Ulefone Armor 21 Smartphone Review

Ulefone Armor 21 Smartphone Review – Ulefone Armor 21 was released in May 2023 and is available globally. It is a smartphone that is designed for industrial workers and they have equipped it with all the features that are necessary for their day-to-day work activities. Ulefone brought some great improvements over their other models and they believe it can be the one to go for. The durable smartphone arrives with a monstrous battery, a decent camera, and an impressive set of features.

However, the smartphone is limited to 4G connectivity. Having 5G is not that important in this industry and also increases the overall cost of the smartphone. What is important though is imaging and battery capabilities and Ulefone claims to make big strides in this area with this new smartphone. So, let’s find out everything we can about this smartphone with a detailed review of the Ulefone Armor 21 and see if this smartphone is worth purchasing.

Ulefone Armor 21 Smartphone Review

Highlights

1. The Ulefone Armor 21 features a 6.58-inch IPS LCD display with 120Hz refresh rate support.
2. The chipset inside the smartphone is the 6nm MediaTek HelioG99 SoC, which can reach up to a 2×2.2GHz clocking speed.
3. Ulefone Armor 21 is powered by the latest Android 13 OS with a clean and bloatware-free experience.
4. The smartphone has a 64MP dual rear camera system and a 16MP selfie camera at the front.
5. There is a huge Li-Po 9600mAh battery inside the Ulefone Armor 21 with support for 33W fast charging.

Design and Display

The Ulefone Armor 21 has a very rugged appearance but is not too out of style. It features a vibrant RGB ring LED, which gives it a distinct appearance that Gen-Z workers might like. The smartphone is composed of rugged materials, which provides great rigidity and durability to the smartphone. On top of that, the Ulefone Armor 21 has been tested against drops on concrete from heights of up to 1.5m, and the smartphone easily survived.

In fact, the smartphone has MIL-STD-810H, which is a military-grade certification, which means the smartphone is built to work and survive in harsher conditions, including rain, drops, shock, and other forms of torture. It is also IP68/IP69K certified, which makes the smartphone extremely resistant to dust, and water jets, which makes it a perfect smartphone to be used in industrial workspaces, where accidents can happen. Apart from this, the device is 18.1mm thick and weighs around 400 grams.

The Ulefone Armor 21 is only available in the Black color variant, but you can configure the rear LED ring to your liking. On the front of the smartphone, you will get a 6.58-inch IPS LCD display with FHD+ resolution, narrow bezels, and a tall 20:9 aspect ratio. A Full HD+ display is rare in an industrial smartphone, especially in such a budget smartphone. On top of that, the bezels are also quite narrow as per rugged smartphones, which will make watching videos on the smartphone a pleasure with the 120Hz refresh rate support. Anyways, the better nits brightness support is missing on the device that feels handy under outdoor conditions.

Memory and Internal

The Ulefone Armor 21 comes with a newer 6nm Mediatek Helio G99 SoC. This chipset can run multiple apps in the background and the chipset will run them without any issue. The SoC can reach up to a 2×2.2GHz clocking speed that is enough for everyday apps.

Also, this chipset is designed on a 6nm manufacturing process, so it’s very efficient and doesn’t heat up. So, run multiple apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Gmail, and YouTube and the smartphone still won’t heat up. However, the chipset is just limited to 4G connectivity and there’s no 5G option, which shouldn’t be an issue as it is not a requirement for industrial workers, however, that may change in the future with growing workloads.

The Ulefone Armor 21 also comes with the latest Android 13 OS and a stock user interface for a clean user interface. The GPU inside the Ulefone Armor 21 is the Mali-G57 MC2, which should run your favorite games well, including PUBG and CODmat moderate graphic settings. You will also find some POGO pins in the rear, which can be used to attach accessories such as a Microscope or an Endoscope, which can have various industrial applications.

As for RAM and Storage, the smartphone has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, which should be more than enough. However, if you still feel the need to expand the storage, the smartphone has support for a dedicated MicroSD expansion slot.

Camera

The Ulefone Armor 21 has a dual rear camera system with a 64MP primary camera and a 24MP night vision camera. The 64MP primary camera captures pictures with great detail levels, natural color tone, and a high dynamic range. This camera will take care of all your camera needs during the day. However, at night, this sensor may not provide the best results and that’s where the second camera comes in.

The second camera with a 24MP sensor is a night vision camera that is outfitted with two infrared LEDs, which combined with theUlefone’s special algorithm will get you some amazing night photos. These photos tend to have detail levels that will blow away other competitors in the same price range. On the front of the Ulefone Armor 21, there’s a 16MP selfie camera, which is decent and manages to capture a decent level of detail.

For video recording, the phone manages to shoot up to a maximum resolution of 4Kvideos@30FPS from the rear cameras but the selfie camera at the front can shoot at a maximum resolution of 1080pvideos@30FPS. However, there’s no support for video stabilization on the smartphone.

Battery and Others

The Ulefone Armor 21 has a huge Li-Po 9600mAh battery, which is simply never found in any other phone. The battery size may even confuse you to think there’s an error but it’s true. Such high capacity will allow the smartphone to last for many days on a single charge, which can be a great advantage for people who work in industrial environments. The battery will last for days even if you stream movies for hours.

Recharging such a huge battery can also be quite an issue as it would take hours to fully recharge. Thankfully, the smartphone supports 33W fast wired charging, which will reduce the charging time to about 4 hours or so. Apart from that, the smartphone has Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.2, a headphone jack, NFC, and even a USB Type-C port for charging. The Ulefone Armor 21 is available for purchase at $199 (Rs 16,500 in India) approx.

Ulefone Armor 21 Pros and Cons

Ulefone Armor 21 Specifications Detail

Down below you can see the full specifications of the Ulefone Armor 21 smartphone.

Conclusion

The Ulefone Armor 21 has some real upgrades as compared to the company’s other rugged smartphones at a similar budget. It brings in improvements in every part of the smartphone, including the LED design, display, performance, camera, and even battery. In fact, the inclusion of such high-capacity in this smartphone simply elevates the user experience to a whole new level. Aside from this, the only thing missing on the device is the 5G connectivity and better nits brightness.

Based on the improvements it provides, the pricing is totally justified and can even overshadow other rugged smartphones in the market. However, if you are unable to get the Ulefone Armor 21 where you live, there are some alternative rugged smartphones that you can try. The Doogee S100 is one such smartphone that features similar specs at around the same price tag. However, the final decision is up to you, so choose a smartphone based on your requirements and needs.