I tested the Ulefone RugKing Pad Pro, and considering the price, it’s surprisingly rugged and feature-packed

TechRadar Verdict

The Ulefone RugKing Pad Pro is a compact, rugged tablet designed for outdoor professionals who need a tough, slimline device that can withstand all conditions and challenging environments. I found it a well-made rugged tablet with plenty of work-focused features that will appeal to its core market. The design is tough, and the battery lasted a good 10 days with mixed use. Performance was the only slight issue: the Unisoc T7250 CPU was good for light to mid-weight tasks, but it struggled with anything more processor-intensive. Certified to IP68, IP69K, and MIL-STD-810H, and powered by a 7100mAh battery, this tablet is the perfect workplace tool.

Pros

• +Excellent build quality for the price
• +Impressive screen brightness
• +Decent battery life

Cons

• -Mid-range processor
• -The ribbed back offers less grip than expected.
• -Camera is basic

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you're buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Jump To:

• 30-second review
• Price & availability
• Design
• Features
• Performance
• Final verdict
• Should I buy?

Ulefone RugKing Pad Pro: 30-second review

The Ulefone RugKing Pad Pro is a compact, rugged tablet designed for outdoor professionals and trades, and is available at an incredibly low price. What makes this impressive is not just the price but the bright yellow design detailing, screen, and build quality.

Considering the relatively low price, the quality of the build and materials is genuinely good, feeling solid and robust which is reinforced by the IP68, IP69K and MIL-STD-810H certifications. Visually, the design highlights the rugged credentials with the usual hardened rubberised corners synonymous with this tablet style.

Unlike many rugged tablets I’ve looked at in the past, this design avoids the bulk and ugliness that often come with heavy-duty certification. The bright yellow accents and ribbed backplate give it a distinctive look, and the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 screen has a slightly matte finish that makes it easy on the eye and comfortable to read in a range of lighting conditions.

With an 8.68-inch screen and a lowish-profile bezel, it comfortably fits in one hand, and, coupled with a weight of 540g, it all feels well-balanced for a certified rugged device. The 860-nit display is also more than bright enough for outdoor use, and the adaptive brightness and Highlight Mode mean it adapts well to the changing light conditions, although these days this is a standard feature.

This is an entry-level model; still, the performance from the Unisoc T7250 CPU is, for the most part, solid. Google productivity apps run smoothly, with the interfaces for each application responsive, though the screen resolution, while clear, is a little limited.

Likewise, the same is true for some light creative work in apps like Photoshop Express and CapCut: as long as you don’t push the resolution of the images or the video editing, most adjustments and edits are perfectly viable.

As long as your expectations for the tablet are at the entry to mid-level, the performance is solid, although as you push the system, the limitations do start to show under heavier workloads such as serious image editing, video rendering, or gaming. Although it has to be said, all applications tested are usable, especially Lightroom, which actually runs exceptionally well, and this is a tablet designed for outdoor professionals rather than creatives and with that in mind, the performance feels well-balanced.

Battery life is good and impressive through the test. During the benchmarking, which lasted about 3 hours, the battery only dropped 10%. This initial 10% drop utilised the tablet's CPU and GPU to the max, and over the rest of the 10-day test, the tablet dropped to 12% charge, a result that actually supports Ulefone's longevity claims.

Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors