RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro Pairs Rugged Phone With Detachable Action Camera at $999

The handset was shown at the IFA trade show in Berlin this year. It fuses a rugged Android phone with a small action camera, the Xsnap Go, which can be pulled out of a compartment in the back of the phone; that compartment also charges it. Once removed, the camera is controlled remotely over the platform's WiFi hotspot, and recordings are held in 64GB of internal camera storage before being transferred to the phone. TechRadar reports that video tops out at 2.7K resolution, that the camera offers anti-shake and an option to flatten the barrel distortion created by its fisheye lens, and that it is rated for use up to 5 meters underwater.

The published specifications list a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen at 1220 x 2712, 120Hz and 445ppi with a peak brightness of 1700 nits and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, 12GB of RAM, 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage, a MediaTek Dimensity 8400 octa-core processor running up to 3.25GHz with an ARM Mali-G720 MC7 GPU and a MediaTek NPU 880, a 50MP main rear camera, two Nano SIM slots plus eSIM, and IP68 and IP69K dust and water resistance with MIL-STD-810H certification. The phone measures 172.5 x 83.4 x 28mm and weighs 477g. The review text elsewhere refers to a Dimensity 9400 chip, which does not match the Dimensity 8400 given in the specification table; TechRadar does not explain the difference.

On the phone's own merits, the reviewer writes that it does not carry a very large battery but that the processor, memory and storage sit at the higher end of the rugged category, and that the built-in cameras turn in decent results. The detachable camera is described as the device's main trick rather than a direct rival to anything GoPro has recently made, or to the DJI Osmo Nano and Insta360 Go Ultra. TechRadar lists the phone's shape, the camera's 2.7K ceiling and the limited range over which the camera can be controlled among the drawbacks, and notes that the design is slightly compromised by accommodating the camera.

On price, the review compares the Xsnap Go with a DJI Osmo Nano Standard Combo with 64GB, which sells for roughly $390 and shoots 4K at 60fps with a 200-minute battery life. Valuing the Xsnap Go at half of that, the reviewer concludes that $800 would still seem steep for the phone alone, though having the camera housed in and charged by the phone adds convenience. The review also states plainly that Kickstarter backers are funding a pledge rather than making a conventional purchase, and that delivery estimates, warranty terms and final specifications can shift between a campaign page and a shipped product. TechRadar awarded the device a value score of 3.5 out of 5.