As promised, the latest small-screen smartphones from Unihertz is up for pre-order through a Kickstarter campaign starting today.
The Unihertz Atom L and Unihertz Atom XL sports a 4 inch, 1136 x 640 pixel display, a MediaTek Helio P60 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage, and a 48MP camera.
It’s not the phone for every fan of smaller screens though — it’s very much a device meant for outdoor use. It has a rugged design (with intentionally big bezels) and the Atom XL model even has a DMR Walkie Talkie feature for two-way communication where cellular coverage might be spotty.
While Unihertz promised that Super Early Bird pricing would start at $169, those deals sold out almost immediately. But you can still reserve a phone by backing the crowdfunding campaign for $209 or more — if all goes according to plan, the Atom L and Atom XL should begin shipping in June.
Both models of the smartphone have a rugged design that meets MIL-STD-810G standards and has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.
They’re both 4G LTE-enabled phones dual SIM support (or a single SIM plus a microSD card), GPS and NFC support, and 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth, and global 4G LTE.
They both ship with Android 10 and feature a 4,300 mAh battery, and a fingerprint reader, an IR port, a headset jack. Both have a custom programmable button on the side of the phones.
The only difference is that the Atom XL has the aforementioned DMR Walkie Talkie function (and an external antenna) which adds support for 2-way communication at distances up to 8 kilometers (5 miles) in some conditions… although that range will likely be limited in urban environments or while driving.
Don’t need the 2-way radio? You can save $30-$50 and just pick up the Atom L, which is identical in all other respects.
Want an even smaller phone? The original Unihertz Atom is still available for $260. It also has a ruggedized design and global 4G LTE support… but it has less impressive specs and an even smaller screen at just 2.45 inches (and 432 x 240 pixels).
I wish LG would make a successor to the Optimus F3… love that little phone if it was just a little more updated i’d use it as a daily
Do they still provide updates for their older phones? Do they plan on releasing a new Jelly Pro?
IIRC Atom is now on Android 9 and was updated last month.
At 135*65*17.5mm it’s roughly the size of an iPhone 6/7/8, but 2.5x as thick and with a smaller screen. That being said, it does have a 4300mAh battery…
It is theoretically rugged, so the comparison should be with an iPhone in a decent case.