Add MobilityArena as a preferred source on Google
Some smartphones are not for everybody. They are designed for a specific set of niche use cases, and of you do not fall within that demographic, such phones will not appeal to you. As a matter of fact, you are likely to find them ridiculous. The monster phone called Unihertz Tank is one such highly specialised smartphone. Let me introduce you to it.
Let me make something clear: the name is 100% appropriate. This phone is built like a tank. It is massive; it is heavily armoured, it is heavy, and it will withstand drops, heat, sand, water, and pretty much everything else that will break your regular smartphone. If you get that picture, you already can tell that this is a phone designed for outdoors usage – for campers, adventurers, explorers, field security work, field engineering, and even military use.
Once you understand the above, the Unihertz Tank will make sense to you. Otherwise, the first time you see it and pick it up, you are likely to wonder why anyone needs a tank in their hands. Let me tell you about the first time I handled it.
Why you can trust MobilityArena reviews: our expert reviewers spend days, and sometimes weeks, using, testing, and comparing cell phones, accessories, apps, and services of all kinds so you can make informed buying decisions.
- Quick Specs
- Quick Pros and Cons
- Unboxing
- Battery Life and Charging
- Hardware
- Software
- Fingerprint Reader
- Network and Telephony
- Display and Multimedia
- Photography & Video
- Multitasking and Performance
- Should You Buy It?
Quick Specs
Let’s have a quick look at the phone’s specifications to see what to expect.
- 6.81-inch, 2340 × 1080 pixels, LCD IPS display with Panda Glass MN228 protection
- Water/dust resistance. Shock resistance. MIL-STD-810H military standard.
- Android 12
- 32MP selfie camera
- 108MP main camera + 20MP infrared Night Vision Camera + 2 MP macro lens, with LED light
- 22000mAh battery with 66W fast charging
- Helio G99 processor
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB internal storage
- No microSD card slot
- 3.5mm audio headset port.
Quick Pros and Cons
If you do not have the time to sit through the entire Unihertz Tank review but want a quick summary of what it says, here you go:
- 4G LTE support
- Built like a tank and will take a beating.
- Water-proof. Dust-proof.
- Heavy
- Fantastic battery life
- 66W fast charging is a blessing.
- Useful toolkit
- The fingerprint reader is finicky.
Unboxing
It arrived in a nice black box that is no bigger than the average phone box. From reading up about the specs, I already knew this guy was big, but nothing quite prepared you for seeing and handling it in the flesh. I opened the box, took the phone out, and I was still amazed. The Unihertz Tank is massive and butt heavy.
I passed it round so other members of the MobilityArena team could have a feel, and some of them uttered some u printable words, in shock. Below nis a photo of the TECNO Camon 18 Premier (which is not a small phone) with the Tank, so you can have an idea of how big the latter is.
Built like a tank.
What is in the box? The phone itself, two spare screen protectors, a user guide, a warranty guide, a USB-C cable, and a 66W charging brick. I nodded my head at that last item; with a 22,000mAh battery, it was reasonable to add that level of fast charging, otherwise it would take ages to top up the battery.
Battery Life and Charging
How fast does the Unihertz Tank charge? The first time I plugged it in to charge was a disappointing experience. It took forever to charge up. I wondered what could be wrong. 66W charging shouldn’t charge that slowly. Then I remembered that I had just run a software update (the first thing I did after setting up the phone). So, I did a restart of the phone and that fixed the issue. After that, the Tank charged with a speed that I expected. For example, last night, it went from 8% to 46% in 42 minutes.
Unihertz Tank Review: 66W fast charging does a good job.
In all, the 22000mAh battery charges up in about one hour and forty-five minutes. Remember, though, that even a 30-minute charge of this battery provides the Tank with enough power to run for 2 to 3 days, depending on your usage.
I easily used the Tank on a full charge for 6 days and only plugged it back in to charge when the battery had dropped to 8%. At that point, the phone told me I still had several hours of usage left. 8% of 22000mAh is 1760mAh after all. That is more than the total battery capacity of some other phones. Oh! And the Tank is a power bank, too. I charged other devices with it.
Hardware
The phone is water-proof and dust-proof. All the ports are sealed with flaps so water and dust do not get in. The phone’s edges have heavy shock-absorbing materials to break falls. The display is protected by a Gorilla Glass alternative, called Panda Glass .
