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MagyarUlefone Armor 3T Smartphone Review
Ulefone has repeatedly proven itself in our reviews as a manufacturer of robust smartphones. We have already covered the Armor 5, Armor X and the Power 3 among others, which all had large batteries that generally achieved long runtimes. The Armor 3T is the latest Ulefone smartphone to arrive for testing and continues the Chinese company’s theme of being a rugged smartphone with a huge battery. The Armor 3T also packs in a walkie-talkie function, the inclusion of which is rather novel.
Ulefone has equipped the Armor 3T with a MediaTek Helio P23 MT6763T SoC, which is a lower mid-range chip that integrates an ARM Mali-G71 MP2 GPU. The Armor 3T currently retails for US$279.99 (£222.59) through ulefone.com and has 4 GB of RAM with 64 GB of eMMC flash storage. The device is not only IP68 certified but also IP69K certified against powerful jets of hot water. In short, the Armor 3T should handle anything that you can throw at it.
We have chosen to compare the Armor 3T against other rugged and comparably priced smartphones. Our comparison devices include the Elephone Soldier, the Oukitel WP2 and the Ulefone Armor 5. We also consider the Armor 3T against the Crosscall Action-X3, but please keep in mind that the latter costs over $US100 more than our test device, so it is not an entirely fair comparison.
Case
The Armor 3T has a mainly metal and plastic design. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, while rubber caps protect the radio antenna connector and the USB Type-C port when they are not in use. The device is also IP68 and IP69K certified, which means that it is dustproof and resists even high-pressure jets of hot water.
Ulefone has included a fingerprint sensor on the Armor 3T too, which it has placed on the right-hand side of the device below the power button. The volume buttons sit on the opposite side above the walkie-talkie button. Ulefone has hidden the microSD and two nano-SIM card slots behind a metal panel on the back of the device, which requires undoing four Torx screws to remove.
The Armor 3T comes in a choice of two colors. Our test device is the black variant, which looks more understated than the orange version. Both color options are mostly black, but the orange version has bright orange accents running around the edges of the display and onto the back of the device.
Connectivity
Ulefone has equipped the Armor 3T with a MediaTek Helio P23 MT6763T SoC, which is a lower mid-range chip that integrates an ARM Mali-G71 MP2 GPU. The Armor 3T also has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of eMMC flash storage. The device supports up to 256 GB microSD cards, according to Ulefone, should you run out of internal storage. Moreover, the Armor 3T has a dedicated microSD card slot, which means that you need not sacrifice one of the two SIM card slots should you need to use a microSD card. By contrast, the likes of Huawei and Samsung regularly only include two card slots but market their devices as being dual-SIM and supporting microSD cards, so credit to Ulefone for implementing this functionality correctly. Frustratingly, the Armor 3T could only format our reference microSD card as external storage, which prevented us from storing any apps or data on the card. Hence, you can store apps only on the internal storage, which could prove frustrating if you fill it up, as you would need to delete files before downloading any new apps.
The Armor 3T has a USB 2.0 Type-C port on the bottom of the device for wired data transfer and charging. The port supports USB On-The-Go (OTG) for connecting peripherals like USB storage or keyboards and mice.
Software
The Armor 3T ships with Android 8.1 Oreo, while our test device arrived with July 5, 2018, Android security patches, which were almost six months old at the time of testing. Ulefone keeps the OS a relatively stock Android experience with only a few custom icons and apps for the walkie-talkie module among others. There is also a toolbox app that includes, but is not limited to, an altimeter, a magnifier, a protractor and spirit level. The Armor 3T also supports multiple user accounts should more than one person need to use the device.
Communication & GPS
The Armor 3T supports GSM, 3G and LTE networks. The device utilizes LTE Cat. 7 for up to 300 MBit/s download and 100 MBit/s upload speeds. The device also supports modern Wi-Fi standards up to IEEE 802.11 n, which means that it can only connect to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks. Correspondingly, our test device averages around 100 MBit/s in iperf3 Client Wi-Fi tests, which puts it below all but the Oukitel WP2 in our comparison table.
