The Unihertz Atom XL is a compact rugged Android phone with a 48 MP camera
Unihertz is no stranger to building tiny, ruggedized Android phones. It’s Jelly and Atom smartphones, launched in 2017 and 2018, respectively, quickly found success with niche audiences in need of a tiny but well-built smartphone. Now, the company is back at it again with the Atom XL, a 4-inch rugged Android smartphone with quite the spec sheet despite its diminutive size.
The Atom XL runs on a MediaTek Helio P60 octa-core SoC (4x ARM Cortex A73 cores, 4x ARM Cortex A53 cores), which is a decent (if old) mid-range chip that rivals the Snapdragon 660 from Qualcomm. While the Helio P60 is showing its age, the cheaper chip should help Unihertz keep the price of the Atom XL down.
In addition to the P60, the Atom XL will feature 6 GB of RAM, 128 GB of built-in UFS 2.1 storage, an 8 MP selfie camera, and a whopping 48 MP rear-facing camera. Megapixels don’t tell the whole story of a phone’s shooter, but Unihertz is touting that the sensor used in the Atom XL is made by Samsung, which should make for a decent snapper, especially considering photography isn’t the Atom XL’s main focus.
The point of the Atom XL is ruggedness. To that end, the phone features both IP68 and MIL-SPEC-810G certifications. Considering how durable 2018’s Atom was, the Atom XL should stand up to the demands of most outdoor explorers. The phone should last a while on the trail as well; powering everything is a 4100 mAh battery, which explains most of the phone’s chunky 17.5 mm profile. The Atom XL can also be used as a DRM walkie-talkie with a range up to 8 km, depending on the topography of the surrounding terrain.
More features can be seen on the phone’s Kickstarter page. Backers that pledge US $259 can secure an Atom XL, which Unihertz expects to ship in June 2020. Unihertz has successfully released a few phones before and has a decent track record. The Atom XL looks like a decent evolution of the company’s ruggedized smartphone story; it’ll be interesting to see how well the final product holds up.