The success of the hybrid phone-projector concept reincarnation (smartphone with build-in projector) is obvious. This idea was first implemented in the Samsung Galaxy Beam in October 2011. Unfortunately, very modest specs (15 ANSI Lumens brightness and 640 x 360 resolution) radically limited its popularity.
For almost a decade, this concept was forgotten. But the Blackview Max 1, presented in February 2019, almost immediately revived it. Despite the impressive price of $ 600, consumers enthusiastically accepted the new hybrid phone. Inspired by its success, companies vigorously began to master the new segment. Their popularity peaked in 2020, when this list included Blackview MAX 1, Moviphone, Qantum V, Movi, etc.
Phone projectors
However, the market realities quickly cooled the triumphant start. Poor price-quality ratio due to the relatively high price and modest specs could not provide sufficient competitiveness. In particular, the built-in projector increased the cost by $ 300-400. As a result, buying a phone and a pico projector with similar specs separately costs 20-30% less.
Having lost the competitive battle, the superb idea began to fade away. Today, the Blackview MAX 1 costs ~ $ 270 and is clearly not on the bestseller list. To be fair, two years ago Samsung and Nokia announced Galaxy Beam 3 (2021) and Nokia Projector Phone 5G. Unfortunately, there was no follow-up.
But Unihertz 8849 Tank 2 (2023) and improved Tank 3 Pro (2024) phone-projectors have revived this idea in rugged smartphones.
This experiment was very successful. As known, the camping models are usually equipped with batteries of huge capacity from 10,000 mAh. For example, Unihertz 8849 Tank 3 uses a 23800mAh battery. Accordingly, this aspect eliminates the problem of battery drain when using a projector.
As a result, higher brightness of up to 100 ANSI Lumens and higher resolution at a price of up to $ 600 have significantly improved the price-quality ratio. As a consequence, the comparison of Unihertz 8849 Tank 3 Pro vs LED pico projector has become relevant, and its result shifted in favor of the hybrid.
However, the company did not rest on its laurels in splendid isolation for long. This year, the offer was expanded by Oukitel WP100 Titan.
Oukitel is a corporate brand of Shenzhen Yunji Intelligent Technology Co, LTD, located in Shenzhen, China. It’s a smartphone supplier from China and is engaged in research, development, design, production, sales and after-sales service.
Oukitel WP100 Titan vs Unihertz 8849 Tank 3 Pro
Except for the battery capacity, the price, functionality and specs of the Oukitel WP100 Titan and Unihertz 8849 Tank 3 Pro are almost identical. Their design is also similar and typical for rugged smartphones.
Oukitel WP100 Titan was priced on Kickstarter from February 18 with an early bird price was $ 599, but on the company’s website it reaches $ 899. The price of Tank 3 Pro varies from $ 630 to $ 720, or $ 700 on the site.
Titan vs Tank
Both models:
– 6.80″ IPS TFT display, 16.7 million colors, 120 Hz, 1080 x 2460 px, 395 ppi;
– memory – 512 GB ROM & 16 GB RAM (expandable to 18 GB in Tank);
– camera – 3 and front selfie of about the same class;
– dual SIM;
They are equipped with popular sensors, including Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor, Magnetometer, Gyroscope, etc. Supported protocols, communication and messaging options, multimedia, PIM and an additional functions (Clock, Stopwatch, Alarm, Calculator, etc) are almost are identical.
Differences
– battery Li-Ion – 33000 mAh vs 23800 mAh.
Accordingly:
– talk time (4G) – 10980 min / 183.0 h vs 7080 min / 118.0 h;
– audio and video playback time – 110 h vs 98 h and 49 h vs 48 h;
– 66W / 18W vs 120W / 10W fast charger and reverse charger;
– Android 14 vs Android 13 OS;
– MediaTek Dimensity 7300 MT6878 (2500 MHz) vs MediaTek Dimensity 8200 MT6896 (3100 MHz);
– GPU – ARM Mali-G615 MC2 vs ARM Mali-G610 MC6;
– dimensions and weight – 178.30 x 84.18 x 34.00 mm vs 179.00 x 86.00 x 29.80 mm and 867 g vs 666 g.
Projectors
Their projectors use the same 0.2″ TI DLP DLP2010 (0.2 WVGA DMD) chipset:
– 0.2-inch (5.29-mm) diagonal micromirror array;
– 854 × 480 pixel array;
– 5.4-micron micromirror pitch;
– ±17° micromirror tilt;
– side illumination for optimal efficiency and optical engine size;
– polarization-independent aluminum micromirror surface.
Accordingly, their specs are identical:
– WVGA (854 x 480) resolution;
– 460:1 native contrast ratio;
– 120Hz projection refresh rate.
Both models deliver up to 100 Lumens (94% brightness uniformity), producing a 20″@0.5m or 40″@1m with manual focus.
The image size increasing will be accompanied by a decrease in image quality due to the relatively low brightness and resolution. In particular, the colors will become more faded and dull, and a pixel grid (visualization of the boundaries between pixels) will appear on the image.
However, Unihertz is not wasting any time either, having announced the new 8849 Tank 4. It’s scheduled for a release in the summer. Main preliminary specs:
– 6.78-inches AMOLED display with FHD+ (1,200 x 2,650 px) resolution, refresh rate of up to 120 Hz;
– MediaTek Dimensity 7300 MT6878 shipset (octa-core CPU with 4x Cortex A-78, 2.5 GHz and 4x Cortex A-55, 2.0 GHz, dual-core Mali-G615 MC2 GPU, two LPDDR5 RAM + UFS 3.1 storage 12GB +256GB or 16GB +512GB);
– dual Nano SIM card tray;
– cameras – 50MP Sony IMX766, 64MP OmniVision OV64B1B Night Vision unit, 8MP SK Hynix Hi-847 telefoto, and 32MP OmniVision OV32B40 (selfie);
– 11600 mAh battery with 66W fast charging and 25W reverse charger.
Specs of its projector vs Tank 3:
– 100 Lumens brightness (not changed);
– HD (1,280 x 720) vs FWVGA (854 x 480) resolution;
– 0.5 – 3 m focus range.
Conclusion
Probably, a draw is the most correct comparison result. Oukitel WP100 Titan offers a battery with an unprecedented capacity of 33000 mAh vs 23800 mAh in its opponent. In fact, it performs the power bank function, which is a significant bonus for campers. But Unihertz 8849 Tank 2 with projector has been successfully competing on the market since 2023 and has earned a reputation as a reliable device. In addition, the improved Tank 3 Pro is cheaper ($ 700 vs $ 900 on company websites). In general, these aspects roughly balance each other. Therefore, the choice depends on secondary factors, including, of course, discounts.
Of course, the announced Tank 4, the projector resolution of which is increased to HD (1,280 x 720) can again bring Unihertz to the forefront. However, this will depend on its price. Also, comparing models with 33000 mAh battery vs 11600 mAh may not be relevant due to their different class.
This video demonstrates the gaming performance of the rugged Oukitel WP100 Titan phone-projector.