Ulefone Armor 30 Pro Review

Ulefone Armor 30 Pro OS, UI, and Software

All the latest Ulefone smartphones arrive with Android 14 out of the box and the Armor 30 Pro is no exception. The manufacturer has refined its Android overlay, so you get a polished and glitch-free user interface, lots of customization options, and flawlessly running apps and functions. The Lock Screen greets you with a minimalistic look featuring a small clock widget and a tiny date widget. An icon at the bottom right corner opens a sub-screen with quick access to voice search, torch, calculator, and camera. From here, you can also activate Ulefone's Magazine - a feature that constantly changes the wallpapers on the Lock Screen. The Home Screen features the standard Google Search bar with voice search and Lens embedded. It is followed by two widgets - Clock/Date and Weather. The bottom is occupied by the usual docked apps and above those you get an expanded view of the Google apps folder plus four favorite apps placed to its right. Desktop shortcuts are supported with Ulefone's beautiful background blurring effect. The Customization Picker allows you to select widgets, screen transition effects, wallpapers, and home settings. The Home Settings are in their expanded option including notification dots, Google Discover toggle, Icon size, Desktop Mode, Folder thumbnail display, Glide gesture options, Easy launcher toggle, etc. The Desktop mode allows you to switch from an app drawer view to listing the apps on successive desktops. Google Discover is on by default and can be accessed with a swipe to the right from the Home Screen. The Task Manager lists the app previews horizontally and for each app, you get the option to lock/unlock it from being cleared from the background, enter split-screen mode, or access the app info. The Notifications shade and the Quick Settings are in their stock layout and appearance. The Power Off menu is traditional for a Ulefone smartphone with vertically aligned icons for shutting down, restarting, canceling the action, and making an emergency call. Ulefone Armor 30 Pro arrives with all the standard Android and Google pre-installed applications and additional ones that comprise useful tools. The stock list includes Assistant, Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Children space, Chrome, Clock, Contacts, Drive, Easy Launcher, Files, Find Device, FM radio, Game Booster, Gmail, Google Discover, Maps, Meet, Messages, Phone, Photos, Play Store, Remote Control, Safety, Service Center, Settings, Sound Recorder, Theme, Translate, YouTube, and YT Music. The Calculator has a standard mode, a scientific mode, and a section for converting different measurement units. The Children's Space provides a parent-controlled environment for kids and students. The Easy Launcher is for elders or for visually impaired people who need access to only the very basic functions of a smartphone. The FM Radio app works without the need to plug in headphones. There's a dedicated Themes application from where you can choose, download, and set themes and wallpapers. The Game Booster blocks all notifications while you're playing. The Widget Box app is simply a shortcut to the corresponding setting in the Accessibility menu. The Cleaning Assistant app offers three functions - accelerating the device mainly by freeing RAM, vibration dedusting, and dead pixel detection. The Freezer is usually a part of the System Manager/Mobile Guardian app but on the Armor 30 Pro, it is listed as a separate application. When an app is added to the Freezer it acts as if it's uninstalled. Releasing it from the Freezer brings back its full functionality. The Mobile Guardian contains tools for power management, app lock, speeding the system up, phone traffic, and notifications. It has a tab called Toolbox for more granular control over what files you want to clean - images, videos, audio, apps, etc. The Outdoor Tools app includes a Compass, Pic Hanging, Gradienter, Height Meter, Magnifier, Flashlight, Protractor, Plumb Bob, Noise Test, Pedometer, Barometer, Funny Sound, Underwater Camera, and Alarm Bell. The Remote Control app uses the IR blaster to turn your smartphone into a convenient remote controller for various appliances and electronic devices. The Netflix app is also pre-installed. The Settings application lists the various menus into six groups with a settings search bar on top of the list. The first group is about the model's connectivity options - Wi-Fi option, Wi-Fi Direct, SIM and mobile connections management, Hotspot, Bluetooth, NFC, Cast, Quick Share, Android Auto, etc. The second group of menus is about apps and notifications management with all the standard options provided in Android 14 including screen time, app battery usage, notification history, conversations, bubbles, DND, flash notifications, etc. The "Battery" and "Storage" menus are also a part of this group, which closes off with the "Sound & vibration" settings. They comprise the standard volume level bars, DND mode, Live Caption options, Vibration & haptics settings, sound enhancement, etc. The third group begins with the "Dual Screen" menu, which allows you to change how you use and interact with the two displays of the Ulefone Armor 30 Pro. It contains four display modes and a screen switch toggle. It is followed by the "Display" menu which contains various options for customization beyond the usual display settings. You can change the display size and text, the appearance of the toggles in the Quick Settings (Control Center), the Lock Screen clock style, the Charging Animation, Color Mode, and refresh rate. From the display settings you can also turn on/off the Magazine Unlock. A new menu here is the "Infinite Halo" which allows you to customize the RGB LED lights of the rear-mounted speaker. You can toggle on/off the halo for music and notifications. Furthermore, you can set a timeframe within which it should be active as well as activate a DND mode if needed. "Wallpaper" is the next menu letting you choose from a list of wallpapers available on the device and online. You also get options for customization the way they appear in the Customization Picker. The Armor 30 Pro arrives with two physical customizable keys. Each one of them gets a separate menu in the third group allowing you to assign an application or a function to a single press, a double press, or a long press on the corresponding button. "Accessibility" is the last but one menu in the third group. It begins with the "Switch Access" feature which helps you control your Android device if it's difficult to directly interact with the touchscreen. A switch can be externally connected to your device like a keyboard or a large button. Under "Accessibility" you can also access the "Widget Box - Enhanced mode" feature for keeping the widget box uncovered and for improved energy efficiency. The rest of the features are familiar - screen reader, display settings, interaction controls, captions, audio, and general accessibility options. "System Controls" contains features that are usually found under System->Gestures such as "Navigation moed", "One-handed mode", and a toggle for the power button to end calls. The last menu in the group is called "Special Function" and contains plenty of options. It begins with a list of toggles for features such as flip to silent, smart answer, anti-fake touch mode, swipe down to view notification shade on the lock screen, auto boot when charging in shutdown state, call recording, and gloves mode. Here you will also find the "Widget Box" toggles with the "Dynamic Capsule", expanded fingerprint functions, NFC options, sensor calibration, a side application bar, app clone, hidden apps, children space, anti-theft alarm for mobile, app lock, anti-peeping, and RAM expansion. The "Security & Privacy" menu is the first in the fourth group and combines security and privacy features. It contains a security scanner, device unlock features, system & updates, account and security options, and system updates. The "Privacy" sub-menu comprises the permission manager, privacy dashboard, health connect, ads management, activity controls, etc. The "More Security & Privacy" settings include Android System intelligence, Autofull service from Google, Android Safe Browsing, Extend Unlock, and others. The next menus in this group are all related to privacy and security and include the "Location" menu, "Safety & emergency", and "Passwords & Accounts". The fifth group of settings comprises four standard menus - "Digital Wellbeing & Parental controls", "Google", "DuraSpeed" and "Smart Touch". "DuraSpeed" is a feature that lets you boost foreground apps by restricting background ones. "Smart Touch" is a floating dot that serves as an alternative way for navigation and interaction with the device. The sixth and last group of settings contains only two menus - "System" and "About phone". The "System" settings contain system update options, languages and keyboard options, date and time settings, backup and reset, multiple users management, demo mode, and gestures settings. The latter contains a toggle for quick camera access, navigation settings, settings for the power button, one-handed mode, and a toggle for the three-finger screenshot function. The About Phone menu provides general information about the device, owner-related information, software build and version, IMEI, SIM card status, etc.