Why it matters to you
Energizer is best known for its batteries, but its Energy E550LTE looks to be for road warriors looking for a phone that won’t die in a day.
It might come as no surprise that the likes of the BlackBerry KeyOne, LG G6, and Huawei P10, just to name a few, have taken center stage so far at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Because of this, some lesser-known phones from lesser-known companies might fly under the radar, such as Energizer’s recently-announced Energy E550LTE.
Even though Energizer is mostly known for its batteries, the company has had its name on a few phones in the past, all of which feature rugged designs. The Energy E550LTE does not do much to get away from that design ethos, though that is not a bad thing — its IP68 rating means the phone is dust tight, and water-resistant to a maximum depth of just under five feet for up to 30 minutes. Furthermore, thanks to its rubberized corners, the phone can also withstand drops, though you might not want to test that on purpose.
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The exterior tour continues on the front, where you will find a 5.5-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 resolution display below the 8-megapixel selfie camera. Around back, the Energy E550LTE features dual 13MP and 8MP sensors, with an LED flash module on the side and a fingerprint sensor right below the two cameras.
Under the hood, MediaTek’s 2GHz octa-core MTK6755 chipset and 4GB RAM power the phone, and though there are 64GB of native storage, no mention was made of any MicroSD card slot.
As with the company itself, however, the Energy E550LTE’s focus is on battery, and its large 4,000mAh battery looks to answer the bell. Not many smartphones include such a large power pack — only the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active and LeEco Le Pro 3 come to mind — so expect to be able to use the Energy E550LTE from sunrise through sunset and then some.
If the phone has done enough to catch your attention, the Energy E550LTE will sell for 449 euros (roughly $479) when it becomes available sometime this summer.