I tested the RugOne Xever 7 Pro - a lightweight rugged phone with removeable battery thats dragged down by its processor

Date:
Mon, 05 Jan 2026 15:05:00 +0000

Description:
The RugOne Xever 7 Pro is a lightweight, rugged design that uses swapable batteries to extend its operating life.

FULL STORY ======================================================================RugOne Xever 7 Pro: 30-second review

RugOne is part of the same company as Ulefone, but this division focuses on more premium designs that businesses might consider over the cheaper retail options.

The RugOne Xever 7 Pro, reviewed here, and its slightly cheaper brother, the Xever 7, are part of a new generation of rugged designs that address the
issue of achieving great battery life without making the phone too heavy or large.

This is achieved with hot-swappable batteries, a technique Ive seen often
used with tablets, but not a feature modern phones typically embrace.

What makes this clever is that the single 5550 mAh battery can be hot-swapped with a replacement easily, and in theory, extend the running time of the
phone indefinitely.

But with the limited capacity of a single battery, the phone remains
practical in size and weight for everyday use.

In addition to the swappable battery, the RugOne Xever 7 Pro also sports a FLIR thermal camera, a useful capability for anyone who works with heating systems, electrics or vehicles.

There are two weaknesses to this design: the SoC and GPU combination doesnt compete with the silicon that many premium phones now offer. The other is a relatively high asking price, which will put some customers off.

Purely based on pricing, the RugOne Xever 7 Pro probably wont make our best rugged phone round-up. There are cheaper options that still come with a thermal camera, while the Samsung Galaxy XCover7 Pro already covers the removeable battery angle. (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) RugOne Xever 7 Pro: price and availability How much does it cost? $723.99/685.79/761.99 When is
it out? Available now Where can you get it? You can get it directly from RugOne or via many online retailers such as AliExpress.

The pricing for this product is most confusing, so be careful where you
source it.

The RugOne website has one price plastered over its website, $659.99 for US customers or 699.99 for those in Europe.

When you choose to buy, you are given two global choices, with AliExpress listed first and store.rugone.net second, and then special links for South Africa, Romania and Guatemala.

Clicking AliExpress would normally give you the best price, but in this context, its a mistake.

The prices at the time of writing this are $723.99/685.79/761.99 from AliExpress, which is way above the website quoted price. Picking sote.rugone.net returned 509.99 for the UK (with free shipping), a US price
of $659.99 and an EU price of 699.99.

Given that the current exchange rate of the pound to the dollar is $1.35, the UK price should be 488, and the exchange rate for the Euro is 1.18, so EU customers should be paying 559, approximately.

Therefore, both the UK and the EU are being overcharged, with the UK taking a 4% hit and those in the EU a massive 25% hike over what US buyers pay.

Why the prices are structured this way seems irrational, but RugOne are free to charge whatever it wants.

However, it is possible to get a rugged phone with a better specification
than this one, for less money. A very similar design that doesnt have thermal imaging, swappable batteries or an OLED screen is the Oukitel WP60, and that typically sells for $280.

A phone with thermal imaging, like the AMD G3 Pro, is still cheaper than the RugOne Xever 7 Pro, making this a premium option.

A phone that RugOne mentions in its comparisons is the Samsung Galaxy XCover7 Pro, a phone which cant compete with the amount of memory and storage that
the RugOne Xever 7 Pro offers, but is about half the price.

Clearly, the price increases on components are being felt in these prices, especially in Europe, oddly, but based only on the SoC in the RugOne Xever 7 Pro, these prices are too high. (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Value score: 2.5/5 RugOne Xever 7 Pro: Specs RugOne Xever 7 Pro Specifications

Item

Spec

CPU:

MediaTek Dimensity 7025

GPU:

IMG BXM-8-256 GPU

NPU:

MediaTek NPU 550

RAM:

12GB

Storage:

512GB

Screen:

6.67-inchOLED Screen

Resolution:

1080 x 2400FHD+,120Hz, 2200 nits

SIM:

2x Nano SIM + TF + eSIM (all can be used)

Weight:

325 grams

Dimensions:

173.6 x 84.4 x 14.1 mm

Rugged Spec:

IP68 IP69K dust/water resistant (up to 2m for 30 minutes), MIL-STD-810H Certification

Rear cameras:

50MP AI Main Camera + 64 MP Night Vision Camera + FLIR Lepton 3.5 sensor(160
x 120 resolution)

Front camera:

32MP Samsung

Networking:

WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2

Audio:

3.5mm audio jack for headphones

OS:

Android 15 (updates promised)

Battery:

5550 mAh (Max 33W wired, dock included) hot-swapable

Colours:

Black RugOne Xever 7 Pro: design Industrial aesthetic Extra custom button Easily swappable batteries

There is a point in the scaling of a phone when it exceeds certain dimensions and becomes much less practical, but the RugOne Xever 7 Pro manages to approach that line without crossing it.

