Ulefone Power Armor 16S Review

OS, UI and software

Ulefone Power Armor 16S runs on Android 13 with Ulefone's customization on top. The Lock Screen is quite simple with a Clock and Date widget on it. In addition to the traditional elements, the Home Screen also contains two apps - the Outdoor Tools and the Service Center app. The Clock and Date widget is accompanied by a Weather one. Desktop shortcuts are supported. The Volume level bar has a classic Android 13 appearance with its expanded view offering a nice blurred background and pleasant transparency for a lighter and more minimalistic look. By default, the app drawer is activated listing the applications in alphabetic order below an app search bar. From the Home settings, you can change this desktop mode to show the apps on a second desktop to the right of the Home Screen. These settings can be accessed from the customization picker or the Display settings. The Task Manager has a classic layout listing the app previews horizontally and supporting split-screen mode with app info access. A Clear All button is placed at the bottom of the screen when the Task Manager is active. The Notifications shade has a classic design and layout and so do the Quick Settings toggles which are listed on two pages. There's an edit option, as usual, to add/remove toggles from the list. A swipe to the right from the Home Screen opens Google Discovers, which can be disabled from the Home Settings. A long press on an empty space on the Home Screen opens the customization picker. It contains a list of widgets to choose from, a list of screen transition effects, Wallpaper & Style settings, and Home settings. The last two can also be accessed from the corresponding menus in the settings. Ulefone Power Armor 16S arrives with a standard set of pre-installed applications. They include Assistant, Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Children Space, Chrome, Clock, Contacts, Drive, Easy Launcher, Files, Find Devices, Google, Maps, Meet, Messages, Phone, Photos, Play Store, Safety, Service Center, Sound Recorder, Radio, Game Booster, YouTube, and YT Music. There are also additional applications such as Cleaning Assistant, Mobile Guardian, OutDoor Tools, Funny Sound, and Themes. The Easy launcher is intended for the elderly or other people who need only the very basic phone features. The Mobile Guardian is an app that combines features such as clearing cache, clearing background apps, app lock, notification management, power saving, and phone traffic control. It also has a toolbox for one-click cleaning of redundant files and optimizing the performance. T he Outdoor Tools app includes a height meter, compass, gradienter, flashlight, hanging painting, magnifier, alarm bell, plumb bob, protractor, noise test, and pedometer. There's also a dedicated themes app as well as an application for the camping light from where you can manage it. Finally, there's a Funny Sound app with pre-loaded sounds - car engine, alarm, dog barking, ash removal, and water draining. A new feature for Ulefone's smartphones is the so-called "capsule". It is similar to Realme's capsule and Apple's Dynamic Island. This is an oval shape on the top of the screen with a black background. It changes its shape and size depending on the type of notifications you receive and what activities are running in the background such as a music player, for example. To activate this software feature, you have to first enable the Widget Box from the Accessibility menu in the Settings.

The Settings app has a slightly different design and layout from what we've seen on other Ulefone smartphones. Each menu in the list is marked by a colorful icon in front and is separated from the next by a thin gray line. The first menu is about managing your "Network & Internet" connections, including Wi-Fi settings, Wi-Di Direct, Hotspot & Tethering, SIM cards, calls, etc. The "Connected devices" menu is about managing your Bluetooth, NFC, Cast, and Android Auto connections. The "Apps" menu is third with the standard options for managing the applications on your device. It is followed by the "Notifications" menu which comprises all standard features such as notifications history, conversations, bubbles, device and app notifications, DND mode, wireless emergency alerts, and others. The fifth and sixth menus are about the battery and storage, respectively. They are followed by the "Scheduled Power On/Off" menu. The "Sound & Vibration" settings are next and include all the standard options plus Live Caption settings and Hi-Fi Mode enhancements for the big speaker. The "Display" settings let you choose from various lock screen clock styles, other lock screen settings, display and size and text, brightness level, charging animation screens, home settings, colors and contrast options, and others. There's also a toggle that allows you to save more power by dimming the backlight. Video display enhancement settings are also included as well as a toggle for showing the network speed in the status bar. "Wallpaper & Style" is the next menu followed by the "Smart Controls" one. These include plenty of useful features such as additional fingerprint functions, smart motion, system navigation settings, glove mode, one-handed mode, side application bar, etc. The following menu is about managing the customizable key. It is followed by the "Accessibility" menu that lets you manage your screen reader, display (size and text; color and motion; extra dim; magnification), interaction controls, system controls - the same options exist in the System menu, vibration and haptics, Live Caption options, audio aid, and accessibility shortcuts. The "Security" menu comes next with all four security groups on top, app lock, children's space, and biometrics. The "Privacy" menu is next with all the standard menus such as dashboard, permission manager, Android System Intelligence, autofill service, and others. It is followed by the "Location" and the "Safety & Emergency" menus. The latter relates to the Safety app and Wireless emergency alerts, allowing you to add medical information, and emergency contacts, set up your emergency SOS, crisis alert settings, etc. The next menus are standard and Passwords & accounts, Digital Wellbeing & parental controls, Google, SmartTouch, System, and About Phone. The "Smart touch" one enables a floating dot that can serve as an alternative way for navigation and quick access to apps and features. The "System" menu contains the languages and input settings, update options, backup and reset, date and time settings, multiple users settings, and the RAM expansion option. The About Phone menu contains the usual data about the model name, main specifications, software versions, etc.