Unihertz Atom XL hands-on: Four-inch display, 48MP camera, and DMR support for less than $330

With the start of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Extremely 5G we see smartphones starting up at an astronomical $one,399 price. While there is a great deal of innovation in these substantial priced phones, they are also glass sandwiches and prone to destruction if dropped. If you devote time outside or in the industry and want a cell phone that can just take a beating then you need to seriously consider the new Unihertz Atom L/XL that can be procured for as reduced as $209.

A couple of several years ago I analyzed the small Unihertz Atom and it was a fantastic cell phone to just take fly fishing, hiking, and running. On the other hand, it was so little that it was difficult to get much function accomplished on it. The new Atom L/XL is a greater variation of the Atom with enhanced internal requirements and a sizing that makes it additional usable for industry function.

Also: Unihertz Atom palms-on: Rugged small 4G smartphone retains you linked in the industry for less than $300

Technical specs

• Processor: MediaTek Helio P60 octa-core two. GHz
• Show: 4. inch 1136×640 pixels resolution TFT Lcd, Gorilla Glass
• Functioning process: Android 10
• RAM: 6GB
• Storage: 128GB internal storage with microSD guidance
• Cameras: forty eight-megapixel rear camera and eight-megapixel entrance-dealing with camera
• Wireless technology: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.two, NFC, GPS/BEIDOU/GLONASS, FM radio, infrared
• Sturdiness rankings: IP68 dust and h2o resistant and MIL-STD-810G shock resistance/li>
• Sensors: Fingerprint (entrance-mounted), accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, ambient light-weight, barometer, and compass
• Battery: 4,300mAh battery
• Proportions: 134.five x sixty five x seventeen.5mm and 224.five grams

One particular factor that is significant for your consideration are the bands that are supported by this unlocked cell phone. It is a dual-SIM cell phone too so you can carry your function and individual SIM at the same time. Unihertz supplied the subsequent facts on wireless bands:

• GSM: Band two/3/five/eight
• WCDMA: Band one/two/4/five/eight/19
• TDSCDMA: Band 34/39
• FDD/TDD-LTE: Bands B1/two/3/4/five/six/7/eight/twelve/13/seventeen/eighteen/19/twenty/twenty five/26/28A/B28B/34/38/39/40/41/66
• CDMA2000: BC0/BC1

The Unihertz Atom XL also supports Digital Cell Radio (DMR) so you can use the cell phone, with the integrated antenna, as a walkie-talkie when there is no cellular connectivity readily available. This is a fantastic attribute for people working or enjoying outside.

The Unihertz Atom L/XL Kickstarter Early Hen price is $239 with another pricing degree of $259. The entire retail price, with a prepared delivery of June 2020, will be $329. You can also pick up the Atom L, same cell phone with out the DMR guidance, for $209 with a prepared MSRP of $279. A number of unit pricing alternatives are also readily available.

Hardware

The Unihertz Atom L and XL are the actual same cell phone with the exception of the DMR functionality. There is a $fifty quality for this further functionality and so considerably I have been not able to take a look at out this capacity, even though it seems to be amazing for campers, hikers, and other out of doors adventurists.

The cell phone just isn’t released yet, the Kickstarter job has blown past its target and will be funded, with a marketing campaign that ends on 26 March and envisioned delivery of June 2020. Offered that the cell phone is built in China, there may be some delays owing to the coronavirus outbreak. It arrived in a plain white box with the DMR antenna and charging cable/adapter.

When I 1st eliminated it from the packaging, I quickly thought of the Unihertz Atom given that it has quite a few of the same style aspects (red and black shade, entrance oblong fingerprint sensor, rugged shell) and just seems to be like a greater design. It is really really hanging to put each future to each other and see how substantially greater the Atom XL is when in comparison to the Atom.

Commencing at the entrance, we have the 4-inch Lcd monitor. The top rated and bottom bezels are substantial when the facet bezels only a couple mm wide. The display is additional than sufficient enough to get function accomplished and I hardly ever felt cramped when looking through e-mail, examining out files, taking shots, and additional so it gives a excellent balance of display sizing and skill to nevertheless be pocketable. The display is properly fine, but is not likely to win any awards for brilliance.

