Portable projectors can bring moving pictures to the campsite or presentations to isolated work places. Smartphones add comms and cameras to the equation. And powerbanks can keep things going. The Tank 4 Pro from 8849 combines all three, and more.
Rugged phones are not for everyone. They fly in the face of an industry aiming for thin, they tend to be very weighty too and they’re unlikely to win any beauty contests.
But if your an outdoorsy type or someone who works in an industrial facility, the military or emergency services, you’ll appreciate the hard-as-nails toughness and multitool functionality that these kind of devices bring to the mobile space.
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Following the launch of the Tank 3 Pro adventure-ready battery brick earlier in the year, Unihertz sub-brand 8849 has now added another projector phone to its arsenal – one that’s claimed to be the first in the world to feature a 720p projector. For comparison, the resolution of that earlier model’s pico projector tops out at 480p.
So you’re going to get sharper visuals while out and about, but the LED light source is still on the low side – at just 100 lumens. This means that movie nights will need to be exactly that, after dark, and sharing presentations with work colleagues will have to be undertaken in a shaded nook – or the imagery is going to appear washed out.
The Tank 4 Pro sports a 6.73-inch AMOLED display at 3,200 x 1,440 pixels and a 120-Hz refresh rate for smooth onscreen action, plus a 50-megapixel selfiecam. The main snapper around back is also a 50-MP module that’s based around a 1/1.3-inch Samsung image sensor and boasts autofocus chops. There’s a 50-MP telephoto lens and a 64-MP night vision camera here too, the latter helping to reveal the secrets of the dark thanks to four infrared LEDs.
The battery pack in this model takes a bit of a hit compared to the model before it, but 11,600 mAh is still going to keep you away from a wall outlet for a good long while. When it is time to top up, the handset supports 120-W cabled fast-charging – but not wireless charging. Processing brains shape up with a Dimensity 8300 chip, supported by up to 18 GB of RAM and 1 TB of UFS 4.0 storage. Android 14 runs the show, with an upgrade to Android 15 coming in August.
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8849 says that the phone has been put through durability testing for resistance to rain, dunks under water, dust, shock, high/low temps, humidity, vibration, humidity and more. It’s sealed to IP68/IP69 standards. There are dual camping lights comprising a LED blocks and a Cylon-like flasher.
Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 6E, four-satellite navigation, 5G and USB-C are your connectivity options, with a slot for dual SIMs and a media card included. There’s fingerprint unlock for the security conscious too. And the handset measures 179 x 86 x 31 mm (7 x 3.4 x 1.2 in), and weighs in lighter than the 3 Pro at 530 g (18.7 oz).
The Tank 4 Pro is available for pre-order now at US$650 – though the list price is shown as $800. Shipping is due to start at the end of the month.
Product page: 8849 Tank 4 Pro