There is a 32-megapixel selfie camera in front and a 108-megapixel camera at the back. There is an LED flash supporting the camera (and it has a dedicated button so you can use it to find your keys in the dark). But there is also a massive floodlight (or camping light) at the back, as well. And it is bright! Lastly, there is a 20MP infrared night vision camera for capturing photos in the dark, as well as a 2MP macro camera.
Software
The Tank runs Android 12 out of the box. It is mostly pure Android OS, too, but with some icons modified. The phone comes with a toolbox that includes handy utilities like a noise tester, compass, flashlight, bubble level measurement, heart rate measurement, pedometer, plumb bob, protractor (I haven’t seen a physical protractor in a decade!), speedometer, and even an underwater camera – for taking photos and recording video under water.
This monster was designed to be an all-purpose tool for getting things done, finding your way, and staying alive in the wild. For example, I took a trip by train and was able to monitor the speed of the train all through with the use of the speedometer in the toolbox. I was also able to keep my bearings right with the compass. And when doing community security monitoring in my neighbourhood, the powerful camping light on the rear of the phone (separate from the camera LED light) has been very useful. It has different modes, too, including SOS (the light flashes), Explosion flash (a strobing light), full bright, half bright, and slightly bright.
There is Google Play Store and Google Mobile Services (GMS) support. Signing into my Google account and installing and updating apps was without issues. All work fine.
Fingerprint Reader
One complaint that I have about the Tank is the side-mounted fingerprint reader. It is finicky and does not register fingerprints all the time. Often, I have to apply my finger multiple times before it unlocks the screen. I have used many phones and have never had a fingerprint experience this poor. Perhaps Unihertz can fix it via a software update. Or perhaps this is not a generic issue and the reader on my unit is faulty.
The fingerprint reader often fails to process my fingerprint and I have to try multiple times.
Network and Telephony
This is another area that the Tank shines. While out and about on trips out of town and in patchy network area, my iPhone would run into network issues, and I would be unable to use mobile data on it. Not the Tank. I made sure that both phones had a SIM card from the same network in them to test this out. When data stopped working on the iPhone, it was smooth and rock solid on the Unihertz Tank in the same location and at the same time.
Just to be double sure, I swapped the SIM cards between the two phones, and again, the Tank kept mobile data running smoothly, while connectivity on the iPhone was wacky all through. The Unihertz Tank is not just built to endure tough terrain, it is clearly also designed to hold on to and process a network signal better on the field where coverage is often patchy.
Display and Multimedia
The display is sharp and bright. I have had no issues using it for reading, content creation, watching video, or viewing images. It does not have a high refresh rate, so it is only 60Hz, but that has not impacted on the viewing experience.
I wish the loudspeaker produced better quality audio. I wish it had stereo speakers, actually. The audio is not terrible; it just lacks bass and sounds quite hollow. Again, this might not be a priority for the target demographic, so maybe I am nit-picking here.
Photography & Video
As a rule, a specialized smartphone of this nature almost never comes with an outstanding camera. So many resources go into optimizing the phone for its niche that photography and video recording are not priority. The cameras on the Unihertz Tank are not fantastic but they get the job done. This is particularly true for the rear camera, and less true for the selfie camera. I will share the samples so you can see for yourself.
Main 108MP camera. Outdoors. Good sunlight.
Main camera: shoes outdoors.
2MP macro lens: Macro Photography in daylight
Infrared 20MP Night Vision photo sample
32MP selfie camera sample
So, what are my conclusions on the Tank’s cameras? The 108-megapixel main cam,era performs well in good lighting but struggles in the dark. The infra-red night vision camera makes up for that by capturing more details in the dark, but you lose the colour. As for the 2-megapixel macro cameras, they have always disappointed and this one does just the same. I really believe that 2MP cameras are redundant. All manufacturers should scrap them. And let me just say that the selfie camera does not encourage me to take selfies.
Like I said earlier, the cameras on a device of this kind are hardly ever the best in terms of optimisation or results. They take averaage photos, as we have seen in the case of the Tank. The really special thing here is the infra-red night vision camera.
Multitasking and Performance
Performance is smooth and pleasant on the tank. Not once has it stuttered or paused or slowed down in use, and I have used it in all sorts of scenarios. I have streamed video, downloaded files, used the Web browser, managed emails, measured speed, used the floodlight, and switched between multiple tasks, without an impact on performance. This tank purrs along nicely.
Should You Buy It?
The Unihertz Tank is not for you if you are the regular person who has a desk job or goes to school or works from home.
