I replaced my Pixel 9 Pro with a $300 rugged Android phone - here's my buying advice

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Oukitel WP56 is present disposable for $300 connected the authoritative site
• The WP56 is simply a mid-range telephone that performs supra its terms and has an awesome artillery life
• Like astir Oukitel phones, the WP56 is precise heavy.

Let maine acceptable the signifier for you. 

You're retired successful the wilderness. Maybe you're moving connected a occupation site, oregon you've taken your Jeep for immoderate off-road action. The terrain and the upwind are rough, and you mightiness not person the means to springiness your telephone a charge. On apical of that, you mightiness find yourself retired determination successful the mediate of the night, and could usage immoderate superior illumination.

Also: This inexpensive Android telephone has a show and artillery beingness of a handset that's doubly the price

If you're sporting an iPhone oregon a Pixel phone, you cognize to beryllium cautious with those delicate devices. But you're carrying astir the Oukitel WP56, truthful you person nary concerns astir the elements oregon the artillery dying connected you. You tin besides radiance a precise agleam LED to airy up the area.

All from a azygous phone.  

Oukitel is well-known for its rugged phones, and the WP56 is nary slouch. This instrumentality tin not lone withstand the elements, but it tin besides crank up the measurement with a almighty 128dB loudspeaker. Can your iPhone bash that?

But what is this telephone similar to clasp successful the manus and use? 

My experience

Every clip I unbox an Oukitel phone, I'm shocked by its weight. Since I've reviewed respective of these phones, their heft shouldn't astonishment me, and yet present I am. The WP56 weighs 524 grams. That's good much than the iPhone 16 Pro Max (227 grams) and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (218 grams) combined.

This telephone could surely measurement your pants down.

When you clasp an Oukitel phone, it feels similar a ceramic -- not conscionable due to the fact that of its value but besides due to the fact that of its ruggedness. You could astir apt propulsion this telephone astatine the TV successful a acceptable of pique, and the TV would not fare well.

Also: The astir durable Android telephone I've tested has a marathon artillery (and it's connected sale)

The setup of the WP56 is arsenic straightforward arsenic immoderate Android device; erstwhile you've completed that task, you'll find yourself astatine a location surface filled with app launchers and widgets. The archetypal leafage connected the location surface is dedicated (mostly) to Google apps; the 1 objection is the Cleanup app, and I person nary thought what it does. 

I'm guessing it cleans the phone's cache oregon performs immoderate benignant of optimization. Regardless, I thin not to spot specified apps, truthful I usually uninstall them. Fortunately, you tin bash that, arsenic nary of the WP56 bloatware is locked from uninstalling. 

The bully quality is that the WP56 doesn't person astir arsenic overmuch bloatware arsenic I've seen connected different devices.

That yellowish chevron emits a ton of light.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

How does the WP56 perform? Surprisingly well. 

The mentation I was shipped included 12GB of RAM, but (as with astir of Oukitel's phones) allows you to grow the RAM up to a full of 36GB (12 carnal and 24 virtual). Keep successful mind: When utilizing the representation enlargement feature, interior retention is utilized for the virtual RAM. If you bump it up an other 24GB, that means you suffer 24GB of interior storage, truthful usage it wisely. When you alteration the representation expansion, you bash person to restart the device.

I went up and bumped my reappraisal portion to the maximum magnitude of virtual RAM to spot if I could announcement immoderate show boost. Before I did that, I ran a benchmark, and present are the results:

• CPU Benchmark: single-core people - 968 and multi-core people - 2560
• GPU Benchmark: 2609

If you comparison those results to different phones, a peculiar representation gets painted. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra scores astir 2136 connected the single-core trial and 6675 connected the multi-core test. As for GPU comparisons, my Pixel 9 Pro scored 8383, truthful the WP56 is rather a spot down connected that trial arsenic well. Notably, the virtual RAM didn't impact CPU benchmarking astatine all.

Also: Finally, a rugged Android telephone that doesn't look similar a ceramic (and won't interruption the bank)

Clearly, the WP56 is not a flagship device. Instead, this telephone sits successful the little midrange conception of Android phones. Still, the handset feels similar it outperforms its scores. However, if you're much funny successful powerfulness implicit ruggedness and artillery life, this is astir apt not the telephone for you.

When utilizing the WP56, apps unfastened quickly, and animations are smooth, truthful it's comparable to astir midrange phones I've tested. Where the WP56 truly shines is artillery life. According to Oukitel specs, the WP56's 16,000 mAh artillery tin get up to:

• Standby clip - 1,818 hours
• Calling clip - 117 hours
• Music clip - 56 hours
• Video clip - 28 hours
• Game clip - 21 hours

Those numbers are crazy. I've tested the standby clip of different Oukitel models, and they bash basal up to the specs. Think astir it this way: 1,818 hours is 75 days -- seventy-five days!

ZDNET's buying advice

The Oukitel phones truly bash entreaty to definite idiosyncratic types. You person to emotion (or need) a good, rugged design, not attraction astir having flagship performance, and privation a artillery that tin past for a very, very, precise agelong time. If that sounds similar you, the WP56 could beryllium close up your alley, particularly now: The telephone is presently selling for lone $300 (that's 25% off).

Just retrieve what you're getting into. Like each of Oukitel's phones, the WP56 is dense and brick-like. If that's not a woody breaker, the WP56 is simply a slayer deal.

The specs

• CPU - MTK Dimensity 7050 @ 2.6 GHz and 8 cores
• GPU - Mali-G68 MC4
• OS - Android 15
• Display - 6.8" FHD+ astatine 1080 x 2460 resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate, 396 PPI pixel density, and 550 nit brightness
• RAM - 12GB + 24GB virtual
• Storage 512GB (with enlargement up to 2TB)
• Camera - beforehand 32MP with a Sony IMX616 sensor astatine F2.2 aperture
• Camera - main 108MP with an S5KHM6SX03 sensor astatine F1.88 aperture
• Battery - 16000 mAh Polymer, 45 W charging with 18 W reverse charging
• Connectivity - 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4G+5G+WIFI6), Bluetooth 5.2, USB-C
• Sensors - Fingerprint, G-sensor, proximity, ambient light, compass, and gyroscope
• Ruggedness - Rated MIL-STD-810H, rated IP68 (immerse successful 1.5m h2o for up to 30 minutes), rated IP69K

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