Ulefone Power Armor 13 Review

OS, UI and software

Ulefone Power Armor 13 runs on Android 11 with Ulefone's slightly customized UI on top. For a difference, the Lock Screen lacks the classic shortcuts to the Dialer and Camera apps on the bottom left and right corners, respectively. Instead, it opens Google Assistant no matter which corner you swipe from. The rest of the elements such as the Time/Date widget, status bar icons are present as usual. The Home Screen follows the established layout norms containing Google's search bar on top with embedded voice search, a time and date widget, a row of apps, and a docked row of apps. A swipe to the left from the Home Screen leads to the rest of the apps on the second desktop. A swipe to the right from the Home Screen opens Google Discover and an option to disable it is not provided. However, the Launcher settings allow you to opt for an App Drawer option. These settings can be accessed either from the Widgets menu or from Settings=>Display. Desktop shortcuts are supported. The Task Manager tiles the apps horizontally and for each, you get shortcuts to app info and split-screen mode (if the latter is supported). A clear-all option is also provided. The Widgets menu allows you to manage the widgets, screen transition effects, themes, wallpapers, and the Launcher settings. The Notifications and Quick Settings use the class design of the latest Android versions. It is only the quick settings toggles that are not paged but listed on one screen. They are the only place from where you can access options like Underwater Camera, Super Screenshot, Screen Recorder, Nearby Share. The Ulefone Power Armor 13 arrives with three types of pre-installed applications. The first type includes the default Google apps such as Google Assistant, Calendar, Chrome, Drive, Duo, Files, Gmail, Discover, Maps, Play Store, Photos, YouTube, and YT Music. The second type of apps comprises the default Android ones that ensure all the basic functions of the device - Phone, Contacts, Calculator, Camera, Clock, FM Radio, Messenger, Notes, Sound Recorder. Among those, it is the Calculator and Clock that have a non-stock Android design. The third type of applications are pre-installed in respect to the model's specific functions, they include an Endoscope app for the times you connect an endoscope to the smartphone, Outdoor Tools which is used on almost every rugged mobile device, and Rangefinder, which is also a standard app provided on the devices with such a function. Finally, the Children Space and Easy Launcher, which are also accessible from the System Settings, are listed as separate apps among all others for quick access from the desktop. It is clearly visible that the System Settings menu has evolved within Ulefone's smartphones. The changes are not huge and do not crucially impact how you interact with the device. They are more about the structure of the settings and design of selected elements. For example, the Power Armor 13 System Settings follows the same menu arrangement you can see on the Armor 10, even though the Armor 10 is based on Android 10. The only difference is the icons in front of the separate menus are circular instead of squarish with round corners. Compared to other Ulefone smartphones based on Android 10 and Android 11, it has a different structure of the menus despite following the well-established logic. The latter means, that the System Settings begin with a dedicated search bar followed by the first group of options - the one about various types of connectivity. It contains a Wi-Fi menu with Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, Android Auto, Mobile Network settings, Hotspot & tethering, and More network settings. The latter is about airplane mode, mobile plan, data saver, VPN, private DNS. The NFC toggle is included in the Hotspot & Tethering menu and does not offer additional options. The Cast display option is located under the Display settings. Nearby Share can be accessed only from the quick settings toggle. The second group of menus begins with the Display settings, which include the now-standard brightness level bar, Dark Theme, Night Light, Adaptive brightness toggle, Wallpapers, Screen timeout, autorotate toggle, LED notification light options, font and display size, a screen saver, lock screen options, screen color mode, show/hide notch area, etc, and Launcher settings. The latter allows you to change the app icons and names, icon size, switch between class and App Drawe variant of the desktop, switch on/off Easy Launcher, choose the icon layout, and others. The second menu in the group is about navigation. You can choose from gestures and an on-screen navigation bar that can be customized. The third menu is about Sound and contains the classic volume level bars, vibrations and DND settings, other sound settings, and sound enhancement options including a Hi-Fi audio toggle. The last menu in the second group is for Apps & Notifications management. It begins with shortcuts to lack screen and apps notifications followed by a toggle for the notification dots and more options such as history, bubbles, notification snoozing, etc. They also include conversations management, screen time settings, and app management - special app access, default apps, etc. The third group of settings is dedicated to privacy and security. It sets off with a menu for creating a screen lock, setting fingerprint and/or face IDs. The Privacy menu is about managing app permissions in this context, autofill service, location history, activity controls, ads, usage, and stats. The Privacy menu includes the app permission manager, passwords, autofill services, activity controls, ads, usage, and diagnostics, etc. The Security menu includes the three default services - Google Play Protect, Find My Device, Google Play System Update, and a third one - Security update. It also manages the app lock, children's space, device admin apps, app pinning, and others. The fourth group of settings contains five menus. The first is about managing the Custom Key options. From here you can choose what happens if you single-click, double-click, or long-press the red button on the left frame of the smartphone. The second menu is called Intelligent Assistance and contains plenty of options for customization. It is here that you will find additional functions for the fingerprint IDs you've saved such as answering calls, snapping photos and videos, return back or home, etc. This menu also contains toggles for functions such as flip to silent, smart answer, three-finger screenshot, gloves mode, quick camera access, wireless reverse charging, lift to wake, single-hand mode. Finally, there are further expandable settings about sensor calibration, accessibility, emergency settings. Smart Touch is the third menu in the fourth group of settings and is a floating dot with various functions that can serve as an alternative to the other type of navigation. Finally, there are the Battery and Location menus. The fifth group of settings comprises three menus - Accounts, System, and About phone. The System menu is where you can check for OTA updates, manage the languages and input, dates and time, backup and reset options. The Storage stats and manager are hidden here as well. You can also opt to manage multiple user profiles on this device from the System menu. The Accounts and About Phone are standard. The sixth group of options includes the now-default Digital Wellbeing & Parental controls, Google options, and DuraSpeed.