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MagyarElephone Soldier Smartphone Review
We have not reviewed any Elephone smartphones for a while. The Elephone Soldier is a robust Android smartphone that is designed to cope with the stress and strains of being used in places such as construction sites. Our test device not only shines thanks to its sturdy case, but also its physical compass.
The Soldier has solid mid-range hardware specs, which exceed that of its competitors. Our test device is equipped with a MediaTek Helio X25 MTK6797T SoC, an ARM Mali-T880 MP4 GPU, 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.
We have chosen to compare the Soldier against other smartphones that are designed for regular outdoor use. These include the Blackview BV5800 Pro, the Poptel P9000 Max, the Doogee S55 and the Crosscall Action-X3. The Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 remains a suitable comparison device despite being somewhat older too.
Case
Elephone has designed the Soldier to look rugged. The device has red, ribbed plastic grips on either side of its frame, while the camera housing and physical buttons both have brushed metal housings. The Soldier is covered in silver screws too that add to its industrial look.
Elephone advertises the Soldier as being IP68 certified, but our test device has uneven gaps and transitions between materials that make us doubt the validity of that claim. The case design does not fill us with confidence that the internal components would be protected from dust or water after prolonged use.
The Soldier weighs 251 g (8.85 oz), which puts the device in the midfield of our comparison devices. However, the device has a considerably smaller footprint than most of our comparison devices, which makes it less clunky than many other outdoor smartphones.
Connectivity
Elephone has equipped the Soldier with a MediaTek Helio X25 MTK6797T SoC, which integrates an ARM Mali-T880 MP4 GPU, and 4 GB of RAM. The device also has 128 GB of storage, which is a lot more than many of our comparison devices offer. Elephone has included numerous outdoor-related features too. The pre-installed OutdoorTool app can launch the flashlight located on the right-hand side of the device, while there is also a physical compass and an SOS emergency button below the rear-facing camera, which causes the camera light to flash. Unfortunately, this does not spell SOS in Morse code, which would have been useful. An eyelet for a carrying strap and a 3.5 mm jack round off the Soldier’s outdoor-related connectivity.
The device also has numerous sensors such as a barometer, a humidity meter and a thermometer. Curiously, Elephone has not pre-installed any apps that can access these sensors though, and the OutdoorTool app only has access to the positional sensor, the compass and the camera, the latter of which it can use as a magnifying glass.
The Soldier has a micro USB port for charging and data transfer. Our test device supports USB On-The-Go (OTG) functions, but it only operates at USB 2.0 speeds rather than the faster USB 3.1 standard.
Software
Our test device is loaded with Android Oreo 8.0 and Android security patches that are dated August 5, 2018. Elephone has left the stock Android experience largely intact, merely adding its own icon pack and the OutdoorTool app. The latter can be disabled within Settings, but not uninstalled. The Soldier also supports multiple user accounts should more than one person need to use the device.
Communication & GPS
The Soldier supports GSM, 3G and LTE networks. The device uses LTE Cat. 6, which supports up to 300 MBit/s download and 50 MBit/s upload speeds. Elephone has also included LTE Band 20, which is important for accessing LTE in some parts of Europe such as in rural Germany.
The device also supports Bluetooth 4.1, NFC and all modern Wi-Fi standard including ac Wi-Fi. Our test device can connect to either 2.4 or 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks and achieved comparatively impressive transfer speeds in iperf3 Client Wi-Fi tests. None of our comparison devices were a match for the Elephone Soldier in this respect.
We also checked with the GPS Test app how accurate the Soldier’s location services are. Our test device has a GPS accuracy of up to five metres (~16 ft) when tested outside, but it cannot establish a satellite connection when tested indoors. However, this is the case with many devices at this price range.
We took the Soldier on our compulsory bike ride to test its location accuracy in a more practical setting. We brought along a Garmin Edge 500 too to compare the Soldier’s location accuracy against a professional navigation device. Our test device deviated by 50 metres (~164 ft) over a 10 km (~6.2 mi) bike ride, which is respectable. However, it often plotted us next to the route on which we were cycling and could not track us through corners as accurately as the Garmin can. In short, the Elephone Soldier is accurate enough for simple navigation tasks, but lacks the accuracy for more precise tasks.
