8849 TankPad review: rugged tablet with 5G, insane battery, and a projector

Rugged tablets are quite a rare species these days. Mainstream manufacturers barely make any Android tablets, not to mention those protected from the elements. As such, if you need something that can withstand some abuse, lesser-known brands are probably your only choice. I got to try one such device—the 8849 TankPad. Here are my thoughts.

Disclaimer: The review sample was provided by 8849 without any review pre-approvals.

What is in the box

The TankPad arrived in a high-quality black box and a good set of accessories. Inside the box, you will find the following:

• The TankPad itself
• All-metal stand that secures with a coinscrew
• An 8849-branded coin (to help you screw in the stand)
• A 66W charger with a Type-C connector
• A USB-C cable
• A spare screen protector (one is pre-applied)

It is nice to see that the tablet has everything you need without additional spending. Even a spare screen protector is included, which is extra nice for a $599 rugged tablet. Here is the spec table:

$599.99 is a lot to ask for an Android tablet, but I feel like standard review rules do not apply here. The TankPad is a niche device with a main focus on ruggedness, long battery life, and a few extra quirks like the projector and camp light. Properly rugged devices are expensive and often not even available to regular users. Here, though, 8849 offers a quite affordable tablet for those who actually need this kind of gadget.

Note: Even though my review unit has Unihertz branding on it, it is actually the 8849 TankPad.

Built like a tank

The first thing that strikes you the moment you unbox the TankPad is its weight. At 1.25 kg (with the stand attached), it feels like a brick—heavy, rugged, and very dense. It is built with a mix of rubberized plastic, metal, and what looks like carbon fiber. The latter adds character, and it looks quite nice for this kind of device, but I suspect it is just stylized plastic.

The kickstand is heavy, and its hinge is super-stiff, so forget about adjusting it with one hand. Pressing hard enough can actually damage your table surface. All four corners, including the projector lens, have additional plastic cushions to absorb shock when dropped. 8849 says the tablet should be good after drops from up to 1.5 meters, or 5 feet. I dropped it a few times, and to be honest, I was more worried about my laminated floor than the tablet—the metal kickstand could do some serious damage when handled carelessly. Funk dancing Android tablets for self-defence? Why not.

The build quality raises no concerns about durability. These are not just tough looks; the tablet feels buff. IP68 and IP69 ratings also mean you can submerge this thing into water all the way to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes, plus it is protected from dust. After swimming in water and spending some time in sand or dust, the tablet can expel water from its speakers and fan using special audio frequency, its vibration motor, and the fan. Pretty cool.

No, I am not going to drive over it with my car like Robbie did in one of his reviews. The TankPad is not rated for such stuff, and I do not enjoy destroying things. In my testing, the tablet survived several drops (intentional and not-so-much) and dives into water, which is more than enough for me. Anything beyond the rated spec is pure lottery and a test of luck. You know how it happens sometimes: Your phone lands on a sofa and now its screen is somehow shattered. Yes, this tablet inspires confidence when it comes to drops and other kinds of abuse, but I do not see a point in smashing it just for the sake of it.

Control elements

TankPad's control elements are pretty rich. You get your standard power button with a fingerprint reader, volume buttons, and two extra function buttons. The latter two are highly customizable, and you can assign three actions to each (single-press, double-press, and long press). I also like that function keys are recessed so that you won't confuse them with the volume buttons. There was probably no need to paint a single button red, but I like it—it adds extra character. In addition to buttons, one of the longer sides of the tablet features the DLP projector and air vents for cooling.

The power button is mounted in the middle of one of the short sides. Like other buttons, it has a good click but is a bit wobbly. Also, the fingerprint reader is not very good—disappointingly, it is way too inaccurate and makes way too many errors. Next to the power button, you will find the SIM card slot, which accepts two nano SIM cards and a single microSD. The slot has a rubber gasket to prevent water ingress.

The left side also hosts an IR blaster that can control your appliances and a focus knob for the built-in projector. Ports are located on the other short side, and they are covered with a flap for extra protection.

On the back of the tablet, you will find two stereo speakers mounted on one side. This is a bit disappointing, considering the TankPad is made for use in landscape mode. Also, these speakers are mediocre at best. At this size and thickness, one would expect a much better set of speakers, but no, these are "flat" and they sound disappointingly tiny.

There is also one 50MP "AI" camera with a flashlight, air intake for the projector fan, and a massive 800-lumen camp light, which can also work as a makeshift police light.

Performance, OS, and connectivity

The MediaTek Dimensity 8200 is an eight-core chip that performs pretty well. The operating system is snappy and mostly bloat-free. It feels mostly stockish with only a few changes here and there, with a small sparkle of additional apps like a remote control and a toolbox with stuff like a compass, siren, etc. They work mostly okayish, but translation is very poor, plus the overall UI feels like something from a third-league Android phone from 2015.

The TankPad comes with Android 14 out of the box with September 2024 security updates. I asked 8849 about future updates, and I will update the review once I know more. Still, do not hold your breath for very good support. Having the September 2024 security update as the latest release in July 2025 speaks volumes about software support commitments.

