AGM X2: the most sophisticated secure smartphone on the market
Hello! Today I will talk about a secure smartphone AGM X2. To surprise me with any gadget is quite difficult, since dozens of different things pass through my hands. And for my 10 year journalistic career, I have overtaken a great many. However, this particular smart really stands out on the general (and very dull) background of the so-called off-road Android-devices. It is allocated to all at once. And the price, which reaches 30 thousand rubles, and opportunities that are 100% consistent with the price and even more. I would even say that AGM X2 is generally the coolest and featured protected smartphone on the market. But first things first.
Almost all models of this type (well, that is, “Android-protected”) are developed in China and, frankly, do not hold water. The fact is that a protected smartphone is not only a metal and rubber body, sealed with huge screws. Trusting buyers usually see this ...
... and for some reason they immediately think that they are being offered a really high-quality, convenient and reliable device with one hundred percent protection against any hardships of exploitation. Yes, its design looks impressive. Yes, he, most likely, will not fail after a short immersion in water. However, this is not enough for a smartphone to become a real weapon in the hands of an extremist athlete, traveler, tourist, mountaineer, digger, fisherman, hunter, forester, and so on. Let's see what properties a particular apparatus should have so that it can be considered suitable for a typical “adventure seeker” (let's call it that). I highlighted the following parameters:
• excellent screen behavior in the sun;
• protection against dirt, dust and water according to IP68;
• protection against mechanical and other damages (including pressure drops and operation over a wide range of temperatures) according to the MIL-STD-810G standard;
• high-quality navigation;
• high-quality camera;
• long working time;
• support of various cellular standards.
I put it all into a table, where I compared AGM X2 with a typical protected Chinese.
The conclusions here are simple: a typical “Chinese” looks like a tractor (that is impressive), which makes trustful buyers pay money for it, but in fact can only offer protection against water. And that's it! The remaining logical requirements for the equipment and design of a protected smartphone are ignored. Meanwhile, AGM X2 100% meets the full range of requirements for such devices.Therefore, he deserves the title of the most sophisticated and perfect protected smartphone on the market. Samsung and Caterpillar can compare with it in quality. But the first ones are sold only in scanty volumes and only from American operators, so in Russian conditions it is almost impossible to get them. As for Caterpillar smartphones, they are inferior to AGM X2 for a number of characteristics.
The Caterpillar Cat S41 is more expensive, but it is still noticeably inferior to the AGM X2. Because the latter has both cameras better, a more powerful battery, a better-quality screen that is not blind in the sun, a more recent version of the OS, there is a fingerprint scanner. I think it is logical to ask here - what is this AGM and where did it come from?
Brand AGM has a German residence permit. This is indicated directly on the back of the X2:
The backbone of the AGM team - guys from the German factory Nokia, which was closed in 2008. AGM also has guys from Siemens, including those who participated in the development of the M65 and M75 SUVs.
Well, now some very curious data. The original model, on the basis of which the AGM X2 was made, was created by order of the Bundeswehr, that is, the German army. It (the army) financed the development of this platform - that is why the smartphone passed all the necessary certifications for "indestructibility", that is why there are no engineering solutions that are not obvious in their correctness, which are often encountered in off-road "Chinese" (i.e. pseudo-off-road, we found out above). As a result, the German army received its version of the smartphone with the appropriate software, slightly different stuffing and a different name, and civilians can buy, let's say, a “lightweight” version of the device called the AGM X2.
In general, this is the first and, perhaps, the only military smartphone available to ordinary consumers.
Further, one very important point should be clarified. Recently, in some forums (for example, here ) there were reports of the departure of AGM from the market, the termination of the company’s activities, and so on. Here is an example of such a post:
As usual, people heard the ringing, but its source is difficult to determine.
The point here is this. The AGM initially had an agreement with the Bundeswehr that the company would release a civilian version of the apparatus. Well, that is, the brave German warriors were immediately informed that, they say, you will receive your version, and we will also sell another version without secret software to everyone. And the warriors agreed. And when AGM X2 sales began in August 2017, the Bundeswehr tried to prevent this from happening. Since the army is an extremely influential institute, at some point the AGM took time out to settle all issues with the Bundeswehr. Some of the potential buyers inadvertently responded in the spirit of “smartphones are not available yet,” and after that they went. But no. AGM is alive and well, all problems with the military department were settled back in September 2017. Currently, for example, another firmware is being prepared for AGM X2,
It would seem, and here AliExpress, if the brand is German to the bone? Everything is elementary: AGM smartphones are produced, of course, in the Middle Kingdom. And purely for logistical reasons, it is beneficial to send them to customers directly from China. By the way, the AGM X2 is built by exactly the same workers in the same factories that Caterpillar smartphones make. That is, the factories are far from the worst of their kind, but on the contrary - among the most modern ones.
And further. In Russia at the moment there is no representation of AGM. There are resellers who try to impersonate their official representatives, authorized distributors, and so on. The same thing happened with Xioami in due time - officially there was no company in Russia, but every self-respecting microscopic online store with the staff from the homilies Vasya and Petit tried to lie that he and he alone are the official representative of Xioami in the domestic market. At the moment, AGM choose the only official distributor who will represent the products and provide support. Collaboration will begin in 2018. In the meantime, it makes sense to buy AGM smartphones in the company store on AliExpress. There you will definitely sell a new device with a full set of accessories. The AGM X2 page on AliExpress is here .
The first thing that impressed me personally was that the AGM X2 does not feel like a heavy, blunt brick. Well, you take into the hands of a typical protected "Chinese" - and you realize that it is unrealistic to use it on a daily basis. It is heavy, thick, non-ergonomic, it does not fit into pockets, and if it fits, it delays them.
It is quite another thing - AGM X2. It is clear that it is somewhat larger and heavier than the usual 5.5-inch smartphone. And yet I can say with full responsibility: yes, I am ready to use such a device every day even in the conditions of a city, not to mention all sorts of trips and other adventures.
He gave AGM X2 to his wife - it was interesting that a woman with very elegant hands would say about this smartphone. The answer was in the spirit of "of course, it is big, but I think I would get used to it." Earlier, I had Doogee, HomTom, BlackView protected Chinese smartphones on my tests - and my wife always said that she would never buy one for herself. But AGM X2, perhaps, would have bought. Including due to the quality and pleasant materials.
Yes, despite its brutal appearance, AGM X2 is made rather according to the canons of ordinary expensive smartphones, and not like ordinary protected Chinese, which are created according to the principle “there are more bolts here, rubber is thicker, and here we stick the metal panel for solidity”. Moreover, there is no rubber in the AGM X2 design at all - and that is why it does not exude a nasty chemical “scent” that irritated me in the case of 99% of the Chinese smartphones of this kind that I dealt with.
Both the front and back panels of AGM X2 are covered with Gorilla Glass 5, that is, the latest generation. The reader may be indignant: what kind of glass in a secure smartphone? Okay, still in front, you can't do without glass there, but BACK! I explain. First, it is worth reminding: AGM X2 corresponds to the American military standard MIL-STD-810G - in contrast to 99% of the “Chinese” who did not pass any special tests. Meanwhile, AGM X2 passed the following set of tests (without it, it would not have received the certificate MIL-STD-810G):
• test of the height by the method of high and low pressure;
• exposure to high and low temperatures (from minus 30 to plus 60 degrees);
• temperature shock (including in working condition and storage condition);
• rain, including freezing rain;
• humidity, fungi, salt fog for corrosion resistance testing;
• sand and dust;
• pyrotechnic impact, that is, testing in an explosive atmosphere;
• flowing water;
• vibration from shooting;
• shaking during transportation;
• vibrations along different axes;
• acoustic noise;
• resistance to sunlight;
• fall onto a hard surface from a height of 1.2 meters.