Telephone Functions & Call Quality
Elephone has pre-installed the standard Android suite of telephony apps, which should be easy to use for most users. The call volume is rather weak on our test device, but it is loud enough for making calls in quieter environments.
Moreover, both sides of the call have noticeable background noise. The combination of high background noise and comparatively low call volume made it hard for us to hear our call partner when making calls in louder environments.
Cameras
The Soldier has a 16-MP front-facing camera and a 21-MP rear-facing sensor. Photos taken with the former are passable, but they often look blurry and too washed out for our liking. The camera captures some details, but background objects look rather muddy. The default camera app supports a picture-in-picture mode too, which displays the view from the rear-facing camera in a small window while taking a selfie. The camera app has no settings to adjust exposure or white balance, but it does have various colour filters.
The rear-facing camera takes better quality photos, although the sensor tends to capture scenes too brightly. Generally, objects are captured well when focussed correctly with good separation, but the background is a blurry mess. The same story is true of macro photos too. Objects in our test photos are reasonably detailed but noticeably overexposed. Unsurprisingly, our test device struggles more in low-light shots, where it can barely capture objects. All details and fine structures are lost in considerable image noise.
The default camera app also supports picture-in-picture mode when shooting with the rear-facing camera. Unfortunately, there are only colour filters and no professional mode, which could potentially improve the quality of photos.
Our experience with video recordings is the same as with photos. Videos suffer from the same shortcomings as photos and there are no manual settings within the default camera app. There is image stabilisation though, which compensates well against minor camera shakes.
We also tested the Elephone Solder with ColorChecker Passport to determine how well it reproduces colours. Our tests reveal that the rear-facing camera reproduces colours too darkly compared to reference colours. While our test device accurately reproduces blue and green tones, dark grey and black tones are noticeably too dark.
Our test device did a much better job at capturing our test chart under controlled lighting conditions though. Details and fine structures are visible even upon looking closely. Unfortunately, the photo is somewhat underexposed and there is a slight paleness in the bottom corners.
Accessories & Warranty
The Soldier comes with a USB charger, a matching USB Type-A to MicroUSB cable and a SIM tool. Elephone does not sell any Soldier-specific accessories on its website, although you can purchase cases and other accessories from third-party suppliers.
The device comes with twelve month’s manufacturer’s warranty. Third-party suppliers will also provide their own warranty that does not affect Elephone’s warranty. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.
Input Devices & Operation
Our test device has Google GBoard pre-installed as its default keyboard. The keyboard functions just as well as it does on other devices. The touchscreen responded reliably and accurately throughout testing. However, we found it difficult to perform multi-finger gestures because the display is not as smooth as on other devices. However, the positional sensor worked well throughout testing and quickly altered the display’s orientation according to what position we were holding it.
The Soldier has a fingerprint sensor, which Elephone has mounted on the right-hand side of the frame. Oddly, while we could register fingerprints within Settings, the sensor would then always fail to recognise them when we tried to use it to unlock the device or within apps that support biometric authentication.
