Energizer and its collaborative partner Avenir Telecom surprised many at MWC 2024 when they unveiled a new rugged smartphone that houses a massive 28,000 mAh battery.
It's called Hard Case P28K and it looks like a brick. You can find photos taken by people at the event on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) comparing the device to other phones. There you will see it complete. outshines an iPhone. Information about the P28K was initially scarce; However, the company managed to give us some inside information by providing us with an official spec sheet. According to Energizer, the phone has a talk time of 122 hours (about five days) and a standby time of 2,253 hours, a little over three months. TheVerge in its coverage claims that it can “last a whole week” of regular use on a single charge.
The Energizer P28K is thick. It is basically a 28,000 mAh battery that has a phone inside 😂#MWC2024 pic.twitter.com/XTv0fZmzGVFebruary 25, 2024
To maintain such a large battery, creator Avenir Telecom had to make the device exceptionally bulky. Their product weighs 570g (over a pound) and is 28.8mm (about an inch) thick. As TheVerge points out, it's more than three times the size of an average iPhone 15. You might think that a battery this large would take forever to charge, but that may not be the case. The Hard Case P28K supports 33W fast charging. A company representative told us that the phone can be fully charged in about an hour and a half.
Loaded with features
Of course, there's more to this mobile device than just its size. It has a 6.78-inch LCD screen capable of generating a Full HD Plus resolution image (2,460 x 1,080 pixels). On the back there is a triple camera consisting of 64MP, 20MP and 2MP lenses. It is unknown if the latter two are the ultrawide and periscope options. We assume so, since the information we received did not provide exact details.
Something we found particularly impressive is that the Hard Case phone has an IP69 resistance rating. This means that it is completely protected against dust and can survive submersion underwater for a long time.
Despite these impressive features, there are some aspects that may disappoint interested buyers.
For starters, it does not support 5G connectivity as it only goes up to 4G LTE. Under the hood, the P28K is powered by a MediaTek MT6789 chipset, which is the more generic name for the mid-range Helio G99 SoC (system on a chip). Memory and storage space max out at 8GB and 256GB, respectively. Although you have the option to increase the storage up to a full terabyte via the SD card slot. The Energizer smartphone will come with Android 14 installed, so at least you will have the latest system features available.
Availability
No exact release date has been given. Officially, the Hard Case P28K is awaiting “final approval” from Energizer. TheVerge, however, says that the smartphone will be on sale for €249.99 this October in all countries around the world except the United States. For some reason, the United States is being snubbed.
It could be because Avenir Telecom is a European corporation. We've reached out to Energizer to ask if it has plans for a US launch and if it could provide details on the rear cameras, among other things. This story will be updated later.
Until then, be sure to check out TechRadar's list of the best rugged phones for 2024.
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