Recently, I have been testing a lot of Android phones, but one feature that I feel is really missing from these phones is UWB support. UWB, or ultra-wideband, is a low-energy, short-range radio technology that has been around for a few decades (it was formerly known as "pulse radio"). UWB uses extremely fast signal pulses, …
Recently, I have been testing a lot of Android phones, but one feature that I feel is really missing from these phones is UWB support. UWB, or ultra-wideband, is a low-energy, short-range radio technology that has been around for a few decades (it was formerly known as “pulse radio”).
UWB uses extremely fast signal pulses, up to a billion per second, sent across a broad spectrum of radio frequencies (from 500MHz to several gigahertz).
Because of this feature, UWB can be used for more than just applications like locating other UWB devices. It can also withstand interference problems that Wi-Fi and Bluetooth cannot handle.
The most well-known use of UWB is probably AirTags, but that is only available to iPhone users. Support for UWB on Android is still limited, but it is improving gradually.
Here, I look at Blackview’s BV8900 Pro, which is the world’s first ruggedized smartphone to feature UWB.
The BV8900 Pro appears to be similar to many of the other Blackview smartphones that I have tested and reviewed. It is a large smartphone with a toughened glass display and a black rubber casing.
The 10000mAh battery and rubber add bulk to the device, but in exchange, the battery provides approximately 13 hours of video watching time and more than a month of standby time.
The device is designed to be dropped and abused, and water, dirt, dust, mud, or high/low temperatures are no match for it. There’s even a lanyard loop built into the handset, so you don’t lose it in the jungle or over the side of a boat while you’re being battered by storms.
The phone has a powerful Helios P90 chip that keeps everything running smoothly without draining your battery life. It has 8GB of RAM that is backed up by another 8GB of virtual RAM. The phone also has reverse charging, so you can use it as a power bank and send power to other devices. I had no lag or stuttering issues at all when using this phone.
In addition, the BV8900 Pro has UWB support, which does not mean much right now given the current state of support for UWB on Android; however, I expect this situation to change over the coming months as Google deploys its rival to Apple’s Find My network and UWB locater tags for Android, which are similar to AirTags.
Ruggedized handsets can, by virtue of being encased in rubber, cause the processor to overheat and be throttled; however, the cooling system—which consists of silicon and graphite heatsinks, and an array of copper cooling pipes—keeps the chip cool, even under heavy loads.
However, to get you going, the BV8900 Pro comes with a UWB tracking tile that you can attach to your keys, pet dog, or whatever else you want to keep an eye on.
At $216, the Blackview BV8900 Pro is a reasonably priced option for those seeking a robust smartphone with an enormous battery capacity and future-proof design thanks to its integrated UWB technology.
Robert Haba is the founder and editor-in-chief of Droid Tools. A lifelong gadget enthusiast with over a decade following the Android ecosystem, he built this publication to cut through the noise and give readers honest, real-world coverage of the tech they actually use.
Google has brought back its Pixel Referral Program on the US Google Store with a fresh coat of paint, giving anyone who's been nudging friends toward a Pixel phone a way to actually get rewarded for it. The relaunch follows last month's Pixel 11 launch, and the setup is simple: share a referral code with […]
Android Headlines has published exclusive renders showing the Google Pixel 11a for the first time, following its earlier report on the phone under the codename “Formosan” back in January 2025. Google appears to be sticking with a design similar to the past two years, but the internals are getting a major upgrade this time: the […]
OnePlus has opened reservations for the OnePlus 16 in China, revealing the phone's design, color options, and memory configurations ahead of its official launch. The device succeeds last year's OnePlus 15, which OnePlus introduced in October 2025 as its flagship. Visually, the OnePlus 16 looks similar to its predecessor, with a square rear camera module […]
Samsung says the Galaxy Z Fold8 is now the world's lightest foldable smartphone, weighing just 201 grams - a milestone the company traces back through eight generations of foldable engineering, starting with the original Galaxy Fold's 276 grams in 2019. According to Samsung, the weight reduction has been a steady, generation-by-generation effort: the Galaxy Z […]
The next story loads as you reach the end. You can also load it using the button.
Comments & Discussions
Join the conversation! We use Disqus to handle comments. Click the button below to load the comment section.