Energizer will launch a ridiculous 26 phones at MWC − and some look pretty intriguing
When you think Energizer, you probably don’t think of smartphones. It’s far more likely you think of the AA batteries that keep your wireless gamepads powered or the pink bunny that goes “on and on” in the adverts.
The company has quietly got a small but growing patch of the smartphone market, typically at the lower end of the market, and focusing on things like ruggedness and long-lasting stamina (pretty unsurprising, given the company’s battery-based heritage).
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But Energizer’s small range of handsets is about to get a lot bigger. The company has announced that it will be unveiling no fewer than 26 new phones at MWC. Granted, some will be on the feature phone end of the market, but amongst the number will be a bunch of handsets with a surprising range of innovation.
“Among the new releases are a foldable smartphone, a new line of high-end phones, and a device equipped with an 18,000mAh battery,” the press release reveals. We already knew that foldable phones were going to be on display, but it’s interesting that a smaller phone brand is getting in on the act.
That’s arguably not as interesting as an 18,000mAh battery though – for comparison, the iPhone XS has a 2658mAh cell. That’s not a typo: Energizer is promising a phone battery that’s nearly seven times the size of the £999 iPhone’s.
GSMArena has got more hard information on some of the other handsets that Energizer will be unveiling, and they fall into two categories: regular handsets with a waterdrop notch, and the ‘Pop’ range – which has front-facing cameras that pop up out the front of the phone, rather than housing them in a bezel-breaking notch.
The specifications – which the report notes are subject to change – all pack MediaTek Helio processors, rather than the more popular Qualcomm Snapdragons.
Top of the range is the Energizer Ultimate U620S Pop, with a MediaTek Helio P70 processor, 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. It also features a 6.2-inch 1080p screen and a mysterious triple-camera array.
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At the bottom of the range is the Energizer Ultimate U570S – strange for a company to name a weaker product ‘ultimate’, but there we are. It has a smaller 5.7-inch, 720p display and drops to a quad-core Helio A22 processor with 4GB of RAM.
The more interesting-sounding phones – the folding one and the 18,000mAh battery model – don’t get a look in here, but hopefully Energizer is saving the best until last. We’ll know soon, in any case. MWC 2019 kicks off in Barcelona in a few weeks, and we’ll be on the ground to bring all the big news as it emerges.
Do the new Energizer devices tempt you, or do you prefer more established phone brands? Let us know what you think on Twitter @TrustedReviews.