To get straight to the purpose and the rationale you are all right here: battery life.
Sure, this telephone has a battery. A really massive, very heavy, very long-life battery. How lengthy? Nonetheless lengthy 20,000 mAh buys you. Personally, I am comfortably eking out a stable week with no need to cost … and most of my unproductive telephone utilization is binging YouTube like a teen doom-scrolls TikTok.
I additionally put it to the standby check, solely checking the telephone as soon as per day to see how a lot battery was left (I am unsure how helpful that’s, however I used to be curious) … it ran from Jan. 9 to Feb. 8 earlier than the battery gave up the ghost.
I would name that distinctive.
There is a draw back to having a week’s worth of battery at your disposal in your telephone … it is cumbersome, and it is heavy. Like actually heavy. And actually cumbersome.
JS @ New Atlas
It is too heavy to weigh on the little meals scale I’ve at dwelling, however not fairly heavy sufficient for the individuals scale. So to determine how a lot it weighs with the instruments I had accessible, I began filling up a jug with water an oz. at a time till it felt prefer it weighed about the identical because the telephone … about 25-ish ounces later, that felt about proper. And if you happen to’re questioning, ~739 mL weighs in proper about 0.7 kg or 1.6 lb, give or take. As a final line of protection, this telephone might completely be substituted as a weapon in case of bear assault within the woods (Notice: Oukitel simply printed the precise weight of the telephone after I would written this – and I wasn’t about to delete a few of my finest science – they usually checklist it as 651.1 grams, or 1.44 lb … I used to be shut.).
Do you keep in mind these huge, hardback dictionaries we used to make use of as children to defend ourselves from bullies? About the identical weight as that, however barely extra “pocket-sized” at 7.07 x 3.33 x 1.07 inches (179.5 × 84.7 × 27.2 mm). No lie, my wrist hurts after ~30 minutes of utilization. Granted, I’m primarily a one-handed telephone consumer, and I take advantage of Swype with simply my proper thumb for texting. If I used each fingers, it could possible be much less painful/potential carpal tunnel.
JS @ New Atlas
Whereas it does help 45-watt fast-charging, as a result of the battery is completely ginormous, it nonetheless takes near ~4.5 hours to cost from lifeless. A small value to pay, actually. It is also appropriate with a 10-watt dock charger, nonetheless, I haven’t got one to check. I think about cost instances is likely to be a bit longer with that … like in a single day longer.
One other nifty side is that the 20,000-mAh battery telephone helps reverse charging from its USB-C port to high up no matter goodies you need whereas out and about. I’ve really charged my private telephone from it just a few instances.
Key Specs:
- MediaTek Dimensity 7025 5G processor
- 12 GB RAM / 512 GB storage (expandable as much as 2 TB)
- 6.8-inch FHD+ show, 120-Hz refresh fee
- 108-MP principal digicam
- 8-MP infrared night-vision digicam (Hello-846) with infrared flash
- 20-Ah battery
- 45-W quick charging
- Reverse charging help
- 1,200-lumen COB tenting gentle
- Extremely-loud rear speaker (as much as ~130 dB)
- 2-W DMR digital walkie-talkie, as much as 3.4 miles / 5.5 km
- Android 16
- IP68 / IP69K rugged ranking
- Influence mass appropriate for emergency wildlife deterrence
What separates this telephone from simply a median, run-of-the-mill client telephone with loopy battery life is the built-in digital PTT walkie-talkie. It makes use of a 2-watt DMR digital walkie-talkie radio, able to chirping as much as 3.4 miles (5.5 km) – which may very well be genuinely helpful for building crews, occasion safety, anybody making an attempt to coordinate within the discipline, or in distant areas the place there might not be cell sign.
When you’re not utilizing the walkie function, Oukitel has just about each band constructed into the telephone – and sure, in 5G, not simply LTE – to present you protection virtually in all places on this planet. It ought to work on most main US carriers like AT&T, T-Cell, and Verizon. The WP61 has all the same old Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and NFC connectivity as nicely. As an added plus, the telephone has simply sufficient room in it for twin SIM card help, with Nano+Nano or Nano+TF sorts supported.
JS @ New Atlas
The massive Oukitel additionally has an 8-MP IR digicam in it, one thing I’ve not seen on a telephone earlier than. Whereas the decision is not nice, it is nonetheless enjoyable to have for goofy nighttime photographs with pals in the dead of night … or for sensible makes use of like recognizing animals in the dead of night or checking gear and electrical panels when working in low-light environments. The telephone even includes a 2-MP macro camera for once you actually wish to get the nitty-gritty.
