Energizer and its collaboration partner Avenir Telecom surprised many at MWC 2024 when the two unveiled a new rugged smartphone with a massive 28,000 mAh battery.
It’s called the 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. You can totally see it there puts an iPhone in the shade. Information about the P28K was initially scarce; however, the company managed to give us an inside scoop 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, which is just over three months. The edge their coverage states that it will “last a whole week” of normal use on a single charge.
The Energizer P28K is thicccc. This is basically a 28,000mAh battery with a phone inside 😂#MWC2024 pic.twitter.com/XTv0fZmzGVFebruary 25, 2024
To maintain such a large battery, maker Avenir Telecom had to make the device exceptionally bulky. Their product weighs 570 grams (just over a pound) and is 28.8 mm (about an inch) thick. As TheVerge notes, that’s over three times the size of an average iPhone 15. You might think it’ll take forever to charge a battery this size, but that might 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 features a 6.78-inch LCD screen that can display a Full HD Plus resolution (2,460 x 1,080 pixels). On the back there is a triple camera array consisting of a 64 MP, 20 MP and 2 MP lens. It is unknown if the latter two are the ultrawide and periscope options. We assume this is the case because the information we received did not provide exact details.
Something we found particularly impressive is that the Hard Case phone has a resistance rating of IP69. This means that it is completely protected against dust and that it can remain underwater for a longer period of time.
Despite these impressive features, there are some aspects that may disappoint interested buyers.
For starters, it doesn’t support 5G connectivity as it only goes up to 4G LTE. Under the hood, the P28K runs on a MediaTek MT6789 chipset, the more common name for the mid-range Helio G99 SoC (system on a chip). Memory and storage peak at 8 GB and 256 GB respectively. Although you do have the option to increase the storage up to a full terabyte via the SD card slot. The Energizer smartphone has Android 14 installed, so you at least have the latest functions of the system.
Availability
An exact launch date has not been given. Officially, the Hard Case P28K is awaiting “final approval” from Energizer. However, TheVerge says that the smartphone will go on sale in October in every country in the world for €249.99, except the United States. For whatever reason, the US is rejected.
It could be because Avenir Telecom is a European company. We reached out to Energizer to ask if it has plans for a US launch and if it can provide details on the rear-view cameras, among other things. This story will be updated at a later date.
Until then, check out Ny Breaking’s list of the best rugged phones for 2024.