Ulefone Armor 11 Review: A costly mistake

The whole point of a rugged mobile phone is to provide consumers with a durable but well-designed device. However, the high price of Ulefone Armor 11 may not explain its quality and durability. Can this rugged mobile phone stand up to the competition?Find out in Android Authority Ulefone Armor 11 comments.

You can also take a look: The best rugged phone

• Ulefone Armor 11 5G (8GB/256GB): 579 USD/499 GBP/

Ulefone Armor 11 is priced at $579 and is at the high end of the rugged Android device. The device only offers one option: 8GB RAM and 256GB storage space, and the storage space cannot be expanded via a microSD card. It is also only black.

The specific device I tested runs Android 10, but there is no option to update to Android 11, although Ulefone says it plans to upgrade later this year. Armor 11 currently comes with a security patch of December 5, 2020, which is a bit outdated at the time of writing (July 2021).

Regardless of the operating system, Armor 11 has an uncovered USB-C port, a SIM card tray at the bottom of the device, and a transmitter speaker on the back. Remember, this phone does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack; however, Ulefone does include a 3.5mm to USB-C dongle in the box. Finally, Armor 11 has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and smart keys on both sides.

In the box, you will get a USB-C charger, a plastic pry for a waterproof SIM card slot, a glass screen protector and two USB-C port waterproof seals.

What’s good?

The 2GHz processor of Ulefone Armor 11 performs surprisingly well against more expensive alternatives, and the actual performance of Armor 11 is excellent. The movement and movement in the menus, different applications and some relaxing games are very smooth. I did experience some stuttering here and there, but this was mainly in the stock launcher; switching to a third party solved the problem. I am particularly impressed with the gaming performance of heavier games such as PUBG Mobile and Genshin Impact. In both games, Armor maintains its own style and provides an easy-to-play experience, with minimal delay only in very high action and demanding scenes.

Battery performance is another advantage of Armor 11. In my test, my screen on average is about 8 to 9 hours. The 5,200mAh battery can be used easily for two full days. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent standby time of this device. I don’t have an exact indicator, but in my test, the phone loses about 1% every few hours. Therefore, the mobile phone can be used overnight, and the battery power is only about 3%. Keep in mind that this excellent performance is largely due to the lower resolution display, which also has its own problems. Armor 11 is bundled with an 18W fast charger, and I can charge the phone from 0% to 100% in 90 minutes. In addition, Armor 11 supports 10W wireless charging.

What’s wrong?

Although I am impressed with the Armor 11’s performance and excellent battery life, there are many problems with this rugged phone. Armor 11 touts a rugged and durable design, with IP68/IP69K waterproof and dustproof ratings (the latter is one step above the more traditional IP68 rating and is the highest level of equipment). It specifically provides protection against close pressure and high temperature. Nevertheless, even with this rating, I do not have much confidence in the durability of this phone. The body is made of plastic and rubber with aluminum ridges, but they are very light, almost like plastic. Ulefone confirmed that the display does not have Gorilla Glass, but neglected to answer our question about who made the glass.

The ports on this phone feel open and are not as protected as on other rugged devices such as Doogee S96 Pro. Don’t get me wrong, this phone looks sturdy, but I’m not entirely confident that the device can withstand harsh environments for a long time. For example, I dropped the phone on the floor several times. Although everything seemed normal, the vibration almost always caused the screen to pull out the application or menu. This phone is MIL-STD 810G certified, but even so, I don’t believe that this phone will stand the test (and is one step lower than the latest MIL-STD 810H standard).

You can also take a look: The best waterproof phone you can buy

In addition, the “waterproof” SIM card slot is a bit too easy to gently pull out with your fingers. On other rugged devices, it is almost impossible to pull the SIM card slot without a plastic prying tool. Similarly, the USB-C port does not have a rubber cover on the device, which means that the water is sealed in the actual port. Ulefone’s box does have some waterproof seals, but these seals are small and very easy to lose. They also protrude from the port and are not flush. I’m afraid I can’t see actual consumers using these. In addition, the back is made of seemingly thin plastic, and if dropped on a hard surface, it seems likely to break. The only durable part of this phone may be the rubber sides, which are thick and can absorb quite a bit of vibration. The point here is that this phone looks sturdy, but it feels cheap, and it doesn’t generate much confidence in durability.

In my opinion, the color and contrast of the monitor are quite accurate, but some strange artifacts appear when moving around the operating system. This is especially noticeable when playing games, but I find it distracting when moving between menus and browsing social media. This is not terrible, but it does detract from the overall experience. Remember, this is not the only 720p display we see in rugged phones, but for such an expensive phone, it should have a better screen.

The general camera performance is comparable to other rugged devices, but the camera does tend to over-soften the edges of the image-the included 20MP night vision camera is very disappointing. Armor 11 supports night vision video recording, which is a nice additional feature, but the video and photos are very soft and faded. In addition, the camera app does not provide you with the option to focus the camera in these modes, so you can only use fixed-length focus.

Ulefone Armor 11 camera sample

You can find a high-resolution version of each image here.

Ulefone Armor 11 specifications

Ulefone Armor 11 seems to provide a lot of features for rugged mobile phones. It is equipped with a large battery, IP68/IP69K rating and night vision camera, but these features cannot make up for the obvious shortcomings. If you are looking for a rugged phone that is durable and moderately functional, Ulefone Armor 11 is not suitable. Although the battery and processor performance are excellent, the extremely cheap manufacturing quality and poor night vision camera make this phone difficult to recommend. The steep price of US$579 will not help, you’d better look for alternatives, such as Cat S62 Pro (649 USD) Or Doogee S96 Pro (USD 389). Both provide a better overall experience and lower cost. Unfortunately, for Ulefone, Armor 11 is a big shortcoming.