Ulefone Armor 5 Smartphone Review
In our tests of its Armor X and Power 5 models, the Chinese manufacturer Ulefone has already shown that it can build outdoor smartphones with a long battery life. However, the design looks were mostly neglected and the robust smartphones presented themselves as rather edgy and bulky.
With the Ulefone Armor 5, we are now receiving a test unit whose design fits well into a business environment, even though it is still well-suited for outdoor use. With Mediatek's Helio P23-MT6763T and the ARM Mali G71-MP2 graphics unit, the robust smartphone also offers solid mid-range hardware that is suited for most everyday tasks. The whole package is completed by 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of eMMC flash storage.
In our test, we also compare the Ulefone Armor 5 to other outdoor smartphones. We have selected competitors with a similar price and performance range, which include the Poptel P9000 Max, Doogee's S55, the Blackview BV5800 Pro, Crosscall's Action X3, and the Galaxy XCover 4 from Samsung.
Case - IP68 certification for the Armor 5
The Ulefone Armor 5 is available in black and blue colors, with the color selection only impacting the back and some ornamental stripes on the edges of the outdoor smartphone. A bumper around all the edges provides the necessary shock resistance. While this also makes the phone a little wider, the Ulefone smartphone is still not as large as other Chinese smartphones. In our size comparison, the Armor 5 is even the second smallest device after the Samsung Galaxy XCover 4.
An IP68 certification attests dust and water proofing for the Android smartphone. In addition, all the connectors are protected by covers. In order to open them, you have to use an included tool that works like a prying tool. The covers are very tight and give the impression of being able to reliably prevent dust and water from entering.
Equipment - Outdoor smartphone with NFC
Ulefone has equipped the Armor 5 with Mediatek's Helio P23-MT6763T SoC, ARM's Mali G71-MP2 graphics unit, 4 GB of working memory, and 64 GB of eMMC flash storage. While the internal storage can be expanded via microSD card, this will cost you the loss of the dual-SIM function. In addition, there is a fingerprint sensor on the back and NFC.
You can use a USB Type-C connection for wired data transfer, although this is internally connected only via the USB-2.0 standard. A 3.5-mm headphone jack also allows you to connect a headset or external speakers to the Ulefone Armor 5.
Software - Chinese smartphone with Android Oreo
Users of the Ulefone Armor 5 are greeted by a pure Android-Oreo version 8.1 system with the security patches on the level of May 5, 2018. The adjustments by the manufacturer are limited to a preinstalled Outdoor Toolbox that offers apps such as a compass, flashlight, and level. The Settings only allow you to deactivate but not uninstall the Outdoor Toolbox.
Communication and GPS - Ulefone Armor 5 with LTE
With the Armor 5, you can connect to the GSM, 3G, and LTE net. The latter is possible with LTE Category 4, which offers download speeds of up to 150 Mbit/s and upload speeds of up to 50 Mbit/s. Band 20, which is important in rural German areas, is also supported.
In addition to NFC and Bluetooth 4.0 for close range communications, the users can create WLAN connections according to the a, b, g, and n standards. In our test, the smartphone achieves mediocre speeds that correspond to the level of similarly equipped devices in the comparison.
Networking | |
iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
Crosscall Action-X3 | |
Doogee S55 | |
Ulefone Armor 5 | |
Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
Poptel P9000 Max | |
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | |
iperf3 receive AX12 | |
Average of class Smartphone (last 2 years) | |
Crosscall Action-X3 | |
Doogee S55 | |
Ulefone Armor 5 | |
Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
Poptel P9000 Max | |
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 |
Using the "GPS Test" app, we evaluate how accurately the Ulefone Armor 5 can locate its own position. Outdoors, it is able to determine its location with an accuracy of up to 4 meters (~13 ft). However, the Android phone is unable to create a satellite connections indoors.
During our mandatory bike tour, we compare the GPS in the Armor 5 with our Garmin Edge 500 reference device. The recorded route often remains next to the actual route and curves are recorded as zigzag lines. The GPS in the Ulefone smartphone is therefore only suited for simple navigation tasks.
Telephone Functions and Voice Quality - Outdoor smartphone with a good connection
The Ulefone Armor 5 offers the standard Android app for making phone calls, allowing you to enter phone numbers easily and without any complications. You can also access the contact list and recent phone numbers.