The device supports Bluetooth 4.1 and NFC like many other devices too, but it has an ace up its sleeve too. The Armor 3T also has a radio antenna that can operate at between 400-470 MHz. Our test device has a 2 W maximum transmission power, which yields up to a 10 km (~6.2 miles) range at sea and a few hundred meters in built-up areas. We tested the Armor 3T’s radio functionality with a Wanhua UV6S walkie-talkie to determine its audio quality and range. The two devices held a range of around 600 meters (~0.4 miles) in a wooded area, which is beyond Ulefone’s claims. The Armor 3T transmitted and received audio cleanly until its maximum range, during which voices sounded intelligible and loud.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
| Average of class Smartphone (16.9 - 1368, n=69, last 2 years) | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 | |
| Oukitel WP2 | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| iperf3 receive AX12 | |
| Average of class Smartphone (32.7 - 953, n=70, last 2 years) | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| Oukitel WP2 | |
The Armor 3T uses GPS, GLONASS and SBAS for location services. Our test device can maintain a satellite fix with up to 2 meters (~6.6 feet) accuracy outdoors, which is an outstanding result. The device failed to locate us indoors though, which is somewhat disappointing.
We also took the Armor 3T on a bike ride to test its navigation accuracy against our reference navigation system, the Garmin Edge 500. Our test device performed well over our 8.81 km (~5.5 miles) bike ride and only deviated by around 50 meters (~164 feet) from the route that the Garmin recorded. The Armor 3T could not react as quickly as the Garmin could when we changed direction though, which resulted in our test device occasionally cutting corners to catch up with us. Overall, the Armor 3T has a better GPS module than many other smartphones and is accurate enough even for more complex navigation tasks.
Telephone Features & Call Quality
Ulefone pre-installs Google Gboard as the default keyboard on our test device. The keyboard functions just as well as it does on other smartphones. Our test device has decent call quality and gets loud enough to make or receive calls even from noisy environments. Moreover, both sides of the call sounded clear and intelligible throughout testing.
Alternatively, you could use headphones for phone calls, but keep in mind that the Armor 3T has no headphone jack nor does Ulefone include a pair of headphones in the box. The company does include a USB Type-C to 3.5 mm jack adapter for you to connect traditional headphones to the Armor 3T though, which is a plus.
Cameras
The Armor 3T has an 8 MP front-facing camera that it interpolates to 13 MP and a 21 MP rear-facing camera. The latter is a Sony IMX230 sensor that has an f/1.8 aperture.
The front-facing camera is mediocre and struggles to capture details or fine structures. Furthermore, colors look pale and washed out, while the sensor typically underexposes photos more than we would like. The default camera app has few settings too with only a few color filters and an HDR mode. There is also a manual ISO mode should you wish to tinker with exposure settings before taking a photo.
By contrast, the rear-facing camera captures scenes more vividly and with decent contrast. Transitions between objects look rather blurred when shooting macro photos, but the sensor does a good job at capturing details and accurately reproducing colors overall. The sensor also balances juxtaposing areas of brightness with only objects in poorly lit areas of an image being lost in the darkness. Details are lacking when looking closely at images though with objects dominated by a coarse grain of image noise.
The rear-facing camera particularly struggles in low light though despite its relatively wide aperture. The resulting photos are heavily washed out, and objects are recognizable if they are in focus. Essentially, low-light pictures are unusable. The default camera app has several pre-set white balance profiles and all the settings that are available for the front-facing camera.
The main camera shoots videos in the same quality as it takes photos. The sensor automatically adjusts white balance and can record in up to 1080p in either MP4 or 3GP. There is also electronic image stabilization that compensates well for minor camera shakes.
