Blackview BV9900E Review: Superstar in every aspect

Blackview BV990E is the newest rugged phone in the market come from popular rugged phone maker Blackview. Although there are a ton of rugged phone out in the market, there are few phones that can make an impact on the customers. And, from the first impression, I think this one may one of them. Speaking of impact, it already did a lot of impact on me.

So, I am going to provide my honest and in-depth review of Blackview BV9900E rugged phone. Let’s dig deep into this phone and expose every aspect. I hope this will help you to decide whether this phone is suitable for you or not. This phone cost 400 dollars. And, I think this is a perfect budget and performance combination. You are going to think the same thing after reading this review I assume. Also, if you are not that much aware of rugged phone this article will help you to understand everything about rugged phone.

By saying that lets start our review. But first, see the key features of this phone and then get in to the in-depth review.

Key Features

• Rugged certifications: IP68, IP69K, MIL-STD 810G
• Display Size: 5.84 inch IPS LCD display
• Display Resolution: 1080 X 2280 Pixels
• Processor: Mediatek Helio P90
• GPU:  IMG 9xm-hp8 970MHZ
• Operating System: Android 10
• Rear Camera:  48MP+0.3MP + 16MP + 2MP
• Front Camera: 16 MP
• Storage: 128GB
• RAM: 8GB
• Battery: 4380 mAh 
• Network: Dual 4G sim
• Sensors:    GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, G-Sensor

Design and build quality

Most of the time rugged phones have struggled with old bulky looking outlook. Tons of rugged phone came with a similar design. But. this new BV lineup may be going to change that design standard without changing core design and build-quality rule of the rugged phone. From the outlook it obviously looks tough besides it looks stunning and sleek.

This contrast blend so well because of flat design with a corner cut to make phone octagon shape. Corners are this type because it allows absorbing more shock and impact. And, there is no question about build quality too.

The phone is made out of metal frame with rubber coating on the outer layer. That makes it strong yet comfortable in hand to hold. Also provides better grip. This 78 mm wide body also plays an important role phone grip. Overall, the phone will not slip away from hand easily, for sure. The same thing goes for 273gram weight too. It seems a bit heavy but well-maintained weight and distributed all over the body.

There is a flat surface on the back with four camera setup on the top right side. Also, it has an extra microphone on the back to do a better job on noise cancelling. And, the backside is covered with liquid silicone for better shock-absorbing capability.

The right side of the phone contains a fingerprint sensor, power key and volume keys.

And the left side contains a sim tray and a customizable button.

All the buttons are made out of metal and these are very tactile. Easy to press and places in perfect position. Without hurting fingers I can easily press every button.

The front side contains a good notch display with a camera placed on the top along with the earpiece. Also it has USB Type-C on the bottom side.

Overall, this is a unique and smart looking rugged phone design and build quality. It feels solid, looks solid, and performs solid. Nothing here that you can complain about.

Rugged features

No matter how good your phone look strength always get priority. As far as we are talking about rugged phone their is no alternative or consideration for strength. Keeping that in mind, Blackview made a solid rugged phone with best rugged features in the market. This Blackview BV 9900E has the best rugged features in the market including, highest water immersion protection, best quality drop and shockproof, better temperature and sun radiation handle capability.

So, this phone has IP68 rated protection against water and dust. That means it can survive 30 minutes under water if the water is 1.5 meter deep or less. Moreover it protects from mud and dust as well. This phone is fully protected against dust.

As well as it has IP69K rated protection. That brings on step further for that IP68 rating. With this rating, you will get the best IP rating over any normal smartphone that has an IP68 rating. Ip69K rating stands for high water pressure and air pressure.

Also, it has military standard 810G certification. This certification provided to those ultimate strong phones which can survive any extreme condition such as multiple drop in the concrete floor, extreme temperature, high altitude or high pressure.

So, this phone has 1.5-meter drop protection on the concrete floor. Also, it is able to operate in -30°C to 55°C temperature. I do not think you are willing to go that extreme condition. But even if you need to go for your work or something else then your phone will be accompany you and keep connected with civilization.

Overall, I can say, this is the highest possible rugged features that we all rugged lover can expect. It has water to temperature every protection as well as drop and shockproof. No point to blame for anything. But this phone has no thicker corner. That may vary a bit in drop I guess. I am not that much expert to find out the result. Anyway lets admit that is a bit flaw for this rugged phone. Despite that your phone is fully protected from the environment. And it allows you to go anywhere without worrying about phone get damaged.

Performance

When I saw certain price drop with similar looking I though it may be powered by a low chipset. Blackview prove me wrong by putting same chipset as BV9900 Pro. Performance wise this is the same phone as the pro model which cost 200 dollars more than this one. So basically the thing is this phone has same power with lower price cost.