Display
The Soldier has a 5.5-inch IPS panel that runs at a 2,560x1,440 native resolution in a 16:9 aspect ratio. X-Rite i1Pro 2 records our test device achieving an average maximum brightness of 531 cd/m², which puts the Soldier in the middle of our comparison table. The display is 88% evenly lit too, which is respectable, but also only average compared to our comparison devices. However, the Soldier has a higher resolution display than all our comparison devices and one which has good colour accuracy.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 88 %
Center on Battery: 542 cd/m²
Contrast: 797:1 (Black: 0.68 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.8 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 2.8 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
94% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.16
| Elephone Soldier IPS, 2560x1440, 5.50 | Blackview BV5800 Pro IPS, 1440x720, 5.50 | Poptel P9000 Max LCD IPS, 1920x1080, 5.50 | Doogee S55 IPS, 1440x720, 5.50 | Crosscall Action-X3 IPS, 1280x800, 5.00 | Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 IPS, 1280x720, 5.00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | -57% | -43% | -41% | -19% | -41% | |
| Brightness middle | 542 | 587 8% | 406 -25% | 573 6% | 417 -23% | 445 -18% |
| Brightness | 531 | 571 8% | 397 -25% | 568 7% | 425 -20% | 437 -18% |
| Brightness Distribution | 88 | 90 2% | 90 2% | 85 -3% | 91 3% | 88 0% |
| Black Level * | 0.68 | 0.33 51% | 0.38 44% | 0.91 -34% | 0.29 57% | 0.67 1% |
| Contrast | 797 | 1779 123% | 1068 34% | 630 -21% | 1438 80% | 664 -17% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 3.8 | 9.3 -145% | 6.7 -76% | 6.96 -83% | 7.12 -87% | 6.5 -71% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 7 | 17.9 -156% | 13.8 -97% | 12.14 -73% | 10.19 -46% | 10.6 -51% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2.8 | 12.6 -350% | 8.5 -204% | 6.3 -125% | 6.1 -118% | 7.2 -157% |
| Gamma | 2.16 102% | 2.14 103% | 2.21 100% | 1.87 118% | 2.687 82% | 2.53 87% |
| CCT | 6971 93% | 11049 59% | 8858 73% | 7606 85% | 7687 85% | 8274 79% |
* ... 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 17924 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
Our test device has a comparatively high 0.68 cd/m² black value, which is higher than all our comparison devices. This contributes to an overall disappointing 797:1 contrast ratio.
By contrast, CalMAN analysis software certifies that the Soldier’s display has comparatively good colour accuracy. Moreover, we could not detect any pulse-width modulation (PWM) regulating display luminosity, which will help those who have sensitive eyes.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 25.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 8.8 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 16.4 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 55 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 54.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 26 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 28.4 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 90 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.7 ms). | ||
The Soldier is usable outdoors thanks to its relatively bright maximum display luminosity. However, we would recommend avoiding using the device in direct sunlight where possible as reflections can obstruct what is being displayed on the screen. Even artificial indoor lighting, like strip lighting, can cause severe reflections on our test device’s display.
The Soldier has strong viewing angles thanks to its IPS display. We noticed no brightness or image distortions even at acute angles. Only reflections will prevent you using the device at odd angles.
Performance
The MediaTek Helio X25 MTK6797T SoC powers the Soldier, which integrates an ARM Mali-T880 MP4 GPU. Elephone complements the SoC with 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of eMMC flash storage. Overall, the Soldier has mid-range hardware that should be suitable for everyday applications and even simple games.
Our test device finishes well ahead of our comparison devices in some benchmarks. However, the distance in GPU-heavy benchmarks is closer. The Soldier feels snappy in daily use and has comparatively high system performance. Apps also generally loaded quickly and ran smoothly throughout testing.
| AnTuTu v7 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
| Poptel P9000 Max | |
| Doogee S55 | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio X25 MTK6797T () | |
| AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio X25 MTK6797T () | |
| Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal - offscreen Overall Score (sort by value) | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | |
| Average of class Smartphone (177 - 6114, n=58, last 2 years) | |
The Soldier’s solid benchmark performance continued in our browser-focus tests, in which our test device scored significantly higher than the competition. Websites and media content load quickly in daily use, which is not always the case for outdoor smartphones.