We also subjected the Armor 3T to further camera tests under controlled lighting conditions. Our test device generally reproduces colors too brightly compared to the ColorChecker Passport reference color, although gray tones look too dark. The Armor 3T captures our test chart well though with details and fine textures reproduced sharply at the center of the photo. Likewise, colors look vivid. The contrast visibly drops off in the bottom corners of the chart though, but this happens with many other smartphones too.
Accessories & Warranty
The Armor 3T comes with numerous accessories. Our test device arrived with a USB charger, with matching USB Type-C cable, a USB Type-C to Type A adapter, a Type-C to MicroUSB adapter, a Type-C to 3.5 mm adapter, an antenna, Torx and flathead screwdrivers, a wrist strap, a bike holder and a screen protector. Ulefone does not sell any other Armor 3T specific accessories on its website, but this offering is more than many other manufacturers include with their devices.
The Armor 3T comes with 12 months manufacturer’s warranty. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties article for country-specific information.
Input Devices & Operation
Ulefone pre-installs Google Gboard as the default keyboard on our test device. The keyboard functions just as well as it does on other smartphones. The touch screen responded reliably and quickly transmitted our inputs throughout testing. Multi-finger gestures work too, but the screen’s resistive coating made actions like drag and drop movements somewhat of a chore after a while.
The fingerprint sensor worked well too and quickly unlocked our device throughout our tests. We had to place our thumb very precisely on the sensor though as otherwise, our test device would fail to recognise our fingerprint.
Display
The Armor 3T has a 5.7-inch IPS display that operates natively at 2,160 x 1,080 with a 2:1 aspect ratio. Our test device achieved an average maximum brightness of 425 cd/m² according to X-Rite i1Pro 2, which puts the Armor 3T joint-bottom of our comparison table with the Crosscall Action-X3. The value also drops to 416 cd/m² in the more practical APL50 test, which underlines that Ulefone has equipped the Armor 3T with a relatively dark panel. Our test device has an 89% evenly lit display, which puts it in the midfield of our comparison table.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 89 %
Center on Battery: 414 cd/m²
Contrast: 1533:1 (Black: 0.27 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 6 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.2
ΔE Greyscale 6.8 | 0.57-98 Ø5.4
94.3% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.41
| Ulefone Armor 3T IPS, 2160x1080, 5.70 | Oukitel WP2 IPS, 2160x1080, 6.00 | Elephone Soldier IPS, 2560x1440, 5.50 | Ulefone Armor 5 IPS, 1512x720, 5.85 | Crosscall Action-X3 IPS, 1280x800, 5.00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | -14% | -0% | -33% | 0% | |
| Brightness middle | 414 | 472 14% | 542 31% | 487 18% | 417 1% |
| Brightness | 425 | 456 7% | 531 25% | 472 11% | 425 0% |
| Brightness Distribution | 89 | 86 -3% | 88 -1% | 92 3% | 91 2% |
| Black Level * | 0.27 | 0.32 -19% | 0.68 -152% | 0.69 -156% | 0.29 -7% |
| Contrast | 1533 | 1475 -4% | 797 -48% | 706 -54% | 1438 -6% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 6 | 9.1 -52% | 3.8 37% | 7.1 -18% | 7.12 -19% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 13.1 | 14.8 -13% | 7 47% | 15.8 -21% | 10.19 22% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 6.8 | 9.6 -41% | 2.8 59% | 9.7 -43% | 6.1 10% |
| Gamma | 2.41 91% | 1.75 126% | 2.16 102% | 2.26 97% | 2.687 82% |
| CCT | 8157 80% | 8713 75% | 6971 93% | 8096 80% | 7687 85% |
* ... 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 18925 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
What the Armor 3T lacks in luminosity it makes up for in vibrancy. Our test device has a comparatively low 0.27 cd/m² black value, which helps it achieve an excellent 1,533:1 contrast ratio. These values put the Armor 3T well ahead of our comparison devices in this regard. We also subjected our test device to CalMAN analysis software, which demonstrated that the display has a blue tint to it. Unfortunately, we could not alter this as Ulefone has not included any color profiles or white balance settings that would help to compensate for any color inaccuracies.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 43.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 23.6 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 19.6 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. » 98 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (22.3 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 74.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 36.8 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 38 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.25 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 99 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (35.1 ms). | ||
The Armor 3T is easy to use outdoors. The display gets bright enough to read what is being displayed onscreen when in the shade or on a cloudy day, but we would recommend avoiding direct sunlight where possible. Unfortunately, the display does not get bright enough to overcome reflections in direct sunlight.
