Rugged Cell Phone, Blackview BV9800 Pro with Thermal Imaging, 48MP+16MP, 6GB+128GB, 6580mAh Rugged Smartphone 6.3 Inch FHD+ Display, T-Mobile Unlocked Dual SIM - Grey

I HAVE ONLY JUST RECEIVED AND SET UP THIS PHONE TODAY. f anything different comes to light, I will update this review.First off, let me clarify a few things about myself for better review context:I am an American engineer and data scientist, I have extended experience in multiple engineering disciplines, most notable hardware/electronics engineering and specializations in DC power systems/electronics/battery systems design and manufacture. I understand cell phones down to a proprietary level (given, you can get me the data/whitepaper!). My point is, I will be honest and my opinion can be taken with at least some weight.I migrated to this phone from my first Blackview phone (B9100, had a massive battery and solid features, but I finally broke the screen after way, way too many careless 3m+ falls), before that, I came from using a long line of Asus phones, but gave up as their quality went through the floor. I intend to stay away from over-hyped brands in the US (Apple, Samsung, Sony, etc, high marketshare devices, for a number of reasons).First impressions; everything works as intended and is of a reasonably high quality in category. Performance is great, as expected, battery life seems a tiny bit above average but I'm still running the phone through its first charge/discharge cycle, the battery indication will not be accurate until a near complete discharge of the battery followed by a full charge cycle with trickle/maintenance charge has been completed at least once. The phone arrived with the battery very close to proper storage values for a HV LiPo, and I expect it to do very well for its rating and size.The phone hardware is really well done on these BV phones. The 'case' is very strong and does protect the phone well by design (at least, from what I've learned about my B9100, and this appears to hold nearly the same construction with some major improvements). I have not tested the waterproof seal yet, but my last B did hold fine constantly at 2 meters a few times a month for an hour plus. Now, I know this is not a review page for the BV9100, however, BV utilizes a proper redundant seal design in their phones, where all components that are exposed are generally resin sealed, paneling uses formed gasket in trenches, etc, my point is, it would appear this is built "right". The phone looks and feels top quality, everything that isn't polymer is machined alloy, including all of the buttons. It really is a very nice, robust design.The IR camera is okay. It's a genuine FLIR chipset from what I can tell, and that's good. I have a dedicated IR camera that is a much higher resolution, but that cost a lot more than this entire phone did. I didn't buy the phone for its FLIR hardware, but it's very nice to have in my pocket on demand, especially with my work and hobbies. It's very accurate and has a number of appropriate settings and layouts to use and capture images in multiple spectrums. I am hesitant to say so, but this is a professional FLIR hardware configuration, albeit an entry level one. Regardless, this is absolutely acceptable quality in the price range.I noticed this unit has wireless charging and an IR emitter, which is VERY useful for me. I need to get a higher wattage charger, though. I haven't tested the IR emitter, but I have a number of pro apps I have purchased in the past that use internal IR or dongle IR, so this will be a nice change if it works well.(UPDATE: I spent some time with the IR emitter and my USB-C dongle which reads/writes IR code, and made digital copies of ALL my IR remotes with ZaZa Remote. Point and click full DIY control, or get like every IR code that's ever existed automatically through the app, major, MAJOR bonus for this phone!)I have seen several reviews across ALL BV phones on Amazon that are 1 star, and that's really too bad. Ultimately, even the worlds number one manufacturing processes can have faults, issues CAN slip past very good QC staff and only show up after the end user has the device, it happens. I have not been unfortunate with BV in this regard, but I would hope their user replacement services are up to speed with other companies, that's potentially the only pitfall here, but I do not know since all of my BV hardware has behaved very well. IF YOU RECEIVE DEFECTIVE HARDWARE, WRITE AMAZON. WRITE BLACKVIEW. THEY WILL REPLACE IT IF YOU TALK TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE assuming your device isn't two years old. Defective hardware happens! We do not live in a magical world where factories have an 'easy' button!Also, a neat little tidbit about this hardware line, modular replacement parts can be found for a number of important components, but I could never find a new screen for my BV9100... if I could, I wouldn't be writing this review, because I would have kept on with that phone. I did have to replace the USB-C interface board, but that was entirely my fault. I dropped it really, really hard a few times on the cable end while it was plugged in. The part was $8 and took me two hours to replace and reseal the phone. I really hope that's the case with these models, too, just in case.Overall, this is a great phone. Some people complain about the OS, etc, I find no issues with it. It's got great storage, processor and memory resources, and I really hope I have this phone for a long time. Excellent buy, I wouldn't have gotten a better model for my money anywhere else, IMO.9.5/10, this engineer's recommended buy for value, durability, overall performance, and hardware features.

I bought this phone for the huge battery and all the positive reviews. Also I liked the thermal camera option but was not impressed with the quality of the image. Overall, it was an ok phone but the battery would not last one day. I believe it was defective because it would drain 20% overnight with all apps closed, not acceptable. And this was before I downloaded any apps, so I know it wasn't one of my apps draining it. Also I was able to get it to work on Verizon but after two days it would not send any text. I had to restart phone to get it to work but it failed again in a few hours. Ultimately , I ended up returning the phone very disappointed.

I really wanted to like this phone, but I was let down almost right after I opened the box.The phone supports only 2 SIMs, or 1 SIM plus a memory card, (not 2 SIMs plus 1 Memory card slot, which is what I needed and what the Blackview website mislead you to believe you'll get).The description and specs on Amazon are also vague.I decided I could live with that, so I continued to "play" with the phone, I couldn't find the Dual Messenger function like Samsungs have.But, just after I initiated a return I discovered a "Guest Mode", just like a computer, I bet that could be very usuful if you are one of those parents that let their children use their phones, or if a friend needs to borrow your phone.The reason I decided to return the phone was because, when connected to a Bluetooth speaker the output/volume is actually lower than listening to the phone itself, which sound quality was already a bit subpar.(No, the issue wasn't the bluetooth speaker, I tried it with 2 different speakers and had the same problem).It's a heavy phone which I didn't mind, but the edges were too slick for a "rugged" phone, that added to the weight makes it easy to fall from your hands if you don't grab it tightly.Also, I couldn't find a case for it, I always buy rugged cases for my phones.The big pro about this phone is its killer battery, 6500mA!! I didn't set my Netflix account right, so it played continuous episodes all night while only going down less than 20%.But, no real DUAL SIM capabilities, plus a poor Bluetooth output for an almost $600 (with tax) phone made me decide against it.

I'm really liking this phone! It is the heaviest phone I've ever owned - but it's no wonder with everything packed inside. It's got a very rugged, substantial feel to it. The flaps covering the charge port & earphone port are a pain to open - but your the protection they offer they're well worth it. The phone has gotten to hot while charging a couple of times and shut down - something to be aware of. It's run smooth with all the games I've thrown at it. It has the loudest speakers I've ever heard on the phone. All in all, I'm happy with it.

I bought a Ulephone before this one and it started becoming sporadically unresponsive to the point of being unusable within 10 months. This phone, while being branded differently, has the same design language (aluminum sides, same lettering, etc) so I assumed it had a high chance of being made by the same company, so I got one with a party trick (FLIR) in case it did the same thing, at least I would have a FLIR camera if the screen would respond at all. Well, it's been about 5 months and this one is doing the exact same thing. The screen becomes unresponsive, sometimes while using it, sometimes when a call comes in you can't swipe it open. You have to blip the power button to cycle the screen on/off, then it might respond. If it doesn't, just keep blipping it. But this seems to be a widespread problem throughout all the brands that use this phone factory. They are easy to spot because they look so similar. Just be aware.