Ulefone Power 5 review: rugged phone with four-day battery life and running Android 8.1, it doubles as a power pack

Budget handset won’t win admirers for its looks but has a battery powerful enough to charge a drone, buttons with a satisfyingly tactile click, an adequate camera and the most up-to-date OS. It could be a choice for outdoorsy types

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The Ulefone Power 5 (right) next to an iPhone X. Photo: Ben Sin

Published: 5:18pm, 3 Jun 2018Updated: 7:02pm, 3 Jun 2018

Flagship smartphones from big brands increasingly look and feel more and more similar, so leave it to Shenzhen start-ups to experiment with quirky ideas.

Two-year-old Ulefone’s latest release Power 5 comes with a 13,000 mAh battery packed inside. This is almost five times the capacity of the iPhone X’s battery, and more than three times that of the 4,000 mAh battery in the Huawei P20 Pro.

In fact, with the ability to charge other devices via the cable that comes with the phone, the Power 5 can double as a portable battery pack. But how does it perform as a smartphone?

The Ulefone Power 5 has a faux-leather back and an aluminium plate over its dual cameras. Photo: Ben Sin

Design and hardware

Considering the battery packed inside, it’s no surprise that the Power 5 is built like a brick. It weighs 330g, is twice as thick as an iPhone X, and has aluminium rails on both sides with visible screws for a bolted-on look.

On the back is a thin layer of faux leather that adds much needed grip, and around the dual camera is another aluminium plate. Though the bezels around the 6-inch LCD display aren’t large, there is an additional bumper above and below the forehead and chin which add to the phone’s overall height.