Its overall size is dictated by the 6.67-inch OLED display, and the border on that is remarkably narrow on most sides, delivering a length of 173.6mm and a width of 84.4 mm.

With a thickness of just over 14mm, this is a thin and elegant design thats only marginally heavier than a standard phone, at 325 grams.

The styling is distinctly industrial, with serrated slots machined into the alloy frame sides and into the rear surface. While this look isnt for everyone, anyone picking up this device, even with wet hands, is likely to be confident that it wont slip from their grip.

For the most part, the button arrangement is familiar, with the power button/fingerprint reader and the volume rockers on the right, and the SIM tray and user-definable button on the left. However, RugOne did include a second custom button on the right, which is ideally placed for triggering photo-taking. (Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Another plus is the extended SIM tray that supports dual Nano SIMs and a MicroSD card without sacrificing any of these options.

Along the top edge is a small camping light and a 3.5mm audio jack, the
latter of which is something that many people appreciate, as it negates the need to charge headphones.

But the truly unusual feature of this phone is the swappable battery, hidden under a releasable panel on the lower back, accessed via a locking switch.

As part of the accessory set with this phone, RugOne has included a neat charging stand that the phone slots easily into, and this device also charges and stores the second battery.

A capacitor in the phone allows the battery to be swapped without shutting down the phone for 180 seconds, though you need to avoid getting distracted mid-swap. This effectively doubles the battery capacity from 5550 mAh to
11100 mAh, and hopefully, at some point, RugOne will allow additional batteries to be bought to extend the life even further.

This one facility enables the phone to have the operating life of one that weighs more, without the need to carry that additional mass all the time.

From a design perspective, the RugOne Xever 7 Pro is an impressive concept that manages to deliver on its critical features, specifically the swappable battery, in a practical and well-considered fashion. (Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Design score: 4/5 RugOne Xever 7 Pro: hardware MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Disappointing GPU Plenty of RAM and storage Flexible batteries

Referring to my notes, Ive reviewed another phone with the MediaTek Dimensity 7025, the Oukitel WP60. And in that review, I commented that the Dimensity 7025 was a variation of the 7020, and that was a rebranded Dimensity 930, a throw-back from the era when MediaTek Dimensity chips used a 6nm process, and not the 4nm they use now.

I didnt get a complaint from Oukitel, so Ive assumed my assertion that this
is an old 2022 design is accurate, and that this is not something Id normally expect to see in a 2025 phone.

But Ill go further this time and say that I dont think the issue here is the CPU in this context, as that seems reasonably efficient; its the IMG
BXM-8-256 GPU that is part of this SoC that seems excessively dated.

Ill talk more about whats wrong with this GPU in the performance section, but these PowerVR IMG designs dont deliver the feature set that current AMR Mali or other mobile GPUs offer. Though curiously, the SoC does have an NPU function, with the MediaTek NPU 550. Im not sure how much this is utilised in the phone's AI capabilities, or if thats mostly handled in the Cloud, but it does have something it calls an NPU.

What this phone certainly offers is sufficient memory and storage with 12GB
of RAM and 512GB of storage. I appreciate that RugOne didnt do the typical over-hype of taking 12GB of RAM and magically calling it 32GB, since 20GB can be mapped to storage, thankfully.

Unless you use a crazy number of Android apps, 12GB is more than sufficient, and the 512GB of primary storage can be extended with a MicroSD card, adding another 2TB of capacity. (Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Ive already mentioned the swappable battery, but I should also tell you that RugOne intends to release custom covers for the battery. The battery's fast charge at 33W enables it to be fully recharged in under an hour. These can also reverse-charge other devices if required. The quoted lifecycle for these batteries is 1000 charges, which, given you have two batteries by default, should provide at least 6 years of operational life, assuming you dont buy
any more.

My only reservation about the batteries is that the phone connects to the supplied dock, which doubles as a charger, via pogo pins. These can break, although it is possible to charge the phone directly using USB, and charge
the batteries in the dock and then swap over.

