Blackview BV9800 Pro smartphone review: Rugged smartphone with an infrared camera
In our reviews, the Blackview BV5800 Pro, Blackview BV9100 and the Blackview BV9700 Pro have proven that they can withstand extreme conditions. However, the system performance was a bit underwhelming and Wi-Fi speeds were also rather low. According to the specifications sheet, the Blackview BV9800 Pro is not going to suffer from such weaknesses.
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Drive | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77 % v7 (old) | 01 / 2020 | Blackview BV9800 Pro Helio P70, Mali-G72 MP3 | 322 g | 128 GB eMMC Flash | 6.30" | 2340x1080 | |
| 77.2 % v7 (old) | 09 / 2018 | CAT S61 SD 630, Adreno 508 | 250 g | 64 GB eMMC Flash | 5.20" | 1920x1080 | |
| 76.2 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2019 | Ulefone Armor 6E Helio P70, Mali-G72 MP3 | 268 g | 64 GB eMMC Flash | 6.20" | 2246x1080 | |
| 79.2 % v6 (old) | 05 / 2019 | RugGear RG850 430, Adreno 505 | 209 g | 32 GB eMMC Flash | 5.99" | 1440x720 | |
| 76.3 % v7 (old) | 10 / 2019 | Blackview BV9700 Pro Helio P70, Mali-G72 MP3 | 283 g | 128 GB NVMe | 5.84" | 2280x1080 |
Case - Waterproof smartphone
The case of the Blackview BV9800 Pro is made of thick plastic and has metal sides. According to the manufacturer, the smartphone is IP68-, IP69K- and MIL-STD-810G-certified. In addition to the completely black model, there is another model with orange accents. The BV9800 Pro is the heaviest smartphone in our comparison chart. However, its dimensions are comparable to those of other rugged smartphones.
Connectivity - The BV9800 Pro offers VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling
The BV9800 Pro comes with an LED light for notifications and an SD card reader. However, if you decide to insert an SD card, you will have to forgo dual-SIM functionality. Both nano SIM card slots support VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling. The USB Type-C port operates at USB 2.0 speeds. There is also an IR blaster and a 3.5-mm headphone jack. The rugged smartphone cannot play back videos protected by Widevine L1 DRM. Camera2 API is fully supported.
Software - Android Pie with Toolbox
Our review device features an almost stock version of Android Pie. The security patches were last updated on October 5th. The only customisation is a Toolbox folder that contains Water Level, Barometer and other useful applications, amongst which are the MyFLIR application for the thermographic camera and BV Family (an application, through which Blackview provides customer support). The preinstalled applications can only be disabled. There is no way to uninstall them.
Users should also be aware of the fact that Blackview does not bring out new updates for its smartphones consistently.
Communication and GPS - Good Wi-Fi and usable geo-location
The Blackview BV9800 Pro supports the following mobile communications standards: GSM, 3G and LTE. The LTE module operates at Category 6 speeds (download: 300 Mb/s, upload: 50 Mb/s).
For short-distance communication, the rugged smartphone relies on NFC, Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi. The BV9800 Pro supports the fast Wireless AC standard. In the Wi-Fi test, our review device achieves very good results and therefore takes second place in our comparison chart behind the CAT S61.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
| CAT S61 | |
| Blackview BV9800 Pro | |
| Blackview BV9700 Pro | |
| Ulefone Armor 6E | |
| RugGear RG850 | |
| iperf3 receive AX12 | |
| CAT S61 | |
| Blackview BV9800 Pro | |
| Blackview BV9700 Pro | |
| Ulefone Armor 6E | |
| RugGear RG850 | |
We use the GPS Test application to examine how well the BV9800 Pro does when it comes to geolocation. The Blackview smartphone supports GPS, GLONASS and Beidou.
On our obligatory bicycle ride, the BV9800 Pro proves to be rather inaccurate when compared to our reference-grade navigator Garmin Edge 500. Nevertheless, the rugged smartphone is still well-suited for daily navigation.
Telephony and Call Quality - Good connection with the Blackview BV9800 Pro
Our review device features Google’s standard telephone application. The BV9800 Pro offers a good call volume and a balanced sound. Quieter background noise is filtered out. However, when talking on the phone in very noisy environments such as on the street, the noise comes through.
Cameras - Infrared camera in a smartphone
The main camera of the Blackview BV9800 Pro features a 48 MP sensor. The secondary thermographic camera comes from FLIR and has a 5 MP image sensor. There is also a 16 MP front-facing camera, which takes good portrait shots. Selfies actually look a little too bright, but the details and fine structures are well-preserved. At high zoom levels, images look noticeably blurry.
The panoramic shot taken with the main camera looks quite mediocre. The objects are not very easy to tell apart and the whole picture appears grainy even at low zoom levels. Surface textures also look muddy. In close-up shots, objects are easier to tell apart and more detail is preserved. Surface textures are also clearer. Photographs taken in low-light conditions look blurry. Moreover, the colours are tinged with a greyish tint. There is a “Pro” mode, which allows users to adjust the white balance, ISO sensitivity and the exposure time.
Videos shot with the BV9800 Pro look about as good as the photographs. The videos are not wobbly. However, the dimmer areas of the shot appear grainy. Videos can be recorded in 1080p, 720p, and 480p. There is no high-frame-rate mode.
Images taken with the thermographic camera can be interpreted with the help of a temperature scale. Moreover, users can tap on an area of an image to see its temperature. All in all, the implementation works very well.
We use the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport tool to assess the colour accuracy of the Blackview BV9800 Pro’s camera. Most of the colours appear overbrightened. However, grey tones appear too dark.
Accessories and Warranty - Wireless charging and an optional night-vision camera
The box contains a USB charger with an appropriate USB Type-C cable, SIM card ejection tool, wired stereo headset and a screen protector. The manufacturer also offers a wireless charging pad and a night-vision camera, which connects to the BV9800 Pro via the USB port.
The BV9800 Pro comes with a 12-month warranty.
Input Devices & Handling - Reliable fingerprint sensor
The BV9800 Pro comes with Google’s standard keyboard. The touchscreen reacts reliably and promptly to inputs. The drag-and-drop functionality does not work very well, because the screen puts up too much resistance when moving fingers over it. The motion sensor reacts reliably to the movements of the smartphone.
The fingerprint scanner on the side of the smartphone works well. Face recognition also functions without any issues. Because only one user account can be created at a time, only one face can be registered.
Display - Large screen with a noticeable blue cast
The Blackview BV9800 Pro comes with a 6.3-inch IPS screen with a native resolution of 2340x1080. It takes a spot in the middle of our comparison chart with an average brightness of 508 cd/m². The same applies to the brightness distribution of 89%. In our APL50 test, the brightness drops to 396 cd/m² and the black value rises to 0.38 cd/m², which leads to a significantly lower contrast ratio of 1042:1. The minimum brightness amounts to a relatively high 20.37 cd/m².
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 89 %
Center on Battery: 511 cd/m²
Contrast: 1762:1 (Black: 0.29 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 8.1 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.91
ΔE Greyscale 10.9 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
99.9% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.08
| Blackview BV9800 Pro IPS, 2340x1080, 6.3" | CAT S61 IPS, 1920x1080, 5.2" | Ulefone Armor 6E IPS, 2246x1080, 6.2" | RugGear RG850 IPS, 1440x720, 6" | Blackview BV9700 Pro IPS, 2280x1080, 5.8" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | -5% | 5% | -36% | 8% | |
| Brightness middle | 511 | 693 36% | 357 -30% | 444 -13% | 521 2% |
| Brightness | 508 | 672 32% | 352 -31% | 469 -8% | 525 3% |
| Brightness Distribution | 89 | 90 1% | 91 2% | 88 -1% | 87 -2% |
| Black Level * | 0.29 | 0.77 -166% | 0.24 17% | 0.62 -114% | 0.29 -0% |
| Contrast | 1762 | 900 -49% | 1488 -16% | 716 -59% | 1797 2% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 8.1 | 5.23 35% | 6.08 25% | 9.75 -20% | 6.22 23% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 15.2 | 10.18 33% | 9.46 38% | 22.4 -47% | 9.5 37% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 10.9 | 6.9 37% | 7 36% | 13.5 -24% | 11 -1% |
| Gamma | 2.08 106% | 2.834 78% | 2.292 96% | 2.736 80% | 0.558 394% |
| CCT | 9859 66% | 7137 91% | 7695 84% | 9287 70% | 8077 80% |
* ... smaller is better
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8705 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
According to our measurements, the screen of the Blackview BV9800 Pro has a good contrast ratio of 1762:1 and a slightly elevated black value of 0.29 cd/m². This is why the colours are easy to tell apart and the dark hues look only slightly washed-out.
The CalMAN analysis reveals that the blue part of the colour spectrum significantly overshoots its target. The colour reproduction can be adjusted via the two following functions: “Miravision” and “Night Light”.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 32 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 10.8 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 21.2 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 84 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (20.9 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 64.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 30.8 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 34 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 97 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (32.8 ms). | ||
The BV9800 Pro can be used outdoors without any problems. The screen is not very reflective, which is why the screen content is easy to read even in very bright environments.
The IPS panel of the rugged smartphone from Blackview has very stable viewing angles. Therefore, the screen content can be read from any position without any distortions.