In benchmarks, the TankPad scores pretty well:

• Geekbench 6: 1,238 single-core, 3,657 multi-core
• Geekbench AI: 1,132 single precision score, 1,069 half-precision score, 2,191 quantized score
• AnTuTu Benchmark: 842,746 points

While it is far from modern-day flagship chips, performance is more than enough for this kind of device. It can play games, and it can play modern media. Just set your expectations right and keep in mind that this tablet's main goal is to be rugged and long-lasting in harsh environments. It is not the right choice if you need a bedtime device.

16GB of RAM was more than enough to keep apps and tabs in memory, and I never experienced any problems with that. As such, I see no need to expand RAM with onboard storage, which will never work as proper RAM.

As for connectivity, the TankPad can work as a standard Android phone. You can call, send text messages, and use GPS (signal reception is on par with modern phones). It supports 5G connectivity, which is also a nice feature to have in a niche device; no corners are cut here, just check if the tablet supports your carrier's bands. There is no earpiece, but trust me on this one, you do not want to hold this 1.25kg monstrosity to your ear. If you're going to make a call, use earbuds or a loudspeaker.

Display

This 10.9-inch display is plenty bright, and it remains somewhat readable under direct sunlight. The standard 1920 x 1200 pixels FullHD resolution is modest by modern standards, but still enough for a sharp image and text. The tablet defaults to a 60Hz refresh rate, but you can crank it up to 90Hz or 120Hz, plus there is adaptive mode, which can drop the refresh rate to 60Hz when inactivity is detected. You can also set a per-app refresh rate, which is useful.

There is not much else to say about the screen. It is far from iPad screen-level quality, but it gets the basics done. As for bezels, this device category mandates larger bezels for durability and comfortable use (if you can call a 1.25 kg tablet comfortable in use), so no complaints here. Viewing angles are probably the only nitpick I have here, as dark images wash away quite noticeably.

Projector and camp light

You can launch the projector with a toggle in the control center or a widget (unfortunately, you can't map the projector to one of the function keys, which is a missed opportunity). It takes a few seconds to launch, during which you will be presented with a poorly translated warning screen. In the world of AI-powered translation, it is odd to see such poor translation, especially in English.

The projector operates at 100 lumens, so make sure you are in a dark environment if you want to get good contrast and colors. You can adjust focus with a knob, and it works as expected. The tablet can automatically adjust the keystone. It works well, and I only spotted a few missteps when the tablet could not properly adjust the image to the projection surface. Cannot say it is a big problem, considering that you have a built-in kickstand, which lets you set the tablet just right for good projection.

I noticed that the best image is achieved within 2-2.5 meters away from the surface. After that, the image quickly loses brightness, contrast and colors. It is a projector in a tablet, after all. The resolution also plays an important role here. At 854 x 480 pixels, you do not want a very big picture.

The camp light is cool and useful. It emits a very bright and warm light (800 lumens), plus you have two extra blue and red LEDs that can simulate police lights. These are also insanely bright, and in a dark environment, they look pretty convincing. I am not sure why you need them (scare away a bear in a forest?), but they are here. Besides, you can pair those lights with a rather rich set of various sirens and probably get an epileptic seizure. The app warned me not to "irradiate my eyes" with the camp light, and I was foolish enough not to listen. Do not repeat my mistake, and do not stare into it.

Cameras

Call me lazy, but I really did not want to test cameras in this tablet—I simply cannot imagine anyone taking photos with a 1.25kg tablet. All you need to know is that the tablet has two cameras: one 50MP at the back (LED flash is here), and one 32MP at the front. The latter has surprisingly good quality, and for occasional video calls, it is more than enough.

The camera app has a very primitive UI and overall feels like something out of a prototype device. Still, it can take images and videos with volume keys, record in 4K, shoot max-resolution images, and even work underwater. The dedicated underwater camera mode disables the screen to prevent accidental presses, which is nice. If you need more, welcome to the Play Store, where there is no shortage of camera apps.

Battery life

The TankPad has a 21,000 mAh battery, which is enough to keep the tablet alive for many hours and days. In normal tablet use with automatic brightness, I get over 30-35 hours of screen-on time in 120Hz mode. With the projector at full brightness, the battery went from 100% to dead in 11.5 hours. With 100% display brightness, the tablet lasted for almost 17 hours of YouTube playback.

You will need a beefy charger to get the TankPad from 0% to 100% without waiting 24 hours. Fortunately, it comes with a 66W charger, which charges the tablet fully in 2.5 hours—pretty good for such capacity. I also like that the charger itself, despite being pretty big, delivers good energy with better-than-average voltage pulsations.

I was very disappointed to see that the tablet cannot charge other devices. When connected to my iPhone, it was actually sipping juice from the phone, not the other way. The same happened with my iPad Pro. With such a massive battery, I expect this tablet to work as a power bank, but no.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a rugged, capable tablet, then the TankPad is a good choice. It can withstand abuse, and it has all the necessities to keep you entertained outdoors. You get the complete package: Good connectivity, fantastic battery life, a decent display, plenty of storage, and some extra bonuses like a compass, projector, camp light, and more. However, skip this one if you need a tablet for a kid or a bedtime device. The TankPad is a niche device, and you must be sure you actually need one before spending $599. For a rugged tablet, the price is very good.

You can get the TankPad from the official 8849 website for $599.