For this reviewer, the Dimensity 7025 wasnt the right SoC for this premium phone; it needed something even slightly better, like the 7300, might I suggest. Hardware score: 3/5 RugOne Xever 7 Pro: cameras 50MP, 64MP and Thermal sensors on the rear 32MP on the front Four cameras in total (Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The RugOne Xever 7 Pro has four cameras:

Rear camera: 50MP Samsung GN9 primary camera, 64 MP Omnivision OV64B Night, Thermal by FLIR Lepton 3.5
Front camera: 32MP Samsung GC32E1

This is the identical camera configuration as the WP200 Pro, with the main sensor being the 108MP Samsung S5KHM6SX. This 1/1.67-inch format, 108 MP stacked imager boasts a 0.64 m pixel pitch, ISOCELL 2.0 technology, and Nonacell Bayer RGB colour filters, according to Samsung.

With a whopping 108 megapixels, this sensor is capable of producing
incredibly detailed images or can effectively pixel bin to achieve vibrant colours and HDR contrast. The results, especially in outdoor lighting, can be impressive; however, there are times when the focus system appears to target the wrong object in the shot.

One downside is the absence of optical zoom; instead, the digital zoom transitions can feel quite jarring. The rear camera also lacks wide or telephoto sensors, relying on a somewhat lacklustre 2 MP macro sensor and a 0.3 MP sensor for depth effects.

Therefore, the main sensor shoulders the majority of the photographic responsibilities. On a positive note, Oukitel has included a comprehensive camera application that features a full PRO mode for manual controls, alongside options for timelapse, slow-motion, night views, and panoramas.

What I would avoid is a feature that the user-defined button offers, which is to switch into underwater mode. While this phone is rated for full submersion for a limited time period, it's only to a depth of 1.5M, and that could be difficult to control in the ocean or even a pool.

Under the right conditions, images taken are decent, though they might not stand out as extraordinary. But given the price point of this device, the
main sensor is a practical choice that is better than some phones that use 50MP sensors.

On the front, the choice of a 32 MP Sony sensor for selfies might seem excessive, especially since it only records at 1080p. It raises questions about the need for such high resolution for 1080p video, but this sensor does manage to capture good-quality images for those who enjoy digital self-portraits.

It's worth noting that this phone lacks Widevine L1 video encryption,
offering only L3. This limitation means that when streaming from primary services like Netflix or Disney+, you'll only have access to 480p resolution, even with a fast 5G connection.

In short, the cameras are probably better than one might have anticipated,
but they lack the optical focus and stabilisations that premium phones offer these days. (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) RugOne Xever 7 Pro Camera samples Image 1 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 2 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 3 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 4 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 5 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 6 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 7 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 8 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 9 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 10 of 22 (Image credit: Mark
Pickavance) Image 11 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 12 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 13 of 22 (Image credit: Mark
Pickavance) Image 14 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 15 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 16 of 22 (Image credit: Mark
Pickavance) Image 17 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 18 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 19 of 22 (Image credit: Mark
Pickavance) Image 20 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 21 of 22 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Image 22 of 22 (Image credit: Mark
Pickavance) Camera score: 4/5 RugOne Xever 7 Pro: performance Older SoC technology GPU issues with OpenGL and Vulkan Battery conundrum

Phone

RugOne Xever 7 Pro

AGM G3 Pro

SoC

MediaTek Dimensity 7025

Mediatek Dimensity 7300

GPU

IMG BXM-8-256

Mali-G615 MC3

NPU

MediaTek NPU 550

MediaTek NPU 656

Memory

12GB/512GB

12GB/512GB

Weight

325g

375g

Battery

5550

10000

Geekbench

Single

940

1026

Multi

2283

3003

OpenCL

136 (Fail)

2560

Vulkan

133 (Fail)

2509

GFX

Aztec Open Normal

19

38

Aztec Vulkan Norm.

18

40

Car Chase

16

33

Manhattan 3.1

33

57

PCMark

3.0 Score

11353

16286

Battery

17h 53m

34h 4m

Charge 30

%

33

25

Passmark

Score

10999

13665

CPU

5367

6927

3DMark

Slingshot OGL

3777

6612

Slingshot Ex. OGL

2600

5123

Slingshot Ex. Vulkan

2665

4822

Wildlife

N/A

3123

Nomad Lite

N/A

347

As I alluded to earlier, I think the wrong SoC was chosen for this phone, and to expand on that, Ive pitched it against the AGM G3 Pro, a remarkably
similar design that uses a more modern chip design.

Initially, it looks like the difference between the Dimensity 7025 and 7300
is modest, at least from a CPU perspective. But when the challenges include any graphics components, the IMG BXM-8-256 is no match for the Mali-G615 MC3 GPU in any test.

Being slower is one issue, but the IMG BXM-8-256 has significant limitations in its implementation of both Vulkan and OpenGL, and as a result, it
partially failed GeekBench tests and could not run Wildlife or Nomad Lite
from the 3DMark suite.