Well, and so on.
In other words, the AGM X2 case is designed in such a way that it will be very difficult to break the glass in front and behind. Although, of course, possible. From annoying accidents and unforeseen situations no one is immune. Suffice it to recall the story that recently happened to the famous journalist Sergei Vilyanov. is heaccidentally dropped my LG G6 from a small height, just half a meter, and the screen could not stand it. Although the G6 model is also consistent with MIL-STD-810G, and LG is a very large and serious company. So this, of course, is not a panacea. But - at least some guarantee of reliability and durability. The guarantee that the body of the smartphone is designed correctly, and not anyhow.
And in general: in terms of tactile sensations, thanks to the glass “priest” AGM X2, it is quite comparable with the very same Samsung Galaxy S7, which I actively use (see photo below). And these feelings are very pleasant. And when you take a typical rubber “Chinese” in your hand, you feel like stroking the back wheel of a Belarus tractor. Which is not very cool, frankly.
And then. For those who stand radically against the glass behind, there is an option with a leather back panel. Personally, I don’t like it much, but the level of fragility in this version of AGM X2 is noticeably lower.
The case of the AGM X2 is quite complex in its design. Metal sides. The front panel is girded with a frame with a pronounced shiny bevel, also made of metal.
The screen is about half a millimeter sunk - and rightly so, it is much more difficult to break it when the smartphone is dropped face down.
The back panel, by the way, is also slightly drowned, although not as much as the front one. Along the perimeter of the backdrop is a plastic frame.
The upper and lower ends are covered with flaps made from exactly the same non-fragile and very pleasant to the touch plastic, and these flaps also reinforce the corners of the case. This is a very important moment in a secure smartphone. It is the fall at an angle that can bend the case - you will not even notice it, but its geometry will break, which in time may lead to cracks in the glass or even problems with a filling that will not withstand pressure. So, at one time I dropped a corner of the Motorola RAZR XT910, the case was twisted, and a week later the screen glass cracked at the device.
Above the screen are the speaker (it transmits normally, no complaints), light and proximity sensors, a front camera and a LED. The latter can not burn in one color, like most "Chinese" and just inexpensive smartphones, but several. That is, a more expensive RGB diode is used. For example, when charging, it glows orange, and when you receive any notification — say, about a letter or a person on the social network — blue.
On the left side of the case there are buttons for adjusting the volume and turning on the camera. The camera key, alas, is one-position. That is, it is impossible to focus with its help, for this you need to poke your finger on the screen. And you can take pictures by clicking on it, and through the swing volume control. Both keys, I must say, very comfortable. The developers managed to choose the right balance between softness and sharpness.
Right on the case - the power button. It is located closer to the center of the face, which is convenient - even people with rather small hands (like me) don’t have to reach for it. For convenience, it is the same as the two keys described above.
There are slots for SIM-cards and MicroSD on the right. Much to my regret, they are implemented in the spirit of the latest trends, that is, you can choose either the “SIM + SIM” configuration ...
... or "SIM + MicroSD". The maximum supported flash drive capacity is 128 GB.
Now I would like to finish the description of the right side, but it was not there! There is an absolutely unique feature in AGM X2, which has never been seen in any smartphone before. It is a VOC sensor, or ambient air pollution sensor. What is it for? Well, suppose you digger and scamper through the city dungeons. In which gases and other chemicals often accumulate. With the help of AGM X2, you can determine that “clouds are gathering”, and this or that space should be immediately left. To operate the VOC sensor, you need to open the plug on the right side of the case. Under it there are several holes through which air enters the sensor for analysis.
I myself never digger, and I live in a fairly clean area. So I decided to test the sensor with a cigarette. Indeed, at first AGM X2 reported that everything was clean, and after about five seconds of being close to the “health wand” he sounded the alarm after detecting pollution.
On the bottom there is a USB Type-C port, which, due to its “symmetry”, is much more convenient than MicroUSB. The port is covered with a stub - for greater security. The fact is that in the AGM X2 and a 3.5-mm jack, and USB Type-C are insensitive to the ingress of water. That is, if it hits - nothing bad will happen. Therefore, the plugs in this case do not protect from liquids, as is usually the case, but from sand, pebbles and other dirt.
There is a dual camera on the back of the case (about it in the corresponding section), a flash and a loop for a lace. Also here is the second microphone, which, paired with a microphone located on the front panel, forms a noise cancellation system. It works with dignity - on a busy street, the interlocutor hears you well.
There is also a capacitive fingerprint scanner in the back. It works normally, the percentage of failures is negligible - according to my observations, the sensor does not respond in one case out of 30-40.
Still behind the speaker. Often in protected smartphones, the speakers are covered with a cloth or a dense mesh, so that they sound like “from a bucket”. AGM X2 is a pleasant exception. The sound is clear and very bass.
On the top, there is only a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. One can argue for a long time where to place it more correctly - from above or below. I personally do not care - it is convenient both that way and that.
Well, I would like to tell everything about the design of the case and the arrangement of elements (if you have any questions, ask in the comments). It's time to say a few words about the level of security. First of all, I dipped a smartphone in the autumn Black Sea. There was a small storm. At first, the waves simply “licked” the apparatus ...
... and then they took it and pulled it into the sea. Knee-deep, but the smartphone saved. To avoid such situations, he stuck it in the sand and sat for half an hour, watching as he was splashed with water and sand.
Just like that - with sand. This is important because if the front panel of the AGM X2 is glued with a good transparent film, then the back (also glass) does not have any additional protection. So, the apparatus “peskostruy” for an hour, and then I took it out and, without washing, carefully wiped the back panel on the sleeve of the jacket. Between the panel and the sleeve, of course, there were grains of sand, which were supposed to scratch the panel. It was all the more surprising to see that there were no “grooves” left! The device looks like new. Glory to Gorilla Glass 5!
As you may remember, this review begins with a photo with a nut. Duplicate it just in case:
I found this nut while walking with AGM X2, and immediately there was a desire to use the smartphone as a walnut. At first it was scary, but after a couple of days I still broke the nut. AGM X2 coped with the task. Beat the corner of the hull. Serious damage is not, well, except that the plastic slightly scratched.
For the order dipped the AGM X2 in the dirt.
I note that the gaps between the body panels are minimal here, and they are made in such a way that dust and dirty muck can be washed with ordinary running water. Without the help of toothpicks and other similar tools. Well, except that large grains of sand are sometimes clogged around the heads of the screws, as can be seen in some photos.
Wash, by the way, can be not only under a thin stream flowing from the tap. The jet, which was almost in the hand under serious pressure, was also never frightened by the device.
Well, one more thing. In the photo below - my one-year-old daughter. She loves to take my technique and play with her. On her combat score - broken smartphone Xiaomi Mi A1 and lens for mirrorless. And this is not to mention a pile of broken toys and well-crumpled interior items. The nickname of the daughter is appropriate - Zoe the destroyer. So she has been playing with AGM X2 for a week every day. He throws him off the couch, knocking them on the legs of chairs, treading on him with his nine kilograms. And the apparatus at least henna. For me, this is the most obvious indicator of maximum security.
The most important thing: the AGM X2 display is made using AMOLED technology. Producer - Korean Samsung. It is clear that this display is not the last generation. Well, even Apple itself was able to knock out Samsung AMOLED screens only at the Galaxy S6 level, that is, in 2015 - these are exactly the matrix used in the iPhone X. As for the AGM X2, judging by some signs, there is a display of the Samsung Galaxy S5 level (year 2014). That is, there are no any acidic shades anymore, the color rendition is quite pleasant, but in terms of the level of naturalness this is still not IPS.
