The cheapest 5G rugged smartphone emerges, with mysterious pins

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Oukitel WP10 - $369.99 at AliExpress (pre-sale)
(roughly £280/AU$500)
Between November 23-27, Oukitel's new 5G-ready rugged smartphone is available on pre-sale at almost half price. Act fast, before the handset returns to its suggested $669.99 price point.

After the Blackview BL6000 Pro, it's now Oukitel's turn to launch its first 5G rugged smartphone: the WP10. Like its competitor, the firm has resorted to the old trick of offering a very significant pre-order discount. 

Available at $369.99 between November 23 and November 27 (i.e. the Black Friday period) from Chinese retailer AliExpress, it undercuts the BL6000 Pro pre-order price by $30.

Its official suggested retail price ($669.99) is also slightly cheaper than the artificially bulked up cost of its Blackview rival, which stands at just under $700.

Oukitel WP10

Mediatek’s Dimensity 800 system-on-chip will power the device, which will also come with 8GB of memory and 128GB onboard storage (half that of the Blackview model).

Other features include a 6.67-inch display with a FHD+ resolution, four rear camera sensors with a top pixel count of 64-megapixels, a massive 8,000mAh battery, IP68 and IP69k ratings, plus stock Android 10.

As for the POGO pins at the back, they will be used to connect to a modular docking station - a unique selling point unmatched by the competition. Oukitel says you will be able to add LED flashlights, UVC sterilizer and a few other accessories too.

At the time of writing, the cheapest 5G smartphone on the market is the Realme V3 5G, which can be had for less than $180, with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage, although offers no rugged features.

The other mainstream rugged smartphone vendors that have yet to announce their 5G plans are Doogee and CAT. Ulefone has the Armor 8 on standby, but has not confirmed how much it will cost nor when it will go on sale.

Bear in mind

  • If this product comes from mainland China, it will take at least a month to arrive in the UK or US. 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.