Performance - Everyday applications are very responsive
Thanks to MediaTek’s Helio P70 and 6 GB of RAM, the Blackview BV9800 Pro feels very responsive. This is also reflected in the benchmark results, which place the rugged smartphone near the top of our comparison chart. The BV9800 Pro trounces the CAT S61. However, it falls behind its predecessor BV9700 Pro and the Ulefone Armor 6E.
| PCMark for Android | |
| Work performance score (sort by value) | |
| Blackview BV9800 Pro | |
| CAT S61 | |
| Ulefone Armor 6E | |
| RugGear RG850 | |
| Blackview BV9700 Pro | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P70 (7160 - 11781, n=10) | |
| Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value) | |
| Blackview BV9800 Pro | |
| CAT S61 | |
| Ulefone Armor 6E | |
| RugGear RG850 | |
| Blackview BV9700 Pro | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P70 (5992 - 8365, n=12) | |
| GFXBench 3.0 | |
| on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value) | |
| Blackview BV9800 Pro | |
| CAT S61 | |
| Ulefone Armor 6E | |
| RugGear RG850 | |
| Blackview BV9700 Pro | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P70 (16 - 35, n=8) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (6.8 - 166, n=175, last 2 years) | |
| 1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Blackview BV9800 Pro | |
| CAT S61 | |
| Ulefone Armor 6E | |
| RugGear RG850 | |
| Blackview BV9700 Pro | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P70 (18 - 23, n=8) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (12 - 502, n=175, last 2 years) | |
| GFXBench 3.1 | |
| on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value) | |
| Blackview BV9800 Pro | |
| CAT S61 | |
| Ulefone Armor 6E | |
| RugGear RG850 | |
| Blackview BV9700 Pro | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P70 (10 - 25, n=8) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (3.7 - 166, n=175, last 2 years) | |
| 1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Blackview BV9800 Pro | |
| CAT S61 | |
| Ulefone Armor 6E | |
| RugGear RG850 | |
| Blackview BV9700 Pro | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P70 (6.9 - 14, n=8) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (8.3 - 365, n=175, last 2 years) | |
| JetStream 1.1 - Total Score | |
| Blackview BV9700 Pro (Chrome 77) | |
| Blackview BV9800 Pro (Chrome 79) | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P70 (34.3 - 50.2, n=7) | |
| CAT S61 (Chrome 68) | |
| RugGear RG850 (Chrome 73) | |
| WebXPRT 3 - Overall | |
| Average of class Smartphone (38 - 347, n=80, last 2 years) | |
| RugGear RG850 (Chrome 73) | |
| Ulefone Armor 6E (Chrome 76) | |
| Blackview BV9700 Pro (Chrome 77) | |
| Blackview BV9800 Pro (Chrome 79) | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P70 (35 - 55, n=8) | |
| CAT S61 | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Smartphone (2228 - 100368, n=209, last 2 years) | |
| Blackview BV9700 Pro (Chrome 77) | |
| Ulefone Armor 6E (Chrome 76) | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P70 (6269 - 9863, n=8) | |
| Blackview BV9800 Pro (Chrome 79) | |
| CAT S61 (Chrome 68) | |
| RugGear RG850 (Chrome 73) | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total | |
| RugGear RG850 (Chrome 73) | |
| CAT S61 (Chrome 68) | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P70 (4198 - 5659, n=8) | |
| Blackview BV9800 Pro (Chrome 79) | |
| Blackview BV9700 Pro (Chrome 77) | |
| Ulefone Armor 6E (Chrome 76) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (277 - 28190, n=167, last 2 years) | |
* ... smaller is better
The Blackview BV9800 Pro features 128 GB of internal eMMC memory. It achieves slightly above-average results, and it is therefore on the same level as the rest of the competition.
The storage capacity of the BV9800 Pro can be increased by up to 256 GB with the help of a microSD card. The SD card cannot be formatted as internal storage or used to store applications. With our reference-grade SD card Toshiba Exceria Pro M501, the rugged smartphone achieves read and write rates that are comparable to those of other competing devices.
| Blackview BV9800 Pro | CAT S61 | Ulefone Armor 6E | RugGear RG850 | Blackview BV9700 Pro | Average 128 GB eMMC Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | -8% | -41% | -20% | -21% | 28% | 720% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 286.5 | 284.7 -1% | 287.5 0% | 280.1 -2% | 293.8 3% | 284 ? -1% | 1887 ? 559% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 185.9 | 212.2 14% | 103.3 -44% | 120.7 -35% | 190.2 2% | 194.6 ? 5% | 1474 ? 693% |
| Random Read 4KB | 86.7 | 44.7 -48% | 43.4 -50% | 39 -55% | 89.5 3% | 82.7 ? -5% | 279 ? 222% |
| Random Write 4KB | 20.74 | 15.1 -27% | 15.8 -24% | 12.64 -39% | 21.86 5% | 55.4 ? 167% | 312 ? 1404% |
| Sequential Read 256KB SDCard | 77.2 ? | 83.4 ? 8% | 41.7 ? -46% | 83.9 ? 9% | 45.1 ? -42% | 78.1 ? 1% | |
| Sequential Write 256KB SDCard | 61.1 ? | 63.3 ? 4% | 11.2 ? -82% | 63.7 ? 4% | 1.7 ? -97% | 61.8 ? 1% |
Gaming - Rugged smartphone suitable for gaming
The BV9800 Pro comes with the ARM Mali-G72 MP3 graphics unit. This graphics chip can run current games on medium settings. However, it is not fit for very graphically intensive applications. The titles that we benchmarked ran smoothly with the eye candy turned down. Both the touchscreen and the motion sensor work without any problems.