All the advantages of AMOLED have a place to be: perfect black color, maximum viewing angles, low power consumption and, which is especially important for a protected smartphone, excellent behavior in the sun. Below is a comparison with Xiaomi Mi A1, the brightness is twisted to the maximum. (I took myself another Mi A1 after Zoya the destroyer broke the first vehicle.) As you can see, the AMOLED 2014 fade under the rays a lot less than the 2017 IPS.
A bit of dry numbers and facts. Screen size is 5.5 inches, resolution - 1920 x 1080 pixels. For the sake of checking for the presence of an oleophobic coating, it stripped off the film. I made sure that this coverage is available. The touchscreen is sensitive (although where is it insensitive today?), A 10-point multitouch is supported. Gloved hands touch layer reacts normally, pressing is recognized. No additional modes need to be activated for this.
I note that the color settings, which are in a number of smartphones with Samsung AMOLED screens, are missing in AGM X2. That is, to twist the picture for themselves will not work. Not that it was a big minus, and yet.
Well, on the whole, we have an excellent screen - it does not go blind in the sun, it is economical (we will return to this issue below), it gives a very high-quality and nice looking image. In general, the choice in favor of AMOLED in the case of an off-road smartphone is the only correct one. Far from all vendors understand this. AGM - understand.
The AGM X2 uses a dual rear camera. It is known that one of the modules - Sony IMX386. It is used, for example, in Xiaomi Mi 6, Huawei Nova and a number of Meizu models. There is no data about the second module (in general, smartphone developers rarely cite the name of its manufacturer, so the AGM is not very different from the others). Matrix resolution is 12 megapixels. Phase autofocus. There is an LED flash. There is no optical stabilization. The principle of operation is about the same as that of Huawei models with Leica cameras. One sensor of the AGM X2 color camera (which is made by Sony), the second - monochrome, which in theory should provide high quality images in the dark - at night and in the evening. In addition, dual rear camera provides portrait mode with blurring the background in the pictures - as in the same iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus.
Typically, manufacturers of smartphones take modules from camera manufacturers with standard bundled software, that is, with basic image processing algorithms. Which, as a rule, are very weak and in dire need of improvement. The AGM invested 500 thousand dollars to replace this basic camera software, which resulted in image quality, comparable with Galaxy S7 devices (that is, last year’s flagship), rather than with typical “protected” Chinese, whose photographic capabilities were stuck for about a year. in 2014.
The camera interface looks like this. There is nothing unusual in it, you can figure it out in a couple of minutes. There is a set of standard settings found in almost all modern smartphones.
Below are some examples of regular daytime photos in different conditions. In my opinion, it is for protected devices that this is a real breakthrough. Photos can be viewed, as they say, without pain in the eyes. Although, of course, AGM X2 is far away from the best cameraphones at the price of 50-60 thousand rubles - believe me, I have no doubt.
Well, here are the night shots. Again: yes, these are not flagships for 40-50-60 thousand rubles. This is the level of the same Samsung Galaxy S7, the top smartphone of 2016. And for the "defenders" such quality can be called a serious breakthrough.
Well, even lower - frames with so much loved by many users blur the background. The principle is this: activate the appropriate mode, focuses on the object and adjusts the level of blur on the vertical scale.
It turns out as a result of this. In pairs - the first shot without blurring the background, the second - with blur. In my opinion, the results are very good. AGM X2 practically does not make mistakes - the whole object in the foreground is clear. And then some devices, sometimes, are mistaken, and some parts of the central object are also smeared. Others do not blur the entire background, leaving some of its pieces clear. AGM X2 does not have such errors. It can be seen that the 500,000 “green” cameras invested in the software were not wasted in vain.
Total for the photographic part: AGM X2 really pleased. Yes, this is not the flagship level. This is a good middle class, which, I will repeat for the umpteenth time, for previously protected devices was simply unattainable. And now - is achievable. And AGM X2 is quite suitable for the role of a “photogun” traveler, tourist or extremal. Yes, and freshly caught pike (or at least a crucian) with the help of this smartphone you can take a picture. And this picture will look decent.
AGM X2 can record video at maximum resolution Full HD 1080p.
An example video is below. I can not say that the quality is directly outstanding, but worthy. Again, at the level of modern smartphones priced at 25-30 thousand rubles.
The front camera of the AGM X2 already has 16 megapixels. There are several modes to improve the appearance of the physiognomy - well, that is, everything is about the same as in all.
The quality of the snapshot can be estimated from the example below. In my opinion, it removes the "front camera" quite a level.
Above, I already sang the praises of the Qualcomm chipsets - and here I repeat once again. There is such a company MediaTek. It offers cheap and seemingly (seemingly!) Normal hardware platforms for smartphones. Since they are cheap, they are used with pleasure and indulgently by Chinese companies in their devices. Closing my eyes to the fact that MediaTek chipsets have certain problems with navigation, with power consumption, with optimization under the OS (read - driver curves), and so on. The main thing is to make it cheaper. It is especially disappointing when MediaTek chipsets are found in secure devices, that is, models for tourists, adventurers and travelers, for whom normal autonomy and navigation work play almost the primary role.
Fortunately, the AGM went the other way and laid the foundation for the X2 model Qualcomm chipset. The solutions of this manufacturer, unlike those of MediaTek, have no problems with navigation, as well as with the departure of energy in an unknown direction. In general, I am a fan of Qualcomm, yes. And in secure smartphones - without any options at all.
The foundation of the AGM X2 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 chipset. It has four ARM Cortex-A72 cores with frequencies up to 1.95 GHz and four ARM Cortex-A53 cores with frequencies up to 1.44 GHz, as well as Adreno 510 graphics with frequencies up to 600 MHz. In general, this accelerator is also designed for screens with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels, while the AGM X2 has “only” 1920 x 1080. So a good supply of resources is obtained. Of the minuses I will note the technical process - 28 nm. Already there are 14-nm chipsets of the middle class, which consume significantly less energy. On the other hand, the AGM X2 has an economical AMOLED screen, which compensates for the difference in power consumption between the 14- and 28-nm platforms.
The results in the synthetic tests are as follows - see screenshots. The numbers, of course, are far from being like those of the current flagships, but quite decent for a smartphone for 30 thousand rubles. In practice, these points translate into the ability to launch toys with maximum graphics settings (where there are such settings at all).
I played in my beloved Asphalt 8 - everything is fine, there are no brakes in sight.
With the operability of the AGM X2 is more than worthy - as much as 6 GB. Most often in models with such a price of its 4 GB. The storage capacity is 64 GB, plus microSD up to 128 GB is supported.
I have already spoken about navigation more than once, and now I will talk about it in more detail. With her, everything is really cool. The satellites are literally within seconds - and this, I draw your attention, without A-GPS and other “improvements” (tested without installed “sims” and, as a result, connected to the networks of operators). AMG X2, like almost all models on Qualcomm chipsets, works with GPS, GLONASS and Beidou. When navigating with Here Maps and Google Maps there were no problems - no loss of communication, no such thing.
And a few words about cellular communication. AGM X2 supports the following standards:
• GSM / GPRS / EDGE Band 2/3/5/8
• EVDO Rev.A / CDMA2000 1x BC0
• WCDMA Band 1/2/4/5/8
• TD-SCDMA Band 34/39
• LTE-FDD Band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/19/20 /
• LTE-TDD Band 38/39/40/41
What does this set of numbers and letters mean? At least the fact that with AGM X2 you can go to almost any country - and the device will work with local operators. As in LTE-networks (up to 300 Mbit / s), and in older 2G and 3G. Moreover, TD-SCDMA networks (distributed in China and several African countries) and CDMA (in the United States and, for example, in Ukraine) are supported. In general, AGM X2 is a kind of Global Phone: it works everywhere. Against this background, the protected "Chinese", who often do not even support the LTE Band 38 and 40, look very dim.
