I have one of the most exciting smartphones on the market. First, this is a rugged phone, but it is not even its main feature. The highlight of this mobile device is a compact size. It has only 4.5-inch display.
Comparing to my iPhone 12, it is very small, but it is much more comfortable to hold in one hand.
It also has good specifications, such as Helio G85 chipset, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, 20MP main camera.
What do you think the price of this smartphone? It is only $100.
So, today we will do a full review of Cubot KingKong Mini 3.
Cubot KingKong MINI 3 - Aliexpress
$129.99
Unboxing
The new Cubot smartphone comes in this box.
There are main features of the mobile device on the back of the box.
By the way, Cubot KingKong Mini 3 has 3000mAh battery, and we will test a battery life and charging time later in this article.
Inside the box, there is s smartphone itself.
Then, we have user manual and other documentations in a box.
You know, there are even wired earbuds with USB Type-C connection in the package.
A power adapter and a charging cable are also included.
Design
Design is definitely the main feature of this smartphone. You know, the most rugged phones are bulky and heavy, but Cubot KingKong Mini 3 has a small display, so the mobile device is very compact.
The dimensions are 131 x 58 x 13.4 mm. The weight is 150 grams.
As you can see, the new Cubot smartphone is almost as thick as my iPhone 12 in a protective case.
By the way, you don’t need a protective case for Cubot KingKong Mini 3, because this is a rugged mobile device. It has a waterproof and dustproof body, but I didn’t find information about rating. This is probably IP68.
All the corners and rear panel are covered by a soft plastic to absorb shock and damage, while the side faces are metal.
There is a SIM card/memory card slot, and power button on the right side.
The volume up and down buttons are on the left.
The smartphone also has a lanyard attachment, but you need to buy it additionally.
Cubot KingKong Mini 3 has only USB Type-C port at the bottom.
If you are looking for a speaker, it is above the screen.
By the way, let’s check a speaker quality.
Speaker
In fact, I am very surprised by the speaker, because despite a small size of the smartphone, it is very loud.
Display
Talking about display, as I said before, it has a diagonal of 4.5 inches, and qHD+ resolution, 480 x 1170 pixels.
The screen has an unusual aspect ratio – it is longer than other smartphones. When you watch videos on YouTube, you have large bezels on the right and left sides of the screen. You can zoom the video to fill the display, but then you will lose the top and bottom of the video. So, it is not very comfortable to watch videos on this smartphone.
You know, first, I was disappointed that Cubot KingKong Mini 3 has only qHD resolution, not even HD. However, in fact, it is good for a small 4.5-inch screen.
Software
It looks like the smartphone runs on the stock Android operating system. The Android version is 12.
There were no pre-installed apps from the manufacturer other than Google apps, such as YouTube, Chrome, and Maps.
You know, the most rugged phones have a Toolbox with some useful functions, such as compass, bubble level, pressure, etc, but the new Cubot smartphone doesn’t even have it.
So, this is probably the cleanest Android I have seen lately.
The user interface is very fast and smooth, because of the clean Android and a good hardware.
Hardware
You know, looking at this little smartphone, you don’t think it is powerful, but it is.
The mobile device is equipped with Helio G85 chipset, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal memory. You can also use a microSD memory card to expand the storage.
Benchmarks
I want to recall you the price of this phone – it is only $100.
I think the new Cubot smartphone has very good results for its price, such as 223604 points in AnTuTu, 344 points in a single core test of GeekBench 5, and 1255 points in multicore test.
In a 3DMark, the smartphone has 742 overall score.
Games
Moreover, you can play any games on this phone, such as Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile, and Call of Duty Mobile. The performance is really good.
For example, the graphics in PUBG Mobile is HD, and fps is High.
However, because of the compact screen, it is not very convenient to play games. I used to miss buttons quite often in shooters.
Curiously, the small display is both an advantage and a disadvantage of this smartphone.
Camera
Talking about the camera, there is a single 20MP sensor on the back, and 5MP sensor on the front.
So, you don’t have an ultra-wide angle camera, macro or even portrait camera on this phone.
Camera App
However, in the camera app, you can choose a mono shooting mode, video, picture, beauty, night, pro and scan.
In the picture settings, we can see the maximum photos resolution of 20MP.
