The world's smallest, rugged 4G smartphone called Atom, running full Android, just raised
over a million dollars on Kickstarter.
But, how durable is it really?
And what's it made of?
And how small is too small?
Let's find out.
[Intro]
This little guy, which is literally the same size as your ear, is probably the smallest
smartphone I've ever tested.
The 2.4 inch screen makes navigation unique, but not impossible.
Running the full version of Android, all the normal apps should open and work just fine...just,
you know, they'll look like they were made for ants.
The screen resolution is 240 by 432, which gives it a few thousand more pixels than the
Apple watch.
But even then, YouTube videos still look pretty solid.
[YouTube video playing in background.]
But we're here for the durability, and with that comes the scratch test.
Atom is rocking an unspecified version of Gorilla Glass under that pre-installed screen
protector, which means we know it will hold it's own during a scratch test.
My Mohs scale is drawn much smaller this time, but the screen is indeed Gorilla Glass and
not the plastic stuff we've seen on some other rugged phones.
It scratches at a level 6 and a deeper groove at a level 7.
So keys and coins won't affect the phone that's the size of a razor blade, and not even razor
blades can scratch the surface.
There's a front facing 8 megapixel camera tucked up under that screen glass – also
protected from scratches.
And there are two capacitive buttons down at the bottom, one that opens your recent
apps and a back button, both sitting next to that center fingerprint scanner, which
is unscratchable.
Kind of nice to have that invincibility on a rugged phone that's basically the same size
as your finger anyway.
The earpiece grille is made from plastic and very securely attached to the phone.
And the bottom grille is also made from that same plastic material.
Digging into the sides of the Atom, we show a thick layer of rubber surrounding the whole
phone, along with the black plastic power button, and a programmable red plastic button
that can be used to activate the camera or phone calls.
As long as Bixby doesn't start popping up, I think it's a great feature.
We have a modern USB-C charging port along the side.
Nothing along the bottom, but up here at the top, the little guy has a headphone jack,
which is awesome.
Even though the Atom is a fraction of the size of an iPhone, and at ip68 is more water-resistant
than an iPhone, it still has a headphone jack.
I think a thumbs up is deserved for companies that pack their phones full of useful features.
The other side of the phone next to the volume buttons has a dual SIM card slot with plenty
of rubber around the tip to keep liquid from leaking.
The red accents on the outside of the phone are aesthetically present on the inside.
I'll have to delve into that more later.
The rear camera is a 16 megapixel sensor covered with glass.
With a phone this small and inexpensive, you might expect cheap materials, but so far things
have been pretty solid.
The single color LED flash is also under that glass.
The back of the phone is covered in yet another layer of thick black rubber.
I tried drawing the electron trajectory of an atom on the back of this Atom phone, but
the rubber thwarted my razor by hiding almost all traces of scratching.
The textured back material does provide substantial grip though – I'm a fan.
The universal logo is made from plastic but also solidly attached to the phone body.
One unique thing about the Atom is a little slot for a tether or necklace strap down at
the bottom.
It might also be used for the optional bike mounts or outdoorsy stuff if you're one of
those people that likes to go outside.
Speaking of dangerous things to do, it's time for the burn test.
The flame from my lighter basically takes over the whole 2.4 inch screen.
And something new happens 10 seconds into the burn – the screen goes black with a
bright white center to the burn mark.
Normally we would see this on an AMOLED screen that wouldn't recover, but this LCD display
still recovered completely, which is scientific in some way I'm sure.
The cute little guy is just a tad longer than my thumb, and it's time for a bend test to
see how well it will actually hold up under stress.
It's quite a bit thicker than most phones at .7 inches thick to include that 2,000 milliamp
hour battery, which is larger than an iPhone, but who's keeping track.
The thing is built like a small brick, and as you might assume, nothing I could do would
make the phone break.
Overall, I'm impressed.
If you've ever wanted an over-sized tic-tac with full Android capabilities in your pocket,
this is the phone for you.
I'll toss a link in the description if you're interested in getting one as a backup, or
even a daily driver.
Hit that subscribe button if you haven't already.
And thanks a ton for watching, I'll see you around.