Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal Price, Specs, and Best Deals

Ulefone has introduced the Armor 28 Ultra series, which includes the rugged and high-performance Armor 28 Ultra Thermal version. It features a 6.67-inch AMOLED display and an impressive camera setup, including a 50MP 1-inch sensor camera, a 64MP night vision sensor, a 50MP ultrawide sensor, and a ThermoVue Pro thermal camera. Powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chipset and supported by a massive 10600 mAh battery, the Armor 28 Ultra Thermal ensures top-tier performance with rapid 120W wired charging. This device has IP68/IP69K and MIL-STD-810H certifications to withstand harsh environments.

Design

The Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal version stands as a rugged, powerful tool designed to cater to extreme conditions, with the added benefit of a thermal imaging camera that sets it apart from the standard Armor 28 Ultra.

At first glance, the Armor 28 Ultra Thermal is as tough and durable as it gets, constructed with high-quality polycarbonate and reinforced metal, which gives the device a solid, almost unyielding feel. The phone’s build quality is exceptional; every edge and corner is engineered for durability. It’s clear that this phone is designed to survive drops, knocks, and rough handling.

The rubberized corners are a particularly notable feature as they provide an extra layer of protection against impact, ensuring that the internal components are shielded from any harsh contact. The sturdy, chunky body may feel somewhat bulky compared to your typical smartphone, but the added weight offers a reassuring sense of toughness that makes it perfect for outdoor use in demanding professions such as construction, agriculture, and emergency services.

The phone’s dimensions remain unchanged, measuring 174.2 x 83.6 x 19.4 mm, and it continues to weigh 450 grams. These proportions give the phone a weight that, while heavy compared to most modern smartphones, only enhances its rugged character.

When held, the Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal has a solid, reliable feel, like a tool you can count on in challenging environments. While it’s not a phone you’d slip into your pocket without notice, this added weight is a small price to pay for the added durability and performance.

Furthermore, although the physical design is essentially the same as the regular Armor 28 Ultra, the inclusion of a thermal imaging camera adds a layer of functionality that elevates the device’s value for professionals in fields where heat detection is essential.

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Additionally, the rear still boasts the same commanding camera setup, but with the addition of the thermal camera lens, it now has even more purpose. The camera array is large and protrudes from the back, but the substantial design doesn’t feel out of place given the phone’s overall bulk.

The 1.04-inch secondary display is housed within the camera module and provides quick access to notifications, time, and other essential information at a glance, further enhancing the phone’s practicality. Despite the large camera array and the inclusion of the thermal camera, the device maintains its streamlined and purposeful look.

The thermal sensor itself is integrated into the rear of the device without disrupting the clean, aggressive lines of the camera module. The large, square-shaped camera array still houses the four IR-LED flash, the primary, night vision, and ultra-wide cameras, but the integration of the thermal camera takes center stage.

The thermal sensor is cleverly positioned within the module to ensure it doesn’t intrude on the aesthetic balance, which remains sleek and efficient. This clever integration ensures that the Ulefone phone retains its rugged appeal while expanding its utility.

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The front of the device is dominated by the 6.67-inch AMOLED display, which has vibrant colors, a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, and an impressive peak brightness of 2200 nits, ensuring readability even under direct sunlight. The screen is surrounded by thick bezels, which are not exactly subtle but are a necessary design choice to accommodate the rugged, shock-resistant frame.

The phone’s ruggedness is further underscored by the sealed ports. The USB-C port and 3.5mm headphone jack are protected by rubberized covers that ensure no dust or moisture gets in, making the phone IP68/IP69K rated for water and dust resistance.

This means the device can handle brief submersion in water and withstand exposure to extreme conditions. The placement of these seals is precise, and each cover fits snugly, giving a clear indication that this phone is built for the elements.

Furthermore, on the left side, there’s the TF SIM card slot for dual SIM cards and a microSD card, accompanied by a customizable orange button that stands out visually and can be mapped to functions like SOS.

The orange accent, which carries over to the button on the right, adds a pop of color to an otherwise utilitarian design, and it’s easy to identify by touch. The right side features the power button with built-in fingerprint recognition, as well as the volume controls, all ergonomically placed for ease of access.

Display

The Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal features an impressive 6.67-inch AMOLED display, which delivers sharp and vibrant visuals with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. The clarity is exceptional, and the colors pop with rich, vivid tones, making it a pleasure to use whether you’re browsing through images, viewing maps, or simply using apps during your workday.

The AMOLED technology ensures deep blacks and a wide color range, offering more contrast compared to traditional LCDs, which is especially helpful when using the phone in varied lighting conditions.

