Blackview BL8000: New robust 5G smartphone launches with secondary display for notifications, media control and selfies

With the BL8000, Blackview is expanding its ever-widening range of relatively affordable rugged smartphones. This model in particular is intended to meet the high demands placed on a rugged smartphone and includes a 5G cellular modem. This should result in fast and stable connections; operation with two SIM cards is supported.

A second screen is also installed, which can display notifications, control music playback and allow for selfies to be taken with the main camera. In best case scenarios, users don't have to activate the main screen as often, thereby benefiting the battery life.

The SoC of the 179.5 x 82.6 x 17 millimeter smartphone is a MediaTek Dimensity 7050, which has access to 12 GB of RAM. The UFS 3.1 storage measures 512 GB and is thus decently sized. The 6.78-inch main screen, like the second screen, is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, offers 120 Hz, has a resolution of 1080 x 2460, and is said to have a brightness of up to 550 cd/m².

The 8800 mAh battery can be charged with up to 33 watts. The main camera has a resolution of 50 MP, but there is no night vision camera. GPS, Beidou, Glonass and Galileo are supported, and NFC is available. The BL8800 is said to meet the requirements of IP68, IP69K and MIL-STD-810H and is scheduled to be available for direct import from January 17.

A possible alternative: Buy the Doogee V30T at Amazon