| JetStream 1.1 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Smartphone (last 2 years) | |
| Average Mediatek Helio X25 MTK6797T () | |
| Elephone Soldier (Chrome 70) | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 (Chrome 58) | |
| Poptel P9000 Max (Chrome 68) | |
| Doogee S55 (Chrome 67) | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 (Chrome 68) | |
| Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Smartphone (4633 - 89112, n=210, last 2 years) | |
| Elephone Soldier (Chrome 70) | |
| Average Mediatek Helio X25 MTK6797T () | |
| Poptel P9000 Max (Chrome 68) | |
| Doogee S55 (Chrome 67) | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 (Chrome 68) | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 (Chrome 58) | |
| Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total | |
| Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
| Poptel P9000 Max (Chrome 68) | |
| Doogee S55 (Chrome 67) | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 (Chrome 68) | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 (Chrome 58) | |
| Elephone Soldier (Chrome 70) | |
| Average Mediatek Helio X25 MTK6797T () | |
| Average of class Smartphone (388 - 9999, n=172, last 2 years) | |
* ... smaller is better
The Solider not only has more storage than most of our comparison devices, but AndroBench 3-5 also shows it to be significantly faster. The device also supports microSD cards should you run out of internal storage. However, the Soldier can only format cards as external storage, which means that you can only store apps and data on the 128 GB of internal storage.
Our test device performed well in the microSD card portion of our AndroBench 3-5 benchmark too. The Soldier achieved 67 MB/s sequential write and 72 MB/s sequential read speeds when tested with our Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 reference microSD card. These speeds put the Soldier on par with our best comparison devices.
| Elephone Soldier | Blackview BV5800 Pro | Poptel P9000 Max | Doogee S55 | Crosscall Action-X3 | Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | Average 128 GB eMMC Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | -37% | -14% | -26% | -11% | -29% | 68% | 873% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 246.7 | 236 -4% | 269.4 9% | 268.1 9% | 264.7 7% | 181.6 -26% | 283 ? 15% | 1505 ? 510% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 172.2 | 86.6 -50% | 129.6 -25% | 97.1 -44% | 139.3 -19% | 73.6 -57% | 193 ? 12% | 1112 ? 546% |
| Random Read 4KB | 61 | 13.97 -77% | 35.1 -42% | 28.86 -53% | 47 -23% | 21.8 -64% | 82.4 ? 35% | 247 ? 305% |
| Random Write 4KB | 12.14 | 9.43 -22% | 11.23 -7% | 13.17 8% | 8.4 -31% | 11.9 -2% | 54 ? 345% | 271 ? 2132% |
| Sequential Read 256KB SDCard | 72.3 ? | 80.6 ? 11% | 72.9 ? 1% | 73.7 2% | 84.1 ? 16% | 69 ? -5% | 78.1 ? 8% | |
| Sequential Write 256KB SDCard | 67.9 ? | 14.67 ? -78% | 53.2 ? -22% | 14.11 -79% | 56.2 ? -17% | 55.7 ? -18% | 61.8 ? -9% |
Games
The Soldier is powerful enough to play casual and simple games that have moderate graphics requirements. Both “Asphalt 9: Legends” and “Arena of Valor” worked played smoothly on our test device, albeit after noticeable loading times. Unfortunately, the display’s comparatively rough finish spoiled any prolonged gaming during testing as it became a challenge to keep dragging across its unsmooth surface.
However, the positional sensor worked well and reliably reproduced our movements within games without delay.
Emissions
Temperature
The Soldier is a relatively cool device at idle, with surface temperatures reaching a maximum of 31 °C (~88 °F) on the front of our test device and 26.4 °C (~80 °F) on the back. Predictably, surface temperatures rise when the device is subjected to a sustained load, but only two areas get hotter than 40 °C (~104 °F), while the whole device averages a noticeably cooler 35.45 °C (~96 °F).
We also subjected our test device to a loop of the Manhattan GFXBench battery test benchmark to test whether it thermal throttled. The Soldier scored around 30% fewer FPS after thirty runs of the benchmark, which is respectable; some more expensive devices perform considerably worse. This is an extreme scenario though, and so the Soldier should not experience any thermal throttling in daily use.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 42.1 °C / 108 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 36.6 °C / 98 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.7 °C / 82 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
Speakers
The Soldier has a single speaker that was rather quiet during testing. As the graphs demonstrate, mid-tones dominate the sound spectrum, particularly high-mid tones. In short, the speaker is good enough for occasional audio playback in quiet environments.
By contrast, the audio output from the 3.5 mm jack sound cleaner than that from the speaker. The socket in our test device grips headphone jacks tightly, so you should not have a problem with headphones losing connection in daily use.