If you dont play games or use any AR/VR apps, then this probably is a non-issue, but for those who do, the graphics capabilities of the phone could be an issue.

Another interesting detail that these results threw up was the battery life, and how the 5550 mAh battery isnt the advantage that one might initially
think for weight saving.

With a single battery, the 17 hours and 53 minutes of running time seems decent and certainly enough to get most people through a working day. With
the second battery in play, that would expand to 35 hours and 46 minutes, an hour and 42 minutes more than the AGM G3 Pro and its 10000 mAh battery.
Except that the 11,100 mAh of capacity that the RugOne Xever 7 Pro has should last at least 11% more than the G3 Pro, where it only lasts less than 5% longer. And, the G3 Pro is only 50 grams more for a considerably larger battery.

I guess the structure needed to accommodate the swappable battery ate up much of the reduced weight advantage, and the newer Dimensity 7300 is more power-efficient than the 7025, so the AGM G3 Pro's battery capacity per mAh lasts longer.

The RugOne Xever 7 Pro still has the advantage that, with extra batteries, it could remain away from charging almost indefinitely, but had it a more efficient SoC, those swaps might have been reduced.

Battery life on this phone is good, but only if you dont forget to bring the extra battery along, and the weight of that and the charging dock does make this heavier to carry than a phone with almost twice the inbuilt capacity. Performance score: 3/5 (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) RugOne Xever 7 Pro: Final verdict

Ive slowly come to the conclusion that something went wrong with the RugOne Xever 7 Pro from the very beginning, when it was realised that the 5550mAh battery wasnt enough for the SoC it should have had.

This is pure speculation on my part, but I think this design was made for a Snapdragon 7 or a Dimensity 8200 SoC, but both consumed too much power. Therefore, the Dimensity 7025 was used instead, with its less-than-sparkling IMG BXM-8-256 GPU.

When you compare this one component to the quality of the construction, the OLED display, the FLIR Lepton 3.5 thermal imaging, and the other camera sensors, these are all at one level, and the SoC is three rungs below those.

Admittedly, a less ambitious SoC extends battery life, but it also makes the RugOne Xever 7 Pro less than ideal for power users, especially if they need graphics performance.

If it had a Snapdragon 7c or equally powerful SoC, then it might more easily justify its asking price, but without that power, this phone seems distinctly overpriced, even if its specifications in other respects are decent. Should I buy a RugOne Xever 7 Pro? RugOne Xever 7 Pro Score Card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Even with an OLED screen, swapable batteries and a Thermal camera, this seems expensive.

2.5/5

Design

Good design thats easy to hold and use

4/5

Hardware

Old SoC technology with poor GPU, but swapable batteries are nice

3/5

Camera

Modern Samsung sensors and FLIR thermals, but no 4K video or optical zoom

3/5

Performance

The GPU isnt good enough, and the SoC isnt as power efficient as it might
have been

3.5/5

Overall

Oddly mismatched components undermine what could have been a great phone

3.5/5 Buy it if...

You need an outdoor phone
The RugOne Xever 7 Pro is a robust design that can withstand being dropped 2M and exposure to water. This makes it ideal for outdoor occupations, adventure vacations and those who are inherently clumsy.

You carry lots of data or apps
With 512GB of storage and 12GB of RAM, this phone is ideal for those who like to carry data and install numerous apps. And with a TF card expansion, you
can go beyond that capacity. Don't buy it if...

You need the best photography
The sensors on this phone aren't exceptional, but they're not rubbish. However, the camera app doesn't allow you to exploit what the sensors can do, and video capture is capped at only 2K resolution.

You use graphics
If you use AR, VR or play games, Id avoid this design, because the GPU isnt great. Its fine for video playback and the interface, but it lacks the raw performance that more modern graphics engines offer. Also Consider

Ulefone Armour Mini 20 Pro.
Another practical, rugged design with an inbuilt camping light, night vision camera and more battery capacity than the RugOne Xever 7 Pro. Its also dramatically cheaper, but conversely, the cameras arent as good, and the SoC isnt as powerful, and it has less memory and storage.
Ulefone also makes the 20T Pro model that also has the FLIR Lepton 3.5
sensor, and its cheaper than the RugOne.

Read our full Ulefone Armor Mini 20 Pro review

AGM G3 Pro
A very similar design to the RugOne, but with a better processor and without the swappable battery capability.
In my review, I complained that it too was excessively priced, but it's cheaper than the RugOne.

Read our full AGM G3 Pro review

For more ruggedized devices, we've reviewed the best rugged tablets , the best rugged laptops , and the best rugged hard drives



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