Best of MWC 2024: Ulefone Armor 26 Ultra

A rugged phone, a walkie talkie, a power bank & more

Ulefone is well-known for its rugged devices, and the company made an appearance at this year’s MWC too. A wide range of smartphones was shown off at the booth, including some upcoming ones. One such device is the Ulefone Armor 26 Ultra, and we decided to hand one of our MWC 2024 awards to that phone. This phone did get announced, even though we still don’t have all the spec details nor an exact release date. Still, Ulefone did share some details, and we did get a chance to check out the phone at the company’s booth.

A true tank of a phone

The Ulefone Armor 26 Ultra is a true tank of a smartphone. You’ll immediately notice that the device is of the rugged variety and that it can handle rough usage. Ulefone has a lot of practice in that field, so it’s not surprising the phone feels as sturdy as it does. Now, what struck us most was the back side. Ulefone opted for a rather large camera octagon at the top, with a speaker in the middle of it all. There are four cameras surrounding that speaker, one in each of the four corners of the camera island. More on that later.

On the front, you’ll find a flat display, with a centered display camera hole. The bezels around that display are not the thinnest, as this is a true tank of a phone. Still, if you’re thinking of getting a true rugged smartphone, you’re probably not thinking about bezel thinness. Its regular physical buttons (power/lock, volume up, and volume down) sit on the right-hand side, while there’s an extra button on the left side.

Gigantic battery, walkie-talkie & a 200MP camera

The Ulefone Armor 26 Ultra is a rugged phone, but its internals may surprise you. This smartphone packs a huge 15,600mAh battery, and it can double as a power bank. If you need to recharge it, however, don’t fret. Ulefone included 120W charging here, and a 120W charger is included in the box. This basically makes it one of the fastest-charging battery banks too, kind of. That battery pack is one of the reasons the phone is thicker than your regular smartphones, but you’re getting a lot of juice in return.

This device does double as a walkie-talkie, there’s even a removable antenna at the top. Ulefone also mentioned the phone’s satellite messaging function too, in case you were wondering. What you’ll also find on the back is a 200MP main camera, from Samsung. A night vision camera is likely also included on the back, as IR emitters are a part of the package. That’s all we know about the rear cameras, though. A 50-megapixel unit does sit on the front side, in case you were wondering. The Ulefone Armor 26 Ultra will become available in the near future.