But if your vocation requires you to be away from civilization for extended periods, or to be exposed to rugged terrain and/or extreme situations, this is the smartphone that will ride with you without dying on you. You can take it camping and use it for a week on a single charge. It is a phone that you will not be afraid of dropping on the ground or in water, by mistake. And if someone tries to mug you, you can use it as a weapon, too.
Copyright Notice : Reproduction of this article on any website, e-book, book, newspaper, magazine or other media without express written permission from MobilityArena is a violation of copyright rules and will result in appropriate action being taken.
Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
Add MobilityArena as a preferred source on Google
Some smartphones are not for everybody. They are designed for a specific set of niche use cases, and of you do not fall within that demographic, such phones will not appeal to you. As a matter of fact, you are likely to find them ridiculous. The monster phone called Unihertz Tank is one such highly specialised smartphone. Let me introduce you to it.
Let me make something clear: the name is 100% appropriate. This phone is built like a tank. It is massive; it is heavily armoured, it is heavy, and it will withstand drops, heat, sand, water, and pretty much everything else that will break your regular smartphone. If you get that picture, you already can tell that this is a phone designed for outdoors usage – for campers, adventurers, explorers, field security work, field engineering, and even military use.
Once you understand the above, the Unihertz Tank will make sense to you. Otherwise, the first time you see it and pick it up, you are likely to wonder why anyone needs a tank in their hands. Let me tell you about the first time I handled it.
Why you can trust MobilityArena reviews: our expert reviewers spend days, and sometimes weeks, using, testing, and comparing cell phones, accessories, apps, and services of all kinds so you can make informed buying decisions.
- Quick Specs
- Quick Pros and Cons
- Unboxing
- Battery Life and Charging
- Hardware
- Software
- Fingerprint Reader
- Network and Telephony
- Display and Multimedia
- Photography & Video
- Multitasking and Performance
- Should You Buy It?
Quick Specs
Let’s have a quick look at the phone’s specifications to see what to expect.
- 6.81-inch, 2340 × 1080 pixels, LCD IPS display with Panda Glass MN228 protection
- Water/dust resistance. Shock resistance. MIL-STD-810H military standard.
- Android 12
- 32MP selfie camera
- 108MP main camera + 20MP infrared Night Vision Camera + 2 MP macro lens, with LED light
- 22000mAh battery with 66W fast charging
- Helio G99 processor
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB internal storage
- No microSD card slot
- 3.5mm audio headset port.
Quick Pros and Cons
If you do not have the time to sit through the entire Unihertz Tank review but want a quick summary of what it says, here you go:
- 4G LTE support
- Built like a tank and will take a beating.
- Water-proof. Dust-proof.
- Heavy
- Fantastic battery life
- 66W fast charging is a blessing.
- Useful toolkit
- The fingerprint reader is finicky.
Unboxing
It arrived in a nice black box that is no bigger than the average phone box. From reading up about the specs, I already knew this guy was big, but nothing quite prepared you for seeing and handling it in the flesh. I opened the box, took the phone out, and I was still amazed. The Unihertz Tank is massive and butt heavy.
I passed it round so other members of the MobilityArena team could have a feel, and some of them uttered some u printable words, in shock. Below nis a photo of the TECNO Camon 18 Premier (which is not a small phone) with the Tank, so you can have an idea of how big the latter is.
Built like a tank.
What is in the box? The phone itself, two spare screen protectors, a user guide, a warranty guide, a USB-C cable, and a 66W charging brick. I nodded my head at that last item; with a 22,000mAh battery, it was reasonable to add that level of fast charging, otherwise it would take ages to top up the battery.
Battery Life and Charging
How fast does the Unihertz Tank charge? The first time I plugged it in to charge was a disappointing experience. It took forever to charge up. I wondered what could be wrong. 66W charging shouldn’t charge that slowly. Then I remembered that I had just run a software update (the first thing I did after setting up the phone). So, I did a restart of the phone and that fixed the issue. After that, the Tank charged with a speed that I expected. For example, last night, it went from 8% to 46% in 42 minutes.
Unihertz Tank Review: 66W fast charging does a good job.
In all, the 22000mAh battery charges up in about one hour and forty-five minutes. Remember, though, that even a 30-minute charge of this battery provides the Tank with enough power to run for 2 to 3 days, depending on your usage.
I easily used the Tank on a full charge for 6 days and only plugged it back in to charge when the battery had dropped to 8%. At that point, the phone told me I still had several hours of usage left. 8% of 22000mAh is 1760mAh after all. That is more than the total battery capacity of some other phones. Oh! And the Tank is a power bank, too. I charged other devices with it.
