The rugged phone market has always been a strange beast. For years, you had two choices: import a bulky, expensive device that felt like a brick, or settle for a local option that was tough on the outside but hopelessly outdated on the inside. So when Oukitel, a brand known for its durable hardware, announced its latest Oukitel\ WP35 Armour”>Oukitel WP35 Armour, I was cautiously optimistic. After spending a week with it as my primary device, I can say it gets so much right, but one puzzling choice holds it back from greatness.
The Good: Price, Practicality, and a Solid Camera
There is a lot to love about the WP35 Armour, especially considering its place in the market. Oukitel has clearly listened to feedback on previous models.
An Unbeatable Price for This Level of Durability
At an introductory price of around ₹14,999, the WP35 Armour is a downright bargain. For that money, you’re getting a phone with IP68/IP69K water and dust resistance and a MIL-STD-810H rating. This means it’s certified to survive drops, shocks, and extreme temperatures. Finding that level of certified toughness in this price bracket is almost unheard of and immediately makes you question why you’d spend more on a fragile glass sandwich and a flimsy case.
Finally, a Rugged Phone That Fits in Your Pocket
Most rugged phones are comically large and heavy. Oukitel has finally cracked the size problem. The WP35 Armour, while certainly more substantial than your average smartphone, is surprisingly manageable. It’s ergonomic, fits comfortably in a jeans pocket, and doesn’t feel like you’re carrying a power bank around all day. It strikes a fantastic balance between durability and daily usability.
A Camera That Punches Above Its Weight
The camera is usually the first corner cut on a budget rugged device, but I was genuinely shocked by the 64MP main sensor. In good daylight, the photos are crisp, vibrant, and packed with detail. The colours are a bit saturated, but in a pleasing way that looks great on social media. It won’t be challenging a Samsung Galaxy S-series, but for capturing a landscape on a trek or taking clear photos at a worksite, it’s more than capable.
The Baffling Decision: A Major Performance Bottleneck
So, with a killer price, a practical design, and a decent camera, this phone should be an easy recommendation, right? Well, not quite. This brings me to the one frustrating decision Oukitel made.
The Oukitel\ WP35 Armour”>Oukitel WP35 Armour comes with only 4GB of RAM.
In 2024, that’s a critical bottleneck. It’s like building a powerful SUV with a muscular body and off-road tyres, but then fitting it with a scooter engine. In day-to-day use, this limitation is glaring. While navigating the UI and running single apps like WhatsApp or YouTube is fine, the moment you try to multitask or launch demanding apps, the phone begins to gasp for air.
Switching between Google Maps and Zomato caused noticeable lag, with apps often needing to reload completely. I tried playing a few rounds of Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) and the experience was stuttery, with frequent frame drops that made it unplayable. Even heavy web pages on Chrome with multiple tabs open brought the device to a crawl. The processor is decent enough for this price, but it’s being starved of the memory it needs to perform.
The Verdict: Who Should Buy the Oukitel\ WP35 Armour”>Oukitel WP35 Armour?
This single decision is what prevents the WP35 Armour from being the ultimate budget champion. It’s a fantastic phone for a specific user: the trekker, the field engineer, the courier, or simply the incredibly clumsy person who primarily uses their phone for calls, messaging, social media, and casual photography. For them, its durability and value are unmatched.
However, for anyone who considers themselves a power user, a mobile gamer, or someone who relies on snappy multitasking, that 4GB of RAM will be a constant source of frustration. Oukitel came so close to creating the perfect rugged phone for the masses, but this one baffling choice means it will struggle where modern users need it most.