During the conversation, the smartphone presents itself with a good volume and clear voice transmission. The conversation partners on both sides are easily understandable, and the outdoor smartphone is also able to filter out minor noises.
Cameras - For the occasional snapshot
Ulefone has equipped the Armor 5 with a 13+5 MP main camera that supports interpolated 16-MP images and has an f/2.2 aperture. With 8 MP, the front camera offers interpolated 13-MP images and an f/2.4 aperture, allowing you to record selfies of a mediocre quality. The results turn out quite dark and blurry in the details, particularly in the transitions between various image contents.
The main camera of the Armor 5 is suited for the occasional snapshot and creates usable photos in good light conditions. While these also remain blurry in the detail, the objects in the background still remain relatively recognizable overall. However, the colors turn out slightly pale. At closeup range, photos turn out significantly better, but you also need good lighting conditions. Details are captured well within the focal range, and finer structures in the foreground are also easily recognizable. However, the image is also slightly pale overall here, and the colors are not particularly vibrant. In bad light conditions, the camera of the Chinese smartphone is unusable, and our test scene can only be seen as some vague outlines. The camera app does not offer anything like a professional mode, so that smartphone photographers cannot make any manual adjustments.
Video recordings offer a similar image quality and suffer from some strong smudges even when you make only some slight faster movement. In addition, any slight movement is transferred 1:1 into the video, causing blurriness. The users do not have an option to make any manual adjustments here either.
We test the color reproduction of the Ulefone Armor 5 camera using the ColorChecker Passport. Here blue color tones turn out rather too bright and brown and darker gray tones too dark. The camera is the most accurate in reproducing green tones.
The camera is able to reproduce all the details of our test chart under controlled light conditions. Details and fine lines remain easily recognizable. However, we can see some slight paleness and significant blurriness in the bottom corners.
Accessories and Warranty - 12-month Ulefone warranty
Ulefone has included several accessories with the Armor 5. In addition to the USB charger with the corresponding USB Type-C cable, there is a SIM tool, a protective foil cover for the display, an OTG adapter, an adapter from USB Type-C to micro-USB, and a tool to open the connection covers. The Armor 5 supports the QI charging standard for wireless charging, allowing you to also use Ulefone's US002 wireless charger.
Ulefone offers a 12-month warranty to buyers of the Armor 5. German buyers can also take advantage of the vendor warranty (2 years required by German law). Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.
Input Devices and Operation - Good touchscreen, slow fingerprint sensor
The standard keyboard for users of the Ulefone Armor 5 is Google's "GBoard," which allows you to input text quickly and without complications. The touchscreen responds very quickly to inputs, transferring any touch input directly to the system. The display surface offers slightly too much resistance to the finger tips in the long run, so that extensive drag-and-drop can become uncomfortable over time. The position sensor reacts to movements of the smartphone with a slight delay. For example, it always takes a moment before the content is adjusted accordingly.
On the back of the Armor 5 is a fingerprint sensor. While it allows simple unlocking of the device, it showed itself slightly too sensitive in our test. We often still had to use our password, since supposedly we had placed our finger on the sensor too many times. Thus the fingerprint sensor does not represent a good alternative.
Display - A wide notch, but good brightness distribution
The display of the Armor 5 is a 5.85-inch IPS panel that offers a resolution of 1512x720 pixels. The notch on the upper edge is very wide, so that you cannot see more than three symbols in the notification bar. While at an average of 472 cd/m² the offered brightness is in the middle of our comparison field, the brightness distribution is the best among the competitors at 92%.