Hardware
The phone is water-proof and dust-proof. All the ports are sealed with flaps so water and dust do not get in. The phone’s edges have heavy shock-absorbing materials to break falls. The display is protected by a Gorilla Glass alternative, called Panda Glass .
There is a 32-megapixel selfie camera in front and a 108-megapixel camera at the back. There is an LED flash supporting the camera (and it has a dedicated button so you can use it to find your keys in the dark). But there is also a massive floodlight (or camping light) at the back, as well. And it is bright! Lastly, there is a 20MP infrared night vision camera for capturing photos in the dark, as well as a 2MP macro camera.
Software
The Tank runs Android 12 out of the box. It is mostly pure Android OS, too, but with some icons modified. The phone comes with a toolbox that includes handy utilities like a noise tester, compass, flashlight, bubble level measurement, heart rate measurement, pedometer, plumb bob, protractor (I haven’t seen a physical protractor in a decade!), speedometer, and even an underwater camera – for taking photos and recording video under water.
This monster was designed to be an all-purpose tool for getting things done, finding your way, and staying alive in the wild. For example, I took a trip by train and was able to monitor the speed of the train all through with the use of the speedometer in the toolbox. I was also able to keep my bearings right with the compass. And when doing community security monitoring in my neighbourhood, the powerful camping light on the rear of the phone (separate from the camera LED light) has been very useful. It has different modes, too, including SOS (the light flashes), Explosion flash (a strobing light), full bright, half bright, and slightly bright.
There is Google Play Store and Google Mobile Services (GMS) support. Signing into my Google account and installing and updating apps was without issues. All work fine.
Fingerprint Reader
One complaint that I have about the Tank is the side-mounted fingerprint reader. It is finicky and does not register fingerprints all the time. Often, I have to apply my finger multiple times before it unlocks the screen. I have used many phones and have never had a fingerprint experience this poor. Perhaps Unihertz can fix it via a software update. Or perhaps this is not a generic issue and the reader on my unit is faulty.
The fingerprint reader often fails to process my fingerprint and I have to try multiple times.
Network and Telephony
This is another area that the Tank shines. While out and about on trips out of town and in patchy network area, my iPhone would run into network issues, and I would be unable to use mobile data on it. Not the Tank. I made sure that both phones had a SIM card from the same network in them to test this out. When data stopped working on the iPhone, it was smooth and rock solid on the Unihertz Tank in the same location and at the same time.
Just to be double sure, I swapped the SIM cards between the two phones, and again, the Tank kept mobile data running smoothly, while connectivity on the iPhone was wacky all through. The Unihertz Tank is not just built to endure tough terrain, it is clearly also designed to hold on to and process a network signal better on the field where coverage is often patchy.
Display and Multimedia
The display is sharp and bright. I have had no issues using it for reading, content creation, watching video, or viewing images. It does not have a high refresh rate, so it is only 60Hz, but that has not impacted on the viewing experience.
I wish the loudspeaker produced better quality audio. I wish it had stereo speakers, actually. The audio is not terrible; it just lacks bass and sounds quite hollow. Again, this might not be a priority for the target demographic, so maybe I am nit-picking here.
Photography & Video
As a rule, a specialized smartphone of this nature almost never comes with an outstanding camera. So many resources go into optimizing the phone for its niche that photography and video recording are not priority. The cameras on the Unihertz Tank are not fantastic but they get the job done. This is particularly true for the rear camera, and less true for the selfie camera. I will share the samples so you can see for yourself.
Main 108MP camera. Outdoors. Good sunlight.
Main camera: shoes outdoors.
2MP macro lens: Macro Photography in daylight
Infrared 20MP Night Vision photo sample
32MP selfie camera sample
So, what are my conclusions on the Tank’s cameras? The 108-megapixel main cam,era performs well in good lighting but struggles in the dark. The infra-red night vision camera makes up for that by capturing more details in the dark, but you lose the colour. As for the 2-megapixel macro cameras, they have always disappointed and this one does just the same. I really believe that 2MP cameras are redundant. All manufacturers should scrap them. And let me just say that the selfie camera does not encourage me to take selfies.
Like I said earlier, the cameras on a device of this kind are hardly ever the best in terms of optimisation or results. They take averaage photos, as we have seen in the case of the Tank. The really special thing here is the infra-red night vision camera.
Multitasking and Performance
Performance is smooth and pleasant on the tank. Not once has it stuttered or paused or slowed down in use, and I have used it in all sorts of scenarios. I have streamed video, downloaded files, used the Web browser, managed emails, measured speed, used the floodlight, and switched between multiple tasks, without an impact on performance. This tank purrs along nicely.