Emissions - Good speakers in the Blackview BV9800 Pro
Temperature
The surface temperatures of the Blackview BV9800 Pro peak at 36.2 °C (97.16 °F). The smartphone feels warm. However, it never gets too hot to hold in the hand.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 36.2 °C / 97 F, compared to the average of 35.1 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 63.7 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 30.4 °C / 87 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 29.9 °C / 86 F, compared to the device average of 32.8 °C / 91 F.
Speakers
The speakers of the BV9800 Pro sound comparatively loud and offer a rather wide sound stage. This is why the speakers are good enough for casual content consumption. Thanks to a 3.5-mm audio jack, external headphones or speakers can be connected to the Blackview smartphone. We did not observe any issues with the headphone jack
Blackview BV9800 Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 21.8% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.3% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5.5% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (5.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (17.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 11% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 82% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 37%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 31% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 61% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
CAT S61 audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (79.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 20.9% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.8% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (6.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (20% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 28% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 64% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 37%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 48% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 44% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Battery Life - 24 hours in the Wi-Fi test
Energy Consumption
According to our measurements, the power consumption of the BV9800 Pro is quite inconsistent. While the rugged smartphone has the lowest power draw when idle, under load it consumes the highest amount of energy. However, the Blackview smartphone is not an energy hog.
The included charger has a rated output of 18 watts.
| Off / Standby |   0.02 / 0.28 Watt |
| Idle |  0.87 / 1.91 / 2.03 Watt |
| Load |
4.4 / 7.49 Watt |
    
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Metrahit Energy | |
| Blackview BV9800 Pro 6580 mAh | CAT S61 4500 mAh | Ulefone Armor 6E 5000 mAh | RugGear RG850 4000 mAh | Blackview BV9700 Pro 4380 mAh | Average Mediatek Helio P70 | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -9% | 6% | -4% | -6% | 9% | -8% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 0.87 | 1.4 -61% | 0.8 8% | 1.2 -38% | 1.2 -38% | 0.801 ? 8% | 0.885 ? -2% |
| Idle Average * | 1.91 | 1.9 1% | 1.6 16% | 1.7 11% | 1.5 21% | 1.739 ? 9% | 1.451 ? 24% |
| Idle Maximum * | 2.03 | 2.6 -28% | 2.5 -23% | 2.6 -28% | 2.8 -38% | 2.06 ? -1% | 1.608 ? 21% |
| Load Average * | 4.4 | 3.5 20% | 3.8 14% | 3.8 14% | 3.5 20% | 3.59 ? 18% | 6.55 ? -49% |
| Load Maximum * | 7.49 | 5.6 25% | 6.5 13% | 6 20% | 7 7% | 6.65 ? 11% | 9.92 ? -32% |
* ... smaller is better
Battery Life
In our practically oriented Wi-Fi test, the BV9800 Pro achieves a battery runtime of 25 hours. It takes first place in our comparison chart, in no small part because it takes full advantage of its 6580-mAh battery.
The included charger does not support fast charging and takes about 3.5 hours to fully charge the battery.
| Blackview BV9800 Pro 6580 mAh | CAT S61 4500 mAh | Ulefone Armor 6E 5000 mAh | RugGear RG850 4000 mAh | Blackview BV9700 Pro 4380 mAh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | |||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 1492 | 923 -38% | 942 -37% | 857 -43% | 1033 -31% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Good rugged smartphone with an infrared camera
Buyers of the Blackview BV9800 Pro get exactly what they expect: A robust Android smartphone with an infrared camera. All features work well and there are no areas in which the BV9800 Pro fails. The rugged smartphone offers a good level of performance and is very responsive during normal use. The battery also meets all of our expectations.
Users who need a thermographic camera and pay little attention to design can go for the BV9800 Pro without any second thoughts.
For a price of about 500 Euros (~$551), we can only criticise the poor quality of the main camera and the very chunky design. The Cat S61, which also has an infrared camera, is significantly more compact. However, it costs about 300 Euros (~$331) more, depending on the offer.
Blackview BV9800 Pro
- 01/20/2020 v7 (old)
Mike Wobker
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