AGM is a company that makes smartphones. The AGM H5 Pro take the elements seriously and don’t get too involved in the system software. Their designs are based on the physical features that people who want or need rugged phones want or need. For example, we’ve tested their “Glory Pro” model, which has a thermal camera.
AGM H5 Pro: Description
But such goodies aren’t cheap, and that’s where the AGM H5 comes in. It is still built on a very solid foundation, but it only has the features that most people will use. AGM knows that phones are often used as portable sound systems, which is why the speaker is made to be LOUD. It says it will make 109dB of sound, which is about the same as a full orchestra or a jackhammer.
The smartphone market has changed over the years, both in traditional and nontraditional ways, like with rugged products. One thing is for sure, though: these products still have a small market. Not because they aren’t wanted, but because most companies don’t spend much time on hardware development. Instead, they pick one feature and try to improve it as much as possible.
The AGM H5 Pro is a new design that takes a lot of inspiration from the Glory, especially the Glory Pro version, to make something that tastes a little bit different but looks the same. The Glory series is more for industrial use, while the H5 Pro has features like a waterproof speaker and a moving LED light ring that make it more appealing for everyday use.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Good camera sensors
- IP68 and IP69K
- Deafening speaker
Cons
- Average cameras
- No Android 13 upgrade
- HD+ screen resolution
AGM H5 Pro: Specifications
| Weight | 361 grams (12.7 ounces) |
| Dimensions | 173 x 83 x 23 millimeters (6.8 x 3.27 x 0.92 inches) |
| Display | 6.517-inch touchscreen |
| Brightness | 500cd/m2 type |
| CPU | Octa-core CPU up to 2.0 GHz |
| GPU | Arm Mali-G52 |
AGM H5 Pro: Design
When you take the H5 Pro out of its packaging, which is a beige box with a charger inside, the first thing you’ll notice is how big it is. It has to be this big so that it can hold the 6.517-inch IPS TFT screen and all the other technology that AGM put in it. A button that can be changed by the user is on the left, and the power button and volume rocker are on the right. This is almost the standard button layout for rugged phones.
The popular fingerprint reader wasn’t put on the power button by AGM. Instead, it was put in the middle of the back. This is a much better place for people who don’t use their right hand. The back has an interesting finish that looks like carbon fibre. This helps the person who owns this 360g lump hold on to it, even if their hands are wet.
But it’s not the most interesting thing about the back, since AGM put a big waterproof speaker where most phones would put a cluster of cameras. This item has two problems. The first is that it pushes the three camera sensors, LED flash, and IR light all the way to the edges of the phone. They are so close to the side of the phone that it is very easy to cover them up with your finger and ruin any photos you try to take.
The second problem with the speaker is that it keeps the phone from lying flat. This is a small problem, but it meant that wireless charging would never be possible. Engineers at AGM have tried to make up for this by putting pogo pins on the H5 Pro’s lower back. These pins make it possible to charge the phone without removing the waterproofing plug that covers the USB-C port.
The extended SIM tray, which can hold either one Nano SIM and one MicroSD card or two Nano SIMs, is covered by another rubber plug. Other than that, there’s not much to say, except that this design seems to be made to take a lot of hits, get wet, and be used as a blunt object and still work.
AGM H5 Pro: Display
You can see things on a 6.517-inch HD+ display with a resolution of 1600 by 720 pixels. With a mid-range phone, there are bound to be some trade-offs, and on paper, it looks like AGM might have saved money on the screen. Even though it’s not very common, some mid-range phones have OLED screens these days, but you have to look at what the phone is made for.
A lot of mid-range phones can’t protect against dust or water, but the H5 Pro has ratings of both IP68 and IP69K. If you’re making a phone for the outdoors, it’s probably more important that it can last under five feet of water for more than an hour than that movies and photos look good. It also weighs about 13 ounces, which is about twice as much as an iPhone 12 Pro.
AGM H5 Pro: Camera
You can’t think that a rugged phone will be good at everything. Even at this price, I can only say that the AGM H5 Pro can meet the needs of daily shooting. These photos aren’t very impressive. Even in low light, it would be hard to compare the detail and color of pictures taken with regular lenses to those taken with some regular phones.
But, as I said at the start, the most important thing is that it has a special 20MP night vision camera that lets you see everything at night. All you have to do to switch to night vision mode is tap the icon. Then you will see all the differences.
These pictures remind me of scenes in FPS games where the player turns on night vision gear. It’s clear that this feature is very helpful for people who want to explore the outdoors at night and need good vision. To reach the goal before, you might need to wear very professional gear. Now, all you have to do is pull out your phone to see what dangers are hiding in the dark.
AGM H5 Pro: Performance
The H5 Pro’s results don’t come as much of a surprise because we have already tested a phone with the same Helio G85 SoC, the Armor 14 Pro, and the difference between it and the H5 Pro is only a few percent.
This hardware doesn’t have as much power as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 or Helio G95 phone, but it’s much better than the Helio G35 that comes with the base AGM H5 model. The jump from the H5 to the H5 Pro is huge. In most tests, the H5 Pro does twice as well as the H5, except for HWBot Prime, where it does only slightly better. Overall, the H5 Pro works well, but there are a few things that could have been done better.
We’ve already talked about how it doesn’t support WideVine L1, and the Mali-G52 MC2 GPU isn’t the best in its class, so it’s not great for gaming. It can handle simple games like Candy Crush well, but it doesn’t have enough 3D rendering power for games that use VR or FPS modelling.
Battery and Charging
The H5 Pro has a bigger battery than AGM’s flagship products. The 7000mAh battery lets you play games for 10 hours straight, and it can stay on standby for up to 423 hours. I don’t think anyone would play games on such a tough phone for 10 hours straight.
Because the battery is so big, you don’t have to worry about finding a charger for it all the time. Instead, you can focus on things that really matter. But you should know that the charger’s maximum output is only 18 watts, so you should make sure the battery is fully charged before you leave.
And it’s interesting that AGM gave the rugged phone a special feature of being able to be charged without a cord. But it’s not the usual way that we’ve seen coils charged before. The H5 Pro has a charging base that only works with it. So you can see the metal contacts on the back, which are set up especially for the wireless power supply.
Price and availability
AGM’s latest rugged smartphone came out in July for $369, but you can get it now from AGM’s online store for $50 less. It ships to many places, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and countries in Europe. The phone comes with a 10W charging dock, but you can also buy one on its own for $20.
Final Words
Overall, the AGM H5 Pro is a great smartphone for the price. If I spent a lot of time outdoors or had a job or hobby where my phone got beat up, this would be my first choice. As it is, I think this might end up being my beach phone because I can play music on it, take great pictures with it, and not worry about sand or water ruining it.
FAQs
Is AGM H5 5g?
The AGM H5 has the latest version of Android, Android 12, which makes it a Rugged Phone. The Android 12 gives you the most advanced privacy protection and lets you change your system in ways that have never been possible before.
What is the loudest cell phone?
The AGM 5 Pro might be the perfect phone for anyone who works in a loud place (like a construction site) and needs to be able to not only hear their device over a constant barrage of sounds but also protect it from being dropped.