Add to this the support of Wi-Fi 802.11ac in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, as well as NFC - and we get the most fully equipped with all modern means of communication device. And this link works perfectly.
Battery capacity reaches 6000 mAh. Is it a lot or a little? Well, let's say a typical modern smartphone usually has a battery in the region of 3000 mAh. And then twice as much! The battery, by the way, was released by Panasonic, which acts as a kind of quality guarantor. My AGM X2 lasted for six and a half days - that is, almost a week. And this, I recall, is not the smallest (5.5 inches) smartphone with the least economical chipset (28 nm). Why so impressive indicators? Probably, for the (almost) weekly autonomy, it is worth thanking the AMOLED screen. And yet - though not the most advanced in terms of energy saving, but still a well-optimized chipset, as well as competently written firmware. From the latter, I recall, the power consumption of smartphones also depends very firmly.
And one more important point. It’s good to have a 6,000 mAh battery, but you still need to charge it. It usually takes 5-6 hours for Chinese protected devices. This is because they most often do not support fast charging, and if they support, then they are only at the level of iron. But complete with them is the most common charger.
With AGM X2, the situation is completely different. The device supports Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0: you can charge a battery with a capacity of 6,000 mAh in less than 3 hours. At 50% of the battery is charged in less than an hour. An appropriate charger, also supporting QuickCharge 3.0, is included in the package. Do not need to buy anything.
Well, here again I remind you that for charging in the AGM X2 uses a USB Type-C port. Which, in my opinion, is very convenient. Tired, you know, in the Galaxy S7 to poke a microUSB plug, this is so, then that. X2 has no such problem.
AGM X2 runs on the almost pure Android OS 7.1.2 Nougat, that is, without any proprietary launchers, redrawn icons and other obscurantism, which often burns out the battery and also sometimes brakes wildly. The smartphone works very quickly, smoothly, steadily - in general, no complaints. I will note an excellent translation into Russian - you will not carp directly. This is important because, as I wrote above, 99% of the “protected” devices are developed in China, and the quality of the translation to the great and powerful creators usually do not bother. The Germans from AGM approached the matter much more responsibly, which personally appeals to me. A few screenshots - suddenly someone forgot how clean Android looks like:
There are a couple of three utility utilities in AGM X2. I have already talked about the first one, it is designed to work with a VOC sensor. Here, for example, she reports that I have normal air in my room:
The second utility is called AGM Tools and combines a set of tools:
Here, for example, a ruler:
In another section, a compass is displayed, as well as data on temperature, humidity, pressure and altitude:
A Here, for example, a protractor:
And so on.
At the same time, there is one more application for working with a compass in AGM X2, it just looks a little different.
In general, in terms of software AGM X2 thing is also very worthy. No idiotic decorations, no ill-conceived Chinese - everything is clear and to the point. And still quite fresh: Android 7.1.2 - the version is quite relevant.
I left the story about the delivery set for a sweet. Because it contains another extremely unusual and, not afraid of this word, unique feature. The developers did not shove a bunch of rubbish into the box like a lace with a non-working Chinese compass. The AGM put the necessary things, and one of them really amazed me.
Smartphone comes in such a black box. Cardboard is expensive and pleasant to the touch.
A set of basic accessories is as follows: a charger with Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 support, a USB cable with a Type-C plug, brief instructions in several languages (including, of course, Russian), a wired headset and a clip for removing the SIM card tray and / or microSD card.
Well, that put the headset. In recent years, companies like Meizu and Xiaomi have created a trend to deprive smartphone buyers of complete headsets, and I don’t like this trend much. It is clear that an advanced user probably already has high-quality good headphones. But there are exceptions. And it turns out that a person needs to buy a smartphone, and then also buy ears. For companies of the Xiaomi level with multi-million dollar sales, savings of a couple of cents per bundle (just a cheap headset costs in purchasing) turn into multi-million savings, but I personally don’t care about their business success.
The AGM X2's headset is quite comfortable, the cables are wrapped with something like a thread. Therefore, they do not tangle at all. The kit also has several tips for different ear canals. Sound quality ... Normal sound is the same as almost all smartphones with a price of 25-30 thousand with complete headphones. When I was still a child, a bear came to my ear, so this quality suffices. Well, ardent audiophiles, of course, will not be delighted.
Well, about the most important thing. In the box with the AGM X2, there was a huge patch on the back panel. I did not even immediately understand what it was. At first I thought that this was just a piece of the box, necessary for the rigid fixation of the apparatus. Well, so that it does not hang around the package during transportation. But everything turned out to be much more interesting.
This thing is a kind of float. That the device under no circumstances drowned. And this is a very important accessory for such a smartphone, "SUV." For example, during fishing, the device can be simply dropped overboard. Let him be at least four times protected - he immediately goes to the bottom, and remember the name. The lake or pond can be very deep, the water is muddy, the bottom is muddy, and the mask for scuba diving can be forgotten at home. And then what? You lose your smartphone, and with it - cameras, communications, data in memory, and so on. So, AGM X2 completely insures against such situations with this unique accessory.
Looks like a float cover like this. Pay attention: it has a slot for the camera and the speaker, and the sidewalls are made in such a way that the user still has access to all the hardware keys. That is, a smartphone with a cover installed can be used without any restrictions.
Well, let's put on a float cover and see if AGM X2 drowns or not. We cling it to the smartphone:
And let it into the pond. The result is extremely positive: the smartphone keeps on the surface of the water and does not go to the depths. By the way, this feature of AGM X2 can not only be useful when fishing. In some pool, for example, too. You lie to yourself, drink a cocktail, and a smartphone floats nearby.
In general, a great thing. And, again, unique. I have never seen anything bundled with smartphones.
Well, the results are very simple. AGM X2, in my opinion, is real and without embellishment the best protected smartphone on the market. And the most sophisticated. This is not surprising: it is actually a device for the military, which ordinary citizens can buy for the first time. When developing equipment for harsh men in caps, it is customary to follow completely different standards than when creating ordinary Chinese smartphones-bricks with foul-smelling rubber in a circle. That's why AGM X2 turned out this way: pleasant to use, modern, thoughtful in the mass of trifles and in many ways unique.
AMOLED-screen, glass panels from the latest fifth "Gorilla", well-thought-out ergonomics, excellent speed and stable navigation thanks to the Qualcomm chipset, the motherboard dual camera - this is not a complete list of its advantages. Plus, the cover-float and the VOC-sensor - the chips are generally unique.
To pay for AGM X2 will have about 30 thousand rubles. Yes, no one is going to give the device in vain. However, he has virtually no alternatives and competitors. Do you want a really cool and high-quality protected smartphone with a military pedigree - here it is, pay the "thirty", and it is yours. Want to save - go ahead for the type of "protected" Chinese devices. Pay some miserable 10-15-20 thousand rubles and inevitably taste all their charms: sun-blinding screens, 6000 mAh batteries for two days, leaks like water-protected cases (i.e. protection for a tick) and for example, cameras that do not take off very well even during the day.
In general, I want the “protected” class of Hi-End - only the German military AGM X2. This is currently no alternative. And I don’t hide it, I really liked it.
