Introduction
The Ulefone Armor 9 name speaks for itself - it's a heavily rugged phone that's not just built to last, but to survive dangerous encounters and live to tell the tale. The Armor 9 is an incredibly resilient smartphone, which can become an invaluable all-in-one tool for construction workers, mountaineers, and even first responders thanks to its integrated thermal camera and endoscope support.
The Armor 9 looks like a big fella and indeed it is. The phone is drop-, shock-, water-, dust-, pressure-, temperature-, solar radiation-, and whatnot- resistant and it looks sure like it's wearing a heavy armor. The front glass is also scratch-resistant, but Ulefone will give you some extra piece of mind with additional protectors.
As a smartphone, the Armor 9 falls into the mid-range category - it has a 6.3" 1080p LCD screen and is powered by the Helio P90 chipset coupled with 8GB of RAM. It has a dual-camera on the back - 64MP+2MP, and a single selfie snapper at the front. It is equipped with an impressive 6,600 mAh battery that should last you for days on a single charge.
The Ulefone Armor 9 doesn't omit any fan-favorite features such as a 3.5mm jack, microSD support, FM radio.
What's most interesting of the new Armor 9 is the thermal FLIR camera at the back, which can help you find warmer or cooler spots in various environments, see what's in the dark, find leaks or even wall fires that are invisible to the naked eye, measure temperatures, among other applications.
Then the Armor 9 has an endoscope mount. If you purchase the optional endoscope accessory, then you can securely mount it on the phone without exposing the USB port to the hazardous environment (this is how third-party cheap endoscopes are attached). And with this endoscope camera, you can see what's inside vents, behind heavy furniture, within walls, and various inaccessible spaces.
As you can see, the Ulefone Armor 9 goes a step beyond your run-of-the-mill rugged phone. It is an all-in-one device with the capabilities to help various people in their line of work. It can go where no normal phone can go. It may save you or your company some money if you needed to hire people with thermal or endoscope camera, and it may even save some lives by finding potential electrical faults or fires.
Ulefone Armor 9 specs
- Body: 168.2 x 82 x 15 mm, 320g; reinforced metal frame with rubber top and bottom, Thermoplastic polyurethane back with reinforced with aluminum alloy, shock-proof up to 1.2m height, IP69K for dust and pressurized water endurance, MIL-STD-810G compliance. PTT button.
- Display: 6.3" IPS LCD, 1080 x 2340px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 409ppi, scratch-resistant glass, oleophobic coating.
- Rear camera: Primary: 64MP, f/1.9 aperture, 0.8µm pixel size, PDAF. Depth: 2MP, f/2.2. Thermal FLIR camera (Lepton module); quad-LED flash. Video: 2160p@30fps.
- Front camera: 8MP, f/2.2 aperture. 1080p/30fps video recording.
- OS: Android 10
- Chipset: Mediatek Helio P90 (12nm): Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55), PowerVR GM9446 GPU.
- Memory: 8GB of RAM; 128GB UFS 2.1 storage; shared microSD slot.
- Battery: 6,600mAh; 18W fast charging.
- Connectivity: Dual-SIM; LTE-A, LTE Cat-12/ Cat-13; USB-C; Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; dual-band GPS; Bluetooth 5.0;
- Misc: Side-mounted fingerprint reader; single down-firing speaker; NFC; FM radio, tri-color notification LED.
It seems the Armor 9 has everything but finesse. And we are very eager to put it through some tough moments and we sure hope it will survive and we keep doing things with this Ulefone for a long time.
Retail package and optional accessories
If you are a fan of the deluxe bundles that are abundant in accessories, look no further than the Ulefone's. The Armor 9 box contains the phone itself and the two vital companions - a red USB-c cable and an 18W charger.
Inside, you will also find a microUSB-to-USB-C adapter, a USB OTG cable, and even a wrist sling, which you can attach to the gigantic hook on the back of the Armor 9.
