Outdoor cell phones are a special category unto themselves. The chunky blocks offer a robust housing and are waterproof. They withstand most falls well and, in combination with mostly powerful batteries, are good companions for longer hiking tours or in an environment where technology has to withstand something, such as a construction site or when used by rescue services.
Many of the outdoor cell phones are not only stable, but often offer exciting additional features such as a thermal imaging camera. However, the rest of the technology is often outdated or at most corresponds to a simple smartphone up to 250 euros (best list). A positive exception is the Ulefone. The robust mobile device offers an LCD with Full HD+ and 120 Hertz, plenty of memory and a thermal imaging camera from Flir. The camera with 108 megapixels also makes you sit up and take notice.
Design
Angular, martial and brutal – these three words aptly describe the Power Armor 19T. The all-round rubberized housing is typical for this device class. This is hinted at hexagonal – even if the edges of the display are slightly rounded in the corners. Several thick screws on the back give the phone a machine character. Anyone looking for a filigree device is in the wrong place here – but shouldn’t put off those interested in an outdoor cell phone either. A lanyard can be attached to the device.
At the top of the back there is a triangular element with several LEDs – these serve as a flash or even a flashlight. The camera is embedded with all lenses in a rectangular metal surface in the housing. Neither shocks nor water should be able to harm the Ulefone Power Armor 19T. This is also proven by the highest degree of protection IP69K, which allows submersion in water up to 1.5 meters for 30 meters and contact with a high-pressure cleaner. The mobile device withstands a fall from 1.5 meters onto a hard surface such as concrete – which is also the case in the test.
The USB-C port and the 3.5 mm jack slot are each sealed with a rubber stopper. The orange button on the left, which can be programmed, is practical. The fingerprint reader is located in the power button on the right side. Everything seems extremely solid and stable. With a proud weight of over 400 grams, the smartphone weighs more than a 9-inch tablet. It is also extremely bulky (dimensions: 175.2 × 83.4 × 18.8 mm). This makes it twice as thick as a conventional smartphone and longer than it is by at least two fingers.
Display
Compared to the bulky case, the display is not that big. As usual, the edge around the display is more generous, which also protects the display with Gorilla Glass 5 from breakage. The diagonal measures 6.58 inches. The resolution is 2408 × 1080 pixels (Full HD+), resulting in a sharp image at 401 pixels per inch (ppi). This is not always a matter of course with outdoor cell phones.
The technology used is LCD, as we know it from this category. A positive surprise: the display offers a refresh rate of up to 120 Hertz. This is much smoother than conventional 60 Hertz in graphic animations or games and when scrolling. The image quality is great and offers strong colors and well-balanced contrasts. The display can only not keep up with the deep black values of an OLED display for technical reasons.
The maximum brightness is not that good. We measured around 535 cd/m². This means that the display can only be read to a limited extent in strong sunshine. Too bad, an outdoor cell phone in particular should be used outdoors a lot. In our tests, however, all mobile devices have so far disappointed us in this discipline.
Ulefone Power Armor 19T – photo gallery
Ulefone Power Armor 19T – photo gallery
Camera
The Ulefone Power Armor 19T has a lot to offer when it comes to the camera. The main sensor with f/1.89 aperture has a resolution of 108 megapixels – unusual for a device in this class. However, there is no optical image stabilization.
However, we miss a lens for wide-angle shots, instead a camera with 5 megapixels is used, which serves as a microscope. This provides exciting insights. In practice, this is unlikely to play a role. The front camera for selfies has a decent resolution of 16 megapixels. The secret star of the Ulefone Power Armor 19T is the thermal imaging camera with a FLIR sensor and 5 megapixels.
In daylight, the main camera takes good pictures with very pronounced image details. However, the dynamic range could be better, so the contrasts are not always right when there are changing lighting conditions. The lens fails completely in the dark, and even digital zoom photos reveal a bit of image noise. The lens in the Ulefone cannot keep up with the 108 megapixel cameras in cell phones from other manufacturers such as Xiaomi. The special underwater mode of the waterproof cell phone is all the more exciting.
