Finally, a rugged Android phone that doesn’t look like a brick (and won’t break the bank)

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Oukitel WP35 is out there now from Amazon for $329. 
• It affords a formidable battery life, a case that protects the telephone from the weather, and efficiency that belies it is sub-$300 price ticket.
• The telephone is heavy and requires a little bit of tweaking to get a conventional Android expertise.

I’ve reviewed plenty of funds Android telephones. Most of them fall into one among three classes:

1. Handsome however underpowered.
2. Ugly however performs effectively.
3. Good wanting and performs higher than anticipated.

I am all the time stunned at what number of fall beneath the third class, particularly as the value vary drops beneath $300. One such telephone is the Oukitel WP35 5G. In line with Oukitel’s custom, it is a large, rugged telephone with an enormous battery. 

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Oukitel has been cranking out some of these gadgets for some time now and so far as the market is anxious, the clear chief by far. The WP35 is not fairly as beefy as, say, the Doogee V Max Plus, but it surely’s definitely shut. And at half the price of the Doogee, the Oukitel makes for a formidable gadget.

View at Amazon

Oukitel WP35 5G tech specs

• CPU: MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ 5G chipset
• Storage: 264GB (expandable to 2TB)
• RAM: 8GB + 16GB digital prolonged
• Cameras: 64MP fundamental digital camera (Sony @IMX682) with a 1/1.73″ sensor, a 8MP night time imaginative and prescient digital camera, and a 2MP macro digital camera
• Battery: 11000 mAh for 60 days of standby, 75 hours of calling, 60 hours music, 15 hours video, and 12 hours gaming
• Show: 6.6″ 2.4K at 1080 X 2408 decision with 400 PPI Pixel Density and Corning Gorilla Glass 5
• Sturdiness: Army-grade drop resistance and IP68 & IP69K waterproof ranking
• Biometrics: Fingerprint and face unlock
• OS: Android 14
• Twin Nano SIM help
• Worth: $329 on Amazon or $299 on the Oukitel site

My expertise

What stunned me probably the most concerning the WP35 is the scale. Although the telephone consists of an 11000 mAh battery, it isn’t practically as thick as different telephones with the identical huge energy supply. The WP35 is just 14.9 mm thick, the place comparable telephones (with similarly-sized batteries) could be over 20 mm thick.

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The following factor that caught my consideration was its UI. Oukitel has performed a ravishing job with the aesthetics of the interface, giving it an nearly iPhone-like look. Pull down the notification shade and you will get a pleasant blurred background with elegant icons and notifications, and the animations total are clean and well-integrated, with just about no lag.

Relating to the telephone’s biometrics, the facial unlock is almost instantaneous, and the fingerprint scanner (positioned on the facet of the gadget), does not really feel like an inexpensive afterthought prefer it does on similarly-priced telephones. In reality, every part concerning the WP35 is rock strong. 

After all, the massive draw to this gadget is the battery, and boy does it overachieve. You’ll not discover a telephone from the key gamers (Google, Samsung, Nothing, OnePlus, Apple, and many others.) that may compete with the battery life of those Godzilla-sized telephones. If you’d like a tool with a battery that may final and final, (and final and final) that is the one for you (particularly in the event you’re not all for paying flagship costs).

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When it comes to performance, I’ve no complaints. Apps set up and open rapidly, the show is greater than vivid sufficient, and there are some slightly attention-grabbing options you will not discover on different gadgets (such because the underwater mode for the digital camera that makes it potential so that you can faucet the display and take a photograph, even when underwater).

In the event you’re on the lookout for a telephone that may take a beating, final days between expenses, performs effectively, and will not break the financial institution, the Oukitel WP35 is an excellent choice. It isn’t with out it is misses although.

First off, like most Oukitel telephones, the UI does not embrace an App Drawer, which bothers me to no finish. I want a minimal house display, however with this gadget, all apps set up their launchers to the house display (ala iOS), which suggests it is inconceivable to sport a minimal UI. 

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Fortuitously, that is simply the default configuration. In the event you go to open Residence Settings (long-press the Homescreen and faucet the Settings icon), after which faucet Launcher Fashion, you possibly can allow the App Drawer. After enabling the App Drawer, you possibly can then configure Android to not set up new apps to the Residence Display screen and also you’re good to go.

One other nit to select is the sound. It is surprisingly quiet. Even maxed out, YouTube movies aren’t actually loud sufficient to get pleasure from. After all, to get round that, join a pair of headphones and it is superb. 

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The Oukitel WP35 is an excellent discount that may serve anybody who does not thoughts carrying a telephone of their pocket that assessments the energy and integrity of their belt. The WP35 weighs about as a lot as my Pixel 7 Professional and Pixel 8 Professional mixed (455 grams), so sure, it is heavy, but it surely’s because of the protecting chassis and battery. And for a way effectively it is made, it is value each gram.