That's not all. Ulefone is also shipping the Armor 9 bundled with a tempered glass screen protector. Nice!
There are some manuals inside the box, which we suggest you go through unless you are familiar with the principles of operation of thermal cameras.
You can buy the Armor 9 with two optional accessories.
The first one is the Multifunctional Protective Case. It is one super rugged case made of TPU plastic for the back and rubber frame with reinforced corners that will absorb even more shock than the Armor 9 offers by default.
This case comes with two detachable accessories itself - a 180-degree rotatable back clip, and a secure carabiner that you can use instead of the clip.
Finally, you can opt for the endoscope accessory, which can be mounted on the side of the Armor 9. It is IP67-rated and comes with a 2m-long cable and six LEDs with adjustable brightness. It offers three different adapters for the endoscope's camera - a hook, a reflecting mirror, and a magnet. You also get two small screws and a screwdriver, so you can attach the endoscope securely to your Armor 9.
The Multifunctional Protective Case ($29.99) and the Ulefone Endoscope E1 ($49.99) are sold separately, but they are very reasonably priced and complement the Armor 9 very well.
Design and handling
The Ulefone Armor 9 is obviously one durable, thick and heavy smartphone, yet beautiful in its own way. Ruggedly handsome if you will. And for those of you keen on such armored specimens, you will find the Ulefone looks and build quite appropriate by having the right parts and accents at the right spots.
The Armor 9's exterior is rich in materials - you can see and feel metal, rubber, different types of plastics, and glass, of course. It was designed to endure all sorts of torture and accidents and you would believe Ulefone's claims the moment you lay eyes on the Armor 9. It is indeed wearing one heavy armor.
Ulefone specifies all sorts of endurances - for starters the Armor 9 is IP68-rated for dust and water protection and you can see the IP68 markings on its back. But just like with previous Armor phones, the Armor 9 offers even better endurance with impressive IP69K rating. The higher water rating means resistance against pressurized water instead of deeper submersion. That's probably why the USB-C port and the 3.5mm jack needed to be sealed with super tight rubber caps.
The phone is also drop (to concrete) resistant from up to 1.2 meters. It should easily survive such a drop thanks to the enhanced corners and rear panel, as well as the additional plastic frame that engulfs the screen's glass.
Finally, the Armor 9 is also compliant with numerous MIL-STD-810G standards for temperature and altitude shocks, solar radiation endurance, acid atmosphere (Venus, here we come!), transport shock, high humidity, among others. We doubt there is a more resilient smartphone than the Armor 9 on the market right now and that's what you need to take from all those abbreviations.
Now, let's take a more thorough look at the Armor 9, shall we?
The front of the Ulefone Armor 9 is all about its display. There is a 6.3" IPS LCD screen of extended 1080p resolution and a droplet-shaped notch. There are a bunch of sensors and a tri-color (RGB) LED notification light above the screen notch and then - the earpiece grille.
The screen bezels are so large that is makes us wonder why on Earth Ulefone didn't put the front camera on them? There is probably space for a dozen of selfie snappers on the bezels and yet the maker decided to put the tiny 8MP front cam on the display itself. It is what it is, though.
There is a scratch-resistant glass keeping the screen safe, but it's not the only guardian you'll see. There is also an elevated plastic frame around the screen, as thin as it might be, which prevents the screen from ever touching the ground should the Armor 9 falls on its face. Ulefone is also shipping the phone with a bundled shatter-proof glass protector rated at 9H of hardness on the Mohs Scale, which is the first thing you should apply once you unbox the phone.
The back of the Armor 9 is really cool. It is made of thick and soft TPU plastic that has this rubber-like feel. It has tiny diamond-shaped texture that makes for one very secure grip. Ulefone says the entire back panel is enhanced with aluminum alloy during the manufacturing process and the whole thing absorbs shock in an unprecedented way.
There are a number of tiny screws on the back, a huge Ulefone logo on a separate metal plate, and you can see the giant hook around the bottom.