The Armor 3T has stable viewing angles thanks to its IPS display. The screen can be read from almost any angle without any brightness, color or image distortions.
Performance
The Armor 3T is powered by a MediaTek Helio P23 MT6763T SoC that integrates an ARM Mali-G71 MP2 GPU. Ulefone complements the midrange SoC with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of eMMC flash storage. The Armor 3T should be powerful enough for most daily tasks and is on par with other lower-midrange smartphones.
Our test device performed well in benchmarks and regularly finished in the upper midfield of our comparison tables. The Armor 3T scored comparatively highly in both system and graphics benchmarks, but it still finished several percent short of the Elephone Soldier.
| Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 | |
| 64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| Oukitel WP2 | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (787 - 920, n=5) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (783 - 8424, n=78, last 2 years) | |
| 64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| Oukitel WP2 | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (3504 - 4262, n=5) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (2630 - 21505, n=78, last 2 years) | |
| Compute RenderScript Score (sort by value) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| Oukitel WP2 | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (2707 - 3246, n=4) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (2053 - 14785, n=64, last 2 years) | |
| PCMark for Android | |
| Work performance score (sort by value) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| Oukitel WP2 | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (5909 - 6846, n=8) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (9875 - 19297, n=4, last 2 years) | |
| Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| Oukitel WP2 | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (4622 - 5054, n=7) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (5279 - 13282, n=28, last 2 years) | |
| GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 | |
| T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| Oukitel WP2 | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (20 - 36, n=7) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (22 - 165, n=186, last 2 years) | |
| 1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| Oukitel WP2 | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (21 - 24, n=7) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (19 - 497, n=186, last 2 years) | |
| GFXBench 3.0 | |
| on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| Oukitel WP2 | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (10 - 22, n=7) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (6.8 - 161, n=187, last 2 years) | |
| 1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| Oukitel WP2 | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (10 - 11, n=7) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (9.2 - 331, n=188, last 2 years) | |
| GFXBench 3.1 | |
| on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| Oukitel WP2 | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (6.2 - 16, n=7) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (3.7 - 143, n=188, last 2 years) | |
| 1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (6.5 - 7.2, n=7) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (6.2 - 223, n=188, last 2 years) | |
| AnTuTu v7 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| Oukitel WP2 | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (54192 - 95559, n=8) | |
| AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T | |
| Oukitel WP2 | |
| Elephone Soldier | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (54201 - 73836, n=8) | |
The Armor 3T also plays second fiddle to the Elephone Soldier in browser benchmarks. Our test device handles web browsing smoothly in daily use with websites and media content loading quickly throughout testing.
| JetStream 1.1 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Smartphone (27.5 - 414, n=78, last 2 years) | |
| Elephone Soldier (Chrome 70) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T (Chrome 71) | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 (Chrome 70) | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (17.9 - 25.9, n=7) | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 (Chrome 68) | |
| Oukitel WP2 (Chroome Mobile 70) | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Smartphone (4633 - 74261, n=193, last 2 years) | |
| Elephone Soldier (Chrome 70) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T (Chrome 71) | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (3051 - 4987, n=8) | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 (Chrome 70) | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 (Chrome 68) | |
| Oukitel WP2 (Chrome Mobile 70) | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total Score | |
| Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (11352 - 23714, n=8) | |
| Oukitel WP2 (Chrome Mobile 70) | |
| Oukitel WP2 (Chrome Mobile 70) | |
| Crosscall Action-X3 (Chrome 68) | |
| Ulefone Armor 5 (Chrome 70) | |
| Ulefone Armor 3T (Chrome 71) | |
| Elephone Soldier (Chrome 70) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (414 - 10031, n=167, last 2 years) | |
* ... smaller is better
Ulefone has equipped the Armor 3T with 64 GB of eMMC flash storage, of which around 55 GB is available upon first booting the device. Our test device performed strongly in AndroBench 3-5 and finished second overall to the Armor 5 in our comparison table and well ahead of the class average.
