No, that isn’t a typo.
The Unihertz Tank 3 Pro is a rugged phone with the biggest battery I have ever seen on any handheld device, and nothing else even comes close. This beast of a phone is designed to last for days at a time, and if you’re just using it as a phone, it definitely will. If you have battery anxiety, this phone will practically eliminate it, but that capacity comes at a cost.
Why does it have such a huge battery? Aside from being able to work for days on end without a charge, the Tank 3 Pro has a 1,200 lumen flashlight on its back and a built-in projector. Forget about casting to a big screen; this phone brings the big screen with it.
It can also act as a battery bank for other devices, too. Whether you like to camp or you’re a diehard music fan who attends a lot of festivals, the Tank 3 Pro is built to go everywhere, and I enjoyed my time with it in that respect — but there are downsides.
This is the heaviest phone I’ve ever used
The Tank 3 Pro comes in at a whopping 696 grams, or roughly 1.53 pounds. It’s a pocket killer, and you’ll definitely need a belt if you want to carry it with you. This isn’t the phone to carry while wearing sweatpants. It’s also incredibly bulky, and even basic tasks like sending a text took some adjustment due to the weight.
If you’re used to using a thin and light phone (like most people are), the Tank 3 Pro will take some getting used to. I found that I rarely used it one-handed, and while exploring the Google Play library of games, I found it felt more like playing on a handheld like a 3DS than on a phone.
The Tank 3 Pro comes in at a whopping 696 grams, or roughly 1.53 pounds
Making phone calls was also not pleasant. I was surprised at how quickly my arm would get tired holding that much weight to my ear, so most calls were made on speaker. After using the Tank 3 Pro, my iPhone feels practically weightless in my hand. There’s also another consideration: if you happen to drop your phone, it’s in your best interest to move your feet out of the way as fast as you can. It hurts a lot more than dropping a normal-sized phone.
The phone can get uncomfortably warm
One thing I noticed while testing out the phone is how warm it would get while charging. It’s odd, since it has a built-in vapor chamber and a physical fan inside to dissipate heat. During operation, the fans kick on and keep it at a comfortable temperature even while the projector is going, so it strikes me as an odd oversight that they don’t activate during charging.
It wasn’t hot enough to burn my skin, but I didn’t want to hold it too tightly after it had been on the charger. Thankfully, it cooled off quickly.
Despite its huge battery, it charges fast
The Tank 3 Pro charges from zero to 100% faster than my iPhone, and that’s saying a lot. Of course, a lot of that has to do with the 120W fast charger that came with it. It took only 37 minutes to go from 23% charge to 100% charge. (As it turns out, I didn’t need to leave it on the charger overnight. Just over dinner.)
The 23% charge it still had was after using it for a week. I did what I could to drain the battery — watching content on the projector, playing games, etc. — and it kept chugging along in spite of my efforts to turn it into an idle game farm while I worked. It would take a lot to get the Tank 3 Pro down to zero.
I didn’t need to leave it on the charger overnight. Just over dinner.
I imagine using the flashlight at maximum brightness would drain the battery a lot more, but I rarely needed it. If I took the phone out camping or hiking, the battery might drain faster. That said, Unihertz rates the Tank 3 Pro for 118 hours of phone calls, 48 hours of video, 98 hours of music, or 38 hours of gaming.
The camera system is better than the iPhone 16 Pro Max
Aside from the battery and the projector, what impressed me most about this phone was its camera system. With a 200MP main camera, a 64MP night vision camera, a 50MP wide angle camera, and an 8MP telephoto lens, the Tank 3 Pro can take incredible pictures. It even has a programmable button on the side that can be set to automatically open the camera app. That said, the weight was also a factor when taking pictures (it was harder to hold steady.)
On a purely technical basis, it outstrips the iPhone 16 Pro Max. However, the internal processing is different, so it isn’t exactly a one-to-one comparison between the two. That said, I did appreciate the Pro features in the camera that allowed for granular control of the different settings for better night photography.
Should you buy the Tank 3 Pro?
I enjoyed my time with the Tank 3 Pro, but I wouldn’t use it for a daily driver. It’s a powerful phone, but its weight and bulk make it uncomfortable to carry around. It’s an ideal pack-in for outdoorsy trips, though; if you like to go hiking or camping, it could be a fantastic inclusion in your backpack (especially since it can act as a powerbank for other devices.)
Its battery capacity is immense and was one of the first things that caught my attention, but if not for the projector, this phone could likely halve its size and be much more usable in most instances. The projector is an interesting draw, but it isn’t high-quality enough to suggest buying the phone just for that. However, if you’re in the market for a rugged phone and you want something a little different from other options, the Tank 3 Pro is a solid (in more ways than one) choice.
