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Rugged devices often let you pack hardware inside a durable shell that protects them from drops, shocks, and bumps, but one thing will always bring the reliability crashing down — battery life. If the battery doesn’t have enough juice to keep up with all that power, it’s going to end up being a brick of dead weight. That’s why Oscal chose to outfit its Tank 1, a rugged, rough and tough Android smartphone, with a 20,000 mAh battery — more than double that of the rumored smartphone with a 9,000mAh battery. Through a combination of its size and smart AI battery management, it can last for 1,080 hours in standby, up to 45 hours with the flashlight on, or three to five days with heavy usage.
Moreover, Oscal claims you’ll be able to listen to music for about 58 hours, stay on the phone for about 84 hours, or browse the web for about 26 hours before having to recharge the battery. Technical specifications include a MediaTek Dimensity 7050 processor, and a 6.78-inch 2.4K resolution display at 700 nits brightness and a 120 Hz refresh rate. The company also claims that the Tank 1 can support up to 48 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, but that’s likely misleading. Some RAM may be from virtual SWAP support, not physical.
However, its triple array 64, 50, and 20 MP cameras with night vision support should make for some beautiful shots. It has, for instance, a drainage hole in the case to release moisture and reduce internal pressure buildup, optimally reinforced corners, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 screen protection, and an aerospace-grade alloy frame. Oscal wasn’t playing around.
Why would you want a rugged phone with battery life like this?
Over 1,000 hours on standby is remarkable. That kind of battery life is great for extreme scenarios, such as working on a construction site, mountain climbing, exploring the remote wilderness, or providing emergency services — it’s great as a backup for local outages, too. Any scenario that’s away from an outlet. The Tank 1’s durability also sounds impressive, with its IP68 and IP69K ratings that make it waterproof for 30 minutes in up to two meters of water. It can also survive drops from 10 meters high, withstand pressure up to 1,200 kilograms (over 2,600 pounds), and intense temperatures from -50 degrees Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit) up to 70 degrees Celsius (158 Fahrenheit).
It runs on DokeOS 4.2, designed by Blackview, based on Android 15. It connects wirelessly via Wi-Fi 6, 5G, and Bluetooth 5.2 and uses A-GPS and GLONASS for positioning. Additionally, the 20,000mAh battery can work as a power bank to charge other devices via USB-C, using its available battery power. It’s hard to come by a device with a battery this size. There’s a conceptual phone that could last up to a week, but it’s not for sale.
User reviews on Amazon seem positive, but there aren’t many, as of this writing. At the Tank 1’s $500 price, it’s interesting to compare phones available for less than $600. The iPhone 16e, Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, and OnePlus 12R are standouts, but none are as durable nor do they have large batteries.
