Blackview Xplore X1 review: the 420g rugged phone that refuses to die

This is the new Blackview Xplore X1, and it's a bit of a monster. It's another entry into the rugged phone sector, but it wades into battle armed with a keen price, a fairly eye-opening feature set, and one of the biggest and most durable frames you're likely to find.

Straight out of the box, the Xplore X1 feels ready for anything. It's huge in the hand, but with a nicely constructed aluminium band panel on either side that sets it apart from the plain rubberised rivals.

Its durability certifications are something else. There's IP68 and IP69K protection, a military-grade MIL-STD-810H certification, it's pressure-proof up to 500KG, dust-proof and shock-proof. As a result, it's absolutely huge, and that's partly down to the protection it gives its already quite large 6.78-inch display.

That main screen offers 2.4K resolution and 120Hz, but it's only half the story - because there's another one on the back.

The second, rear screen is a 2.01-inch display with smart access to tools like the in-built compass, and notifications, and it's made from scratch-resistant Panda Glass.

Rear displays are becoming increasingly common in the smartphone world, so this is a clever addition. Whether you'll use it much is up to you, but it's a handy thing to glance at for calls, weather updates, music controls, or even just a stylish clock.

And then things get really impressive, because the Xplore X1 has a ridiculously large battery. In fact, it has two. And they're both 5,000mAh each. That's a size that would be impressive in any mid-tier smartphone, but to have two big batteries totalling 10,000mAh obviously gives you plenty of battery life.

There's a 55-watt fast charging, a reverse charging system, and Blackview claims all this tech could give you 26 days of life on standby. I've found it to easily give two or three days with reasonable use, so I'm inclined to believe them.

It also has a built-in dust and water removal system in case you get a bit too vigorous while jetwashing it, there's a glove mode that turns up the screen sensitivity, and a very bright LED torch.

It doesn't stop there, either. There's an IR blaster so you can use it as a TV remote, construction tools like a plumb bob, protractor and a height measure, two beefy speakers built in, Wi-Fi 6, and two 5G SIM slots.

The rear camera is a 106MP Samsung setup with trick night-vision tech, and the front camera is a 50MP sensor.

I know what you're thinking... This is all sounding rather expensive. That's where Blackview springs another surprise on you. It costs just £273 at the moment. That's providing you catch a 16% discount, but even if you don't it's just £326 and it's obviously a lot of smartphone for the money - even without its durability claims.

It's not perfect, though. The hardware might be seriously impressive, but the software can be quite buggy at times, and occasionally laggy. The cameras might sound impressive on paper, but they're less competent in real life, and the AI tools you get aren't going to be a patch on the latest big-brand in-house systems you find on the likes of iPhones and Samsungs.

It is, not to sound too obvious now, almost problematically big. You might not need big pockets to buy one, but at a bulky 420g it's more than double the weight of an iPhone 17 Pro.

But this isn't a phone for people who want dainty, pretty handsets. This is a phone for people who want a functional tool that will stand up to serious work.

And given its price and the impressive feature set, you'd be silly not to give it some serious thought.