Ulefone, manufacturer of rugged, go-anywhere phones and tablets, has launched a new flagship camera phone: the Armor 29 Ultra. It replaces the Armor 28 Ultra in Ulefone's line-up, though confusingly you can already buy Armor 30, 33 and 34 phones, and all of which actually sit beneath the new Armor 28 Ultra in Ulefone's range.
Read more: The best rugged phones
You'd be forgiven for assuming that Ulefone would prioritize toughness and battery life over camera quality, but the Armor 29 Ultra is one of just a handful a phones to pack an extra-large 1-inch image sensor for its primary camera. The sensor in question is Sony's 50MP IMX989, which it inherits from the Armor 28 Ultra, and which can also be found in camera phone giants like the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra and Vivo X100s Pro.
It's one of the largest image sensors available for a phone, and if you judge a camera phone in terms of image sensor size alone, the Armor 29 Ultra is superior even to the Galaxy 25 Ultra, iPhone 16 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro. The Armor 29 Ultra is also capable of 8K video recording, and boasts a 50MP ultrawide camera based around Samsung's 1/2.76" JN1 sensor, while the third camera in the rear-facing trio is a 64MP IR night vision camera that works in conjunction with 4 infrared LEDs. A 50MP front-facing selfie camera completes the phone's imaging abilities, plus there's a dedicated physical camera button which if held for 2 seconds can be used to open the camera directly from the lock screen.
Your photos should also look the part when viewed on the 6.67-inch, 1080 x 2400 AMOLED display. It features a 10-bit color gamut, enabling substantial coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, while the high 120Hz refresh rate and 2200-nit peak brightness should ensure smooth performance even under bright sunlight. In the centre of the camera island is a secondary 1.04-inch, 340 x 340 AMOLED touch screen which can display a variety of watch faces, or additional functions like music playback control or calendar notifications.
But what really sets the Armor 29 Ultra apart is its gargantuan 21200mAh battery. This is a higher capacity than many dedicated power banks and provides enough juice to fuel the phone for 27 hours of constant video playback, 114 hours of talk time, or 1140 hours of standby time - that's almost 7 weeks! The phone is capable of 120W ultra-fast charging, meaning a 20% recharge takes just 10 minutes, and there's also support for 10W reverse charging, so the phone can double as a power bank.
The Armor 29 Ultra is rated to IP68/IP69K ingress protection and MIL-STD-810H military toughness. It can survive water, dust, drops and rough handling, being waterproof to a depth of 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes and shockproof from heights up to 1.5 meters.
Additional survival features include a bright 1000-lumen light comprised of 570 LEDs that occupies a large portion of the rear panel. Its brightness is infinitely adjustable; ideal when camping, or for any form of emergency lighting. There are also separate red and blue warning lights so the Armor 29 Ultra can be used as an emergency beacon, with the lights configurable to constant or flashing modes to attract attention.
Processing power comes from a high-end MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chipset, teamed with a generous 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. This CPU facilitates a host of AI-driven image processing enhancements and uses an advanced graphene cooling system to maintain low temperatures even under sustained load.
Global availability of the Ulefone Armor 29 Ultra is scheduled for August 18th, but the phone can be purchased direct from Ulefone via AliExpress right now, priced at $2040/£1495.
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