PS Once again: I recommend to buy AGM X2 in the AGM company store on AliExpress . The X2 model page is located here . Only it will sell a 100% serviceable device with a complete set. All Russian online stores sell "gray" devices that may have incomplete equipment - for example, without a cover-float. And she really is beautiful!
Almost all models of this type (well, that is, “Android-protected”) are developed in China and, frankly, do not hold water. The fact is that a protected smartphone is not only a metal and rubber body, sealed with huge screws. Trusting buyers usually see this ...
... and for some reason they immediately think that they are being offered a really high-quality, convenient and reliable device with one hundred percent protection against any hardships of exploitation. Yes, its design looks impressive. Yes, he, most likely, will not fail after a short immersion in water. However, this is not enough for a smartphone to become a real weapon in the hands of an extremist athlete, traveler, tourist, mountaineer, digger, fisherman, hunter, forester, and so on. Let's see what properties a particular apparatus should have so that it can be considered suitable for a typical “adventure seeker” (let's call it that). I highlighted the following parameters:
• excellent screen behavior in the sun;
• protection against dirt, dust and water according to IP68;
• protection against mechanical and other damages (including pressure drops and operation over a wide range of temperatures) according to the MIL-STD-810G standard;
• high-quality navigation;
• high-quality camera;
• long working time;
• support of various cellular standards.
I put it all into a table, where I compared AGM X2 with a typical protected Chinese.
The conclusions here are simple: a typical “Chinese” looks like a tractor (that is impressive), which makes trustful buyers pay money for it, but in fact can only offer protection against water. And that's it! The remaining logical requirements for the equipment and design of a protected smartphone are ignored. Meanwhile, AGM X2 100% meets the full range of requirements for such devices.Therefore, he deserves the title of the most sophisticated and perfect protected smartphone on the market. Samsung and Caterpillar can compare with it in quality. But the first ones are sold only in scanty volumes and only from American operators, so in Russian conditions it is almost impossible to get them. As for Caterpillar smartphones, they are inferior to AGM X2 for a number of characteristics.
The Caterpillar Cat S41 is more expensive, but it is still noticeably inferior to the AGM X2. Because the latter has both cameras better, a more powerful battery, a better-quality screen that is not blind in the sun, a more recent version of the OS, there is a fingerprint scanner. I think it is logical to ask here - what is this AGM and where did it come from?
AGM: portrait touches
Brand AGM has a German residence permit. This is indicated directly on the back of the X2:
The backbone of the AGM team - guys from the German factory Nokia, which was closed in 2008. AGM also has guys from Siemens, including those who participated in the development of the M65 and M75 SUVs.
Well, now some very curious data. The original model, on the basis of which the AGM X2 was made, was created by order of the Bundeswehr, that is, the German army. It (the army) financed the development of this platform - that is why the smartphone passed all the necessary certifications for "indestructibility", that is why there are no engineering solutions that are not obvious in their correctness, which are often encountered in off-road "Chinese" (i.e. pseudo-off-road, we found out above). As a result, the German army received its version of the smartphone with the appropriate software, slightly different stuffing and a different name, and civilians can buy, let's say, a “lightweight” version of the device called the AGM X2.
In general, this is the first and, perhaps, the only military smartphone available to ordinary consumers.
Further, one very important point should be clarified. Recently, in some forums (for example, here ) there were reports of the departure of AGM from the market, the termination of the company’s activities, and so on. Here is an example of such a post:
As usual, people heard the ringing, but its source is difficult to determine.
The point here is this. The AGM initially had an agreement with the Bundeswehr that the company would release a civilian version of the apparatus. Well, that is, the brave German warriors were immediately informed that, they say, you will receive your version, and we will also sell another version without secret software to everyone. And the warriors agreed. And when AGM X2 sales began in August 2017, the Bundeswehr tried to prevent this from happening. Since the army is an extremely influential institute, at some point the AGM took time out to settle all issues with the Bundeswehr. Some of the potential buyers inadvertently responded in the spirit of “smartphones are not available yet,” and after that they went. But no. AGM is alive and well, all problems with the military department were settled back in September 2017. Currently, for example, another firmware is being prepared for AGM X2,
It would seem, and here AliExpress, if the brand is German to the bone? Everything is elementary: AGM smartphones are produced, of course, in the Middle Kingdom. And purely for logistical reasons, it is beneficial to send them to customers directly from China. By the way, the AGM X2 is built by exactly the same workers in the same factories that Caterpillar smartphones make. That is, the factories are far from the worst of their kind, but on the contrary - among the most modern ones.
And further. In Russia at the moment there is no representation of AGM. There are resellers who try to impersonate their official representatives, authorized distributors, and so on. The same thing happened with Xioami in due time - officially there was no company in Russia, but every self-respecting microscopic online store with the staff from the homilies Vasya and Petit tried to lie that he and he alone are the official representative of Xioami in the domestic market. At the moment, AGM choose the only official distributor who will represent the products and provide support. Collaboration will begin in 2018. In the meantime, it makes sense to buy AGM smartphones in the company store on AliExpress. There you will definitely sell a new device with a full set of accessories. The AGM X2 page on AliExpress is here .
Appearance, design and protection
The first thing that impressed me personally was that the AGM X2 does not feel like a heavy, blunt brick. Well, you take into the hands of a typical protected "Chinese" - and you realize that it is unrealistic to use it on a daily basis. It is heavy, thick, non-ergonomic, it does not fit into pockets, and if it fits, it delays them.
It is quite another thing - AGM X2. It is clear that it is somewhat larger and heavier than the usual 5.5-inch smartphone. And yet I can say with full responsibility: yes, I am ready to use such a device every day even in the conditions of a city, not to mention all sorts of trips and other adventures.
He gave AGM X2 to his wife - it was interesting that a woman with very elegant hands would say about this smartphone. The answer was in the spirit of "of course, it is big, but I think I would get used to it." Earlier, I had Doogee, HomTom, BlackView protected Chinese smartphones on my tests - and my wife always said that she would never buy one for herself. But AGM X2, perhaps, would have bought. Including due to the quality and pleasant materials.
Yes, despite its brutal appearance, AGM X2 is made rather according to the canons of ordinary expensive smartphones, and not like ordinary protected Chinese, which are created according to the principle “there are more bolts here, rubber is thicker, and here we stick the metal panel for solidity”. Moreover, there is no rubber in the AGM X2 design at all - and that is why it does not exude a nasty chemical “scent” that irritated me in the case of 99% of the Chinese smartphones of this kind that I dealt with.
Both the front and back panels of AGM X2 are covered with Gorilla Glass 5, that is, the latest generation. The reader may be indignant: what kind of glass in a secure smartphone? Okay, still in front, you can't do without glass there, but BACK! I explain. First, it is worth reminding: AGM X2 corresponds to the American military standard MIL-STD-810G - in contrast to 99% of the “Chinese” who did not pass any special tests. Meanwhile, AGM X2 passed the following set of tests (without it, it would not have received the certificate MIL-STD-810G):
• test of the height by the method of high and low pressure;
• exposure to high and low temperatures (from minus 30 to plus 60 degrees);
• temperature shock (including in working condition and storage condition);
• rain, including freezing rain;
• humidity, fungi, salt fog for corrosion resistance testing;
• sand and dust;
• pyrotechnic impact, that is, testing in an explosive atmosphere;
• flowing water;
• vibration from shooting;
• shaking during transportation;
• vibrations along different axes;
• acoustic noise;
• resistance to sunlight;
• fall onto a hard surface from a height of 1.2 meters.
Well, and so on.
