Unihertz Tank Review - a new contender for the battery autonomy leader title

Design, build and controls

Ruggedized smartphones are bulky due to their essence and specific build. Big-battery rugged smartphones are even bulkier. We guess, after testing Oukitel WP19, there's no surprise for you that the Unihertz Tank weighs half a kilo - 553 grams to be exact. It is also very thick - 24.6 mm, and with the camping light-camera island taken into account the thickness measures 26 mm. The handset is 175.6 mm high and 85.4 mm wide. There's only one available color option - black with elements in silver/gray. The frame is metal and partially visible on the sides in silver color. The rear shell is made of tough polycarbonate in gray. It is partially covered with hard TPU along with the top and bottom frame with the four corners and partially the side frames. Of course, the four corners have additional cushioning. Unihertz Tank is IP68 rated for water and dust resistance. The MIL-STD-810H military rating certifies that it meets the military standard for resistance to dust, shock, water, humidity, drops, and other environmental extremities. The front of the smartphone is mostly taken by the big display with curved corners and Panda MN228 glass for protection. The thickness of the bezels is pretty good for such a smartphone. The top one is 3 mm thick. The side bezels are 2.8 mm. The bottom bezel is 5 mm thick. The selfie camera resides in a punch hole in the top-left corner of the display. The top bezel houses the light and proximity sensors located to the left of the receiver. The receiver itself is positioned in the slit between the frame and the screen and even protrudes a bit upwards. The rear shell features most of the elements of the device. The upper half is occupied by a trapezoidal island that houses the there cameras, dual-tone LED flash, dual IR lights, barometer, noise-canceling microphone, and a trapezoidal camping lamp with 1200 lumens. The camp light has five modes of operation - SOS, flash burst, fully bright, half bright, and slightly bright. In the middle, you'll see the Unihertz logo. The bottom half has a trapezoidal element that mirrors the upper one. It is all-black covered with hard TPU and houses the speaker, a vent hole, and a lanyard hook. The NFC module is positioned below that black flat area. The lanyard hook protrudes from the surface of the device which prevents the speaker from muffling if you leave the smartphone lying on its back while listening to music. There are 14 visible screws on the rear shell attaching the various elements to the chassis. The top frame is the home of the infrared blaster and the dual Nano-SIM card tray. The latter can be pulled up with fingers and has a red rubber band for insulation. The bottom frame houses the 3.5 mm jack and the USB Type-C port protected by an insulating cap. The microphone is next to them. The left frame has two buttons. The one that's aflush with the surface is for switching on and off the camping lamp. The red one protrudes from the surface and is a customizable button that by default is used to switch on the LED flashlight but you can also set it to work as a PTT button for example. The right frame has a Power button, a Volume Up, and a separate Volume Down button. On each side frame, there are 4 visible screws.