At $150, this is the best value rugged phone on the market right now

Umidigi Bison
(Image credit: Umidigi)

What is it? At $149.99, the Umidigi Bison is almost certainly the best value rugged smartphone of 2020.

What makes it special and why should I buy it? It is the first durable smartphone built by challenger mobile Chinese brand Umidigi and packs the sort of hardware components you'd encounter in devices twice the price - e.g. 128GB UFS 2.1 (not slower eMMC) and a total of five camera sensors. It's also the only model we know of that comes with customizable buttons. If you've found a cheaper equivalent, let us know via Twitter

How much does it cost? It's available from Banggood for $149.99 (about £110/AU$198) until December 28 without any codes. That's an extra $100 off the current sale price of $249.99. Overall, you get more than 40% off its suggested retail price.

Umidigi Bison rugged smartphone: $249.99 $149.99 at BanggoodSave $100December 28.
Best value for money
$149.99 at Banggood.com

Umidigi Bison rugged smartphone: $249.99 $149.99 at Banggood
Save $100, without any codes! The Umidigi Bison is a capable rugged smartphone that should provide great connectivity for outdoor field workers. Hurry - this offer ends on December 28.

What else should we know? The Umidigi Bison features the sort of hardware that we're accustomed to seeing in $300 rugged smartphones. It's got an eight-core Mediatek system-on-chip, 6GB of LPDDR4x RAM, 128GB onboard storage, a 6.3-inch 2340 x 1080px display, quad (48MP+16MP+5MP+5MP) camera sensors, a 24MP Sony front sensor, a massive 5Ah battery with Type-C connector, NFC, Android 10 and fast charging.

Any cons? None at this price.

Have you reviewed it? Not yet, but a review is coming soon.

Check out these mobile phone deals where you are

Bear in mind

  • If this product ships from mainland China, it will take a month to reach either the UK or US (and potentially more). You may be levied an additional tax, either directly or through the courier.
  • If you've managed to get hold of a cheaper product with equivalent specifications, in stock and brand new, let us know and we'll tip our hat to you.
Desire Athow
Managing Editor, TechRadar Pro

Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled in website builders and web hosting when DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.

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