Unsurprisingly, it additionally has the brightest flashlight I’ve ever seen on a telephone. I am guestimating about 15% of your entire again of the telephone is a COB LED panel that serves as a “camp gentle” function. It truly is vivid – about 1,200 lumens, in line with the spec sheet. The form of vivid you’d get from a good flashlight. The form of vivid that if you happen to take a look at it, you are going to be seeing purple spots for some time.
JS @ New Atlas
It additionally has the most important telephone speaker I’ve ever seen, however by some means it isn’t all that a lot louder than my S22. It’s louder for certain – spec sheet says 130 dB – however it simply does not look like it … in all probability as a result of it is annoyingly on the again of the telephone, muffled by your leg, pillow, or no matter it’s you have leaned the telephone on (as a result of your arms are drained) whereas making an attempt to look at a film or video on it. Even my typical perch on the window ledge over my bathe whereas I watch or take heed to a podcast as I cleanse my soul does not appear to work nicely as a result of the speaker placement is on the again. To not point out the telephone’s sheer weight desires to press the facet buttons if you happen to’ve leaned it on its facet. When you lay the telephone on its face and crank some tunes, it does a reasonably stable job of constructing loud noises.
Talking of buttons, the fingerprint sensor is on the ability button itself, one thing I am not used to. I habitually faucet the ability button after I simply wish to see what time it’s, however as a result of the fingerprint reader is on the ability button, it most of the time unlocks the telephone completely fairly than exhibiting me my lock display screen. I suppose kudos for making a delicate and fast thumbprint reader.
There is a customizable button on the left facet you could assign completely different features to; single click on, double, lengthy press … I’ve discovered, because of the placement and ease of by accident urgent it, that I choose single click on to do nothing. Double-click is the place it is at, as a result of it will inevitably be tapped as soon as, whether or not you imply to or not. And the lengthy click on for something that you simply additionally don’t need by accident launched.
The display screen is pretty much as good as any fashionable telephone – a 6.8-inch FHD+ show with a 120-Hz refresh fee at 1080 x 2460. Visually, it is no higher or worse than the typical smartphone I’ve used. It is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, which has been round since 2016 and is tried and true, so it ought to maintain up nicely.
JS @ New Atlas
Pace-wise, it isn’t flagship processing velocity. My four-year-old Galaxy S22 is not considerably sooner, however it’s nonetheless snappier than the WP61’s MediaTek Dimensity 7025 5G processor. However that does not imply the Oukitel feels sluggish. That being mentioned, if you happen to’re making an attempt to look at a 4K video on YouTube and even domestically on the telephone, you will see some frames drop. It appears to deal with 1080p with little or no subject. I by no means recreation on my telephones, so I am unsure the way it runs video games, not that it is marketed as being a gaming handheld.
Privateness is a bit iffy. After I first put the telephone on my community, I routed it by way of my Raspberry Pi so I might log what and who the telephone was making an attempt to speak to with out me, monitoring DNS lookups and outbound site visitors to see the place the connections had been headed. I did not actually like what I noticed, and I began digging by way of the telephone’s communications stack and trimming issues again. I busted out ADB instruments and eliminated a handful of apps and background companies that did not appear needed – together with the Chinese language app retailer and some different elements that had been a little bit too keen to speak to the opposite facet of the world.
JS @ New Atlas
That being mentioned, just about each cellphone maker and provider does this identical background communication-type habits – updates, analytics, bloatware. My final Samsung Galaxy S20 on Verizon might have been the biggest offender I’ve ever seen.
The WP61 runs on the most recent Android 16, which is nice. Even my each day driver Galaxy S22 continues to be solely on Android 13. Although the WP61 is likely to be a customized Android 16 construct particularly for the Chinese language market and translated to English … stuff like “Bluetooth open/closed” fairly than “on/off” pops up right here and there.
It is IP68 and IP69K rated, so getting it moist and even dropping it within the pool is not actually a problem. The USB-C port even has a closable flap such as you’d discover on a water-resistant OtterBox case that appears to do the job. Whereas I would not essentially name it “army grade,” it’s rated MIL-STD-810H, which is a US army sturdiness testing commonplace for stuff like shock/drop resistance, vibration, excessive and low temperature, stress adjustments, and so on. Mainly, the factor is rugged and made for the nice outdoor, and maybe even for some high-octane door kicking.
In the end, this telephone is not marketed to chase flagship specs. It is constructed for individuals who really work with their fingers or spend actual time outdoors and do not wish to really feel tethered to the charging dock – individuals who respect outright sturdiness and battery life. This telephone is a instrument. And for that crowd, myself included, it is fairly superior … albeit heavy.
Product web page: Oukitel WP61
Our evaluations are neutral and our opinions are our personal. New Atlas might obtain fee if you buy the dictionary I linked to on Amazon