|
Brightness Distribution: 92 %
Center on Battery: 487 cd/m²
Contrast: 706:1 (Black: 0.69 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 7.1 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 9.7 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
92% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.26
Ulefone Armor 5 IPS, 1512x720, 5.85 | 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 | 21% | 12% | 6% | 26% | 6% | |
Brightness middle | 487 | 587 21% | 406 -17% | 573 18% | 417 -14% | 445 -9% |
Brightness | 472 | 571 21% | 397 -16% | 568 20% | 425 -10% | 437 -7% |
Brightness Distribution | 92 | 90 -2% | 90 -2% | 85 -8% | 91 -1% | 88 -4% |
Black Level * | 0.69 | 0.33 52% | 0.38 45% | 0.91 -32% | 0.29 58% | 0.67 3% |
Contrast | 706 | 1779 152% | 1068 51% | 630 -11% | 1438 104% | 664 -6% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 7.1 | 9.3 -31% | 6.7 6% | 6.96 2% | 7.12 -0% | 6.5 8% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 15.8 | 17.9 -13% | 13.8 13% | 12.14 23% | 10.19 36% | 10.6 33% |
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 9.7 | 12.6 -30% | 8.5 12% | 6.3 35% | 6.1 37% | 7.2 26% |
Gamma | 2.26 97% | 2.14 103% | 2.21 100% | 1.87 118% | 2.687 82% | 2.53 87% |
CCT | 8096 80% | 11049 59% | 8858 73% | 7606 85% | 7687 85% | 8274 79% |
* ... smaller is better
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
Screen flickering / PWM detected | 63.3 Hz | ≤ 1 % brightness setting | |
The display backlight flickers at 63.3 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 1 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 63.3 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18100 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. |
The contrast ratio of the Armor 5 is only mediocre at 706:1, and the black value is significantly elevated at 0.69 cd/m². This prevents colors from appearing clearly separated and causes black tones to appear as if covered by a gray veil. In addition, the CalMAN analysis shows a significant blue tint. The Ulefone smartphone does not offer an adjustment of the color temperature.
The PWM frequency of 64 Hz that we measured below 1% brightness is probably a display refresh rate in order to save power at low panel brightness.
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
19.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 6.4 ms rise | |
↘ 13.2 ms fall | ||
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 37 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms). | ||
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
43.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 22 ms rise | |
↘ 21.6 ms fall | ||
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 69 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms). |
The smartphone can be used easily outdoors. On overcast days, the brightness is sufficient to display its contents as easily readable. However during bright daylight in particular, there are also reflections of the surrounding outdoor objects that hinder the view of the display.
The viewing angles of the Armor 5 IPS panel are very stable and you can see the image contents from almost any position without the colors becoming distorted. As long as there are no reflections hindering the view of the screen, the Ulefone Armor 5 can also be viewed from unusual angles.
Performance - A powerful outdoor smartphone
The Ulefone Armor 5 is driven by Mediatek's mid-range Helio P23-MT6763T SoC and an ARM Mali G71-MP2 graphics unit. In addition, there are 4 GB of working memory and 64 GB of eMMC flash storage. The available performance is also sufficient for slightly more demanding tasks.
In our benchmark tests, the Armor 5 presents itself as the most powerful device among our comparison group, regardless of whether the application aims more towards system or graphics performance. Thus, buyers of the Ulefone smartphone not only receive a robust, but also a powerful device.
Geekbench 4.4 | |
64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 | |
Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
Poptel P9000 Max | |
Doogee S55 | |
Crosscall Action-X3 | |
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (787 - 920, n=5) | |
Average of class Smartphone (800 - 9574, n=90, last 2 years) | |
64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 | |
Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
Poptel P9000 Max | |
Doogee S55 | |
Crosscall Action-X3 | |
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (3504 - 4262, n=5) | |
Average of class Smartphone (2630 - 26990, n=90, last 2 years) | |
Compute RenderScript Score (sort by value) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 | |
Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
Poptel P9000 Max | |
Doogee S55 | |
Crosscall Action-X3 | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (2707 - 3246, n=4) | |
Average of class Smartphone (2053 - 18432, n=70, last 2 years) |
PCMark for Android - Work performance score (sort by value) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 | |
Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
Poptel P9000 Max | |
Doogee S55 | |
Crosscall Action-X3 | |
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (5909 - 6846, n=8) | |
Average of class Smartphone (10884 - 19297, n=2, last 2 years) |
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 | |
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 | |
Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
Poptel P9000 Max | |
Doogee S55 | |
