I examined an Android cellphone with a built-in smartwatch – my ideas after a month

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Oukitel WP300 is accessible now on Amazon for $425 with a $70 off coupon.
• This modular smartphone has built-in smartwatch and earbud elements, in addition to a really vivid LED gentle.
• Like all Oukitel telephones I’ve examined, the WP300 is thick, cumbersome, and really heavy.

There are particular manufacturers which have carved a distinct segment for themselves, and Oukitel is one among them. The corporate creates telephones and tablets which might be rugged sufficient to face up to the rougher aspect of labor and play. They’re constructed to final, and in my expertise, they do. Nonetheless, a lot of the units appear like they’re half cellphone and half Transformer, so they are not for everybody.

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However for those who’re into that factor, they’re fairly cool — particularly once they include equipment. Such is the case with the Oukitel WP300. This cellphone is not only a run-of-the-mill mid-range Android smartphone; it includes a modular smartwatch element in addition to a built-in earbud.

What the what?

That is proper, the WP300 has a pop-out smartwatch module and a severely vivid pop-out gentle module that seconds as a Bluetooth earpiece. Positively a singular machine. It is cool, however is it price $500? Let’s discover out.

My expertise

I am accustomed to reviewing Oukitel telephones, so pulling a cellphone out of a field that weighs precise kilos (as a substitute of ounces) would not trouble me. It is heavy, and there is no method round that. 

On the similar time, although, it is fairly cool. As is with most Android telephones, the preliminary setup was so simple as it will get:

• Join the cellphone to Wi-Fi
• Join Android to my Google account

Due to the accoutrement, nevertheless, there are some further steps to take. For instance, it’s good to set up the Da Fit app so the watch can sync with the cellphone. 

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I’ll warn you that the Da Match app is crammed with advertisements, and it actually desires you to pay for an account. The advertisements could be a bit off-putting to the purpose the place you won’t wish to even use it. And you do not have to — as with out the app, the watch works — you simply will not see the information in your cellphone.

So far as utilizing the WP300, it is an Android, so it is easy to work with and customizable. I’ll say this: there may be some bloatware. You will discover the next non-standard apps:

• FM Radio
• AI Album
• System Supervisor
• Pedometer
• ToolBag
• QRCode Scan

By default, the WP300 would not default to an App Drawer, which is one thing that at all times bothers me. Give us Android because it was meant to be. Fortuitously, you’ll be able to allow the App Drawer by long-pressing the house display, tapping Settings, after which enabling “With App drawer” for the “Dwelling display” choice.

In fact, that is simply private desire.

What about efficiency?

Any time you are coping with a midrange cellphone, you need to take into account efficiency. You do not need to wind up with an underpowered cellphone that is going to make you remorse shopping for it. 

Take into accout, nevertheless, that you do not purchase Oukitel telephones for the efficiency, however relatively their means to face up to the weather. These telephones are about taking them to rock quarries or different harsh terrain, realizing they’ll robust it out. 

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That being stated, the WP300 performs properly. Apps open rapidly, web sites render as quick as they do on my Pixel 9 Professional, and animations are comparatively clean. Not like many different midrange telephones I’ve reviewed up to now, I discovered little or no “stuttering” or hiccups when flattening the Notification Shade, switching between functions, or backing out of an software. It is all clean.

I am not saying the WP300 performs in addition to a flagship cellphone, however I would put it up in opposition to some other midrange machine and really feel snug that it could maintain its personal.

Lets speak modules

There are two pop-out modules: the watch/Bluetooth earpiece, and the sunshine. You possibly can come out the smartwatch by urgent the discharge button on the cellphone (on the backside fringe of the module slot) after which popping it onto the watch band. The sunshine is eliminated in the identical method. As soon as eliminated, pop it into your ear for hands-free calling.

When the earpiece is left within the cellphone, it doubles as a second tiny display, the place you’ll be able to run any app that is put in on the watch. The sunshine is a separate module that does not do double obligation. You activate the sunshine with the Tenting Lights app, the place you need to use it as an SOS, a really vivid flash, a full gentle, a half-light, or 1 / 4 gentle.

Because the warning says, don’t shine this gentle in somebody’s eyes — It is that vivid.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

Do I like to recommend this cellphone? That is a bit tough, however like most of Oukitel’s telephones, I can say this: For those who want probably the most rugged handset available on the market (that will not value you hundreds of {dollars}), the Oukitel WP300 will swimsuit you properly, as will a lot of the model’s telephones. For those who want a cellphone that features a modular smartwatch (and you do not care about model recognition) and recurrently want an earpiece or a crazy-bright LED, then the WP300 is the cellphone for you.

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The could be a heavy beast of a tool, however that is a part of its attraction. It is large, beefy, and rugged as a lumberjack.

The specs

• Battery – 16,000mAh with 18W reverse charging.
• 108 MP foremost digital camera, 32MP entrance digital camera, and 2MP macro lens.
• RAM – 12GB (with an extra 24 GB that may be added from inside settings.
• Storage – 512GB
• Show – 6.8″ at 1080 X 2460 decision, 396 pixel density, 650 nits, a 120Hz refresh fee, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
• CPU – 5G MediaTek 7050
• Army-grade shock resistance.
• Licensed with IP68 and IP69K mud, sand, and water resistance (as much as 1.5 meters underwater for half-hour).