Blackview BV 9900E powered by Mediatek Helio P90 octa-core processor. This is the highest quality processor from Mediatek. And, currently very popular among upper mid-budget phones. This is popular of its performance and high power efficiency. As well as it cost less than same performance CPU from snapdragon.

This CPU comes with IMG 9xm-hp8 GPU with 570 MHz power. That helps to render better image and video.

With this setup, daily drive phone operating is very smooth and fast. Also there is no certain performance drop. At least I never feel that. Even if you are heavy user and do lot of multitasking in the phone it can handle that perfectly.

Mobile gaming is very popular right now. And, playing any kind of high-end games is very smooth and flawless on this phone. I have tried with PUBG mobile and COD mobile and I got high graphics mode on it. There is no lag in game playing at all.

As for the RAM it has 6GB LPDDR4 RAM to handle multitasking and heavy games and apps. And, it comes with 128GB UFS 2.1 on board storage. If you think this storage is not enough (although I do not think so) then you have an option to extend storage via external SD card.

These hardware runs on latest android 10 operating system. As you know this newer android operating system version is smooth and more user friendly than ever.

As a result you are getting top quality user experience with the best performance. So, what else you can expect from this price? This phone got everything that a rugged phone need. There is no rugged phone I have ever seen that have higher performance than this. According to rugged phone standard, this is highest possible hardware combination. So let just do not doubt about the performance.

Display

One thing I have said over and over, smaller size display holds more strength than larger size. Maybe that is why this phone has a bit smaller display. Also, it could be to reduce the cost. Whatever it is you are getting a 5.84 inch IPS LCD display in this phone. This display has 1080 X 2280 pixels with 432 PPI pixel density. From this stats you know this display will be sharp. In reality, it performs better than you can expect. Color accuracy and sharpness has flawless performance. And, it has a tiny notch with 83% screen to body ratio. Overall it makes better feeling to enjoy any media content in this phone. I have tried to use it in outdoor there is no issue on that. But, direct sunlight viewing may have some issue with brightness.

The display has smooth and fast touch response. There is no issue with touch response at all. Also it supports multi touch which helps to play high-end video games. In my test, I never felt any lag in this section.

As because this is a rugged phone, display protection should get extra attention. That is why this phone has corning gorilla glass 5 on the top of the display.

All of these features makes this is the ultimate display for a rugged phone. Especially when you are not paying thousands of dollars for a phone this should be okay for you.

Camera

We all have that photography hobby. If we saw something cute or beautiful first thing comes in mind, let’s capture it. That is why this phone got one of the best camera setups among rugged phone.

Blackview BV 9900E has four cameras on the back. Starting with 48MP main camera, 16 MP ultrawide angle camera, 0.3MP depth sensor camera and 2MP macro camera lens.

All of these setups makes ideal for any pro-level shooting. That 48 MP main camera can capture high-quality photos with good sharpness and colour balance. Photos look very good without any doubt. See some photo sample here.

Also that 16 MP ultra-wide-angle camera has 120° field of view. It helps to capture better landscape and helps to take photos in tight place.

2MP macro camera is one of my favorite one. It helps to capture tiniest object just like bellow images.

Also, the portrait looks good as it should be. Because of that extra depth sensor lens portrait looks amazing and well. Check out the sample here.

And as for the videography, this phone can shoot 4K video at 30 frames per second. Also able to do 60 frames per second video shooting at 1080P resolution.

On the front side, it has 16 MP selfie camera. Also this camera is equally good as back camera. There is no problem in sharpness or color in the selfie.

Also, this phone has underwater photography mode. That means it can capture photo under water with help of dedicated button on the side.

Overall, this camera setup is over the top from any rugged phone. You will get a cool experience in camera UI too. I think this is the best you can get with your money when talking about rugged phone.

Battery

Blackview BV9900E has one minor problem. And. that is its battery. No I am saying this is a bad battery but not the best either. It has 4380 mAh battery.

This battery provides a maximum of two days of backup with regular uses. And, 1 day backup with heavy uses.

With this battery backup you can do 8 hours of gaming or video watching, 24 hours of talking and many more.

Also, its AI power management helps to run longer than usual and 10 Watt wireless charging support .

Overall I am okay with it but not totally satisfied with it.

Misc

Well, it has all kind of navigation system. And necessary sensors that require in a rugged phone.

And, the phone has dual 4G network as well. But if you want to extend phone memory you have to be happy with single SIM.

Also, it has NFC for google pay and more contactless payment. This is good the current pandemic situation.

Moreover, that customized button allows you to set certain function for emergency use.

Conclusion

If you are looking for best mid-budget rugged phone then this might be the best option for you till now. It has everything like Blackview BV 9900 Pro just it has missing the thermal camera. Other than this is perfect for every rugged phone lover. Especially in this budget range, there are other competitor in the market.