Unihertz Tank Tank 3S 5G 6.79" Black 512GB Review
The Unihertz Tank 3S is a rugged phone with a projector, but it's bad at everything else. At over $800, it's a terrible value for anyone who actually wants a good smartphone.
The 30-Second Version
The Unihertz Tank 3S is an $800 party trick that's bad at being a phone. Save your money and buy a real phone and a separate projector.
Overview
The Unihertz Tank 3S is a weird one. It's a rugged phone with a built-in projector, which sounds cool until you realize you're paying over $800 for a device that's bad at being a phone. The one thing you need to know is this: it's a niche gadget masquerading as a daily driver. Performance scores are decent on paper, but our database shows it's terrible at everything people actually buy phones for, like taking photos or having a good screen. It's the phone you buy for the gimmick, not for quality.
Performance
The performance percentile is surprisingly high at 85th, which means the octa-core processor and 16GB of RAM are doing some heavy lifting. But here's the surprise: that performance doesn't translate to a good experience. It's fast in benchmarks, but in real life, it's held back by a mediocre display, terrible cameras, and software that feels like an afterthought. You get power, but none of the polish.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Massive 16GB of RAM is overkill in a good way 87th
- 512GB of storage plus microSD expansion is fantastic 85th
- The built-in projector is a unique party trick 80th
- Rugged build means you don't need a case
Cons
- The cameras are awful, scoring in the bottom 40% 6th
- Battery life is poor for a 'rugged' phone 16th
- Display quality is mediocre despite the size
- Software support and updates are a huge question mark
Specifications
Full Specifications
Display
| Screen Size | 6.8 |
| Refresh Rate | 59 Hz |
Performance
| RAM | 16 MB |
| Storage | 512 GB |
Camera
| Main Camera | 200 |
Connectivity
| 5G | Yes |
Design & Build
| OS | Android |
Value & Pricing
Not worth it. At $822, you're paying a massive 'weird tax' for the projector. You can get a flagship-grade regular phone and a decent portable projector for the same money and have a better experience with both. This is a terrible value as a primary device.
vs Competition
If you want a rugged phone, look at the CAT S75 or even an older Samsung Galaxy XCover. They're better phones. If you just want a good phone, the Google Pixel 10 or OnePlus 15 will run circles around the Tank 3S for less money. The Motorola Moto G gives you 90% of the core functionality for a third of the price. The Tank 3S loses on every practical front.
| Spec | Unihertz Tank Tank 3S 5G 6.79" | Samsung Galaxy Samsung - Galaxy S26 Ultra 512GB (Unlocked) - | Motorola Moto G Motorola - moto g stylus 2025 256GB (Unlocked) - | Google Pixel Google - Pixel 10 Pro 256GB (Unlocked) - Obsidian | OnePlus OnePlus OnePlus - 15 512GB (Unlocked) - Infinite Black | Apple iPhone Apple - Pre-Owned Excellent iPhone 16 Pro 5G 128GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Size | 6.8 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.3 | 6.8 | 6.3 |
| Display Type | - | OLED | OLED | OLED | OLED | OLED |
| Refresh Rate | 59 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 |
| Processor | - | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy | Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 | 3.78 GHz | 8 Elite Gen 5 | Apple A18 Pro |
| RAM (GB) | 16 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 16 | 8 |
| Storage (GB) | 512 | 512 | 256 | 256 | 512 | 128 |
| Rear Camera Mp | 200 | 200 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 48 |
| Front Camera Mp | - | 12 | 32 | 42 | 32 | 12 |
| Battery Capacity Mah | - | 5000 | 5000 | 4870 | 7300 | 3582 |
| Charging Wattage | - | 60 | 68 | - | - | - |
| Wireless Charging | - | true | true | false | - | true |
| Five (g) | true | true | true | true | true | true |
| Water Resistance | - | IP68 | IP68 | IP68 | IP69 | IP68 |
| Operating System | Android | Android 16 | Android 15 | Android 16 | Android 16 | iPadOS 18 |
| Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare |
| Product | Build | Camera | Battery | Display | Feature | Performance | Connectivity | Social Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unihertz Tank Tank 3S 5G 6.79" | 40.2 | 86.5 | 35.3 | 57.6 | 5.8 | 84.7 | 79.8 | 16.4 |
| Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Compare | 99.3 | 99.9 | 99.8 | 99.7 | 99.7 | 99.8 | 99.1 | 92.2 |
| Motorola Moto G stylus 2025 Compare | 99.9 | 96.9 | 99.9 | 99.7 | 100 | 86.6 | 99.9 | 99.8 |
| Google Pixel 10 Pro Compare | 99.3 | 99 | 90 | 97.9 | 88.9 | 83.2 | 98.7 | 98 |
| OnePlus OnePlus 15 Compare | 92.7 | 99.8 | 98.6 | 97.7 | 94.7 | 100 | 99.5 | 99.8 |
| Apple iPhone Pre-Owned Excellent 16 Pro 5G Compare | 99.3 | 99.4 | 88.8 | 98.4 | 86.2 | 97.4 | 94.5 | 98 |
Common Questions
Q: Is the projector any good?
It's a neat gimmick for showing videos on a wall in a dark room, but the quality and brightness are what you'd expect from a tiny built-in lens. Don't buy this phone for home theater.
Q: Can this phone survive real drops and water?
It's rugged, so it should handle jobsite abuse better than a glass slab. But our data shows the overall build quality percentile is low, so we'd trust a CAT phone more for extreme conditions.
Q: Will it get Android updates?
This is the biggest risk. Unihertz is a small brand. History suggests you'll get very few, if any, major OS updates. Buy it knowing the software it ships with is basically what you're stuck with.
Who Should Skip This
Skip this if you want a good smartphone. Seriously. If you need a reliable daily driver with a great camera, good battery, and modern software, go get a Google Pixel or a Samsung Galaxy. This isn't it. The Tank 3S is only for the tiny group of people who absolutely need a projector in their pocket and don't care about anything else.
Verdict
We can't recommend buying the Unihertz Tank 3S. It's a novelty act. The projector is a fun idea, but it's bolted onto a subpar phone with bad cameras, questionable software, and a price tag that's completely unjustified. Unless your specific, non-negotiable need is 'a projector that can also make phone calls,' you should look literally anywhere else. It's a solution in search of a problem.