Ulefone Armor 9 Smartphone Review

Ulefone Armor 9 Smartphone is one of the best Chinese rugged smartphones on the market that also has a thermal camera and endoscope support integrated. This Ulefone Armor 9 Smartphone Review is meant to present to users how incredibly resilient and useful this smartphone can be.

The thermal camera and endoscope support can become an important asset for mountaineers, construction workers, or other high-risk jobs. The phone has a high resistance to all kinds of shocks (drops, water, dust, temperature, pressure, solar radiation, etc.) It’s like a medieval knight that wears heavy armor and it’s always there to give you a hand. When it comes to classical smartphone specifications then Ulefone Armor 9 only takes the middle-range category. The screen is a 6.3″ 1080p LCD that is powered by the Helio P90 chipset that has 8GB of RAM. It also has a good camera although it’s not its main focus.

Ulefone Armor 9 Camera

As I said before, Ulefone Armor 9 Smartphone has a very good camera for the role it was created. The smartphone packs a dual camera on its back that has a 64MP main snapper and also a 2MP depth sensor. It also has a very powerful quad-LED flash that will probably be more useful as a flashlight than as a camera flash.

At the front of the smartphone, you will find a camera that is made up of 8 MP. The Selfie camera uses the Sony IMX134 sensor that has 1.12 megapixels and an f/2.2 lens. The default photos that you take are 16MP ones and although they won’t let you impressed they are still nice. An important aspect is that you can take photos free of noise and also have good details nearly everywhere except the foliage. You will probably notice that there is a problem with the contrast and the dynamic range and also the colors are way warmer than they should.

One feature that is very useful for different circumstances is the Night Mode that takes around 2 seconds to make. The shots are excellent, maybe soft at times but still bright and with good contrast. We should need to note that the photos made in Night Mode will be saved in 12.5 MP instead. When it comes to the FLIR system from the back of the smartphone it has two snappers. One is regular (2MP) and one is thermal. They work together so they can provide the user with the most detailed image possible. The camera app even has a fire detection feature that is very useful for electricians or other jobs that have inaccessible areas. The FLOR also shows users the temperature by using a temperature bar or by simply clicking on the screen.

Armor 9 Design

We have here the classic design of a rugged smartphone that is combing TPU and polycarbonate plastic with metal and glass. The result is a very rigid and sturdy monster that has 168.2 x 82 x 15 mm measurements and 320g. And it’s only natural to be this imposing and big as it has all the electronics that the FLIR camera users alongside the battery, endoscope connector, and the extra protection of the smartphone.

On the top edge of Armor 9, you will find a flap that hides an audio connector of 3.5mm. On the opposite end, there is a Type-C connector. It is also hidden behind a flap for extra protection. On the smartphone’s sides, you will find a rocker volume, a proprietary connector for the endoscope, a customizable button, the fingerprint sensor, and a nano-SIM/microSD card tray, and of course the power button.

Finally, on the rear, you will find the four camera sensors that include the FLIR Lepton sensor too and a quad-LED flash that is located above the Ulefone logo. The front screen is protected by a Corning Gorilla glass panel and has a water drop selfie camera. The corners of the phone are trimmed at 45 degrees to improve the drop resistance.

Sofware

The Ulefone Armor 9 Smartphone comes with Android 10 already installed and it resembles very much the vanilla version of Android. If we take a look at the Settings menu then we will discover that Ulefone made some changes. Thus the AI app launch acceleration, navbar settings, various gestures are all changed by the phone developers. The users have the opportunity to assign as many as three different actions on the PTT key ( one for the short press, one for the long press, and the third for double-clicking).

Unfortunately, you won’t find any app drawer on Armor 9 but rest assured as there are many custom launchers. The most powerful app you will find on the smartphone is the Toolbox. The Toolbox offers users the Flashlight, Compass, Level tool, AR level for paintings, Height meter, Alarm bell, Magnifier, Protractor, Heart Rate (by using the camera), Noise Meter (by using the microphone), Plumb bob, and Bubble level.

Hardware

When it comes to Hardware, probably the biggest disappointment is the fact that it has no 5G. Fortunately, the company announced that there will be a 5G smartphone coming this year, namely the Ulefone 8 5G. But for now, the current Armor 9 has an Helio P90 SoC which packs no less than eight CPU cores, and an IMG PowerVR GM9446 GPU cluster.

It also has 8GB of RAM and storage space of 128GB, more than enough for storing all the important apps. The battery is a very potent one at 6,600mAh. The full HD display of 6.3-inch has a 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution that matches the triple rear camera setup. It also has 802.11ac Wi-Fi and 5.0 Bluetooth. The smartphone comes along with an 18W (9V,2A) charger and a tempered glass screen protector. The box is completed with an OTG cable and adaptor. Users also have the option to acquire a back clip, a sling, an armband, and a holder to carry the phone around.

Ulefone Armor 9 Smartphone can be bought from Amazon and AliExpress.

Specifications