The Ulefone Power Armor 18T Android smartphone is 20% off on Amazon. This amounts to a savings of $140 for a total price of $559. The 4G Ulefone Power Armor 19T. It’s in my hand most of my waking hours.
But I still use an Android phone.
Why? Because it can do things my iPhone can’t do.
My previous favorite Android phone was the Ulefone Armor 9.
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I used the thermal camera a lot, the endoscope not so much. (But there are times when that’s been very useful too.)
Well, the Armor 9 has been upgraded to the new Power Armor 18T
Tough, rugged, yet still stylish
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
Performance
At the core of the Power Armor 18T is a 2.4GHz Arm Cortex-A78 CPU paired with the Mali-G68 GPU. That’s enough power to keep the handset running super-smooth at all times. This is paired with 12GB of physical RAM and the option to augment this with 5GB of virtual RAM for when the going gets tough.
I’ve found 12GB of RAM to be more than ample and have not seen the need to boost this to the full 17GB.
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But the faster processor, big RAM boost, and doubling of storage capacity are all things I really appreciate in this upgrade.
The power is supplied by an enormous 9600mAh lithium-ion polymer battery, which is charged via the USB-C port or wireless charging. The wireless charging is a big upgrade for me because it means not having to open that waterproof flap on the USB-C port if I’m outside in poor weather conditions.
The camera
The 108-megapixel rear camera featuring a huge ISOCELL HM2 1/1.52-inch sensor delivers some really good photos, even in standard resolution. I’ve played with this camera in a variety of conditions and it’s good. Not iPhone Pro Max good, but still very good for a smartphone that’s a fraction of the price of the iPhone Pro Max.
(sold separately) features a 2-meter cable, and is rated to IP67. This is perfect for poking into areas where you can’t get your eyeballs, and is a great tool for engineers. There are a lot of USB-C endoscopes available
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
The real star of the show for me is the FLIR Lepton 3.5 thermal imaging camera. With 160 x 120 resolution and a temperature range of -10℃ – 400℃, this is an amazing diagnostic tool for technicians.
The thermal camera has four times the resolution of the previous generation of thermal cameras, and that makes for better, crisper, more detailed thermal images.
— even iPhone is in no way cheap, but after using its predecessor for two years, and then using this one for a few weeks, I’m confident that this device can pay for itself. It’s the perfect smartphone for outdoor workers, engineers, and first responders looking for a rugged smartphone that doesn’t compromise when it comes to power, performance, and display quality.Â
