The Sonim XP3plus 5G ($199.99 at AT&T, $210.00 at T-Mobile) is a rugged feature phone designed for workers who spend all day in hazardous environments, such as construction sites. In addition to its nearly bulletproof design, it packs work-site-friendly features, such as a removable battery, customizable physical buttons, and a locking rear panel, making it easy to recommend. While some might find its throwback operating system a bit limiting and the cameras too simplistic, it handles basic communications as well as any phone we've tested and has a crazy-loud set of speakers to make sure you can hear calls just about anywhere. If you or your business needs a tough flip phone that works as hard as you do, the Sonim XP3plus 5G is hard to beat and our Editors' Choice for basic work phones.

Design: Tough and Textured Plastic

The XP3plus 5G measures 4.84 by 2.36 by 1.14 inches (HWD) and weighs 8.64 ounces, which is larger and heavier than the similarly rugged Kyocera DuraXA Equip ($299.99) at 4.36 by 2.22 by 1.07 inches, 6.81 ounces.

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Sonim builds the XP3plus from plastic, with Gorilla Glass covering its external and internal screens. The side and back portions feature various molded textures and finishes, making it easier to locate specific parts of the phone by touch. The phone is somewhat chunky when closed, but easier to hold when flipped open. 

The two portions of the phone are not symmetrical. The top half is thinner and shorter than the bottom section. Thanks to this design, it requires little effort to open the phone one-handed with your thumb. 

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The front features exposed screws, a camera, a screen, and two external navigation buttons. Sonim also makes a camera-free model available at the same prices. A volume rocker and a dedicated, yellow push-to-talk button are on the left side. A dedicated red emergency key is on the right, as are a USB-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The latter two are covered by an attached plastic door to seal them up against dirt and liquids. 

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The removable battery cover screws into place, leaving two pogo pin connectors exposed for charging docks. Sonim includes a small, flat-head screwdriver in the box. Underneath the rear panel, you'll find a removable battery, a SIM tray, and a microSD card slot. Both cards are secured by locking doors, so they will stay in place even if you drop the phone with the rear panel removed.

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When opened, the XP3plus looks like nearly every flip phone from the past. A small earpiece speaker and screen with a thick bezel take up the top half, while the bottom half features menu buttons, a directional pad with a centered select button, a number keypad, and a large speaker grille. The buttons have shallow travel, but a springy feel.

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The XP3plus has an IP68 rating, which means it is protected against dust and water. It also holds several certifications, including MIL-STD-810H, indicating it can withstand vibration, shock, and extreme temperatures. Further, it is chemical-resistant and can be disinfected with bleach, detergent, or rubbing alcohol. The XP3plus can withstand 1.5-foot drops onto concrete and up to a metric ton of pressure. This phone is built to last.

As for colors, the XP3plus is available only in black.

Displays: Small and Cramped, But Highly Visible

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The XP3plus features two non-touch LCDs: a 1.77-inch monochrome display (160 by 128 pixels) on the front and a 2.95-inch full-color display (480 by 854 pixels) inside. You use the navigation buttons below each screen to navigate the user interface.

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Neither display is sharp, but they serve their function. Indoors or out, they are both visible enough to read messages or see images. Just be prepared to use those nav buttons. The screens' low resolutions mean they don't fit much information, and you have to scroll up and down to read emails.

Performance and Battery: It Works for You

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The XP3Plus is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 processor, paired with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It supports microSD cards up to 512GB for additional space. For comparison, the DuraXA Equip features an older Qualcomm 215 processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage. In real-world testing, the XP3plus dutifully runs all preinstalled apps, and they launch quickly when invoked. The phone doesn't run the typical battery of benchmarks apps we use to assess performance.

Speaking of batteries, although the user-swappable 3,000mAh cell supports up to 15W wired charging, the supplied charger maxes out at 10W. Sonim claims the XP3plus gets up to 30 hours of talk time or 270 hours of standby. In our battery rundown test, where we stream a video with the screen at full brightness, the XP3plus lasted 10 hours and 17 minutes. The DuraXA’s 1,770-mAh battery lasted 6 hours and 2 minutes during the same rundown test. 

Connectivity: 5G for the Future

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The XP3plus is available on AT&T or T-Mobile and connects to their 5G networks (sub-6GHz and C-band). The phone also supports Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, and Wi-Fi 5. It can hold one physical SIM and one eSIM. For comparison, the DuraXA Equip does not support 5G, but does support 4G LTE. Considering 4G networks will eventually shut down, the XP3plus’s 5G compatibility makes it a better long-term pick.

The phone doesn't run wireless speed-test apps, but during my time with it, it easily connected to T-Mobile's 5G network in New York City and provided consistent service throughout the testing period. The same is true of the Wi-Fi radio.

It supports a data-based push-to-talk (PTT) service, but the feature was not enabled during my testing. PTT enables near-instant communication between other PTT-enabled phones in your work setting.

Audio: Ear-Ringing Loudness

Call quality is impressive. Voices sound clear and full in the earpiece. The phone actively improves speech quality as the background noise increases. It does not remove noise entirely, but voices remain easy to hear even when the background gets really chaotic.

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This rugged phone gets loud. The earpiece measured a maximum output of 102.8 dB, and the speakerphone reached a peak of 78.5 dB. For media playback, the volume hit 106.4 dB—loud enough to hurt my ears—while playing Metallica’s “Enter Sandman." Meanwhile, the deep bass notes in our test track, The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” were inaudible. In real-world noisy conditions, this phone is easy to hear. 

Camera: Overly Bright Photos

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The phone has a single 8MP camera, which can only be used when the device is open. Photos have satisfactory detail, while colors are lifted, and some black objects appear gray.

Video capture tops out at 1080p at 30 frames per second, producing video footage with the same characteristics as still images. I found that audio capture is excellent. The XP3plus’s cameras are fine for conveying basic information, like how some pipes are laid out, but its output isn't for the creator crowd.

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Software: Straightforward, Though Limited

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Sonim preinstalls its Proprietary OS, based on Android Open Source Project 14, on the XP3plus. The interface does not resemble any modern version of Android. Instead, the experience parallels those of feature phones from the early 2000s. As an experiment, I tried to install an app through the web version of the Google Play Store. The phone won't allow it. The only customization available is to reassign the default actions for the yellow and red buttons in Settings.

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There are several preinstalled apps, including a calendar, notes, and a web browser. If you were to be given this phone by your employer, you might expect to see a timesheet or scheduling app in the mix. Entering information using the number keypad while mousing around with the directional pad is tedious, but it works. Web pages are viewable, but the screen’s low resolution displays a limited view, requiring a lot of scrolling to read anything past a few sentences.

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While typing, I accidentally tapped the side buttons multiple times, which was frustrating because it took several keypresses to return to my original target. Coming from a smartphone, the XP3plus can feel like a big step down. However, it does everything a feature phone is designed to do, and it does it well.