This rugged smartphone has a feature that no other 5G handset offers today

(Image credit: Blackview)
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In a strangely executed leak campaign, Blackview has sent us a press release detailing rumors of its first 5G rugged smartphone, likely to be called the BV10000 (given its current flagship - and our current leaderboard champion - is the BV9900Pro).

We've been given a picture of the phone and we know it has a 5G Mediatek processor (likely to be a Dimensity 800 or 1000), LPDDR4 memory, a 6.5-inch display with slimmer bezel and a metal frame.

The big improvement, however, appears to be the inclusion of a Honeywell 2D scanner, which Blackview describes as "flagship-level".

As an outdoor device capable of hitting very high wireless speeds, the BV10000 is likely to be a potential winner for anyone that needs a powerful device with scanning capabilities that can operate in any weather conditions.

Blackview also claims to have improved the cameras. As a reminder, the BV9900Pro has a 48-megapixel Sony camera sensor, so a 64-megapixel model is not out of the question.

Another unknown is whether Blackview will keep the FLIR infrared camera sensor or get rid of it altogether. Eliminated FLIR would certainly save on the total cost of material, but we'd like to see it remain nonetheless.

The rugged smartphone manufacturer has confirmed that the phone could arrive as early as next month, which would put it in direct competition with Ulefone’s Armor 8. Expect both to feature Android 10 and a rather large battery indeed.

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.