Furthermore, the Armor 28 Ultra Thermal display has a peak brightness of 2200 nits, which ensures that the screen remains visible even under direct sunlight. This level of brightness ensures that the phone remains usable even in the harshest lighting, a feature that most traditional smartphones simply can’t match in such extreme conditions.

It also features a 120Hz refresh rate, which makes everything from scrolling through menus to gaming feel incredibly smooth and responsive. The fluid motion enhances the user experience, reducing motion blur and making it feel like you’re interacting with a much more premium device. Whether you’re navigating through apps or swiping through content, the display offers an ultra-smooth experience that further enhances its usability in real-time tasks.

For those working in environments where gloves or wet hands are common, Ulefone has also made the display highly sensitive to touch, which is a significant advantage. This ensures that the device remains functional and easy to operate in all conditions, enhancing its practicality. It also offers brilliant 1B color support, ensuring rich and deep hues.

Additionally, the display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, offering a layer of durability against scratches and cracks. For a rugged phone, this is an essential feature, ensuring the screen remains intact even after being subjected to rough treatment. The glass is highly resistant to both scratches and shattering, providing peace of mind during everyday use in rugged environments.

On the rear sits the secondary 1.04-inch AMOLED display, which further enhances the functionality of the device. This secondary screen is clear, bright, and functional, offering a resolution of 340 x 340 pixels, perfectly suited for checking quick notifications, checking the time, or even controlling media playback.

In addition, its 600-nit peak brightness ensures it remains visible in most lighting conditions, making it an excellent feature for users in demanding environments. Despite its small size, the back display is a practical addition, especially when you need to quickly glance at information without unlocking the device or interrupting your workflow. The second display is also protected by Gorilla Glass Victus, adding to its overall resilience.

Camera

The Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal camera setup is a robust and versatile system, perfectly tailored for users who need high-quality imaging capabilities in extreme environments.

This rugged smartphone isn’t just built for durability and toughness; it also comes equipped with a powerful set of cameras that can handle demanding tasks. This includes the 50MP main, 64MP night vision with a 50MP ultrawide, and the unparalleled thermal imaging camera. On the front, you get a single 50MP wide camera.

The primary rear camera is a 50MP Sony IMX898 sensor, featuring an f/1.9 aperture and a large 1.0″-type sensor size. This large 1-inch sensor stands out for its ability to capture more light, which translates to better low-light performance and greater clarity in all kinds of lighting conditions. It allows you to take detailed, sharp photos that rival those from flagship smartphones. The f/1.9 aperture, larger 1.6µm pixel size, and 85.1° field of view ensure that your shots are bright, detailed, and well-defined, even in challenging settings.

This camera also supports Dual Pixel PDAF (Phase Detection Auto-Focus), making it faster and more accurate when focusing, ensuring that your shots are sharp and clear.

The second camera is a 64MP Night Vision camera, an absolutely game-changing feature for users who need to work in complete darkness or low-light conditions. Powered by an OmniVision OV64B1B sensor and an f/1.8 aperture, this camera is equipped with four infrared (IR) LEDs that allow it to capture detailed images in the dark.

It also uses the NightElf Ultra 3.0 algorithm, which optimizes low-light performance, producing clear, noise-free images even in total darkness. This makes it an excellent choice for users in industries like security, emergency response, or anyone who needs reliable, high-quality vision in conditions where the human eye would struggle. This camera doesn’t just take monochrome images in the dark but offers exceptional detail that could rival any regular camera in standard lighting.

The 50MP ultrawide camera, with its 117° field of view and an f/2.2 aperture, is perfect for capturing wide landscapes, large groups, or expansive scenes. The sensor’s 1/2.76″ size and 0.64µm pixel size ensure that photos remain sharp even when capturing a broader scene. This camera also doubles as a macro sensor, great for focusing on small details, offering users the flexibility to capture everything from distant landscapes to tiny objects with excellent sharpness and clarity.

The real innovation on the Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal version is the built-in Thermal camera by ThermoVue T2, offering a resolution of 640×512 pixels. The inclusion of the thermal sensor is the key difference between the regular Armor 28 Ultra and this aptly named Armor 28 Ultra Thermal.

The specialized thermal camera integrates AI algorithms and can measure temperatures with an accuracy of ±2°C, making it an indispensable tool for industrial professionals, mechanics, electricians, or anyone who works in environments where temperature measurements are crucial.

By opening the Thermal View Pro app, users gain access to a highly efficient thermal imaging camera. This tool allows you to pinpoint specific areas and measure temperatures across different sections of the image. You can easily select subsections to determine precise temperature readings, making it incredibly useful for various professional applications.

