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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- The Oukitel WP210 is disposable present connected Amazon for $599
- This rugged outdoor telephone outperforms astir devices successful its class with almighty hardware with next-level durability.
- You mightiness find it excessively dense for mundane use, but it's perfect for outdoor conditions.
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What is an "outdoor" phone? Quite simply: 1 that tin instrumentality a beating from parent nature. Unlike accepted phones (such arsenic an iPhone or Pixel), these rugged phones scoff astatine rain, heat, and different harsh conditions. Neither Apple nor Google devices could basal up to what an outdoor telephone eats for breakfast.
Also: The champion rugged phones of 2024: Expert tested
From my experience, Oukitel is the person successful rugged phones, with each kinds of absorbing features similar campfire lights, detachable astute watches, and different useful additions. The 1 disapproval I would person with immoderate these phones, however, is that they thin to beryllium successful enactment with debased to midrange devices, often powered by lesser CPUs and beryllium connected virtual RAM.
But that isn't the case, anymore. The company's latest release, the WP210 ups the show crippled large time. Let's instrumentality a look.
My experience
Every Oukitel phone I've reviewed has been built similar a vessel (and weighs astir arsenic much). They are thick, heavy, and solid. The WP201 follows that aforesaid pattern, but is somewhat thinner and a spot lighter. It has the aforesaid benignant of rugged casing and akin buttons, but does adhd an under-screen fingerprint scanner.
The large selling constituent with the WP210 is its performance. The telephone ships with an 8-core MediaTek Dimensity 8200 CPU, clocked astatine 3.1 GHz and a Cortex-A78 / A55 framework. This CPU is connected par with the Snapdragon 7 and 8 series, which means it's rather snappy and responsive.
Also: Meet the world's archetypal ruggedized Android smartphone with ultra-wideband
After the setup was implicit (Google, beryllium cautious astir insisting connected utilizing passkeys for setups), I started swiping astir and was instantly impressed.
With galore midrange phones, I'm utilized to a spot of lag connected animations, app opening, and app switching. The Oukitel WP210 does not endure from that lag 1 bit. In fact, this is the archetypal outdoor telephone I've seen execute this well. I wouldn't accidental the WP210 was connected par with my Pixel 9 Pro, but it's close, and that's saying thing for a telephone that sells for $599.
One of my biggest nits to prime with Oukitel phones is that they each vessel with the App Drawer disabled. I'm an Android user, and this diagnostic is expected. I don't privation an iPhone-like location surface that's filled with a confusing clump of launchers… I privation a minimalist abstraction truthful I tin negociate my apps however I privation them.
Fortunately, it's casual to alteration the App Drawer by long-pressing the location screen, tapping Home Settings, tapping Launcher Style, and past selecting App Drawer. Once I had that taken attraction of, the WP210 felt similar each Android telephone I've ever utilized (and that's a bully thing).
Also: I'm a diehard Pixel fan, but I'm not upgrading to the Pixel 10. Here's why
The WP210 doesn't see immoderate of the gimmicks recovered connected different Oukitel phones; this is simply a much modular Android phone, stripped of the bells and whistles (except the weatherproofing).
Just to spot however good it tin execute nether load, I installed Diablo Immortal. To my surprise, the crippled ran truly good connected the WP210. Although it surely didn't scope the flawlessness of the RedMagic Astra, the gameplay was smooth, and the dependable was fantastic.
All different apps ran amended than expected for a midrange device, and the camera was really beauteous impressive.
The default facet ratio is simply a spot square, but that tin beryllium changed successful the camera.
Another diagnostic that truly amazed maine was the velocity of the fingerprint scanner, which is adjacent to the Pixel 9 Pro. As soon arsenic you unlock the telephone with your fingerprint, it happens instantly. That's awesome for a telephone astatine this price. In fact, everything astir the WP210 is awesome erstwhile you see the price. A $599 telephone should not execute this well and be acceptable to withstand the elements.
As acold arsenic the value of the phone, this is an Oukitel, truthful you tin stake it's going to measurement considerably much than what you presently person successful your pocket. As with each of the company's phones, you'd amended beryllium wearing a loop if you program connected carrying this astir successful your pants.
ZDNET's buying advice
If you're looking for a rugged telephone with respectable performance, the Oukitel WP210 fits that bill. It mightiness consciousness similar a brick, but this telephone tin basal up to modern devices.
As I said earlier, successful each of my "outdoor" telephone testing, the WP210 sits astatine the apical of the heap, truthful I tin happily urge this instrumentality to anyone looking for a mid-range telephone that tin instrumentality the vigor and execute similar a champ.
Oukitel WP210 tech specs
- Display - 6.7" FHD+ with a screen-to-Body Ratio of 91% and a solution of 1080×2412
- Pixel Density - 394 PPI
- Refresh Rate - 120Hz
- Brightness - 500nit typictal
- Protection -Corning Gorilla 5
- CPU - MTK Dimensity 8200 astatine 3.1 GHz with 8 cores.
- GPU Model - Mali-G610 MP6
- Operating System - Android 15.0
- RAM - 12 GB
- Storage - 512 GB
- Front Camera - 32 MP
- Main Camera - 108 MP
- Battery - 8800mAh
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