The Armor 3T has a class-leading microSD card reader too. Our test device averaged 73.88 MB/s sequential write and 81.32 MB/s sequential read speeds with our Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 reference microSD card, which are better combined transfer speeds than all our comparison devices. The Action-X3 achieved a faster average read speed, but it could not keep up with its write speed. In short, the Armor 3T has fast storage for its class and price range.
| Ulefone Armor 3T | Oukitel WP2 | Elephone Soldier | Ulefone Armor 5 | Crosscall Action-X3 | Average 64 GB eMMC Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | -33% | -15% | 3% | -24% | 1% | 441% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 283.9 | 267.6 -6% | 246.7 -13% | 296.5 4% | 264.7 -7% | 273 ? -4% | 1183 ? 317% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 210.6 | 98.6 -53% | 172.2 -18% | 245.8 17% | 139.3 -34% | 177.2 ? -16% | 743 ? 253% |
| Random Read 4KB | 58.6 | 26.89 -54% | 61 4% | 60.9 4% | 47 -20% | 59.4 ? 1% | 208 ? 255% |
| Random Write 4KB | 20.93 | 13.23 -37% | 12.14 -42% | 19.81 -5% | 8.4 -60% | 31.9 ? 52% | 217 ? 937% |
| Sequential Read 256KB SDCard | 81.3 ? | 72.2 ? -11% | 72.3 ? -11% | 80.1 ? -1% | 84.1 ? 3% | 77.4 ? -5% | |
| Sequential Write 256KB SDCard | 73.9 ? | 47.92 ? -35% | 67.9 ? -8% | 71.7 ? -3% | 56.2 ? -24% | 58.3 ? -21% |
Games
The ARM Mali-G71 MP2 GPU struggles to render modern games smoothly. Menu transitions looked jerky in Asphalt 9: Legends and Arena of Valor, which underlines the limitations of the GPU. Our test device maintained playable frame rates in both games, so you should have an acceptable gaming experience in daily use if you avoid modern, complex games.
Conversely, the accelerometer and touch screen worked perfectly throughout our game tests. The Armor 3T reproduced our inputs onscreen promptly, although we found the display’s highly resistive coating tiresome after prolonged gaming sessions.
Emissions
Temperature
The Armor 3T manages its surface temperatures well. Our test device remained below 30.4 °C (86.72 °F) when idling and just over 32 °C (89.6 °F) under sustained load, which is impressive. In short, the device will never feel hot to the touch regardless of how hard you push it. You should not experience any thermal throttling either.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 32.4 °C / 90 F, compared to the average of 34.9 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 52.9 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 29.6 °C / 85 F, compared to the average of 33.7 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.1 °C / 81 F, compared to the device average of 32.6 °C / 91 F.
Speakers
The Armor 3T has a single speaker that gets loud and provides a well-balanced sound spectrum. Hence, media content should sound listenable in daily use, and you need not rush to find headphones if you want to briefly listen to music or watch a video.
There is Bluetooth 4.1 and USB Type-C for when you are listening to something over an extended period though. Ulefone includes a USB Type-C to 3.5 mm jack adapter with the Armor 3T too so that you can use your existing headphones. The company does not include a pair of headphones in the box.