The 64MP primary, the 2MP depth and the FLIR camera, as well as the quad-LED flash, share a common plastic plate on the back of the Armor 9. All snappers are slightly concave, and they won't have contact with the surface when the phone is laying on its back.
Also on the back of the Armor 9, just above the hook, is a the giant speaker. It sounds promisingly loud, but we'll get to it in a bit.
The Ulefone Armor 9 has a rather unique frame with a ton of features all around. The four corners are the first thing you will probably notice - they are enlarged and enhanced with rubber, aluminum and plastic. These seem to be four large buffers for shock absorption.
The top and bottom sides are made of the same TPU plastic as the corners and each has one rubber cap protecting the 3.5mm jack (top) and the USB-C port (bottom).
There is a long going on around the metal pieces. On the right you'll see the fingerprint scanner, the power key, and a long metal cap hiding the SIM and microSD tray. We are not fans of the side-mounted fingerprint reader, as it gets triggered a lot and most of the time we had to type our PIN because of the too many (unintentional) attempts. We get why it is on the side, but its position always gets in the way. This isn't an issue with the Armor 9 alone, though, it's pretty much valid for any side-mounted fingerprint sensor.
The left side of the Armor 9 has two round volume keys, a dedicated PTT key, and the endoscope mount. The latter has six pins, a hook and a removable screw. When connecting the endoscope, you need to remove the tiny screw, then hook the endoscope module on its place and screw its own bolt.
The Ulefone Armor 9 is one of the heaviest and bulkiest smartphones we've handled lately and that's fine. Everything that adds extra weight on this phone is there for a good reason and it fully lives up to its Armor name. And even with all the rugged parts, Ulefone has managed to make it look nice, even pretty in its own rugged way.
Handling the Armor 9 is indeed very secure and satisfying experience, no matter if your hands are sweaty, wet, oily, cold. It always sticks nicely to your hand and you will never feel like dropping it whatever you are doing.
The Armor 9 is not a pocket-friendly phone, yes, and yet - it won't be much of a burden in most pockets. So, we'd say it is a win-win situation, just be sure your pocket is sawn well. Not that the Armor 9 will mind the fall if it isn't.
Accessories
The Armor 9 Protective Case ($30) is reasonably cheap and worth having around. This humungous case has a massive rubber frame that envelops the phone and will absorb even more shock than the regular Armor 9 shell.
The back of the case is made of super thick TPU plastic and it may as well make the Armor 9 bullet-proof. There is a dedicated mount for the belt clip or the carabiner - both are part of the Armor 9 Protective Case bundle.
The Armor 9 was meant to be in harsh environments and be an invaluable work tool. This means it has to be on your belt instead of the coziness of your pocket. And if that's indeed the case with your routine - this case is simply a must.
You may want to consider the Endoscope E1 accessory ($50). It has a 2-meters long cable that ends with an HD camera and six LEDs with adjustable brightness right via a mounted wheel around the end of the cable.
Thanks to the special lock, the accessory is IP67-rated for dust and water resistance. Attaching it to the Armor 9 requires you to unscrew one small screw with the bundled screwdriver and then hook the end of the endoscope to the side of the Armor 9, connect the pins and then fasten the whole thing with the integrated screw.
This endoscope also comes with additional hook, one small reflecting mirror, and a magnet - depending on where and what you need to do with it.
The endoscope accessories have been around forever, but this OEM one promises more reliable connection and water resistance - things the $10 ones from AliExpress can't match.
It is not that easy to navigate the endoscope in vents, shafts, service boxes and whatnot, but after some practice you should be able to get the job done. It obviously isn't professional grade, but it is a nice thing to have for when it matters. And as it turns out - even if this is not our line of work - we still found ourselves needing such a thing in a couple of occasions.
Display
The Ulefone Armor 9 has the same display as the Armor 7, at least on paper. It's a 6.3-inch IPS LCD with 1,080 x 2,340 pixels and a droplet-shaped notch. It is protected by a shatter- and scratch- resistant glass, and you can enhance it further with an additional screen protector.