Elephone Soldier audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (81 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 21.6% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (10.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 6.4% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (22.3% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 40% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 53% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 60% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 34% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Crosscall Action-X3 audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (74.8 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 30% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (8.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 6.2% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (8.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.7% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (25.7% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 58% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 34% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 75% of all tested devices were better, 5% similar, 20% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Battery Life
Power Consumption
The Soldier is a comparatively energy inefficient device. Our test device consumes a minimum of 2.6 W at idle, which rises to a maximum of 6.77 W under load. These values are on par with the average of MediaTek Helio X25 MTK6797T devices that we have already tested, but they are considerably higher than most of our comparison devices.
Our test device came with an 18 W power supply. As the comparison graph suggests, the charger has enough wattage to charge the Soldier even when it is operating under sustained load. The power supply recharges our test device fully in around three and a half hours.
| Off / Standby |   0 / 0.09 Watt |
| Idle |  2.6 / 2.77 / 2.9 Watt |
| Load |
6.34 / 6.77 Watt |
    
| |
| Elephone Soldier 5000 mAh | Blackview BV5800 Pro 5580 mAh | Poptel P9000 Max 9000 mAh | Doogee S55 5500 mAh | Crosscall Action-X3 3500 mAh | Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 2800 mAh | Average Mediatek Helio X25 MTK6797T | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 17% | 45% | -44% | 18% | 41% | 0% | 29% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 2.6 | 0.87 67% | 0.92 65% | 2.3 12% | 1.1 58% | 0.56 78% | 2.6 ? -0% | 0.897 ? 65% |
| Idle Average * | 2.77 | 1.64 41% | 1.9 31% | 3.5 -26% | 1.9 31% | 1.57 43% | 2.77 ? -0% | 1.452 ? 48% |
| Idle Maximum * | 2.9 | 1.68 42% | 2.19 24% | 5.9 -103% | 2.9 -0% | 1.68 42% | 2.9 ? -0% | 1.629 ? 44% |
| Load Average * | 6.34 | 5.79 9% | 3.1 51% | 8.7 -37% | 4.8 24% | 4.6 27% | 6.34 ? -0% | 5.55 ? 12% |
| Load Maximum * | 6.77 | 11.85 -75% | 3.12 54% | 11.2 -65% | 8.4 -24% | 5.92 13% | 6.77 ? -0% | 8.31 ? -23% |
* ... smaller is better
Battery Life
The Soldier has a 5,000 mAh battery, the capacity of which is on par or larger than most of our comparison devices. However, our test device’s battery life is underwhelming. The Soldier lasted a mere eight hours and thirteen minutes in our practical Wi-Fi battery life test, during which we run a script that simulates the load required to render websites. This runtime is nearly three hours shorter than what the Galaxy XCover 4 achieves with its 2,800 mAh battery and almost half for which our other comparison devices lasted. Overall, the Soldier has a disappointing battery life.
| Elephone Soldier 5000 mAh | Blackview BV5800 Pro 5580 mAh | Poptel P9000 Max 9000 mAh | Doogee S55 5500 mAh | Crosscall Action-X3 3500 mAh | Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 2800 mAh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | ||||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 493 | 780 58% | 1346 173% | 844 71% | 843 71% | 668 35% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
The Elephone Soldier is a mixed bag. It offers good system performance and plenty of internal storage. The case is sturdy, and its display is bright enough for outdoor use. We are sceptical about its claims of being IP68 certified though as there are uneven gaps between materials on our test device. Moreover, its large battery belies its comparatively poor battery life, while you must download additional third-party apps to take advantage of the Soldier’s many sensors.
The Elephone Soldier is a performant smartphone that impressed us with its striking design. Unfortunately, the device has considerable drawbacks such as its dreadful battery life.
The Soldier is an unusual smartphone with its curious picture-in-picture mode within the default camera app and its physical compass. Unfortunately, its below-par battery life and questionable IP-rating call into question its primary use as an outdoor smartphone.
Elephone Soldier
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10/16/2019 v7
Mike Wobker
Pricecompare
