Kyocera DuraSport 5G UW review: tough choices

After releasing the tank as the $899.99 DuraForce Ultra 5G UW in April 2021, Kyocera is back with a more subtly rugged (and more affordable) phone — the $579.99 DuraSport 5G UW. If you want a rugged phone under $600 that runs on Verizon's millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G network, the DuraSport 5G UW is really your only choice. About the size of the Google Pixel 5A with 5G, the DuraSport is small but tough: it's dust, sand and water resistant in up to 2 meters of water for 30 minutes (IP68), as well as MIL 810H certified to withstand five foot drops.

Beneath that toughness, the DuraSport is a sub-$300 phone at heart. It shares similar specs to the $239.99 OnePlus Nord N200 5G: they both use the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal storage. But the DuraSport has a smaller 4,500mAh battery and comes with unique exterior apps and camera features. This leads to the obvious question: is a budget rugged phone worth it, or is it better to buy a cheap 5G phone and throw a very protective case around it?

UW DuraSport 5G Design

In an age when every new budget phone seems to be over 6.5 inches, the DuraSport is surprisingly compact. It's similar to the Google Pixel 5A with 5G but thicker and slightly narrower (6.09 x 2.78 x 0.39 inches or 154.7 x 70.7 x 9.9mm). They even look the same, with the same rounded corners and the same fingerprint sensor on the back – handy for unlocking the phone when you're wearing a mask. This phone fits well in my small hands and I can put it in most pockets.

For a phone built to survive rigorous military-grade testing for dust, sand, water, and drop protection, the DuraSport's design doesn't scream rugged. Unlike its more expensive sibling, the DuraSport has normal dimensions and proportions. But it still avoids the need for a separate case: not only is its screen protected by Gorilla Glass 6, but it has reinforced corners, taped seams around its buttons and Dragontrail Glass on its rear cameras. Despite its extra engineering bits, the Kyocera weighs about the same as the Pixel 5A.

While the DuraSport's hard plastic shell can withstand a lot of abuse, it's not the most comfortable to hold. Kyocera has added light texture to its back cover and sides, but they don't provide substantial grip to the device. Not that this phone needs any extra protection, but a case would make the phone easier to hold.

Of the many ways to customize this phone, the most obvious is the programmable button on the left side. You can set it to quickly open the camera mode you need (underwater shutter button) or open a particular app if you press the button twice. I kept pressing the programmable button by accident because that's where my thumb lands when I'm holding the phone; the actual power button is a bit too low for my liking.

DuraSport 5G UW Performance

Despite its average price, the DuraSport has low-end internals. Its processor is the budget Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 with 4GB of RAM, which makes the DuraSport a bit slower to open a web page or switch between portrait and landscape modes when watching a YouTube video. This was especially evident when playing a round of Pokémon Unite, where the middle of a battle slowed down so much that I couldn't move my Pokémon to dodge an attack. While a sub-$300 phone can get away with just 64GB of storage, it doesn't match DuraSport's nearly $600 price tag, even though it has a microSD card slot for storage. 'extension.

The DuraSport redeems itself somewhat with a 6.1-inch 1080p IPS LCD screen that's pretty bright (500 nits) allowing the screen to be used at just 60 per cent brightness in direct sunlight. When viewing high-resolution photos like The Verge's 2021: A Year in the Art, images are smooth and detailed even when looking at pixels, thanks to this display's 400+ PPI pixel density. Best of all, the touchscreen is functional when I'm wearing gloves or there's water on the screen, which is a big help in the winter.

This phone comes preloaded with apps for outdoor enthusiasts: an outdoor gate, compass, barometer, Sun & Moon, weather, tide (if you're fishing or have a boat), and Solunar (if you want to meet or avoid certain animals). In my case, I skate on an outdoor rink in the winter, but I'm extremely picky about timing: the temperature should be at least 32 degrees or less the night before and throughout the day, with minimal wind , and after sunset, so the ice has a chance to harden. I used the outdoor portal to monitor my local weather and sunset/sunrise data rather than switching between apps. While I appreciate the convenience of having these apps on my phone, I wasn't impressed that I had to give the apps continued access to my location, even though they said I could just limit data collection when I use the apps. If you don't mind using these apps at all, you don't have to worry about location tracking, but they are a big part of DuraSport's selling points.

Beyond these exterior apps, the DuraSport is essentially running an unmodified version of Android 11. As one of the phones selected for the Android Enterprise Recommended program, Kyocera has already committed to providing quarterly security updates at DuraSport until November 2023. This, along with the fact that Kyocera offers two years of warranty, compared to the industry standard of just one year, means this phone should last you a few years. .

The DuraSport's 4,500mAh battery is actually quite power efficient and able to run without a charge after two days of use – and that's mostly coming from using 4G LTE. After listening to a few hour-long podcasts, taking photos and videos, posting and browsing social media, and reading various articles, I got around 15.5 hours of screen time on the DuraSport over two days. Using the included charger, I was able to charge the phone in 2.5 hours, which isn't particularly fast. The DuraSport also lacks wireless charging – you have to upgrade to the Ultra model if you want that.

DuraSport 5G UW Camera

Let's put that aside: if you're serious about photography, you won't like the DuraSport's cameras.

The phone has two cameras on the back, a 48-megapixel main and a 16-megapixel ultrawide, along with an 8-megapixel front camera. The cameras take perfectly fine photos in good lighting conditions, but they are not designed for anything difficult like low-light or action photography.

Its cameras share the same issues that plague other phones under $300. Not only do the colors differ between the main and ultrawide camera, but the main camera also sometimes struggles to focus and separate the subject from the background in portrait mode. I've also noticed that photos taken in low-light environments appear to have vignetting around the edges, whether captured with the main, ultra-wide, or selfie camera.

The DuraSport tries to fill its technical gaps with unique video interfaces like Action Overlay and beauty filters. (I didn't have access to ANT Plus compatible fitness sensors, so I couldn't test the action overlay linked to my real-time fitness data.) will randomly close for no reason, which is frustrating to take pictures with.

There's no doubt you're paying a premium for the rugged design of the DuraSport 5G UW at $579.99 – despite the fact that it has cheap components that are more common in sub-$300 budget phones. It's a shame it doesn't use a faster processor or have better cameras for a phone that costs almost $600.

There are plenty of other better phones in this price range, including Google's own Pixel 6. But if you're looking for a rugged phone and want to use Verizon's faster mmWave 5G network, the DuraSport really is the only budget rugged 5G phone available. .

If having great cameras on your phone is more important to you, and you're willing to accept a water-resistant (IP67) camera over a waterproof (IP68) device, then the $449 Pixel 5A with 5G would be a better choice. After all, they look and feel nearly identical to each other anyway.

The peace of mind of having a phone that can handle serious spills and drops without needing to be replaced in a few years, thanks to Kyocera's two-year warranty, is worth it, but most of we better just invest in a durable case for another phone.

Photography by Gloria Sin / The Verge