realme 9ivsUlefone Power Armor 14 Pro

realme 9i

Ulefone Power Armor 14 Pro

realme 9i

The Realme 9i is an all-around performing budget smartphone that boasts a big battery, full HD+ display, and competent processor. With a 15 megapixel main camera, it's a great device for casual use. The phone has a slim and light design with rounded corners, making it comfortable to hold and use. The rear panel features a stereo prism effect when hit with light, but does catch fingerprints and smudges easily. The front of the device houses a large 6.6 inch display with relatively thin bezels on top and sides, while the chin is slightly thicker. A cut-out on the top left corner of the screen accommodates the selfie camera. The phone runs on Android 11 skinned with Realme UI 2.0, which is easy to use and comes with a few pre-installed third-party applications. The app drawer can be turned off or changed to standard mode in settings. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor powers the device, paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The display is great, with adequate brightness and rich colors, even in bright sunlight outdoors. However, it's a step down from the Realme 8i's screen, which had a higher refresh rate. The stereo speaker produces distorted sound at maximum volume and is heavy on mids, making it suitable for voice calls but not ideal for music listening. The camera setup includes a 50 megapixel main sensor, 2 megapixel macro lens, and 2 megapixel monochrome depth sensor. Selfie shots are decent in daylight settings, with good edge detection and background blur options. However, the phone struggles in low light conditions and has no stabilization for video recording. Priced at 1190 pesos, the Realme 9i is a good device for casual use, but it's hard to justify as an upgrade over its predecessor, the Realme 8i, given how little it changes. Overall, it's a decent budget smartphone that gets the job done, but may not be the best choice for those seeking a more premium experience.

Ulefone Power Armor 14 Pro

The Ulefone Power Armor 14 Pro is a rugged phone designed to withstand harsh environments. While it achieves its water-resistant goal, its shockproof claims are questionable due to the glass-covered screen. Dropping this phone could result in a broken screen, as I experienced with previous rugged phones. A 10,000mAh battery powers the device, paired with a low-power MediaTek Helio G85 CPU. This setup yields over 15 hours of screen time on a single charge. Charging is fast, with support for 18W wired and 15W wireless charging. The phone's design features rubberized plastic corners, metal sides, and a back made from a combination of plastic and rubber. While it doesn't win any beauty awards, it's sturdy enough to withstand drops. Other notable features include a 3.5mm audio jack, customizable button, USB-C port, and a single speaker with mediocre sound quality. The fingerprint scanner on the power button works reasonably well but is slow. The phone boasts a 6.52-inch IPS screen with 720p resolution, which feels outdated in 2022. Outdoor use reveals low brightness levels making it difficult to view content in direct sunlight. Camera performance is average, with two cameras (one for portrait mode) and maximum recording resolution of 1080p. Image stabilization is absent. Performance-wise, the phone is not a powerhouse, scoring around 260K on Antutu benchmarks. Most applications run smoothly, but gaming is limited to casual experiences. The Ulefone Power Armor 14 Pro is an average device that excels at battery life but falls short in performance and camera capabilities.