There is no shortage of rugged phones in the market.
If you are looking for a high-end one, the AGM X3 is your best bet. For entry
level/feature phone, you should check out CAT’s B35 KaiOS-running 4G phone. If
you want a mid-range phone, then you may want to take a look at the MANN 8S.
The MANN 8S has the same 8-sided design we have seen
a lot of rugged smartphones adopt. The corners are covered in thick rubber and
there is Gorilla Glass on both sides. The manufacturer says it can survive
drops from up to 1.5 meters.
The phone has a 5.5” 1920 x 1080 AMOLED screen. It
is powered by the Snapdragon 653 processor – one of Qualcomm’s least used
chipsets. There is 6GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB of storage, Android
7.1.2 Nougat pre-installed.
The MANN 8S has a 16MP f/1.8 front-facing camera and
dual 12MP Sony IMX386 rear cameras with scene detection, HDR, and night mode.
The phone packs a more than sufficient 6,000mAh battery with support for
reverse charging and Quick Charge 3.0. The latter allows you to charge it from
empty to full in just 2.5 hours. MANN says the 8S has an IP68-rating and can
also survive extreme temperatures (-30°C and 60°C).
The phone comes in Cold Gold and is priced at ¥ 2299
(US$ 332) for the 64GB model and ¥ 2599 (US$ 375) for the 128GB version. It is
already available for purchase on JD.com. While the rest of the specs are not
bad, prospective buyers may have a hard time shelling out that much for a phone
that runs Android Nougat and is powered by the aging Snapdragon 653 processor.
