I've never seen an Android phone that does everything that this one can (including night vision)

I’m quite used to testing big, ruggedized Android smartphones, but nothing prepared me for the phone I’ve been testing over the past few weeks. At over an inch thick and weighing a back-breaking 1.5 pounds, the Unihertz Tank 3 Pro is aptly named. 

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This device has a few different use cases, but let’s begin with the phone. It features a 6.79-inch, 1080 × 2460 pixel display running at a maximum of 120 Hz. Inside, there’s a Dimensity 8200 (5G) octa-core 3.1 GHz chipset with either 16 or 18 GB of RAM (along with optional memory extension using the storage), 512 GB of UFS 3.1 storage (expandable up to 2 TB with a microSD card), dual SIMs, and microSD card slots.  

And if you’re into fast data connectivity, fear not, as the Tank 3 Pro supports 5G and Wi-Fi 5.  

Then there’s the battery. The latest iPhone 16 Pro Max has a 4,685 mAh battery, which is pretty big by smartphone standards. The Tank 3 Pro, however, has a 23,800 mAh battery — the sort of battery you’d expect in a mid-sized power bank. It can keep the handset on standby for a staggering 1,800 hours (over three months!) or power a call lasting almost five days, or provide two days of video playback.    

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A battery that big needs to charge fast, so the Tank 3 Pro supports 120W fast charging, which can bring the battery from zero to 90% in just 90 minutes. This is faster than most power banks.

There’s also an array of cameras to make use of, including a 200MP main rear camera, a 64MP night vision camera, a 50MP wide-angle camera, and an 8MP telephoto camera. Finally, on the front, there’s a 50MP selfie camera. Also on the rear of the smartphone is a 1,200-lumen camping light with a red/blue warning light feature.  

We’re not done yet. On the end of the handset, there’s something that looks like a flashlight, but this is, in fact, a projector.

Yup, a projector.

This is a projection unit capable of 854 × 480 resolution, 100 lumens, and a 120Hz refresh rate. The idea is that you can use this to beam whatever is on the screen onto a convenient surface. On the side, there’s something that looks like a crown winder for an old-timey watch, but this is, in fact, a focusing knob for the projector.  

There’s also a cooling fan on the inside that pulls air in through a side vent, swirls it around the innards, and then exhausts it out of the front of the unit. This takes cooling to the next level and should deal with any possible overheating issues before they become a problem.  

Everything is housed in a ruggedized IP68-rated shell that offers a high level of dust and water resistance, as well as durability against impacts. Oh, and there’s also a 3.5 mm headphone jack!  

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So, as a smartphone, the Tank 3 Pro is a great mid-range bit of kit. It runs smoothly (especially with memory extension enabled, giving the physical memory a virtual boost), and the cameras are more than enough — just don’t go comparing them to flagship smartphones. The addition of a night vision camera is cool, and it does give you a neat superpower when out and about at night.  

But this thing is huuuuuge! Even holding the Tank 3 Pro feels like a workout, and I’ve not managed to find a pocket that will take it. That 1.5-pound weight starts to feel like an anchor pretty quickly, which leads me to believe that it’s definitely a smartphone for a pouch or bag.

The battery is just out of this world, and it feels like it goes for days – and that’s because it does! One thing I’d like is reverse charging so I could use the battery on the Tank 3 Pro as a power bank to charge other gadgets. That alone would make it even more useful off-grid.

The camping light offers three brightness levels – low, bright, and super bright – and is great for illuminating the way ahead or your pitch for the night. It also offers incredible runtime thanks to the huge battery backing it up.

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The projector? I’m in two minds about it. It’s a neat feature, but it ideally needs either a white wall or, preferably, a projector screen and a darkened room to get the best out of it. Maybe I was expecting too much by thinking I could project it onto any nearby wall. That said, it could be a useful tool for educators or presenters. 

ZDNET’s buying advice

If you want a huge smartphone in a ruggedized shell, a massive battery, a projector, and an array of cameras, then the Unihertz Tank 3 Pro is unique in being able to deliver on all that. I can see this is a phone you can take camping for a long weekend and be confident its battery will be online the whole time. 

The price is certainly something to keep in mind here: $629 is a lot of money for a smartphone, so it’s not something you’ll want to spend on unless you’re committed to using all its features. It’s niche for sure, but it has features that no Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy has to offer.

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