The screen bezels are thick, but for a nearly bullet-proof phone, it's fine.
There are no special treatments such as HDR10, though DRM reader apps show the Armor 9 does come with HDR10 support. The YouTube app is the only one that agrees. The phone has the lowest Widevine L3 DRM level support, meaning you will have access to SD streaming only in apps such as Netflix.
As we said, the screen is of the same size and resolution as the Armor 7's, but it turns out the Armor 9 has a better display. It provides deep enough black levels and can be pretty bright - we measured 550 nits at the far right of the brightness scrubber. With such good numbers, the Armor 9 display has an excellent contrast ratio of 1541:1.
The minimum brightness is uninspiring though - at the far-left side of the scrubber we registered 21 nits.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, |
White, |
||
| 0.357 | 550 | 1541:1 | |
| 0.279 | 406 | 1455:1 | |
| 0.303 | 421 | 1389:1 | |
| 0.42 | 575 | 1369:1 | |
| 0.298 | 370 | 1242:1 | |
| 0 | 466 | ∞ | |
| 0.343 | 451 | 1315:1 | |
| 0.328 | 528 | 1610:1 | |
| 0 | 413 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 636 | ∞ | |
| 0.425 | 461 | 1085:1 | |
| 0.501 | 515 | 1028:1 | |
| 0.354 | 460 | 1299:1 | |
| 0.515 | 631 | 1225:1 | |
The Amor 9 offers no settings for color calibration and you are stuck with the default provided by the manufacturer. And it's far from ideal - we measured a mediocre presentation with an average deltaE of 8.1 and maximum deviation of 11. There is a noticeable blue tinge when you are viewing bright or white images, but even then - it's not that picture ruining.
Battery life
The Ulefone Armor 9 packs an impressive battery withing its thick body - it's a 6,600 mAh unit and sounds beyond promising.
We've completed our battery test and indeed, the Armor 9 aced everything - from calls, through screen-on test, and even standby. It clocked a 148-h endurance rating - among the best we've encountered to date.
Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSerDevice app. The endurance rating above denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Ulefone Armor 9 for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so that our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritty. You can check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
Charging speed
The Ulefone Armor 9 supports 18W fast wired charging and ships with such a charger. Given its gigantic battery, you should prepare yourself for longer than usual charging times.
Indeed, the said 18W adapter refills 35% of the depleted battery in 30 mins and 70% in 90 mins.
30min charging test (from 0%)
- Realme 6
70% - Huawei P40 Lite
70% - Realme 6 Pro
68% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
63% - OnePlus Nord
60% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro
39% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
37% - Ulefone Armor 9
35% - Samsung Galaxy A51
35% - Realme 6i
33% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
31% - Ulefone Armor 7
27%
A full charge takes nearly 150 mins.
Time to full charge (from 0%)
- Realme 6
0:51h - Realme 6 Pro
0:57h - Huawei P40 Lite
1:04h - OnePlus Nord
1:05h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
1:11h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
1:45h - Samsung Galaxy A51
2:14h - Ulefone Armor 9
2:30h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
2:33h - Ulefone Armor 7
2:40h
Speaker test
So, the Ulefone Armor 9 has a single rear-firing loudspeaker and it is plenty loud if you are facing it. Unfortunately, that is not how our loudness procedure is done. We are testing all phones in the same manner - the screen is always facing our equipment. This is how you usually play with your phone and watch videos.
The Armor 9, while reasonably loud over at the back, scored a Below Average mark in our standardized test. The sound quality is good - there is some bass, although not the best we've heard from a phone, and the mid-tones are well presented even if the high notes aren't.
Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.
Audio output quality
We've recently discontinued our audio output quality test.
The reason for that is that most phones that arrived for testing were already excellent in this regard, and whatever difference there was, it was marginal and probably indistinguishable to anything but our lab equipment.
