with a capacity of 6,200 mAh (24 Wh). Charging is quite fast, at 33W wired and 15W wireless (there’s 5W reverse wireless if you need to top up another gadget).
The Mini is a 5G phone with Wi-Fi 4 (n) and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. There’s NFC and an infrared transmitter on board, as well as an FM radio receiver without a headset.
Prices and availability
The Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra will be coming soon, with pre-sales starting in November. The Ulefone Armor Mini 20T Pro will be coming sooner, as it will be available in October. Both models come with Android 14 out of the box. Pricing for both phones will be announced at a later date.