ZDNET’s key takeaways
- A ruggedized handset that has it all — a fast processor, lots of RAM, a big battery, and a fantastic display
- This is one of the few rugged handsets that squarely falls into the mid-range category
- This is a big handset that you’re definitely going to feel in a pocket.
I’m a huge fan of tough, ruggedized smartphones that have been built to survive rain, sleet, snow, bangs, and crashes. The size also allows them to be kitted out with huge batteries to give the phone a runtime that iPhone users can only dream of.
But they usually lack one feature that I really miss — and that’s a decent display.
Also: I replaced my Samsung S25 Ultra with this rugged model that costs much less – and can’t go back
The Unihertz Shark 3 changes that.
Checks a lot of boxes
The Shark 3 checks a lot of boxes when it comes to what I look for in a ruggedized smartphone. It has a massive 11,600mAh battery that gives the handset an incredible 23 hours of video playback time, 12 hours of gaming, over two days of phone calls, and a whopping 38 days of standby.
Large batteries usually come with the drawback that charge times are huge, but the Shark 3 supports 120 W fast charging, and, with the appropriate charger, this can take the battery from flat to 90 percent in an hour.
Also: The best rugged phones you can buy (including Samsung and Oukitel)
The Shark 3 also supports reverse charging, so you can help out struggling iPhone users with a quick battery top-up.
That big battery takes up a fair bit of space, which is why the Shark 3 measures a beefy 174.9 × 87 × 22.5 mm and weighs a solid 470 grams.
You know when this phone is in your pocket.
Yes, the Shark 3 is almost an inch thick!
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
This is a massive handset. Switching between the Shark 3 and my iPhone 16 Pro Max made the iPhone feel absolutely tiny in my hands. I did find that the size made the handset hard to hold in one hand to do things like taking photos or typing. This is a two-handed phone!
The Unihertz Shark 3 is a huge handset, and tricky to hold in one hand.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
The Shark 3 is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chip running at 3.35 GHz and a six-core 1.6 GHz Mali-G615 MP6 GPU. This is backed up by 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM (along with up to 16 GB of optional memory extension) and 512 GB of UFS 4.0 storage with the option to expand using microSD cards.
All this makes sure that the Android 14 operating system runs smoothly.
Also: I never go off-grid without this rugged Android phone – and it’s on sale
It’s not a disappointment on the camera front, either, with a 50-megapixel main rear and telephoto camera, a 64-megapixel night-vision camera, and a 32-megapixel front-facing camera. While the cameras can’t manage the sort of output that flagship handsets deliver, the photos and videos from the Shark 3 are more than enough for social media.
A tough smartphone
It’s also a tough smartphone, built to take abuse that would have an iPhone or a Galaxy running for cover. It’s IP68-rated for dust and water resistance (dust-tight and good for immersion), and the reinforced chassis, constructed from polycarbonate, TPU, and aluminum alloy, is certified to MIL-STD-810H for things like drops, extreme heat, humidity, and vibration that can wreak havoc on electronics.
There’s also a super-bright COB-array camping light on the back of the handset, and it can connect for 5G where available.
The camping light comes in handy as a work light.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
But there’s one thing that this handset has that sets it apart from the rugged handsets I’ve been testing recently, and that’s a 6.73-inch, 1,440 × 3,200 (3K resolution, 521 pixels-per-inch screen density) AMOLED display capable of refreshing at up to 120Hz and pushing out 800 nits of brightness.
Also: I tested a 33,000mAh Android phone with a built-in projector for a week – here’s my verdict
This is a really nice display by ruggedized-smartphone standards. Not only is it pin-sharp, with rich, vivid colors, clean whites, and deep blacks, and does it refresh so fast that it feels soothing on the eyes, but its brightness also allows it to handle bright sunlight very well.
ZDNET’s buying advice
The Unihertz Shark 3 is quite an impressive handset. The hardware makes this a solid contender for a mid-range handset, and it’s been packed into a tough shell and powered by a battery that’s bound to last at least a day of the heaviest usage.
Also: I tested this 16,000mAh Android phone with a built-in smartwatch – here’s my verdict a week later
If you’re looking for a rugged handset that doesn’t hold back when it comes to power and performance, then the Unihertz Shark 3 is definitely worth the $470 price tag.
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