Cubot KingKong 8 Smartphone Review – The Cubot KingKong 8 was released in October 2023 and is available globally. This smartphone is equipped with all the latest technologies needed for industrial workers to do their jobs efficiently. However, the new smartphone doesn’t have 5G, which shouldn’t be much of an issue as 5G isn’t a deciding factor for industrial workers.
The KingKong 8 smartphone has all the features that industrial workers need and will assist them in their day-to-day work activities. It also protects the smartphone from getting damaged. The camera is the most notable feature of this smartphone. So, let’s find out everything we can and start the detailed review of the Cubo KingKong 8 smartphone.
Table of Contents
Cubot KingKong 8 Smartphone Review
Highlights
- The Cubot KingKong 8 features a 6.53-inch IPS LCD with HD+ resolution.
- The chipset inside the smartphone is the MediaTek MT8788V/WA octa-core 4G SoC, which has a clock speed of 4×2.0GHz.
- Cubot KingKong 8 is powered by Android 13 with a stock user interface for a clean experience.
- The smartphone has a 48MP triple rear camera system and a 16MP selfie camera in the front.
- There is a Li-Po 10600 mAh battery inside the Cubot KingKong 8.
Design and Display
The Cubot KingKong 8 is a rugged smartphone. so it has a very rugged appearance and is built like a tank. Due to the nature of the materials used, the smartphone is extremely durable and will easily survive drops to concrete from heights of up to 1.5m. On top of that, the Cubot KingKong 8 has MIL-STD-810H, which is a military-grade certification. This means the smartphone is built to function in harsher conditions. The Cubot KingKong 8 is available for purchase in Black, Green, and Red.
The smartphone is also IP68/IP69K certified, making the smartphone resistant to dust, water, and even water jets. So, you can carry the smartphone into pools without any worry. On the front of the smartphone, you will get a 6.53-inch IPS LCD with HD+ resolution and a tall 20:9 aspect ratio. The lack of FHD display may upset some users but that will be difficult to achieve without cutting some corners in other ways, especially at this price point.
Memory and Internal
The Cubot KingKong 8 comes with MediaTek MT8788V/WA octa-core 4G SoC. This is a low-end chipset that will run all your favorite apps without any issues but don’t expect any miracles or speedy performance. It has enough performance for the price. It has four high-performance cores with clocks at 4×2.0 GHz. However, the chipset is just limited to 4G connectivity and there’s no 5G option, which shouldn’t be much of an issue.
The Cubot KingKong 8 also comes with Android 13 and a stock user interface for a clean and decent user experience. The gaming side of the chipset is also not that powerful and can only run light games such as Temple RUN, Candy Crush, and more. The smartphone also doesn’t heat up, thanks to better heat dissipation and an efficient 12nm manufacturing process.
As for RAM and Storage, the smartphone has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which should be more than enough. However, if you still feel the need to expand the storage, the smartphone has support for a MicroSDXC expansion slot.
Camera
The Cubot KingKong 8 has a 48MP triple rear camera system. The primary camera has a 48MP sensor that can capture pictures with decent detail levels, natural color tone, and a generally higher dynamic range compared to other rugged smartphones at the same price range. This camera will take care of all your camera needs during the day. However, the same cannot be said at night. This is where this sensor will struggle a lot.
But there’s a special 5000 lumens flash that can be used both as a flashlight and camera flash. With this flash turned on, the sensor finally manages to capture enough light to capture all the details of the subject. However, if the subject is a bit far away, this quality will begin to decrease. On the front of the Cubot KingKong 8, there’s a 16MP selfie camera.
This sensor is quite decent and manages to capture a decent level of detail in the selfies with a natural skin tone. For video recording, the phone manages to shoot at HD resolution from both the rear cameras and the selfie cameras. However, there’s no support for video stabilization.
Battery and Others
The Cubot KingKong 8 has a huge 10600 mAh battery, which allows the smartphone to last for many days on a single charge. This will be a great advantage for people who work in industrial environments and may not have access to an outlet. The battery will last for several days even if you play a lot of games and watch movies for hours.
So, if you have a low battery anxiety that some Gen-Z users have, then you can rest easy knowing that this is the best battery performance you will ever get. However, recharging such a huge battery is not without its downsides. A battery with this large capacity will take hours to fully recharge and Cubot hasn’t mentioned anything about a fast charger, so it’s safe to assume that it will be a standard 10W charger.
A 10W charger can take about 6 – 7 hours to fully charge this smartphone, so we would recommend overnight charging for this smartphone. Apart from that, the smartphone has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 4.2, OTG, and even a USB Type-C connector for charging. The Cubot KingKong 8 is available for purchase at $115 (Rs 9,599 in India) approx.
Cubot KingKong 8 Pros and Cons
Cubot KingKong 8 Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Cubot KingKong 8 smartphone.
| Specifications | Cubot KingKong 8 |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G |
| Announced | October 2023 |
| SIM | Hybrid Dual SIM |
| Dimensions | 6.69 x 3.16 x 0.79 inches |
| Weight | 382 g |
| Size | 6.53 inches |
| Display | IPS LCD 20:9 ratio ~270 PPI density |
| Protection/Others | IP68/IP69K dust/water resistant Drop-to-concrete resistance from up to 1.5m 5000 lumens flashlight (advertised) |
| Resolution | 720 x 1612 pixels |
| OS | Android 13 |
| Chipset | 12nm – Mediatek MT8788V/WA |
| CPU | Octa-core 4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A73 4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 |
| GPU | N/A |
| Card slot | microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot) |
| RAM | 12GB |
| Internal | 256GB |
| Camera | 48 MP (wide), PDAF 2 MP (macro) 0.3 MP LED flash |
| Selfie | 16 MP |
| Loudspeaker | Yes |
| 3.5mm jack | No |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band |
| Bluetooth | 4.2, A2DP |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO |
| NFC | Yes |
| Infrared port | No |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C, OTG |
| Sensors | Side-mounted fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Battery | Li-Ion 10600 mAh Wired Reverse wired |
| Colors | Black, Red, Green |
| Expected Price | $115 (Rs 9,599 in India) approx |
Conclusion
The Cubot KingKong 8 is a decently designed rugged smartphone that has some real advantages compared to its competitors in the same price range. The smartphone is also available in more regions now than ever. Things like IP rating, decent performance, large memory and storage capacity, and an extra bright flash for better photography at night, are some of the highlights of the smartphone.
However, it is not without its cons. For one, it lacks an FHD display. The bezels are also quite huge and faster charging support would have been nice. But then again, all these technologies would have made the price a bit out of range for some users. So, considering what it is offering, we can say that the pricing is justified.
However, some smartphones offer better specs than this but not in every area and this includes the Cubot KingKong 9. This smartphone has a great camera setup but at a slightly higher price tag and a slightly inferior price tag. However, the final decision is up to you, so choose a smartphone based on your requirements and needs.