Whether you’re diagnosing electrical faults, checking machinery, or conducting safety inspections, this thermal camera adds tremendous value to the device, giving users a tool that few rugged phones can offer.

When it comes to video recording, the Armor 28 Ultra Thermal doesn’t disappoint. The phone supports 8K video at 30fps, a rarity in smartphones, especially in the rugged category. This feature provides ultra-high-definition video, ensuring that you can capture the finest details in your surroundings.

For those not needing 8K, it also supports 4K recording at 30/60fps and 1080p at 30/60fps, all of which benefit from gyro-EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization). This ensures that even during fast movements, your footage remains stable and shake-free, making it ideal for action-packed environments or when shooting on the move.

For selfies, the Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal comes with a 50MP front-facing camera with an f/2.5 aperture and a 1/2.76″ sensor. While the megapixel count is impressive, the sensor size and pixel density make it ideal for sharp and vibrant self-portraits or video calls. It’s capable of shooting 1080p video at 30fps, ensuring that your video chats and vlogs are crisp and clear.

The camera app is packed with useful features to make the most of this powerful hardware. It provides access to various shooting modes, such as Night Vision, HDR, panorama, 50MP, Beauty Mode, and More, allowing you to choose the best setting for your specific needs.

Plus, it includes AI tools that automatically optimize your images for better clarity and color accuracy, further enhancing the camera’s capabilities. The app’s easy-to-use interface lets you quickly toggle between different settings, allowing for smooth transitions from casual photo-taking to more specialized tasks like thermal imaging.

Hardware and Software

Under the hood, the Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal is the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chipset, which is a top-tier processor built on TSMC’s advanced 4nm process. This chipset combines power and efficiency, featuring an octa-core CPU with a Cortex-X4 core clocked at a blazing 3.4 GHz, three additional Cortex-X4 cores running at 2.85 GHz, and four Cortex-A720 cores at 2.0 GHz.

This arrangement ensures that the Android phone can handle intensive tasks like gaming, multitasking, and high-end applications without breaking a sweat. The chipset is also coupled with Immortalis-G720 MC12 GPU, featuring 12 cores and a second-generation hardware ray-tracing engine, which ensures smooth graphical performance, capable of handling 3D rendering and advanced gaming at 60 FPS with realistic global illumination.

One of the standout features of the chipset is the MediaTek NPU 790 AI engine, which is designed for edge AI computing. This provides an extra layer of intelligence to the phone, enhancing tasks such as real-time image processing, voice recognition, and even advanced thermal readings from the ThermoVue T2 camera. This makes the device not only powerful in performance but also adaptable, supporting a range of AI-driven features across multiple apps, including Google Gemini and Meta.

On the software side, the Armor 28 Ultra Thermal runs on Android 14, which provides a clean, intuitive user experience. The software is upgradable to Android 15, ensuring access to the latest features and security updates. Ulefone has also integrated its own AI software into the device, improving usability by offering automatic image adjustments and optimizing overall performance. This level of intelligence makes the phone more than just a rugged device, as it can handle AI-driven tasks efficiently, boosting productivity.

It also comes with 16GB of RAM and a massive 1TB of internal UFS 4.0 storage, which offers lightning-fast read and write speeds. This combination ensures smooth multitasking and ample space for all your data, apps, and media. Additionally, the microSDXC slot allows for even further storage expansion, making it an ideal choice for users who need plenty of space for their work, multimedia, and other data.

The Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal is equipped with a massive 10,600mAh Li-Ion battery. This huge battery capacity ensures that the phone can last through long working hours, outdoor adventures, or even several days of moderate use, making it a solid choice for professionals working in demanding environments.

The charging capabilities are equally impressive, supporting 120W wired charging, which can provide a 40% charge in just 10 minutes. For wireless charging, the device supports 50W wireless charging, allowing a 35% charge in 30 minutes, and it even features 10W reverse wireless charging, so you can power other devices like headphones or another smartphone when necessary.

The Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal is equipped with the latest connectivity standards, ensuring fast and stable connections wherever you are. It supports Wi-Fi 7 tri-band,  Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, and an infrared port, further extending the device’s versatility, allowing you to pair with a wide range of devices and control compatible appliances.

The USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 port offers fast data transfer, and the U-Smart 2.0 connector allows for specialized accessories like endoscopes and microscopes, enhancing the phone’s functionality for professionals in various industries.

Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal Price and Availability

Ulefone Armor 28 Ultra Thermal prices start at around $959.99 at leading retailers. It retails at $959.99 on AliExpress. The smartphone is listed for $1,119.99, 1,799.99 CAD, and £819.99 on Amazon Stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, respectively.