Should You Buy It?
The Unihertz Tank is not for you if you are the regular person who has a desk job or goes to school or works from home.
But if your vocation requires you to be away from civilization for extended periods, or to be exposed to rugged terrain and/or extreme situations, this is the smartphone that will ride with you without dying on you. You can take it camping and use it for a week on a single charge. It is a phone that you will not be afraid of dropping on the ground or in water, by mistake. And if someone tries to mug you, you can use it as a weapon, too.
Copyright Notice : Reproduction of this article on any website, e-book, book, newspaper, magazine or other media without express written permission from MobilityArena is a violation of copyright rules and will result in appropriate action being taken.
Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
Add MobilityArena as a preferred source on Google
Once upon a time, many mobile phones were made in Europe . Nokia phones, Siemens phones, and Ericsson phones were a few such. Then Europe gradually faded off the mobile phone table. But in 2023, we have a new made in Europe smartphone. Volla Phones are proudly made in Germany.
No surprise. Germany has been an industrial powerhouse in Europe, for decades. If there was one European country that could make that comeback, it was Germany. So, what is Volla Phone all about?
What is Volla Phone?
Volla Phones are smartphones that respect your privacy, as they built on a free open-source, Google-free Android with no dependence on a cloud. In other words, they are privacy-focused phones.
Europe and America have consistently been at loggerheads over the way that both Android OS and iOS mine and milk user data. Again and again, we have seen the EU wield the stick against certain actions. I always wondered when someone in Europe would decide to build alternatives to what Apple and Google offer.
To be sure, some others have done some work before now. For example, Gael Duval’s Murena has been developing and shipping a privacy OS in phones for a few years now. I follow their work keenly. But Murena has not gone mainstream. What the privacy phone crowd needs is a brand that will power through the teething issues and become as mainstream as say Google Pixel or Nothing.
Those are niche and small phone brands that have mainstream appeal and following. The world needs a privacy-focused phone brand like that. Will Volla Phones be able to bell the cat?
Volla OS is a Google-free version of Android Open Source Project. That is the software that runs inside Volla Phones. The company says the OS does not collect your data, does not sync to any servers, and does not require you to sign into any account to use it. The good thing is that most of your Android apps will run on it. All but the ones that require a Google account to function.
Volla phones also come with the option to install Ubuntu Touch (which I have used a bit in the BQ Aquaris ) as an alternative operating system. You can also have both Volla OS and Ubuntu Touch OS pre-installed so you can switch between them as you please.
I asked earlier if this brand will be the one to go mainstream with a privacy OS. It looks like they are on their way to achieving that. Why do I say so? They have a small catalogue of models on the market already. At least four phones. Have a look.
List of available Volla Phones
Volla Phone Quintus, released in 2024
Volla Phone 22
Volla Phone X
Volla Phone X23
The original Volla Phone
A phone brand that has the muscles to have produced a small catalogue of models looks like they have the resources to go far.
Core Specs of Volla Phones
One of the areas that most privacy phones fail at is that of performance. Manufacturers often equip them with underpowered processors that leave the user experience less than ideal. People want smartphones that run smoothly and won’t give that up even for the promise of privacy and security. So, one of the first things I looked out for are the kind of processors that Volla is using in their phones. Here is what I found.
The original Volla phone and Volla Phone X both used the unimpressive Helio P23 processor. I cringe at the kind of performance those phones must have had.
But the 2nd generation Volla Phone 22 uses a Helio G85 SoC, while the X23 uses a Helio G99. These are decent processors with good performance. I have reviewed and owned a few Helio G96 and G99 smartphones, and if my experience with them is anything to go by, these Volla smartphones will run smoothly.
2025 update : Volla Phone Quintus was released in 2024 with a Dimensity 7050 chipset (meaning it is a 5G device), 8 GB RAM, 256 GB internal memory, and a 4600mAh battery.
Country Availability of Volla Phones
Volla ships its smartphones only to countries of the European Union, the EFTA countries and the United Kingdom. This makes business sense, seeing as Europe is the world’s bastion of digital privacy and where their products will have the most demand. Perhaps in some years down the road, other regions will begin to see why it isn’t a good idea to have all your personal data out there in the hands of Apple and Google, and hordes of developers.
Personally, I’d like to order a Volla smartphone. I just need to figure out a way to get it to me. Wait; my buddy Elroy lives in Germany now. Elroy! Hey, buddy! Let’s talk!
Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