Crosscall Action-X3 | |
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (20 - 36, n=7) | |
Average of class Smartphone (22 - 165, n=177, last 2 years) | |
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 | |
Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
Poptel P9000 Max | |
Doogee S55 | |
Crosscall Action-X3 | |
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (21 - 24, n=7) | |
Average of class Smartphone (19 - 791, n=177, last 2 years) |
GFXBench 3.0 | |
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 | |
Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
Poptel P9000 Max | |
Doogee S55 | |
Crosscall Action-X3 | |
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (10 - 22, n=7) | |
Average of class Smartphone (6.8 - 165, n=178, last 2 years) | |
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 | |
Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
Poptel P9000 Max | |
Doogee S55 | |
Crosscall Action-X3 | |
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (10 - 11, n=7) | |
Average of class Smartphone (9.2 - 363, n=178, last 2 years) |
GFXBench 3.1 | |
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 | |
Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
Poptel P9000 Max | |
Doogee S55 | |
Crosscall Action-X3 | |
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (6.2 - 16, n=7) | |
Average of class Smartphone (3.7 - 158, n=178, last 2 years) | |
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 | |
Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
Poptel P9000 Max | |
Doogee S55 | |
Crosscall Action-X3 | |
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (6.5 - 7.2, n=7) | |
Average of class Smartphone (6.2 - 279, n=178, last 2 years) |
AnTuTu v7 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 | |
Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
Poptel P9000 Max | |
Doogee S55 | |
Crosscall Action-X3 | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (54192 - 95559, n=8) |
AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 | |
Blackview BV5800 Pro | |
Crosscall Action-X3 | |
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (54201 - 73836, n=8) |
Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal - offscreen Overall Score (sort by value) | |
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (242 - 242, n=2) | |
Average of class Smartphone (177 - 6114, n=61, last 2 years) |
With good results in our browser benchmarks, the Ulefone Armor 5 also positions itself ahead of the competitors here. The Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 can only achieve a slightly better value in the Kraken-1.1 test. In everyday operation, the outdoor smartphone is suited very well for Internet surfing. Page content is displayed quickly and media content is loaded within a short time.
JetStream 1.1 - Total Score | |
Average of class Smartphone (66.1 - 104.3, n=2, last 2 years) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 (Chrome 70) | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (17.9 - 25.9, n=7) | |
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=202, last 2 years) | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (3051 - 4987, n=8) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 (Chrome 70) | |
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 | |
Average Mediatek Helio P23 MT6763T (11352 - 23714, n=8) | |
Poptel P9000 Max (Chrome 68) | |
Doogee S55 (Chrome 67) | |
Crosscall Action-X3 (Chrome 68) | |
Ulefone Armor 5 (Chrome 70) | |
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 (Chrome 58) | |
Average of class Smartphone (388 - 9999, n=165, last 2 years) |
* ... smaller is better
The good results of the Armor 5 continue in the storage benchmarks. The Ulefone smartphone can access its internal storage considerably faster than its competitors. While the internal card reader is not quite as far ahead of the competitors, the outdoor smartphone also receives good values with our Toshiba Exceria Pro M401 reference storage card, slightly surpassing its competitors.
Ulefone Armor 5 | Blackview BV5800 Pro | Poptel P9000 Max | Doogee S55 | Crosscall Action-X3 | Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 | Average 64 GB eMMC Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AndroBench 3-5 | -49% | -29% | -41% | -25% | -42% | -0% | 569% | |
Sequential Read 256KB | 296.5 | 236 -20% | 269.4 -9% | 268.1 -10% | 264.7 -11% | 181.6 -39% | 273 ? -8% | 1468 ? 395% |
Sequential Write 256KB | 245.8 | 86.6 -65% | 129.6 -47% | 97.1 -60% | 139.3 -43% | 73.6 -70% | 176.8 ? -28% | 1078 ? 339% |
Random Read 4KB | 60.9 | 13.97 -77% | 35.1 -42% | 28.86 -53% | 47 -23% | 21.8 -64% | 59.1 ? -3% | 242 ? 297% |
Random Write 4KB | 19.81 | 9.43 -52% | 11.23 -43% | 13.17 -34% | 8.4 -58% | 11.9 -40% | 31.7 ? 60% | 266 ? 1243% |
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard | 80.1 ? | 80.6 ? 1% | 72.9 ? -9% | 73.7 -8% | 84.1 ? 5% | 69 ? -14% | 77.4 ? -3% | |
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard | 71.7 ? | 14.67 ? -80% | 53.2 ? -26% | 14.11 -80% | 56.2 ? -22% | 55.7 ? -22% | 58.3 ? -19% |
Gaming - Suited for the occasional gaming
The internal ARM Mali-G71 MP2 graphics unit is an entry-level graphics card that is suited for occasional gaming. While applications that have slightly higher demands on the graphics performance will run as well, they need longer load times. The games "Arena of Valor" and "Asphalt 9: Legends" that we tested ran smoothly also at higher graphics settings, and the load times were moderate.
