Blackview BV9900 Pro – $422.84 at AliExpress
(£334.18/AU$593.84)
While you wait for Blackview’s new 5G model, check out the BV9900 Pro, which combines a FLIR Lepton thermal sensor with a bargain price tag.View Deal
Challenger rugged smartphone brand Blackview will launch the campaign for its first 5G smartphone within the next few weeks on Indiegogo, which is rapidly turning into the preferred battleground for guerilla style, low cost marketing campaigns.
The BL6000 Pro owes its name to the 2016 BV6000, the company’s first successful foray into rugged smartphones, but will prove to be a different beast entirely with 5G connectivity baked in.
Based on the MediaTek Dimensity 800, it also features 8GB of RAM and 256GB onboard storage (hopefully UFS) with a triple rear camera setup that includes a 48-megapixel AI camera – likely to be the same as on the BV9900 Pro.
Add in a 5,280mAh battery and IP68, IP69K and MIL-STD-810G certification out of the box and you have a pretty convincing all-terrain smartphone that will prove to be a tough nut to crack.
The BL6000 Pro will face stiff competition from the Ulefone Armor 8, also down for a November launch, which has roughly the same configuration and costs around $600.