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Jun 11, 2023

Samsung’s incredible Galaxy projector smartphone now has a heir: Meet the Tank 2

Unihertz is one of the more adventurous rugged smartphone vendors out there with

Unihertz is one of the more adventurous rugged smartphone vendors out there with outlandish models such as the BlackBerry-esque Titan (and Titan Slim), the lilliputian Atom, the two-faced TickTock and the huge Tank. Turns out there's a Tank 2 and it comes with a unique feature, one not seen since the Samsung Galaxy Beam. That's right, more than a decade after the exciting but short lived projector smartphone was launched, there's a new smartphone that wants you to use it as a projector.

Big, bold and brash could be three terms used to describe it; it is hefty (weighing more than 500g) and bulky - at 23.5mm, it is almost twice the thickness of the just-announced 15-inch Apple MacBook Air. It is powered by a Mediatek CPU (Helio G99) and comes with 12GB RAM (expandable to 22GB using some onboard wizardry).

Add in 256GB storage, a 6.8-inch FHD+ display, Android 13, a quartet of camera sensors (32-megapixel front facing, 108-megapixel, 64-megapixel night vision and 16-megapixel wide camera) and a huge 15.5mAh battery and you have a pretty compelling rugged smartphone already.

However it is a rather unique selling point that seals the deal: its laser projector. Don't expect miracles though; Unihertz claims it has a native resolution of 1280 x 720 (i.e. HD) and a brightness of 40 lumens. Its throw and contrast ratios of 1.2:1 and 80000:1 respectively means that it will barely be usable for a large audience. So, yes, it is a great portable projector, but no, it can't be used as a business projector (saved from boring Powerpoint presentations)

But then, how many underwater projector do you know of (the Tank 2 is IP68/IP69K certified, so I’d expect it to be waterproof). At less than $340 (excluding taxes) at Chinese online retailer, Aliexpress, it is not as expensive as I’d expect, especially given the projector feature. Just be aware of its limitations: there's no 5G, no wireless charging, the processor is a bit slow and aftersales is likely to be a challenge.

Let's just hope that it doesn't get the same lukewarm reception as the Lenovo Smartcast smartphone, the Blackview Max 1 and the Voga V. Can't wait to see what Unihertz has next in store for us? Our money is on a 2024 take on the iconic, yet under-appreciated, Samsung Galaxy Camera.