Review: Unihertz Atom is a minuscule phone that packs a lot of power

Disclaimer: We received a Unihertz Atom directly from the company. The device was used as our reviewer’s daily driver for approximately three weeks. In exchange for our review unit, all that was asked was that we placed a link to the device’s website at the bottom of our review.

For a small a device as the Atom phone is, it sure isn’t a slouch in any department. While it is absolutely minuscule compared to the modern phablet-sized devices we see today, the Atom is a surprisingly solid phone. When put alongside my absolutely ginormous Xiaomi Mi 8, the chassis alone is laughably minuscule—the screen is even smaller. Just imagine: a 2.45-inch screen, not a very good movie watching experience.

The Atom is usable, though. While it is running stock android with a tad bit of genuinely useful bloatware, the Atom shows Android’s versatility in moving between devices of different screen sizes. Opting for 8.1 Oreo instead of the gesture-based 9.0 Pie was probably the right decision: I can’t imagine the hassle of performing certain gestures on such a small device.

Under the hood, Unihertz’ Atom sports a solid octa-core processor which doesn’t even hitch when loaded with demanding apps. While not great for our fingers, we played a few matches of PUBG Mobile on medium settings with great performance. It was playable, surprisingly so, although certain elements of the game’s UI were somewhat unusable.

But gaming isn’t the point of the Atom. While it is actually quite fun for quick games of Fire Emblem Heroes, Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links and the odd bout of Candy Crush, its real purpose is to be used as a purely practical device.

Surrounded by a thick rubber protective shell, there’s only one use for the Atom—a device that needs to survive a punishment. Whether you’re a construction worker, marathon runner, cyclist or something else more physically demanding than a games journalist, you’ll probably benefit from having an Atom on hand.

It’s a tough device, and we put it through some harsh punishment. We’ve thrown it, dropped it, stepped on it (accidentally, whoops) and dropped things on top of it. Not only has the Atom survived as well as you’d hope, but it also did it without any deep marks to its chassis or screen. While we didn’t lob the device into a jug of water to test its IP68 rating—we did splash leave it on a wet counter and it survived just fine.

If you wish to use the Atom as a daily driver, it does include all of the modern conveniences that a smartphone should have. NFC, face unlock, fingerprint scanner, headphone jack, USB-C and dual cameras. While the cameras are a bit on the rough side and the internal 2,000 MAh battery may not suit your needs in the long run, it’s a solid device. It is, however, really small.

Unihertz’ Atom is a fantastic little device for the small niche that would benefit from it. This is not a device to play games, watch films, or even mess around on Snapchat, but it is a great miniature piece of tech that doesn’t fail to impress.

If you want to get your own Atom phone, follow this link here.