In other words, the AGM X2 case is designed in such a way that it will be very difficult to break the glass in front and behind. Although, of course, possible. From annoying accidents and unforeseen situations no one is immune. Suffice it to recall the story that recently happened to the famous journalist Sergei Vilyanov. is heaccidentally dropped my LG G6 from a small height, just half a meter, and the screen could not stand it. Although the G6 model is also consistent with MIL-STD-810G, and LG is a very large and serious company. So this, of course, is not a panacea. But - at least some guarantee of reliability and durability. The guarantee that the body of the smartphone is designed correctly, and not anyhow.
And in general: in terms of tactile sensations, thanks to the glass “priest” AGM X2, it is quite comparable with the very same Samsung Galaxy S7, which I actively use (see photo below). And these feelings are very pleasant. And when you take a typical rubber “Chinese” in your hand, you feel like stroking the back wheel of a Belarus tractor. Which is not very cool, frankly.
And then. For those who stand radically against the glass behind, there is an option with a leather back panel. Personally, I don’t like it much, but the level of fragility in this version of AGM X2 is noticeably lower.
The case of the AGM X2 is quite complex in its design. Metal sides. The front panel is girded with a frame with a pronounced shiny bevel, also made of metal.
The screen is about half a millimeter sunk - and rightly so, it is much more difficult to break it when the smartphone is dropped face down.
The back panel, by the way, is also slightly drowned, although not as much as the front one. Along the perimeter of the backdrop is a plastic frame.
The upper and lower ends are covered with flaps made from exactly the same non-fragile and very pleasant to the touch plastic, and these flaps also reinforce the corners of the case. This is a very important moment in a secure smartphone. It is the fall at an angle that can bend the case - you will not even notice it, but its geometry will break, which in time may lead to cracks in the glass or even problems with a filling that will not withstand pressure. So, at one time I dropped a corner of the Motorola RAZR XT910, the case was twisted, and a week later the screen glass cracked at the device.
Above the screen are the speaker (it transmits normally, no complaints), light and proximity sensors, a front camera and a LED. The latter can not burn in one color, like most "Chinese" and just inexpensive smartphones, but several. That is, a more expensive RGB diode is used. For example, when charging, it glows orange, and when you receive any notification — say, about a letter or a person on the social network — blue.
On the left side of the case there are buttons for adjusting the volume and turning on the camera. The camera key, alas, is one-position. That is, it is impossible to focus with its help, for this you need to poke your finger on the screen. And you can take pictures by clicking on it, and through the swing volume control. Both keys, I must say, very comfortable. The developers managed to choose the right balance between softness and sharpness.
Right on the case - the power button. It is located closer to the center of the face, which is convenient - even people with rather small hands (like me) don’t have to reach for it. For convenience, it is the same as the two keys described above.
There are slots for SIM-cards and MicroSD on the right. Much to my regret, they are implemented in the spirit of the latest trends, that is, you can choose either the “SIM + SIM” configuration ...
... or "SIM + MicroSD". The maximum supported flash drive capacity is 128 GB.
Now I would like to finish the description of the right side, but it was not there! There is an absolutely unique feature in AGM X2, which has never been seen in any smartphone before. It is a VOC sensor, or ambient air pollution sensor. What is it for? Well, suppose you digger and scamper through the city dungeons. In which gases and other chemicals often accumulate. With the help of AGM X2, you can determine that “clouds are gathering”, and this or that space should be immediately left. To operate the VOC sensor, you need to open the plug on the right side of the case. Under it there are several holes through which air enters the sensor for analysis.
I myself never digger, and I live in a fairly clean area. So I decided to test the sensor with a cigarette. Indeed, at first AGM X2 reported that everything was clean, and after about five seconds of being close to the “health wand” he sounded the alarm after detecting pollution.
On the bottom there is a USB Type-C port, which, due to its “symmetry”, is much more convenient than MicroUSB. The port is covered with a stub - for greater security. The fact is that in the AGM X2 and a 3.5-mm jack, and USB Type-C are insensitive to the ingress of water. That is, if it hits - nothing bad will happen. Therefore, the plugs in this case do not protect from liquids, as is usually the case, but from sand, pebbles and other dirt.
There is a dual camera on the back of the case (about it in the corresponding section), a flash and a loop for a lace. Also here is the second microphone, which, paired with a microphone located on the front panel, forms a noise cancellation system. It works with dignity - on a busy street, the interlocutor hears you well.
There is also a capacitive fingerprint scanner in the back. It works normally, the percentage of failures is negligible - according to my observations, the sensor does not respond in one case out of 30-40.
Still behind the speaker. Often in protected smartphones, the speakers are covered with a cloth or a dense mesh, so that they sound like “from a bucket”. AGM X2 is a pleasant exception. The sound is clear and very bass.
On the top, there is only a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. One can argue for a long time where to place it more correctly - from above or below. I personally do not care - it is convenient both that way and that.
Well, I would like to tell everything about the design of the case and the arrangement of elements (if you have any questions, ask in the comments). It's time to say a few words about the level of security. First of all, I dipped a smartphone in the autumn Black Sea. There was a small storm. At first, the waves simply “licked” the apparatus ...
... and then they took it and pulled it into the sea. Knee-deep, but the smartphone saved. To avoid such situations, he stuck it in the sand and sat for half an hour, watching as he was splashed with water and sand.
Just like that - with sand. This is important because if the front panel of the AGM X2 is glued with a good transparent film, then the back (also glass) does not have any additional protection. So, the apparatus “peskostruy” for an hour, and then I took it out and, without washing, carefully wiped the back panel on the sleeve of the jacket. Between the panel and the sleeve, of course, there were grains of sand, which were supposed to scratch the panel. It was all the more surprising to see that there were no “grooves” left! The device looks like new. Glory to Gorilla Glass 5!
As you may remember, this review begins with a photo with a nut. Duplicate it just in case:
I found this nut while walking with AGM X2, and immediately there was a desire to use the smartphone as a walnut. At first it was scary, but after a couple of days I still broke the nut. AGM X2 coped with the task. Beat the corner of the hull. Serious damage is not, well, except that the plastic slightly scratched.
For the order dipped the AGM X2 in the dirt.
I note that the gaps between the body panels are minimal here, and they are made in such a way that dust and dirty muck can be washed with ordinary running water. Without the help of toothpicks and other similar tools. Well, except that large grains of sand are sometimes clogged around the heads of the screws, as can be seen in some photos.
Wash, by the way, can be not only under a thin stream flowing from the tap. The jet, which was almost in the hand under serious pressure, was also never frightened by the device.
Well, one more thing. In the photo below - my one-year-old daughter. She loves to take my technique and play with her. On her combat score - broken smartphone Xiaomi Mi A1 and lens for mirrorless. And this is not to mention a pile of broken toys and well-crumpled interior items. The nickname of the daughter is appropriate - Zoe the destroyer. So she has been playing with AGM X2 for a week every day. He throws him off the couch, knocking them on the legs of chairs, treading on him with his nine kilograms. And the apparatus at least henna. For me, this is the most obvious indicator of maximum security.
Screen
The most important thing: the AGM X2 display is made using AMOLED technology. Producer - Korean Samsung. It is clear that this display is not the last generation. Well, even Apple itself was able to knock out Samsung AMOLED screens only at the Galaxy S6 level, that is, in 2015 - these are exactly the matrix used in the iPhone X. As for the AGM X2, judging by some signs, there is a display of the Samsung Galaxy S5 level (year 2014). That is, there are no any acidic shades anymore, the color rendition is quite pleasant, but in terms of the level of naturalness this is still not IPS.