Ulefone Armor 3T audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (91.8 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 31% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.1% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.7% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (18.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 14% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 79% worse
» The best had a delta of 11%, average was 23%, worst was 65%
Compared to all devices tested
» 40% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 53% worse
» The best had a delta of 3%, average was 20%, worst was 65%
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 (9% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 6.2% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (8.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.7% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (24% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 59% of all tested devices in this class were better, 12% similar, 30% worse
» The best had a delta of 11%, average was 23%, worst was 65%
Compared to all devices tested
» 75% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 19% worse
» The best had a delta of 3%, average was 20%, worst was 65%
Battery Life
Power Consumption
The Armor 3T has comparatively high power consumption. Our test device consumes a minimum of 0.94 W and a maximum of 2.02 at idle, which is comparatively frugal. However, power consumption rises to a maximum of 8.32 W, which is considerably higher than all but the Action-X3 of our comparison devices. However, the Armor 3T averages 6.46 W under load, which is higher than all our comparison devices. Overall, the Armor 3T has comparatively low power consumption when idling, but the opposite is true when the device is subjected to sustained load.
Ulefone includes an 18 W charger in the box. Hence, the charger is powerful enough to recharge the Armor 3T regardless of how much load it is working under.
| Off / Standby |   0.02 / 0.27 Watt |
| Idle |  0.94 / 1.98 / 2.02 Watt |
| Load |
6.46 / 8.32 Watt |
    
| |
| Ulefone Armor 3T 10300 mAh | Oukitel WP2 10214 mAh | Elephone Soldier 5000 mAh | Ulefone Armor 5 5000 mAh | Crosscall Action-X3 3500 mAh | Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 10% | -48% | -3% | -6% | 13% | 19% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 0.94 | 1.14 -21% | 2.6 -177% | 1.08 -15% | 1.1 -17% | 0.873 ? 7% | 0.885 ? 6% |
| Idle Average * | 1.98 | 1.99 -1% | 2.77 -40% | 2.51 -27% | 1.9 4% | 2.08 ? -5% | 1.486 ? 25% |
| Idle Maximum * | 2.02 | 2.03 -0% | 2.9 -44% | 2.53 -25% | 2.9 -44% | 2.18 ? -8% | 1.7 ? 16% |
| Load Average * | 6.46 | 3.72 42% | 6.34 2% | 4.28 34% | 4.8 26% | 3.88 ? 40% | 4.27 ? 34% |
| Load Maximum * | 8.32 | 5.96 28% | 6.77 19% | 6.73 19% | 8.4 -1% | 5.58 ? 33% | 7.09 ? 15% |
* ... smaller is better
Battery Life
The Armor 3T has a 10,300-mAh battery that provided excellent runtimes during our tests. Our test device lasted 31:41 hours in our practical Wi-Fi test, which is 40% longer than our best performing comparison device. In short, you should get at least two if not three days use of out the Armor 3T.
The included 18 W charger takes around six hours to recharge our test device fully.
| Ulefone Armor 3T 10300 mAh | Oukitel WP2 10214 mAh | Elephone Soldier 5000 mAh | Ulefone Armor 5 5000 mAh | Crosscall Action-X3 3500 mAh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | |||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 1901 | 1146 -40% | 493 -74% | 603 -68% | 843 -56% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
The Ulefone Armor 3T is a solid mid-range smartphone that is good enough for daily use and is also suitable for the harshest of environmental conditions. The Armor 3T has a sufficiently bright display and delivered good system performance during our tests for its price. The IP69K certification is currently a rarity for smartphones too, which gives the device the edge over some of its competitors. The dedicated radio antenna works well too and is another unique selling point of the device.
The Ulefone Armor 3T is a unique outdoor smartphone with its IP69K rating and its radio antenna that is also powerful enough for general use. It has phenomenal battery life too.
The Armor 3T has its drawbacks though. Its cameras are mediocre, and it does little to separate itself from the competition if the walkie-talkie functionality and IP69K rating are not essential for you. One thing going for the Armor 3T is the class-leading battery life thanks to its massive battery. In short, the Ulefone Armor 3T is a decent rugged smartphone that sets itself apart from its competitors with niche selling points.
Ulefone Armor 3T
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01/11/2019 v6(old)
Mike Wobker
Pricecompare
