Rugged Smartphone Debuts with 150-Lumen Autofocus Projector

Rugged smartphones aren’t exactly known for their looks — they tend to be bulky, heavy, and plain. But they make up for it with extreme durability, large batteries, and practical features. The latest release from Ulefone brings all of that, plus a touch of portable cinema.

Meet the Maker: Ulefone’s Rise in the Rugged Market

Founded in 2012 in Shenzhen, China, Ulefone presents itself as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of high-quality mobile devices. The brand is best known for its Armor series of rugged smartphones and tablets, which have earned positive reviews in the tech world.

The newest member of the family is the Armor 34 Pro, a device that combines a massive battery, a cutting-edge integrated projector, a powerful flashlight, and a night vision camera.

Its 25,500 mAh battery isn’t the largest in the rugged phone market, but it still offers impressive endurance — up to 1,380 hours on standby, 138 hours of talk time, or 33 hours of video playback. The 6.95-inch FHD+ screen (1,080 x 2,460 pixels) displays all this content with a 120 Hz refresh rate, 600 nits of peak brightness, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.

Power Sharing and Fast Charging

The phone can also charge other devices using 10-W reverse charging and supports 66-W wired fast charging (but doesn’t include wireless charging).

Although rugged phones have featured projectors before, most only reach about 100 lumens. Ulefone broke that limit by designing its built-in projector to deliver 150 lumens. They also added autofocus, manual vertical keystone correction, and an upward projection angle, enabling the device to display visuals up to 100 inches diagonally—even though its 854 x 480 resolution is more appropriate for smaller screens.

A dedicated side button activates the projector, which can turn the phone into a mobile movie theater or serve practical functions — like showing presentations or sharing digital documents with teammates in the field. Audio plays through a 98-dB built-in speaker, though users can also connect a Bluetooth speaker (optional).

Built to Survive Harsh Environments

Living up to its Armor name, the 34 Pro meets MIL-STD-810H and IP68/IP69K standards. It can be submerged in water up to 2 meters for 30 minutes, survive drops from 1.5 meters, resist dust, and operate in extreme temperatures ranging from -30°C to 55°C. It even includes dual 1,300-rpm internal fans to keep components cool.

Powering the phone is a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 octa-core processor with an integrated GPU and AI capabilities, backed by 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM (with an additional 16 GB available as virtual memory), 512 GB of UFS 3.1 storage, and microSD expansion up to 2 TB.

The rear camera setup includes a 50-MP main camera with a 1/1.3″ sensor and f/1.95 aperture, a 50-MP ultra-wide camera, and a 64-MP night vision camera using four infrared LEDs and Ulefone’s NightElf 3.0 algorithm to deliver clearer low-light shots — though they’re in black and white. For color night vision, users would have to look at other brands like FossiBot.The display houses a 32-MP front-facing selfie camera.

Powerful Flashlight and Full Connectivity

Rounding out the features is a 1,000-lumen camping light made up of 585 LEDs, offering different modes and an emergency red/blue warning light. Connectivity includes 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.4, with support for GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, and NAVLC for global positioning.

The Armor 34 Pro runs Android 15 out of the box, and Ulefone promises a clean system free of unnecessary apps. Rare these days, it also includes a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and there’s a uSmart expansion port for use with accessories like endoscopes and microscopes.

The Armor 34 Pro will officially go on sale starting June 16, and while Ulefone hasn’t announced the final price yet, AliExpress currently lists it at around US$1,200.

Read the original article on: New Atlas

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