Android 10 with Ulefone skin
The Ulefone Armor 9 comes with Android 10 out of the box. The maker advertises it as a pure version of Android, but that is not really the case. It offers a clutter-free Ulefone launcher that is close to what you'd get with the vanilla 10.
The software indeed looks a lot like vanilla Android. The home screen, lock screen, notification shade, and the recent apps menu look a lot like those from the stock Android, minus the icons.
Android OS on Ulefone Armor 9
Looking deeper into the Settings menu reveals the changes that Ulefone has made - there is AI app launch acceleration, various gestures, nav bar settings, among others. Something that's an obvious omission is the option to assign different functionality to the PTT key. Now it works with the PTT application only and nothing else.
Various settings
There is no app drawer available on the Armor 9, but if it's a must - there are plenty custom launchers.
The app package is pretty straight-forward. The default Android apps are pre-installed, so you have a gallery, a media player, and a file manager. There is also an FM radio app by Ulefone, a custom Notes app, and a Toolbox app.
FM radio • Notes • Toolbox
The Toolbox is probably the most powerful app you will find on Armor 9.
It offers Compass, Level tool, Flashlight, AR level for paintings, Height meter (seems like a gimmick), Magnifier, Alarm bell, Protractor, Noise meter (uses the microphone), Heart Rate (uses the camera), Bubble level, and Plumb bob.
Toolbox
The Armor 9 also offers a dedicated FLIR camera app and FLIR gallery, where you can see both the FLIR and regular image by swiping on the photo. Endoscope app (combines camera and gallery) for when the endoscope accessory is attacked is also present.
FLIR camera • FLIR gallery • FLIR image • FLIR image • original image
There are no ads across the UI whatsoever, so you can be sure you won't be bothered by unwanted spam here and there. And that pretty much covers the Ulefone Armor 9 starter package.
Performance and benchmarks
The Ulefone Armor 9, just like the Armor 7, employs the MediaTek Helio P90 chip. This SoC is already two-years old and is based on the rathe dated 12nm manufacturing process from TSMC.
The Helio P90 features an octa-core processor with two large Cortex-A75 cores clocked at 2.2GHz and six smaller, energy-efficient Corext-A55 cores working at 2.0GHz.
There is a (3-core) PowerVR GM 9446 GPU for taking care of graphically intensive tasks.
Finally, the Armor 9 packs 8GB of RAM and comes with 128GB UFS2.1 storage. A microSD memory expansion is available via a hybrid-SIM slot.
The Helio P90 is far from a powerhouse, but it packs enough punch to manage both crucial and entertainment-related tasks. The Armor 9 is a mid-ranger by heart, and it does score accordingly in the tests we ran.
The Armor 9 processor is still a very capable piece of hardware and it is bested only by the upper tier Snapdragon 700 series.
GeekBench 5.1 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- OnePlus Nord
1953 - Redmi Note 9S
1785 - Poco X3 NFC
1777 - Realme 6
1726 - Ulefone Armor 9
1498 - Ulefone Armor 7
1476 - Realme 6i
1349 - Redmi Note 9
1292 - Samsung Galaxy M31s
1261 - Fairphone 3+
1240
GeekBench 5.1 (single-core)
Higher is better
- OnePlus Nord
610 - Redmi Note 9S
570 - Poco X3 NFC
568 - Realme 6
548 - Ulefone Armor 9
401 - Realme 6i
388 - Ulefone Armor 7
380 - Redmi Note 9
361 - Samsung Galaxy M31s
349 - Fairphone 3+
272
Gaming isn't not a strong side of the Armor 9 and the GPU tests confirm that. You should be having no issues with lightweight games but we doubt you can be a PUBG or Fortnite champ unless you lower the game resolution and graphics quality.