All the advantages of AMOLED have a place to be: perfect black color, maximum viewing angles, low power consumption and, which is especially important for a protected smartphone, excellent behavior in the sun. Below is a comparison with Xiaomi Mi A1, the brightness is twisted to the maximum. (I took myself another Mi A1 after Zoya the destroyer broke the first vehicle.) As you can see, the AMOLED 2014 fade under the rays a lot less than the 2017 IPS.
A bit of dry numbers and facts. Screen size is 5.5 inches, resolution - 1920 x 1080 pixels. For the sake of checking for the presence of an oleophobic coating, it stripped off the film. I made sure that this coverage is available. The touchscreen is sensitive (although where is it insensitive today?), A 10-point multitouch is supported. Gloved hands touch layer reacts normally, pressing is recognized. No additional modes need to be activated for this.
I note that the color settings, which are in a number of smartphones with Samsung AMOLED screens, are missing in AGM X2. That is, to twist the picture for themselves will not work. Not that it was a big minus, and yet.
Well, on the whole, we have an excellent screen - it does not go blind in the sun, it is economical (we will return to this issue below), it gives a very high-quality and nice looking image. In general, the choice in favor of AMOLED in the case of an off-road smartphone is the only correct one. Far from all vendors understand this. AGM - understand.
Cameras
The AGM X2 uses a dual rear camera. It is known that one of the modules - Sony IMX386. It is used, for example, in Xiaomi Mi 6, Huawei Nova and a number of Meizu models. There is no data about the second module (in general, smartphone developers rarely cite the name of its manufacturer, so the AGM is not very different from the others). Matrix resolution is 12 megapixels. Phase autofocus. There is an LED flash. There is no optical stabilization. The principle of operation is about the same as that of Huawei models with Leica cameras. One sensor of the AGM X2 color camera (which is made by Sony), the second - monochrome, which in theory should provide high quality images in the dark - at night and in the evening. In addition, dual rear camera provides portrait mode with blurring the background in the pictures - as in the same iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus.
Typically, manufacturers of smartphones take modules from camera manufacturers with standard bundled software, that is, with basic image processing algorithms. Which, as a rule, are very weak and in dire need of improvement. The AGM invested 500 thousand dollars to replace this basic camera software, which resulted in image quality, comparable with Galaxy S7 devices (that is, last year’s flagship), rather than with typical “protected” Chinese, whose photographic capabilities were stuck for about a year. in 2014.
The camera interface looks like this. There is nothing unusual in it, you can figure it out in a couple of minutes. There is a set of standard settings found in almost all modern smartphones.
Below are some examples of regular daytime photos in different conditions. In my opinion, it is for protected devices that this is a real breakthrough. Photos can be viewed, as they say, without pain in the eyes. Although, of course, AGM X2 is far away from the best cameraphones at the price of 50-60 thousand rubles - believe me, I have no doubt.
Well, here are the night shots. Again: yes, these are not flagships for 40-50-60 thousand rubles. This is the level of the same Samsung Galaxy S7, the top smartphone of 2016. And for the "defenders" such quality can be called a serious breakthrough.
Well, even lower - frames with so much loved by many users blur the background. The principle is this: activate the appropriate mode, focuses on the object and adjusts the level of blur on the vertical scale.
It turns out as a result of this. In pairs - the first shot without blurring the background, the second - with blur. In my opinion, the results are very good. AGM X2 practically does not make mistakes - the whole object in the foreground is clear. And then some devices, sometimes, are mistaken, and some parts of the central object are also smeared. Others do not blur the entire background, leaving some of its pieces clear. AGM X2 does not have such errors. It can be seen that the 500,000 “green” cameras invested in the software were not wasted in vain.
Total for the photographic part: AGM X2 really pleased. Yes, this is not the flagship level. This is a good middle class, which, I will repeat for the umpteenth time, for previously protected devices was simply unattainable. And now - is achievable. And AGM X2 is quite suitable for the role of a “photogun” traveler, tourist or extremal. Yes, and freshly caught pike (or at least a crucian) with the help of this smartphone you can take a picture. And this picture will look decent.
AGM X2 can record video at maximum resolution Full HD 1080p.
An example video is below. I can not say that the quality is directly outstanding, but worthy. Again, at the level of modern smartphones priced at 25-30 thousand rubles.
The front camera of the AGM X2 already has 16 megapixels. There are several modes to improve the appearance of the physiognomy - well, that is, everything is about the same as in all.
The quality of the snapshot can be estimated from the example below. In my opinion, it removes the "front camera" quite a level.
Iron, communication, navigation
Above, I already sang the praises of the Qualcomm chipsets - and here I repeat once again. There is such a company MediaTek. It offers cheap and seemingly (seemingly!) Normal hardware platforms for smartphones. Since they are cheap, they are used with pleasure and indulgently by Chinese companies in their devices. Closing my eyes to the fact that MediaTek chipsets have certain problems with navigation, with power consumption, with optimization under the OS (read - driver curves), and so on. The main thing is to make it cheaper. It is especially disappointing when MediaTek chipsets are found in secure devices, that is, models for tourists, adventurers and travelers, for whom normal autonomy and navigation work play almost the primary role.
Fortunately, the AGM went the other way and laid the foundation for the X2 model Qualcomm chipset. The solutions of this manufacturer, unlike those of MediaTek, have no problems with navigation, as well as with the departure of energy in an unknown direction. In general, I am a fan of Qualcomm, yes. And in secure smartphones - without any options at all.
The foundation of the AGM X2 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 chipset. It has four ARM Cortex-A72 cores with frequencies up to 1.95 GHz and four ARM Cortex-A53 cores with frequencies up to 1.44 GHz, as well as Adreno 510 graphics with frequencies up to 600 MHz. In general, this accelerator is also designed for screens with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels, while the AGM X2 has “only” 1920 x 1080. So a good supply of resources is obtained. Of the minuses I will note the technical process - 28 nm. Already there are 14-nm chipsets of the middle class, which consume significantly less energy. On the other hand, the AGM X2 has an economical AMOLED screen, which compensates for the difference in power consumption between the 14- and 28-nm platforms.
The results in the synthetic tests are as follows - see screenshots. The numbers, of course, are far from being like those of the current flagships, but quite decent for a smartphone for 30 thousand rubles. In practice, these points translate into the ability to launch toys with maximum graphics settings (where there are such settings at all).
I played in my beloved Asphalt 8 - everything is fine, there are no brakes in sight.
With the operability of the AGM X2 is more than worthy - as much as 6 GB. Most often in models with such a price of its 4 GB. The storage capacity is 64 GB, plus microSD up to 128 GB is supported.
I have already spoken about navigation more than once, and now I will talk about it in more detail. With her, everything is really cool. The satellites are literally within seconds - and this, I draw your attention, without A-GPS and other “improvements” (tested without installed “sims” and, as a result, connected to the networks of operators). AMG X2, like almost all models on Qualcomm chipsets, works with GPS, GLONASS and Beidou. When navigating with Here Maps and Google Maps there were no problems - no loss of communication, no such thing.
And a few words about cellular communication. AGM X2 supports the following standards:
• GSM / GPRS / EDGE Band 2/3/5/8
• EVDO Rev.A / CDMA2000 1x BC0
• WCDMA Band 1/2/4/5/8
• TD-SCDMA Band 34/39
• LTE-FDD Band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/19/20 /
• LTE-TDD Band 38/39/40/41
What does this set of numbers and letters mean? At least the fact that with AGM X2 you can go to almost any country - and the device will work with local operators. As in LTE-networks (up to 300 Mbit / s), and in older 2G and 3G. Moreover, TD-SCDMA networks (distributed in China and several African countries) and CDMA (in the United States and, for example, in Ukraine) are supported. In general, AGM X2 is a kind of Global Phone: it works everywhere. Against this background, the protected "Chinese", who often do not even support the LTE Band 38 and 40, look very dim.