Instead of just plugging another macro lens into the device, the second lens is a microscope lens. This enlarges the near area enormously. To do this, however, you have to place the phone on a flat surface, otherwise it will be difficult to see anything at all. The image sharpness is then often poor. Overall, it’s a fun gimmick that we would have happily traded in for a wide-angle lens. The front camera takes decent selfies, but we would advise against portrait mode, which looks extremely artificial.
The integrated flir sensor is really cool. This turns the mobile phone into a real thermal imaging camera. This can be interesting for craftsmen who want to see where in a building a lot of energy is lost or where hot water pipes are. You can use it to keep an eye out for animals outdoors, even at night. You feel a bit like in the movie Predator, when you step outside the house at night with the camera. Various color modes are available for displaying the thermal image, and the optional surface temperature of a specific area is also practical. For example, you can see that the sidewalk tends to be over 35 degrees warm on a summer night.
The video clips leave less of an impression; they are very shaky due to the lack of an optical image stabilizer. The image sharpness also leaves a lot to be desired, even with WQHD. Full HD is possible with the front camera.
Ulefone Power Armor 19T – Originalaufnahmen
Ulefone Power Armor 19T – Originalaufnahmen
Hardware
A Mediatek Helio G99 serves as the drive. This CPU is often found in mid-range smartphones and is definitely not one of the fast chips of its kind. This is proven by the benchmarks from PCmark (9000 points) and 3Dmark (Wild Life: 1200 points), with which the Ulefone Power Armor 19T finds itself in the lower midfield. In principle, this is sufficient for everyday use, so the system runs stably and spares the user excessively long pauses for thought. However, there are not many performance reserves here. Compared to many other outdoor smartphones, this performance is even strong.
The memory is impressive: 12 GB of RAM is impressive. The internal memory also holds 256 GB. An expansion using a microSD card is also possible. The USB-C port uses the slow USB 2.0 standard, which is not unusual in this price range. After all, there is also a slot for a 3.5 mm jack. In order to use the integrated FM radio, a cable is required on the headphones.
The mobile phone can also use two SIM cards in parallel (dual SIM). The chip of the smartphone does not master 5G, at most you can only surf mobile with LTE. The latest standard is also not available in home networks, but only Wi-Fi 5. NFC and Bluetooth 5.2 are also on board. The fingerprint scanner does a reliable and quick job. Another feature that should not be missing from any outdoor cell phone is the integrated barometer. The smartphone uses this to measure the air pressure and the height above sea level. The location was also pretty accurate, so we were able to determine an accuracy of around 1 meter in the GPS test.
As mentioned at the beginning, the orange button is programmable. By default, it serves as a button for push to talk (PTT) by holding it down for a longer period of time. If desired, additional functions (e.g. flashlight) or certain apps (including the camera) can be defined in the settings. There are three options for this: short press, double press or long press.
Software & Updates
Android 12 is still running as the operating system. Ulefone has adapted the user interface more, so there is a lot of yellow in the otherwise rather gray menus. The manufacturer holds back with excessive bloatware. Don’t expect regular updates, though. The security patch is from January 2023, which is clearly too old.
battery pack
The thick battery with 9000 mAh provides more than enough reserves. In the battery test, the smartphone achieved a gigantic value of 22 hours. That is twice as much as the average of our tests. Depending on how it is used, the cell phone can last a good two to three days before it has to be charged.
Another positive surprise: the cell phone even charges with 66 watts (power adapter included). This means that the large battery can be recharged in less than an hour. Even charging via Qi is possible.
Preis
The RRP for the outdoor smartphone is 549 euros. There are no other colors or storage options. It is currently worth taking a look at Amazon’s Prime Days. You can get your cell phone there 468 Euro.
Conclusion
The Ulefone Power Armor 19T is one of the best outdoor smartphones that we have tested so far. The processor is not very fast, 5G is missing and the camera is disappointing despite the 108 megapixels. The Flir thermal imaging camera and the monster battery are all the more exciting. For this price, this is a strong configuration. This means that the device shouldn’t run out of air too quickly when hiking. The 120 Hertz display is also convincing, even if it could have been a bit brighter.