You can also enable anti-shake, geo-tagging, white balance, ISO, and other settings.
The maximum video resolution is 1080P. There is no video stabilization in the settings, but you can choose the scene mode, enable face detection, and use some other options.
Photos and Videos
If we talk about quality of photos, they are really good during the day in sunny weather.
As I said, there are no portrait, macro or wide-angle modes on this smartphone, but you can zoom in up to 4x through the camera app.
A daytime video footage is also good, but it is very jerky because of the lack of stabilization.
Talking about night shooting, it was a big problem for me to get even one photo. Perhaps because of the extreme cold, but the smartphone didn’t want to focus. I was only able to take these two normal pictures.
Battery
Cubot KingKong Mini 3 is a very compact smartphone, so it has only 3000mAh battery. It also supports 10W charging.
However, because of the small screen with HD resolution and energy-efficient processor, the battery life is very good.
In the test of continuous video playback, the smartphone ran for 9 hours and 23 minutes. By comparison, I recently tested Infinix Hot 20 with a 5000mAh battery, and it had almost 11 hours of battery life.
So, despite the small battery, the battery life of Cubot KingKong Mini 3 is decent.
Talking about charging, as I said before, it is only 10W, but the full battery charge takes 1 hour and 52 minutes. It is also okay, but if there was 18W fast charging support, it would be much better.
Connectivity
You know, the processor of this smartphone doesn’t support 5G networks, but you can use 4G LTE on the both SIM cards.
I also found an inscription on the Aliexpress page that the smartphone doesn’t support networks of the North America. Please check your country’s networks support before buying the phone.
By the way, Cubot KingKong Mini 3 has NFC support, so you can use it for Google Pay contactless payments.
Pros and Cons
So, after about a week of testing the new Cubot smartphone, I am ready to share with you what I liked and disliked about it.
Price
First, the price is definitely the main feature of this mobile device.
I have bought it for only $100, and I think it is a great deal.
Compact Size
You know, it is very difficult to find a compact smartphone in 2022, but Cubot KingKong Mini 3 is one of them. The smartphone has a very comfortable size, thickness and weight. It is pleasant to hold in one hand or carry in a jeans pocket.
I think there are still many fans of the compact smartphones.
Rugged Design
However, Cubot KingKong Mini 3 has not only compact size, but also rugged design. Many rugged phones are bulky and heavy, but not this one.
The smartphone is waterproof and dustproof, so it is a great option for active people.
Good Performance
In addition, I am surprised by the performance of this budget phone. It is powered by a good Helio G85 chipset, and it comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
The user interface, web surfing and even playing games are very good on this smartphone. I didn’t have any problems with performance in Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile and other games.
Daytime Photos
Cubot KingKong Mini 3 has only a single 20MP main camera, but it takes decent photos in daytime.
If you have sunny weather, you can take good pictures with this mobile device.
Battery Life
The smartphone has only 3000mAh battery capacity, but the battery life on a single charge is very good. You can get about 9.5 hours of screen on time.
The battery life is good because of the small display with qHD resolution, and energy-efficient processor.
NFC
Finally, I like NFC support in the new Cubot smartphone.
Cons
No Fingerprint Reader
OK, talking about shortcomings of Cubot KingKong Mini 3, first, it doesn’t have a fingerprint reader. I cannot remember when I have tested a mobile device without a fingerprint scanner.
It is a very useful feature to unlock a smartphone, but it is missing here.
Small Screen for Watching Movies and Games
I said that the compact size is an advantage of this phone, but it is also a disadvantage.
It is not very comfortable to watch videos on YouTube, because of the thick bezels on sides, and play games on this small display.
Night Photos
Also, night shooting is a big challenge on this smartphone. I was only able to take a few pictures because the focus works very badly in low light conditions.
Slow Charging
The new Cubot phone has only 10W charging, and it takes more than 2 hours to fully charge a battery.
If the smartphone had 18W fast charging support, it would take about 1 hour to fully charge a 3000mAh battery.
Conclusion
Overall, I definitely liked Cubot KingKong Mini 3, even though there are many shortcomings.
It’s been a long time since I have tested such compact smartphones, and even more with a rugged design.
Cubot KingKong MINI 3 - Aliexpress
$129.99
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