AGM H3 long-term review: It is the best Rugged Smartphone under $200

AGM H3 is the latest addition in the AGM H series. AGM has yet again focused more on the rugged nature of the smartphone than any other features. The AGM H3 is a smartphone that seems to be the most rugged smartphone which been launched in the current years.

AGM H3 was launched last month globally and it is priced at just $199.99. The H3 is a basic smartphone with high-end durability features and moreover, it seems pretty decent for a phone that can be used roughly in daily life.

We have already received the AGM H3 and have tested the device for the past few days. We will provide more details on the device with some interesting test results as well.

Specifications of AGM H3

1. Night vision camera and macro camera

2. Front Placed Speaker

3. One movement to hands-free

4. 5400mAh battery long standby

5. Android 11

6. Customized side key (Push-to-talk, camera & torch)

7. Global LTE bands connection (2G GSM, 3G WCDMA, 4G LTE-FDD)

8. Rugged (IP68 IP69K MIL-STD-810H certified)

9. Fingerprint Unlock

10. NFC

In the Box:

• AGM H3
• 10W Charging adapter
• Type-C Data Cable
• Type-C to 3.5mm audio port
• Battery (built in)
• Manual Book

Body

The body AGM H3 is made of durable plastic and rubber protection which makes it shock resistant. On the backside, the AGM H3 has a very unique and beautiful design. It also provides a very sturdy grip on the smartphone. The phone also has rubber padding on all the edges and especially some extra on the corners.

There is no opening on the smartphone from any side. All the necessary ports are either IP68 protected or covered like the charging port.

• Weight – 248g
• Dimensions – 168 x 78 x 12.3 mm
• Colors – Black
• SIM type – Nano SIM

Display

The AGM H3 comes with a 5.7inch display with 720*1440 pixels density. The actual glass over the display is not any kind of Gorilla Glass or toughened glass. The company has not specified any kind of rating or information on the glass display itself.

Overall the display quality of the AGM H3 is pretty decent and the touch response is also decent. The phone comes with a plastic protection film applied to the display. The outdoor brightness of the screen is also normal as it does not have an AMOLED display.

From the Front

AGM H3 has a decent display size and we can see wide bezels on both the top and bottom of the screen.

At the top bezel, we get the necessary sensors along with the front speaker grill and the front camera as well, all aligned side by side.

The bottom bezel is wider and houses a large 2W speaker grill. As you can see from the image, there is a huge speaker grill housed at the bottom of the display.

Sides and Buttons

The left side of the AM H3 has a quick action key or customized side key. It comes in orange colour and can be customized to do any particular work. The function of this key can be set from an app named “Used Defined Key” present in the system of the phone. The left side also has the Type-C charging port that is covered.

The right side of AGM H3 has the volume button and the power button. We can see two microphone input holes both at the top and bottom sides of the smartphone.

Cameras

The AGM H3 comes with an 8MP front camera that clicks decent images. You can see a few images clicked with this camera below. The brightness of this camera is low and it does not enhance it automatically. The contrast is decent while the sharpness of the image is pretty blunt. Overall the details on the front camera are not very good but it clicks some decent images for a basic smartphone.

Now coming to the rear cameras where we are getting a triple rear camera setup including a 13M Night Vision camera with two IRs that generates perfect night vision images and videos. You can see some Night Vision images below and can justify yourself with the results.

Apart from the night vision camera sensor we also have a 12M AF + 2M Macro Camera with a flashlight. These normal pictures are pretty decent. During day and night time all the images look pretty decent for a 12MP main camera.

Infra-red Night Vision Camera

One of the best USPs of the AGM H3 is its infrared night vision camera. This camera is capable of getting clear black and white images in a pitch-black environment when switched to ‘Night Mode’. Two infrared sensors are capable of generating perfect night vision images and videos as well. Here are some of the samples.

Processor and Operating System

The AGM H3 runs stock Google OS based on Android 11. The overall accessibility and navigation on the device are very smooth and the stock Android experience makes it more simple and easy to use.

The AGM H3 has a MediaTek Helio P22 processor, which is a bit old and makes the whole experience a bit laggy due to its low processing speed. The phone has only one back draw which is its processor, which makes most of the daily tasks slow and laggy on it. On normal day-to-day tasks like using social media and working on mails or clicking pictures, sometimes, I have faced legginess. Most of the apps take time to load.

Connectivity

AGM H3 comes with 3G and 4G connectivity. It also comes with Near Field Communications (NFC) functionality for transferring content with other NFC-enabled devices. The device also has an FM radio receiver.

• GSM – 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
• Mobile network – 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G
• WLAN – Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
• Bluetooth – v5.0, A2DP
• GPS – A-GPS, GLONASS
• NFC – yes
• FM radio – yes
• USB – USB Type-C
• Audio – no

Storage and RAM

The unit which I have received has 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. There is no expandable storage option for the device. This is one of the back draws of this rugged phone.

As a basic user, I have not faced any problems with storage. After installing a few apps I have just used only 22% of the whole storage which I feel is really good. I also have a ‘Storage Manager’ option that needs to be enabled and the system starts managing your device storage intelligently.

Battery and Charging

The phone comes with a huge 5,000mAh battery but the company is providing a 10W normal charging adapter along with a USB Type-C cable.

Here the plus point is its battery life, which has impressed me a lot. A full charge on this device can give you an easy more 30-35 hours of battery backup. But the thing I am not liking is its charging time. The phone takes more than 3 hours to fully charge from 0% to 100%.

Why should you buy AGM H3?

1. The rugged built of the smartphone.
2. Highly durable design that can withstand most of the accidental hits.
3. IP68 water and dust proof design.
4. Night Vision Cameras
5. 2W poweful speaker – One of the best in smartphone world.
6. Quick access button – It hepls to navigate directl to a particular task.
7. Good grip and sporty design.
8. Big battery and impressive battery life.
9. Type-C to 3.5mm audio port
10. Perfect Outdoor activity Phone