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus Nord
34 - Realme 6i
31 - Realme 6
27 - Poco X3 NFC
27 - Redmi Note 9S
26 - Ulefone Armor 7
18 - Ulefone Armor 9
17 - Samsung Galaxy M31s
14 - Fairphone 3+
6.6
GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus Nord
19 - Realme 6i
17 - Realme 6
16 - Poco X3 NFC
16 - Redmi Note 9S
15 - Ulefone Armor 9
7.9 - Samsung Galaxy M31s
7.6 - Ulefone Armor 7
7.5
Finally, AnTuTu 8 puts the Armor 9 on par with the cheapest of the Redmi Note 9 phones, which isn't that impressive. Then again - performance was never a priority for the Armor 9.
AnTuTu 8
Higher is better
- OnePlus Nord
312794 - Realme 6
288931 - Poco X3 NFC
283750 - Redmi Note 9S
254000 - Ulefone Armor 7
216770 - Realme 6i
202275 - Redmi Note 9
200414 - Ulefone Armor 9
197000 - Samsung Galaxy M31s
187863 - Fairphone 3+
143378
It is obvious the Armor 9 is not a powerful smartphone. It packs a dated chip with mediocre performance, and you can feel it stutter here and there. But it is no slouch either - it gets the job done when it matters and won't disappoint you for the day-to-day tasks. What's even better - by tweaking some graphics options, you may be able to play even modern popular games. We'd say that's more than we'd expect from a rugged phone to do.
Dual camera for regular photography
The Ulefone Armor 9 packs a dual camera on its back for your typical photos and videos. It has a 64MP primary snapper and a 2MP depth sensor. A powerful quad-LED flash is also around, but it will be used much more as a torch and far less as a camera flash.
The FLIR camera is a separate piece of technology not part of the regular setup and we'll talk about that in a bit.
The primary camera uses a 64MP Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 sensor with Tetracell color filter and 0.8µm pixels that sits behind f/1.9 28mm lens. Phase-detection autofocus is available for this camera.
The second snapper is a 2MP GC5035 sensor behind f/2.2 lens that's used as a depth camera.
Over at the front, you'll find an 8MP camera for selfies that's using the Sony IMX134 sensor with 1.12µm pixels and f/2.2 lens. The focus is fixed.
The camera app is nothing we haven't seen - you swipe to switch between modes (Night, HDR, Video, Photo, 64MP, Beauty, Pro, Bokeh). AI is available, too, but it's a simple scene recognition thing.
On the viewfinder itself you will find 1x and 2x shortcuts - the 2x is doing digital zoom, obviously.
Camera app
The Pro mode is not that pro - it offers white balance, ISO (up to 1600), and exposure compensation but not shutter speed.
The primary photo mode always defaults to 64MP mode. Even when you go what should have been the default Photo mode, the camera app will go back to 64MP mode after you close it. We saw a similar thing with the Armor 7, and it is still very annoying. It makes no sense for Ulefone to choose the 64MP option as the default mode as the whole point for the existence of the Quad-Bayer bunch is to make nicer 12MP-16MP photos, not upscaled 64MP photos that take longer to shoot and are large in size at that!
Photo quality
While we are still frustrated with the 64MP default shooting mode that makes no sense, let us apologize for the Ulefone Armor 9 watermark on the photos below. We made sure we turned that off, and yet it is still here. Well, it's another "feature" we guess.
The 16MP photos, which you should have been getting by default, are nice but nothing impressive. They are free of noise and have good resolved detail everywhere but in foliage. Apparently, trees and grass are often too complicated for the algorithm to handle. Yet, the snail photo looks perfect. Go figure.
The dynamic range is average and so is the contrast. The colors are warmer than they should be and you can tell that immediately. The sharpening is a bit excessive at times, but it's not a real issue.
If it weren't for the noticeable yellowish tint - we would have liked these photos a lot. Now, they are just meh. But if you are climbing mount Everest, the Armor 9 will do a fine job getting what's important, while the yellow snow should be easily fixable in post processing, isn't that right?