The touchscreen reacts reliably to any touch input. However, the high resistance of the screen surface to the fingertips can become a bit uncomfortable in the long run. You can also control games well with the position sensor, but the smartphone's movements are transferred with a minor delay, which you need to take into consideration when controlling games.
Emissions - Ulefone Armor 5 with a good speaker
Temperature
During everyday operation, the temperatures of the Ulefone Armor 5 remain within a moderate range. While idle, we measure a maximum of 32 °C (90 °F) at the surface, and under load the outdoor smartphone always remains below the 40-degree mark (104 °F).
The demanding Manhattan-3.1 benchmark shows that the performance of the Armor 5 is not influenced by high temperatures. Therefore, we do not expect any limitations due to high temperatures when operating the smartphone.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 37.7 °C / 100 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 34.3 °C / 94 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.6 °C / 83 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
Speaker
The speaker of the Ulefone Armor 5 can play relatively loud, offering a wide sound spectrum that is dominated by the high mids. When playing audio content, users have to make do without bass and very high tones are also underrepresented.
While the Armor 5 is quite suited for the occasional reproduction of audio content, users can also connect external speakers or headphones to the outdoor smartphone via its 3.5-mm connection. The port accepts the audio-jack tightly and does not influence audio quality negatively.
Ulefone Armor 5 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (88.1 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 33.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.5% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 7.7% higher than median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (23.5% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 46% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 45% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 65% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 28% 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, 35% 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 - Ulefone Armor 5 with disappointing battery life
Power Consumption
The Ulefone Armor 5 has an average power consumption in our test. At a minimum of 1.08 watts during idle and a maximum of 6.73 watts under load, our measurements are in the middle of the field of our comparison list.
The 10-watt charger is sufficiently sized to power the outdoor Android phone in all situations.
Off / Standby | 0.02 / 0.27 Watt |
Idle | 1.08 / 2.51 / 2.53 Watt |
Load |
4.28 / 6.73 Watt |
Ulefone Armor 5 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 P23 MT6763T | Average of class Smartphone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Power Consumption | -5% | 27% | -91% | -6% | 25% | 15% | 8% | |
Idle Minimum * | 1.08 | 0.87 19% | 0.92 15% | 2.3 -113% | 1.1 -2% | 0.56 48% | 0.873 ? 19% | 0.894 ? 17% |
Idle Average * | 2.51 | 1.64 35% | 1.9 24% | 3.5 -39% | 1.9 24% | 1.57 37% | 2.08 ? 17% | 1.452 ? 42% |
Idle Maximum * | 2.53 | 1.68 34% | 2.19 13% | 5.9 -133% | 2.9 -15% | 1.68 34% | 2.18 ? 14% | 1.632 ? 35% |
Load Average * | 4.28 | 5.79 -35% | 3.1 28% | 8.7 -103% | 4.8 -12% | 4.6 -7% | 3.88 ? 9% | 5.55 ? -30% |
Load Maximum * | 6.73 | 11.85 -76% | 3.12 54% | 11.2 -66% | 8.4 -25% | 5.92 12% | 5.58 ? 17% | 8.23 ? -22% |
* ... smaller is better
Battery Life
In our realistic WLAN test, the Ulefone Armor 5 achieves a battery life that is below-average for a smartphone with a 5000-mAh battery. The outdoor smartphone has to get back to the charger after little more than 10 hours. While this result is good by itself, the Samsung Galaxy XCover 4 can last just as long with a battery that is barely half the size.
Using the included quick-charger, the Armor 5 can be fully recharged within about 3 hours.
Ulefone Armor 5 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 | 603 | 780 29% | 1346 123% | 844 40% | 843 40% | 668 11% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - The robust outdoor smartphone
The Ulefone Armor 5 presents itself as a powerful outdoor smartphone in our test. The camera is suitable for the occasional snapshot in good light conditions, and the performance is above average compared to the competing devices. With its attractive exterior, the robust smartphone also does not need to hide in business environments.
The Ulefone Armor 5 is suited as a smartphone for buyers that value its looks as well as need a robust phone for demanding environments.
The IP68 certification attests the Armor 5 with a dust and waterproof case. It also gives us the impression that it could really hold up in some tough environments. However, buyers should not be fooled by the large 5000-mAh battery, since it does not keep all it promises. The battery life is still good and might even improve with a software update in the future.
Ulefone Armor 5
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10/29/2018 v6(old)
Mike Wobker