Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source — the world’s first rugged smartphone to pack a 720p DLP (Digital Light Processing) projector is a huge smartphone — measuring 174.9 x 87 x 22.5 mm and weighs a massive 530 grams (that’s over a pound). This is built for durability with high levels of shock proofing, and is water and dustproof to IP68 and IP69 standards.
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On the front is a huge 6.73-inch 3K/1440 x 3200 resolution 20:9 aspect ratio AMOLED 120Hz display that delivers silky smooth graphics and is capable of dealing with bright sunlight thanks to its 1,800 nits of brightness.
On the inside is a 3.35GHz octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chip and a Mali-G615 MP6 GPU that’s running the Android 14 out of the box (mine upgraded to Android 15 with no problems) operating system, a task that it does smoothly.
Infrared night vision, anyone?
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When it comes to RAM and storage, there are two options — the modest 16GB RAM (plus 16GB memory extension) with 512GB storage, and the all-out 18GB RAM (with an additional 18GB memory extension) with 1TB of storage.
Note that for the model I have for testing and review is the 18GB version.
Also: I found a discreet gadget to track my expensive jacket, and can’t travel without it
On the back of the Tank 4 Pro is a huge 1,200 lumen LED COB camping light that’s insanely bright (not to mention hot), and capable of lighting up a massive area.
The projector is useful, and the autofocus and automatic trapezoidal distortion correction makes it easy to use, but it struggles in mild lighting.
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The projector works well, and the autofocus is definitely an improvement compared to other smartphone projectors I’ve come across, but one downside is that 100 lumens isn’t enough for the projector to win against bright sunshine.
Ultimately, the Tank 4 Pro is solid when it comes to specs. While the processor is pretty middle-of-the-road, the 36GB of combined physical and virtual RAM does a lot of heavy lifting to keep this device running. It’s not going to win you any bragging power when it comes to benchmarks, but it’s enough to keep it running smoothy.
Oh, and it also features a 3.5 mm headphone jack for those who still use old-school headphones.
ZDNET’s buying advice
The Unihertz 8849 Tank 4 Pro, while the 16GB RAM/512GB ROM version is $690