Photo Mode, 16MP
Here are some 64MP photos we took with the very persistent 64MP mode. Unsurprisingly, those are simply upscaled 16MP images, so there is literally no point at having them. Absolute waste of space and time.
64MP mode
Thanks to the 2MP depth sensor you'd be getting okay-ish 8MP Bokeh samples. The algorithm isn't that proficient, and you can spot lots of imperfections (why blur the Simpsons?), plus - the contrast isn't right, but these should do for when you need to blur the background here and there.
Bokeh mode, 8MP
The low-light photos are a mixed bag. Some of them look great - they are sharp with lots of detail, low noise, and preserved colors, even if a bit dark. Others are soft and smudgy.
Photo mode, 16MP
The Night Mode takes about 2 seconds and produces excellent shots - they are a bit soft sometimes, yes, but quite bright, low on noise, and with good contrast. Oddly, those are saved in 12.5MP instead of 16MP.
Night Mode, 12.5MP
Once you're done with the real world samples, head over to our Photo compare tool to see how the Armor 9 stacks up against other phones.
Ulefone Armor 9 against the Ulefone Armor 7 and the Poco X3 NFC in our Photo compare tool
Finally, the 8MP selfies are uninspiring. They are noisy and average in detail. The focus seems to be fixed a bit farther than it should be and even if this reviewer has rather long hands, they weren't enough to hit the sweet focus spot.
Selfie camera, 8MP
The selfie camera supports Bokeh mode, but you'd be better without it - the images are awful in every possible way.
Selfie Bokeh, 8MP
Video quality
The Armor 9 video camera supports three resolutions - 4K@30fps, 1080@30fps and 720@30fps. The video bitrate is 41Mbps in 4K and about 9Mbps in 1080p. Audio is mono with a 128Kbps bitrate.
No matter the chosen resolution, the videos are horrible - there detail is extremely poor, average (at best) dynamic range, and once again - far from accurate colors.
There is no electronic stabilization available on the Armor 9.
Here's a glimpse of how the Armor 9 compares to rivals in our Video compare tool.
2160p: Ulefone Armor 9 against the Armor 7 and the Poco X3 NFC in our Video compare tool
Thermal camera
The FLIR camera is thoroughly interesting and even if you are not a professional, you should still be able to enjoy it and find a way to put it to some useful work in a variety of situations.
The FLIR system on the back of the Ulefone Armor 9 has two snappers - a thermal and a regular (2MP) one, which work together to provide a more detailed image of what you are seeing. The thermal one captures thermal images only (duh), while the regular snapper enhances those with contours from the objects you see.
There are nine different color filters - Iron, White-Hot, Black-Hot, Rainbow, Lava, Arctic, Night, Coldest and Hottest. You choose the one that suits you best depending on what you are searching for - hot or cold spots, temperature differences in objects, items or living things at night, or just the hottest or coldest spots around. Each of these scenarios has a filter and once you learn which one is used for what - you won't be overthinking it or checking with the Tips&Tricks page.
The FLIR camera app can also capture videos - both regular and time-lapse, if that's what you need.
One useful mode of the camera app is fire detection - this is a special mode that searches for electrical or otherwise fires within inaccessible areas, such as walls.
Naturally, the FLIR camera supports temperature measurement and it has a couple of different modes - via a temperature bar or by chosen spots. You can also get averages, too.
The FLIR camera app also supports switching between thermal, combined, or real-life view.
The FLIR camera app is quite intuitive and easy to work and it provides adequate thermal imaging. It won't be able to penetrate thick concrete walls as it isn't that powerful, but it will do for many other things from measuring or finding hot/cold spots on objects, through showing where your pipes go under the bathroom tiles.
Pictures are usually worth more than thousands of words, so here are some.
FLIR camera samples
And here are some clean photos by the thermal camera only.
