Oukitel WP35 Review - durability and modern aesthetics combined with excellent battery life and reliable performance

OS, UI and software

Oukitel WP35 runs on stock Android 14 even though its UI resembles that of the Oukitel WP33 Pro which runs on Android 13 with some minor customizations. The Lock Screen has the same Clock widget style and minimalist layout. There's a small Date widget below it and the usual icons in the status bar area. The Home Screen has the same Clock-Date widget style with a Google search bar on top with integrated voice search and Lens. The bottom part of the screen is occupied by a docked row of apps and a row of favorite apps. Desktop shortcuts are supported and the Volume controls have a classic design.

The default launcher style lists the pre-installed applications on successive desktops. You can switch the launcher to include an app drawer by selecting the "Drawer Desktop" option from the "Home settings". Google Discover is supported and can be switched off from the "Home settings" as well. The Task Manager tiles the app previews horizontally. For each application you have four options - to access the app info, to enter split-screen mode, to lock/unlock the app from being cleared in the background, and to manage it by locking/unlocking it from the white list. The customization picker is designed in a way that does not correspond to the layout provided in the latest Android versions. It contains options for selecting wallpapers, themes, widgets, and "Home settings". The Notifications shade is accessed after a swipe down from the left-top of the display. The Quick Settings are accessed after a swipe down from the right-top. The toggles appear on two screens with options to add more or remove existing ones. Oukitel WP35 arrives with a standard set of pre-installed apps. They include Assistant, Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Child Mode, Chrome, Clock, Contacts, Drive, Easy Launcher, Files, Find Device, FM Radio, Game Mode, Gmail, Google Discover, Maps, Meet, Messages, Note, Pedometer, Phone, Photos, Play Store, QRCode Scan, Safety, Settings, Sound Recorder, System Manager, ToolBag, Torch, Videos, YouTube, and YT Music. We've discussed all those far and wide in our reviews. The Pedometer and Torch apps are separate from the ToolBag. The latter contains a compass, sound meter, leveler, gradienter, height measurer, magnifier, protractor, plumb bob, alarm bell, and a mirror. The System Manager contains a shortcut to the Battery settings (Power Manager), a shortcut to managing your storage, a Freezing room, where you can put apps that annoy you but don't want to uninstall, and an App Lock for apps to which you want to have a password-protected access. The Settings app contains two tabs - a layout that we've reviewed several times on other smartphones. The first tab is called "Settings" and the second - "Function". The "Settings" begin with a search bar followed by the different menus that are visually grouped in blocks. The first block is about connectivity with plenty of options placed at the first-level access - the airplane toggle, the SIM cards manager, Wi-Fi settings, connected devices, etc. The second group begins with the Notifications settings, including the usual app-specific options, notification history, conversations, bubbles, device and app notifications privacy, lock screen settings, DND, wireless emergency alerts, and the usual toggles for hiding the silent ones from the status bar, snoozing, enhancing, and notifications dots. The second part of the group is about the Display Settings with the standard choice between Bright and Dark theme, brightness level bar, adaptive brightness toggle, screen timeout, display size and text, wallpaper & style, auto-rotate screen, screen saver, and a lift-to-wake toggle. The Sound & vibration is third in the second group and offers no surprises. It begins with the four standard slide bars for media, calls, rings & notifications, and alarm volume. You can also choose a ringtone, alarm, and notification sound, manage the Live Caption options, the vibration and haptics one, as well as the DND mode. Security & Privacy is the last but one menu in the second group. It comprises the main difference between Android 13 and Android 14 as the security options are now revamped. For starters, Google Play Protect is now called App Security, Find My Device is Device Finders and includes the Find My Device option plus Unknown Tracker Alerts, and Google Play System Update is System & Updates including Google Play update, Security update, and Backup.

Moreover, the system issues a security warning, if you don't have a screen lock setup. This is done from the Device Unlock option. When you set up a screen lock and manage the Lock Screen settings to your preference, you can also set a fingerprint ID. Account Security is the option that contains the Google Account security checkup and the Password Checkup. These options are in a way doubled in the Passwords & Accounts menu which follows the Security & Privacy one. The Privacy Menu is now listed under the Security one. It contains the usual permission manager, privacy dashboard, ads management, health connect, and activity controls. The More Security & Privacy options include Lock Screen Notifications, App Content, Android System Intelligence, Autofill Service from Google, Extend Unlock, and others. Extend Unlock is the Smart Unlock feature renamed. The third group of settings contains four menus - Apps, Battery, Storage, and Accessibility, which arrive in their standard set of options and layout. The fourth group comprises the Location menu, Safety & Emergency, Digital Wellbeing, Fingerprint, and Google. "Fingerprint" is a list of options that enhance the functionality of the fingerprint sensor beyond simple unlocking. The last group of menus contains the standard System and About Phone. The "System" menu demonstrates another difference in Android 13 - the language and keyboard options are separated. The other options include the date and time settings, backup and reset, system updates, and gestures. This "Gestures" menu contains options for quick camera access, one-handed mode, power button options, and system navigation settings. From the latter, you can select either virtual buttons or onscreen gestures, each with its customization options. The About phone menu provides the standard device information such as model name, basic specifications, the software build version, etc. The second tab in the Settings app is "Function". It contains shortcuts to various services that are otherwise listed in the settings menus. The tab contains the options for the customizable key called "Smart Key", and shortcuts to "Child Mode" and "Easy Mode". A QR Code scanner is also here along with the "Smart Touch" floating dot, DuraSpeed, Gesture Motion toggles, and Memory Expansion.