One of the best rugged Android phones I’ve tested is also one of the cheapest

ZDNET’s key takeaways

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

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

1. Handsome however underpowered
2. Ugly however performs nicely
3. Good trying 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 cellphone is the Oukitel WP35 5G. In step with Oukitel’s custom, it is a large, rugged cellphone with an enormous battery.

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Oukitel has been cranking out all these gadgets for some time now, and so far as the market is worried, it is the clear chief by far. The WP35 is not fairly as beefy as, say, the Doogee V Max Plus, however it’s definitely shut. At half the price of the Doogee, the Oukitel makes for a powerful system.

View at Amazon

Oukitel WP35 5G tech specs

• CPU: MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ 5G chipset
• Storage: 256GB (expandable to 2TB)
• RAM: 8GB + 16GB digital prolonged
• Cameras: a 64MP most important digicam (Sony @IMX682) with a 1/1.73″ sensor, an 8MP night time imaginative and prescient digicam, and a 2MP macro digicam
• Battery: 11,000 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: Navy-grade drop resistance and IP68 & IP69K waterproof ranking
• Biometrics: Fingerprint and face unlock
• OS: Android 14
• Twin Nano SIM help
• Value: $329 on Amazon or $299 on Oukitel’s site

My expertise

What stunned me essentially the most in regards to the WP35 is its dimension. Though the cellphone consists of an 11,000 mAh battery, it is not almost as thick as different telephones with the identical large energy supply. The WP35 is simply 14.9 mm thick, whereas related telephones (with similarly-sized batteries) will be over 20 mm thick.

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The following factor that caught my consideration was the cellphone’s UI. Oukitel has accomplished an attractive 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 general are clean and well-integrated, with nearly no lag.

The facial unlock is sort of instantaneous, and the fingerprint scanner (positioned on the aspect of the system) would not really feel like an affordable afterthought prefer it does on similarly-priced telephones. In truth, the whole lot in regards to the WP35 is rock strong. 

After all, the large draw to this system is the battery, and boy does it overachieve. You’ll not discover a cellphone from the foremost gamers (Google, Samsung, Nothing, OnePlus, Apple, and so on.) that may compete with the battery life of those Godzilla-sized telephones. If you need a tool with a battery that can final and final, that is the one for you (particularly in the event you’re not excited by paying flagship costs).

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By way of performance, I’ve no complaints. Apps set up and open rapidly, the show is greater than brilliant sufficient, and there are some reasonably attention-grabbing options you will not discover on different gadgets (such because the underwater mode for the digicam that makes it attainable so that you can faucet the display screen and take a photograph whereas submerged in water).

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

First off, like most Oukitel telephones, the UI would not embrace an App Drawer by default, which bothers me to no finish. I choose a minimal house display screen, however with this system, all apps set up their launchers to the house display screen (à la iOS), which implies it is unattainable 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 Type, you may allow the App Drawer. After enabling the App Drawer, you may then configure Android to not set up new apps to the homescreen, 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 you will be simply high-quality. 

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The Oukitel WP35 is an impressive cut price that can serve anybody who would not thoughts carrying a cellphone of their pocket that checks the power 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, however it’s as a result of protecting chassis and battery. For a way nicely it is made, it is value each gram.