The Ulefone Power Armor 14 Pro is the latest flagship smartphone from Ulefone and is now available worldwide. As flagships go, this is a little different; Ulefone, as a brand, focuses on making rugged phones. While the specs aren’t groundbreaking in the same way as most flagship phones, this is still a flagship in its own regard.
Contents
The Base Specs
The Ulefone Power Armor 14 Pro measures 175.6 x 82.5 x 17.2 mm and weighs 358g making it big and heavy. The phone is powered by a MediaTek Helio G85 and has an extended 10000mAh battery.
Models/Versions
There are two models in the Power Armor 14 range. There’s the Power Armor 14 and the Power Armor 14 Pro. Predictably, the base model features lower specs, mainly the CPU and the available capacity.
The Power Armor 14 Pro model we’re looking at here comes in just one capacity. That capacity is 128GB with 6GB of RAM. Storage is expandable with a microSD card up to 1TB, at the expense of the capacity for a second SIM.
Battery
The Ulefone Power Armor 14 Pro has a massive 10000mAh battery, twice the capacity of most current flagship smartphones. It can fast-charge at up to 18W over USB-C and at 15W wirelessly. It also supports reverse wireless charging.
The large battery provides enough charge for 540 hours of standby time or 54 hours of call time. 10 minutes of charging provides enough charge for two hours of call time. While the battery size is excellent, more than enough for a day of heavy usage or multiple days of lighter use, the charge speed is a little low. It’s enough to get some battery quickly. Still, if you want to refill an empty battery, you’ll likely have to charge it overnight.
Screen
The Power Armor 14 Pro has a 6.52-inch screen with a resolution of 720 x 1600. While the resolution is low, that will help save on battery life. It is a multi-touch LCD display that resists fingerprints thanks to an oleophobic coating.
Cameras
The Ulefone Power Armor 14 Pro has a dual rear camera set up. However, it is advertised as a triple camera setup. The primary wide-angle camera has a 20MP, 1/2.78-inch sensor. There’s also a 2MP macro camera. The final entry on the back is a 2MP depth sensor that isn’t really a camera but certainly is helpful for autofocus. The front camera has a 16MP resolution. Video can be recorded at 1080p30 only on the front or back cameras.
The cameras are acceptable but not particularly strong. The inclusion of a Macro camera may be helpful when in the field. However, a periscope telephoto with a reasonable zoom level would have been a substantial addition.
Software/OS
The Ulefone Power Armor 14 Pro runs Android 12. There are very few modifications made to stock Android so it should be relatively easy for any user to pick up.
Features
The Ulefone Power Armor 14 Pro is specifically designed to be a rugged smartphone. It features the standard IP68 waterproofing rating, demonstrating waterproofing up to 1.5m for up to 30 meters. It also meets the separate IP69K standard that exhibits resistance to high-temperature, high-pressure water jets, which helps clean stubborn dirt off it. It’s drop-proof from heights of 1.5m.
As it’s MIL-STD-810 ruggedization certification, it can survive in low atmospheric pressure of 57kPa at 25°C for 4 hours; Acidic atmospheres of pH 4.17 at 35°C for two hours; Humidity of 90% at 60°C for 6 hours. And being in direct sunlight of 1120W/m² and 49°C for just under 20 hours.
The back and sides are made of tough plastic, while the corners have extra protection from a rubberized TPU plastic. A case is available separately with a belt clip and carabiner for additional protection and convenience. A protective film is pre-applied to the screen, and a tempered glass screen protector is included. A fingerprint reader can be used to unlock the phone and facial recognition.
Price
The Ulefone Power Armor 14 Pro can be found for £205 in the UK, $250 in the US, and €260 in the EU. While this price may sound shockingly low, it makes sense that this phone doesn’t run the latest hardware and focuses on ruggedization.
Improvements Over Previous Generations
Interestingly, there have essentially been no improvements since the previous generation. The exceptions are the drop resistance and the size and weight of the phone. The situation gets slightly stranger, though, as there has actually been a broad range of down-grades. The critical thing to note here, though, is that this has been a process of weight, bulk, and power draw reduction. Ultimately, performance isn’t the goal of this flagship. Instead, it’s doing what’s needed, for as long as possible, no matter what happens to it, and it does that job well.
Summary
The Ulefone Power Armor 14 Pro is a different type of flagship smartphone. Performance is not the strong point, but this is by design. This phone is designed to have enough performance and to be able to perform in almost any scenario, no matter how many hits it takes. Obviously, as with anything, there are limits to its toughness, but this is undoubtedly a rugged phone that can last a long time. What are your thoughts on the phone? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
For most users of this new flagship this comment will probably relate given that this new phone is more in line of making the phone do the same thing but making it smaller and lighter.
I have a Power Armor 13. Pretty happy with it. Does everything I need it to do, which, admittedly little more than call, text, online search, nav, podcast, music streaming. Despite a gargantuan 13200mAh battery is lasts less than my smaller Blackview BV9500pro with a smaller 10000mAh battery that I used to use. Still, if I don’t stream music through Bluetooth for half a day it lasts me 3 days on one charge.
Dropped it a few times onto concrete from about waist-high (I’m 187cm/6ft2in tall) and its all good.
Its a phone for a person that works at a work site, not an office or an IT field that demands latest and greatest. So since that’s what I’m after, it serves me well and I’m happy with it. Can recommend.