The headset speaker and entrance dealing with camera are previously mentioned the display. Down below the viewable monitor we locate the oblong fingerprint sensor that also acts as a house button when you contact it. There is a endeavor switcher capacitive button to the appropriate and a again button to the left of the fingerprint sensor. These are haptic buttons with decent vibration suggestions.

A standard 3.5mm headset jack is found on the bottom with an uncovered open up USB-C port for charging and USB OTG. A red button is on the left facet and it now usually takes a screenshot with one particular push and turns on the flashlight with a push and maintain. I have yet to locate a utility to personalize this button. Above this button on the left facet is the dual SIM/microSD card slot.

Together the top rated we have the IR port and a deal with for the DMR antenna connection level. There is software program integrated on the cell phone so you can manipulate remote controls for many digital products. Power and volume buttons are on the appropriate facet. The sides are coated in metallic with another metallic strip alongside the heart of the again.

Every corner has ridges and red highlighted regions that surface to supply further corner security. There is a lanyard loop on the bottom of the again when most of the again has a textured rubber complete for further grip. The forty eight-megapixel camera is found centered at the top rated of the again with a flash under the camera. There is a loud mono speaker opening on the lower left of the again.

The cameras carried out fine with timelapse, online video, image, and handbook modes readily available. There is no portrait mode guidance and the shots don’t have quite a few advanced artistic aspects, but they get the position accomplished for industry function. There are a couple of samples of pictures in Seattle in my graphic gallery.

Also: Unihertz Titan 1st impressions: Large, rugged, very long-lasting, QWERTY Android cell phone

Software package

The Atom XL launches with Android 10 out of the box and the take a look at unit I have arrived with the January five, 2020 safety update. I fired up the two calendar year outdated little Atom and found it has Android eight.one with the April five, 2018 software program update so it would not surface you can rely on much software program guidance immediately after start.

The cell phone operates a stock variation of Android with a house web site experience like the Apple iphone wherever you can only put app shortcuts in folders, but all surface across many house internet pages. There is no way I could locate to change to an app launcher interface. The Google Discover web site is readily available when you swipe all the way from left to appropriate to the 1st panel.

In addition to the Google principles these as calculator, calendar, camera, Chrome, Gmail, Maps, Messages, and additional, you get a couple applications from Unihertz. These include things like a file manager, FM radio, DMR application, IR remote management app, audio participant, seem recorder, and Toolbox.

The Toolbox is particularly helpful and properly enhances the health and out of doors journey concentration of the Atom XL. The equipment in the Toolbox include things like a seem meter, compass, flashlight, bubble degree, image hanger instrument, coronary heart charge monitor, peak measuring utility, magnifier, tension sensor, speedometer, underwater camera, alarm, plumb bob, and protractor. It is really great to see the camera made use of with some of these equipment to provide an augmented truth experience that supplies you with a device for exact measurements.

The house monitor supports frequent app widgets too so you can personalize your Android experience.

Day-to-day usage experiences

The Unihertz Atom XL is readily available to order now on Kickstarter with some early distinctive prices nevertheless readily available. There is not much that competes down in this $300 vary and when you consider this cell phone is created to endure so much I don’t know why all people would not pick one particular up to have a reliable backup cell phone to just take with you exterior.

It is really a perfect cell phone for taking fishing, hiking, or tenting and I can also see it mounted on a bicycle as a perfect bicycle pc. It did incredibly very well with T-Cell on my everyday route with phone calls sounding fantastic on each ends.

The left facet button actions bothered me a little bit as I held double pressing it and capturing errant screenshots when a push and maintain released the flashlight at the very least two times as much as I wished. The fingerprint sensor worked very well to unlock the cell phone and just take me house so that is a pleasant attribute.

The Atom XL substantially increases the utility of this Unihertz style as the Atom was just too little to be incredibly successful. There was no dilemma for me to carry out organization on the Atom XL with relieve.

The battery also did incredibly very well, lasting me for additional than two times with typical usage and hours of monitor time. I was incredibly amazed with the battery performance and could honestly use this as my everyday driver when also not owning to worry about dropping it off my bicycle or when on the practice.

Unihertz has experienced a couple productive Kickstarter campaigns with these rugged phones and this one particular is off to a fantastic start with approximately $500,000 pledged when I submitted this short article. There are nevertheless twenty times to go so I hugely suggest you consider this as a reliable backup cell phone or a principal one particular to use on your out of doors adventures.