I Love My Iphone 17 Pro Max, But This 20,000mah Android Phone Made Its Battery Look Small

Blackview Xplore 2 smartphone

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• A well-specced Android that tin support gait pinch likewise priced hardware.
• The 20,000mAh artillery is among nan largest I've tested connected a phone.
• Don't expect fluid package and a flagship camera strategy by Blackview phones.

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I emotion my iPhone 17 Pro Max, but moreover this telephone gives maine artillery worry connected days erstwhile I cognize I'll beryllium distant from a charger for an extended period. So I'm everlastingly attaching wired aliases wireless powerfulness banks. I'm turning a sleek, thin, and ray telephone into a gigantic, unwieldy brick.

So why not commencement pinch a gigantic, unwieldy ceramic alternatively of a powerfulness bank?

Also: I thought this iPhone surface protector was overrated - until I deed it pinch a brass knuckle

If this sounds for illustration thing you want to do, past nan Blackview Xplore 2 mightiness beryllium nan smartphone for you.

Blackview has been producing large, ruggedized smartphones pinch immense batteries for years. If you wanted a rugged smartphone, Blackview was your go-to manufacturer. And pinch bully reason, because these handsets really delivered connected value and reliability.

The Xplore 2 builds connected this heritage, creating a smartphone for those who request ruggedness, reliability, and a large battery.

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There are 3 versions of nan Xplore 2 -- a standard version, a type pinch a built-in projector, and a satellite version.

At nan halfway nan Xplore 2 is simply a 4-nanometer quad-core MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset -- rather a powerhouse arsenic these chipsets go, and connected par pinch nan Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 -- pinch 16GB of RAM, nan action to adhd 24GB of virtual RAM connected apical of that (which I propose you do because you get a batch of capacity bump for small cost), and 256GB aliases 512GB of storage, depending connected which exemplary you buy.

The Xplore 2 is simply a monolithic chunk!

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

The handset supports some 5G and Wi-Fi 6E, ensuring a future-proofed investment. That's a decent hardware guidelines to build on. 

The show is besides very bully here. You get a immense 6.73-inch, 1,440 x 3,200 show offering a pixel density of 521 pixels per inch pinch a move refresh complaint of 120 Hz. The strategy runs Doke OS 4.2, a modified type of Android 15.

The surface is protected by a furniture of Corning Gorilla Glass 5, designed to withstand 1.2-meter, waist-high drops onto hard, unsmooth surfaces. It's besides reasonably bright, emitting a maximum of 2,600 nits, which makes it suitable for usage successful sunlight.

The Xplore 15 has rather nan spec.

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Built into nan show is nan fingerprint reader, which is simply a move from different Blackview smartphones I've utilized that person it connected a button. I for illustration nan placement, particularly connected specified a large phone.

Regarding nan unit's durability, nan Xplore 2 is built to withstand everything that nan MIL-STD-810H certification demands, and is IP68/IP69K rated for particulate and h2o resistance. Put this into existent terms: this smartphone is designed to beryllium wholly dustproof, withstand drops from up to 6 meters astatine immoderate perspective connected immoderate surface, withstand somesthesia ranges of -4°F to 140°F (-20 °C to +60°C), high-temp/high-pressure h2o jets, and immersion, and is crushproof to 500 kg. 

It pulls this level of protection acknowledgment to its 5 layers of protection -- nan Gorilla Glass 5 layer, an aluminum/titanium alloy, an aluminum/titanium alloy artillery bracket, a shock-absorbing polymer base, and a reinforced armor back.

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This is simply a really reliable handset, but this armor adds a batch of size and wide to nan Xplore 2. At 1.14 inches heavy and 1.5 pounds, successful nary measurement it cannot beryllium considered bladed aliases light.

On nan backmost are 2 cameras -- there's a 50-megapixel Samsung portion pinch an f1.88 lens, and alongside this is simply a 20-megapixel nighttime imagination camera. There's besides a 50-megapixel selfie camera pinch an f/2.5 lens. Both cameras support 4K video astatine 60 frames per second, arsenic good arsenic HDR, and connection fantabulous performance. 

That camping ray is ace intense, acold excessively agleam to look into directly!

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

Also connected nan rear is simply a dual LED ray that tin output a blinding -- and I mean that -- 467 lumen camping light. The powerfulness output is adjustable, truthful you're not perpetually dealing pinch a searchlight, which is simply a bully thing. It tin besides beryllium group to strobe and to punch retired SOS if needed. 

For contented consumption, stereo speakers located astatine nan bottommost of nan portion nutrient exceptional audio erstwhile watching movies aliases listening to music.

And that USB-C larboard is built to withstand h2o and is afloat water-resistant connected its own, without needing nan screen flap to beryllium fitted -- a bully touch.

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You do get an IR distant power feature, which allows you to power your TV, aerial conditioning unit, DVD subordinate (remember those), and such. The astir applicable exertion I had for this was to annoy group astir maine by remotely fiddling pinch things. This is 1 of those things that you either person a usage for aliases you don't.

Let's get to nan spot that I'm really excited astir -- nan battery. Inside nan Xplore 2 is simply a immense 20,000mAh battery. To put that into perspective, mini powerfulness banks typically person a capacity of astir 5,000mAh, mean ones astir 10,000mAh, and ample ones 20,000mAh. If they transcend 27,000mAh, you can't return them onto a commercialized airliner.

The artillery is ample capable to support nan Xplore 2 moving for 1,008 hours successful standby mode (that's a whopping 42 days), 84 hours of talk time, 23 hours of video playback, aliases 20 hours of gaming. It gives nan Xplore 2 an unbelievably agelong artillery life. 

A 20,000 mAh artillery adds a batch of chunk to nan Xplore 2.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

If artillery life is simply a privilege for you, this is nan handset to consider. And erstwhile you do negociate to tally nan artillery down, nan 120W accelerated charging support intends you're backmost up and moving successful nary time. 

Also: I recovered an AirTag replacement that thumps nan Bluetooth locator successful meaningful ways (including price)

My type of nan Xplore 2 besides came pinch a built-in projector. This is simply a 480p manual attraction projector portion built into nan front, tin of projecting a surface up to 100 inches across. It works, and erstwhile you've spent clip getting it focused, nan image value is acceptable capable to do nan job. However, you do request to beryllium successful a darkened room, because brightness is connected nan debased side. 

Like nan IR remote, this is thing you'll really want and love, aliases conscionable look astatine arsenic a gimmick. For me, this is much of a gimmick, but since you tin bargain a type without this feature, I don't spot it being a problem.

ZDNET's buying advice

The non-projector type of nan Blackview Xplore 2 comes pinch 256GB aliases 512GB of storage, and is priced astatine $600 and $660, respectively. That's a batch of money, but you're getting a batch of telephone for nan money. I admit that Blackview is making nan projector optional, arsenic not everyone needs that feature. 

Performance-wise, nan Xplore 2 is among nan best. It's not flagship-level performance, but it's decidedly astatine nan precocious extremity of mainstream, which intends you're not compromising connected powerfulness to get ruggedness.