Add to this the support of Wi-Fi 802.11ac in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, as well as NFC - and we get the most fully equipped with all modern means of communication device. And this link works perfectly.
Autonomous work
Battery capacity reaches 6000 mAh. Is it a lot or a little? Well, let's say a typical modern smartphone usually has a battery in the region of 3000 mAh. And then twice as much! The battery, by the way, was released by Panasonic, which acts as a kind of quality guarantor. My AGM X2 lasted for six and a half days - that is, almost a week. And this, I recall, is not the smallest (5.5 inches) smartphone with the least economical chipset (28 nm). Why so impressive indicators? Probably, for the (almost) weekly autonomy, it is worth thanking the AMOLED screen. And yet - though not the most advanced in terms of energy saving, but still a well-optimized chipset, as well as competently written firmware. From the latter, I recall, the power consumption of smartphones also depends very firmly.
And one more important point. It’s good to have a 6,000 mAh battery, but you still need to charge it. It usually takes 5-6 hours for Chinese protected devices. This is because they most often do not support fast charging, and if they support, then they are only at the level of iron. But complete with them is the most common charger.
With AGM X2, the situation is completely different. The device supports Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0: you can charge a battery with a capacity of 6,000 mAh in less than 3 hours. At 50% of the battery is charged in less than an hour. An appropriate charger, also supporting QuickCharge 3.0, is included in the package. Do not need to buy anything.
Well, here again I remind you that for charging in the AGM X2 uses a USB Type-C port. Which, in my opinion, is very convenient. Tired, you know, in the Galaxy S7 to poke a microUSB plug, this is so, then that. X2 has no such problem.
Software
AGM X2 runs on the almost pure Android OS 7.1.2 Nougat, that is, without any proprietary launchers, redrawn icons and other obscurantism, which often burns out the battery and also sometimes brakes wildly. The smartphone works very quickly, smoothly, steadily - in general, no complaints. I will note an excellent translation into Russian - you will not carp directly. This is important because, as I wrote above, 99% of the “protected” devices are developed in China, and the quality of the translation to the great and powerful creators usually do not bother. The Germans from AGM approached the matter much more responsibly, which personally appeals to me. A few screenshots - suddenly someone forgot how clean Android looks like:
There are a couple of three utility utilities in AGM X2. I have already talked about the first one, it is designed to work with a VOC sensor. Here, for example, she reports that I have normal air in my room:
The second utility is called AGM Tools and combines a set of tools:
Here, for example, a ruler:
In another section, a compass is displayed, as well as data on temperature, humidity, pressure and altitude:
A Here, for example, a protractor:
And so on.
At the same time, there is one more application for working with a compass in AGM X2, it just looks a little different.
In general, in terms of software AGM X2 thing is also very worthy. No idiotic decorations, no ill-conceived Chinese - everything is clear and to the point. And still quite fresh: Android 7.1.2 - the version is quite relevant.
Equipment
I left the story about the delivery set for a sweet. Because it contains another extremely unusual and, not afraid of this word, unique feature. The developers did not shove a bunch of rubbish into the box like a lace with a non-working Chinese compass. The AGM put the necessary things, and one of them really amazed me.
Smartphone comes in such a black box. Cardboard is expensive and pleasant to the touch.
A set of basic accessories is as follows: a charger with Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 support, a USB cable with a Type-C plug, brief instructions in several languages (including, of course, Russian), a wired headset and a clip for removing the SIM card tray and / or microSD card.
Well, that put the headset. In recent years, companies like Meizu and Xiaomi have created a trend to deprive smartphone buyers of complete headsets, and I don’t like this trend much. It is clear that an advanced user probably already has high-quality good headphones. But there are exceptions. And it turns out that a person needs to buy a smartphone, and then also buy ears. For companies of the Xiaomi level with multi-million dollar sales, savings of a couple of cents per bundle (just a cheap headset costs in purchasing) turn into multi-million savings, but I personally don’t care about their business success.
The AGM X2's headset is quite comfortable, the cables are wrapped with something like a thread. Therefore, they do not tangle at all. The kit also has several tips for different ear canals. Sound quality ... Normal sound is the same as almost all smartphones with a price of 25-30 thousand with complete headphones. When I was still a child, a bear came to my ear, so this quality suffices. Well, ardent audiophiles, of course, will not be delighted.
Well, about the most important thing. In the box with the AGM X2, there was a huge patch on the back panel. I did not even immediately understand what it was. At first I thought that this was just a piece of the box, necessary for the rigid fixation of the apparatus. Well, so that it does not hang around the package during transportation. But everything turned out to be much more interesting.
This thing is a kind of float. That the device under no circumstances drowned. And this is a very important accessory for such a smartphone, "SUV." For example, during fishing, the device can be simply dropped overboard. Let him be at least four times protected - he immediately goes to the bottom, and remember the name. The lake or pond can be very deep, the water is muddy, the bottom is muddy, and the mask for scuba diving can be forgotten at home. And then what? You lose your smartphone, and with it - cameras, communications, data in memory, and so on. So, AGM X2 completely insures against such situations with this unique accessory.
Looks like a float cover like this. Pay attention: it has a slot for the camera and the speaker, and the sidewalls are made in such a way that the user still has access to all the hardware keys. That is, a smartphone with a cover installed can be used without any restrictions.
Well, let's put on a float cover and see if AGM X2 drowns or not. We cling it to the smartphone:
And let it into the pond. The result is extremely positive: the smartphone keeps on the surface of the water and does not go to the depths. By the way, this feature of AGM X2 can not only be useful when fishing. In some pool, for example, too. You lie to yourself, drink a cocktail, and a smartphone floats nearby.
In general, a great thing. And, again, unique. I have never seen anything bundled with smartphones.
Total
Well, the results are very simple. AGM X2, in my opinion, is real and without embellishment the best protected smartphone on the market. And the most sophisticated. This is not surprising: it is actually a device for the military, which ordinary citizens can buy for the first time. When developing equipment for harsh men in caps, it is customary to follow completely different standards than when creating ordinary Chinese smartphones-bricks with foul-smelling rubber in a circle. That's why AGM X2 turned out this way: pleasant to use, modern, thoughtful in the mass of trifles and in many ways unique.
AMOLED-screen, glass panels from the latest fifth "Gorilla", well-thought-out ergonomics, excellent speed and stable navigation thanks to the Qualcomm chipset, the motherboard dual camera - this is not a complete list of its advantages. Plus, the cover-float and the VOC-sensor - the chips are generally unique.
To pay for AGM X2 will have about 30 thousand rubles. Yes, no one is going to give the device in vain. However, he has virtually no alternatives and competitors. Do you want a really cool and high-quality protected smartphone with a military pedigree - here it is, pay the "thirty", and it is yours. Want to save - go ahead for the type of "protected" Chinese devices. Pay some miserable 10-15-20 thousand rubles and inevitably taste all their charms: sun-blinding screens, 6000 mAh batteries for two days, leaks like water-protected cases (i.e. protection for a tick) and for example, cameras that do not take off very well even during the day.
In general, I want the “protected” class of Hi-End - only the German military AGM X2. This is currently no alternative. And I don’t hide it, I really liked it.
PS Once again: I recommend to buy AGM X2 in the AGM company store on AliExpress . The X2 model page is located here . Only it will sell a 100% serviceable device with a complete set. All Russian online stores sell "gray" devices that may have incomplete equipment - for example, without a cover-float. And she really is beautiful!