Land Rover Explore Smartphone review

Land Rover Explore Smartphone review

A rugged phone designed to survive the elements

Our rating

3.5

599.00

Published: January 20, 2019 at 12:01 am

Our review
A tough phone with great outdoor features, but not without some drawbacks Buy if, You need a phone that can survive the trails

Pros:

Very tough; works in the wet and with gloves; big battery; good GPS accuracy in remote locations; dedicated app for outdoor activities

Cons:

Expensive; average phone performance; GPS patch antenna drains battery quickly

This Android Land Rover Explore Smartphone sports a range of features designed to keep itself and you safe.

It comes with an IP68 rating (Ingress Protection rating), so it can resist extreme temperatures, a 6ft drop, water, sand, dust, dirt and vibration. I tested its ruggedness when my sample was ejected on a rocky trail, fell into a puddle and was ridden over. It was fine.

Inside the case is a 2.6Gzh processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, sitting behind a 5in Gorilla Glass 5 screen. This worked well with gloves. The ambient light sensor and red-light filter were useful too, saving my night vision.

The 4,000mAh battery is quickly bolstered with the included magnetic battery pack, which adds 3,620mAh of juice, plus a ceramic patch GPS antenna. This provides great accuracy but runs the battery down quickly. The pack increases the phone’s weight from 232g to 350g.

I really liked the stem mount and the floating app that enables one-touch access to the phone’s outdoor features. Compared to the latest models, operating performance is only average though, and the 16MP front and 8MP rear cameras (and video) struggle in low light.

Land Rover Explore Smartphone specifications

  • Dimensions: 152mm / 76mm / 12mm
  • CPU speed: 2.6Gzh
  • Storage: 64GB
  • Camera front: 16MP
  • Camera rear: 8MP
  • Bike mount pack: £30
Product "52386" does not exist or you do not have permission to access it.