FLIR camera samples
We were quite intrigued by this FLIR camera and you bet we went through our homes trying to find leaks and whatnot. It's not as easy to work and operate of you are unfamiliar, especially when these types of camera also capture reflections and you need to learn to eliminate such things. But it's not rocket science for most cases, and everyone should be able to put the FLIR camera to use. And it should be a piece of cake if you are already familiar with the technology, of course.
Wrap-up
CAT is probably the first brand that comes to mind when someone thinks of a rugged phone. But the CAT smartphones are expensive, and thus they cater to fewer people. Luckily, Ulefone has been offering some particularly good rugged phones priced much more reasonably and the new Armor 9 is no exception.
The Ulefone Armor 9 is unbelievably durable, with a humongous battery and a thermal camera by FLIR. It has some good mid-range Android specs, but its strength lies elsewhere - in its versatility to be an invaluable tool in the various field working scenarios - from plumbing and construction to firefighters and first responders.
The Armor 9 can also be paired easily with an endoscope or shielded even more with the additional multi-purpose protective case. And the extra accessories are pretty cheap, all things considered.
The Ulefone Armor 9 and its unique feature set are priced at €550 - an impossible to beat number - making this phone an offer you just can't pass.
Alternatives
If you like the Armor 9 ruggedness, but you don't need its thermal camera, then you may want to consider the €100 cheaper Armor 9E or Armor 7.
The Armor 9E is the same phone but instead a thermal camera it offers two additional snappers - an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro. You get to keep the endoscope mount.
Or you may want to check the Armor 7, which has similar ruggedness but is a bit lighter due to the "smaller" 5,500 mAh battery. It has the same 6.3" display and the same Helio P90 chip, but you will find a 48MP primary, an 8MP telephoto, and a 16MP night camera on its back.
Ulefone Armor 9E • Ulefone Armor 7
The CAT S62 is the most recent CAT phone, and it offers similar durability and a thermal camera. It has a smaller display and a thinner battery making for a much more pocket-friendly footprint and 248g of weight. The S62 is more expensive though - it costs €600+ in Europe and north of $700 in the US. It lacks the versatility of the Ulefone, but it's a CAT device, and we are sure this will be enough for some.
The older CAT S61 is a rather dated device with a small 5.2" display, the old Snapdragon 630 chip, and runs on Android Oreo by default. It has a thermal FLIR camera, though and if you can find it cheaper than the Armor 9, maybe you should consider it. Chances are slim, though - it is currently on sale in the US for $730.
Cat S62 Pro • Cat S61
The only real threat to the Ulefone Armor 9 is probably the Doogee S88 Pro - it is a similarly sized rugged phone, with similar durability, screen, and hardware. It has a triple-camera on the back with a 21MP main, an 8MP ultrawide, and an 8MP depth snapper. There is no thermal camera on the Doogee, but it comes with a jaw-dropping 10,000 mAh battery, and Iron Man LED eyes on the back. The phone costs less than €300, which makes it tempting.
Doogee S88 Pro
The verdict
The Ulefone Armor 9 is one of the toughest smartphones on the market with impressive resistance against the elements. It also offers one incredibly good FLIR thermal camera and you can even mount an endoscope.
The Armor 9 is not that impressive as a smartphone though - while it has excellent software features, its chip and camera won't be winning any fans. We can't have it all, though, not with such a phone at such price.
So, if you can live with average specs and camera quality but enjoy the rugged features with plenty of pro tools, then the Armor 9 would be a perfect fit.
Pros
- Extremely durable smartphone, IP69K-rated, drop-resistant
- Thoughtful design with hook and endoscope mount
- Reasonable Android specs - 6.3" display, Helio P90 chip
- Enormous battery with impressive endurance
- Thermal camera (mixed picture) and optional endoscope
- Useful apps in the Toolbox, clean Android 10
- Sealed 3.5mm jack, sealed microSD slot, NFC
Cons
- Bulky and heavy
- Uninspiring regular photos, awful videos
- Accidental touches on the fingerprint sensor lead to "Too Many Attempts" quite often
- Not ideal speaker position
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