Over the last decade, feature phones have gone from mainstream to niche, with more and more users opting to buy smartphones for their greater capabilities. The Kyocera DuraXE ($269.99) is one of the few devices that straddles the fence, in that it's a feature phone that runs Android 5.1 Lollipop, an operating system that primarily powers smartphones. It offers more in the way of connectivity than your average clamshell, with dual-band Wi-Fi and 4G LTE on AT&T's network. If you're looking for a rugged flip phone with good connectivity and long battery life, the DuraXE is solid option. But it won't give you the complete Android experience of a full-on smartphone like the Kyocera DuraForce, the Caterpillar Cat S40, or the Sonim XP7.
Design and Features
The DuraXE is meant to withstand a lot of abuse, so it's no surprise that it's bulkier than the clamshells of yesteryear. At 4.21 by 2.22 by 0.99 inches (HWD) and 6 ounces, the XE is lighter, but considerably thicker than the slab-style DuraForce (5.39 by 2.78 by 0.55 inches, 7.06 ounces). And both of those devices are a whole lot sleeker than the brick-like Sonim XP6 (5.39 by 2.54 by 0.81 inches, 9.52 ounces).
The phone is made of hardened black and gray polycarbonate, with a textured grip on the sides and back. The micro USB port and headphone jack are located on the right, covered by rubber flaps. The left side is home to a large Push-to-Talk button below the volume rocker. Two Keyguard buttons are up top, allowing you to decline calls or turn the speaker on without having to open the phone.
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The DuraXE meets military standard 810G, as well as IP68 and OSHA certification. It can withstand shock, vibration, blowing rain, extreme temperatures, hazardous environments, and immersion in six feet of water for 30 minutes. I tested its durability with repeated six-foot drops to the rubberized floor of the PCMag test lab, and on the concrete sidewalk outside. The phone suffered nothing worse than a few scuffs, though the screen often flipped open upon impact.
The phone's external display is a 1.08-inch, 102-by-90-pixel black-and-white LCD, for time and notifications. The internal display is a 2.6-inch, 320-by-240-pixel color panel. The display is relatively sharp, and gets bright enough that you can see it in direct sunlight without a problem.
The keypad is backlit, with large buttons that are easy to press with gloved hands. The navigation buttons are located above, along with the Call Accept, Call Decline, and Speaker buttons. Below the keypad is a grille for the front-facing speaker.
The DuraXE's back plate is held in securely by a screw. Unscrewing it and prying it open gives you access to the removable battery, microSD (which accepts cards up to 32GB), and SIM card slots.
Network Performance, Connectivity, and Battery
The DuraXE runs on AT&T's 4G LTE network, supporting GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz), UMTS (850/900/1900/2100MHz), and LTE (2/4/5/12) bands. The only notable omission is band 17, which may limit connectivity indoors, but since the DuraXE supports dual-band Wi-Fi, that shouldn't be an issue in most places. I tested the phone in Manhattan and found that webpages loaded quickly. The phone also has GPS and Bluetooth 4.1 LE.
In terms of call quality, the DuraXE has powerful earpiece and speaker volume, making it easy to hear in loud environments, and good for Push-to-Talk calls. That said, noise cancellation isn't as good as it should be. While voices retain a natural tone, I noticed some wind noise and occasional crackling in the background.
Battery life is excellent. The phone recorded 15 hours, 16 minutes of talk time, which is more than enough for a day's worth of use. The DuraForce (6 hours, 6 minutes) and the Sonim XP6 (6 hours, 15 minutes) didn't last nearly as long in testing, but those numbers are for LTE video streaming, which is far more taxing than a phone call.
Processor and Android
In terms of hardware, the DuraXE is on par with a low-end Android phone like the Motorola Moto E. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 210 processor clocked at 1.1GHz, with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage.
The DuraXE runs Android 5.1 Lollipop, customized by Kyocera for a non-touch interface. The home screen includes Menu, Notifications, and Web Browser choices. Opening the Menu gives you access to the standard feature phone apps like AT&T Enhanced Push-to-Talk, Browser, Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Contacts, Email, Messaging, Photos and Videos, Settings, and Tools. Under Tools, additional functionality includes an Alarm, File Manager, Flashlight, Music Player, Notepad, Stopwatch, Voice Memos, and Voice Recognition.
You'll notice that there aren't any Android-specific apps here. The only app I was able to "download" is the Enhanced Push-to-Talk feature from AT&T; it already comes on the phone, but when you select it for the first time, you have to connect to AT&T's site to approve the download. I was able to painstakingly log into the Google Play app store through the web browser, but nothing I clicked on would download, even after I allowed app installs from unknown sources in the Settings menu.
Web browsing and emails on the DuraXE are poorly optimized, showing a full desktop webpage on the tiny screen. And typing is tedious despite the presence of predictive text. That said, these features still work better than you'll find on most flip phones, and seem to be the primary benefit of using Android.
Multimedia and Conclusions
The DuraXE supports just about any music, photo, and video file you can throw at it. With 4.7GB of storage available out of the box, you have some space to work with if you don't have a huge music collection, but you might want to add a microSD card if you're planning to take lots of photos and video.
Unfortunately, image quality on the rear-facing 5-megapixel camera is poor. Almost every picture I took was noisy or blurry, despite the presence of autofocus. In addition, the camera app is slow to launch. The phone is capable of recording video at 720p, but without any stabilization, it is often shaky.
While the Kyocera DuraXE offers better connectivity than most feature phones, you'll be disappointed if you're expecting a full-on smartphone experience. Despite running Android, the DuraXE doesn't really do much to take advantage of it. That said, the DuraXE is a solid choice if you view it strictly as a rugged flip phone, thanks to its good call quality and long battery life. We haven't reviewed it yet, but the Samsung Rugby 4 ($229.99) looks like a solid, slightly less expensive alternative. And AT&T customers have plenty of options for rugged smartphones that run Android—including the Sonim XP6 and the Kyocera DuraForce, as well as the unlocked Sonim XP7 and the Cat S40.
The Kyocera DuraXE for AT&T is an ultra-rugged feature phone that runs Android, but you definitely won't confuse it for a smartphone.
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