AGM X6 test – outdoor smartphone provides deep insights

The Chinese manufacturer AGM, which stands for “Actions gains memory”, was founded in 2008 and has since focused on the development and manufacture of robust mobile devices for outdoor enthusiasts, people who work in construction or simply like to drop their smartphone. According to the manufacturer, it achieves this through an insightful design and uncompromising quality. For example, we have already been able to take a closer look at the AGM G2 Guardian (our test) and AGM H6 (our test) smartphones and the robust AGM PAD P1 tablet (our test). In this test, you can find out whether the recently launched AGM X6 is also convincing.

AGM presented the X6 in the second quarter of 2024 and places it above the AGM H6 (our review) in terms of specifications and price. The device should impress with an 8-core CPU, 8GB RAM and 128GB main memory. It also features 5G, a temperature sensor, a 50-megapixel camera, a 5000mAh battery and Android 14. As befits an outdoor smartphone, it is also dust and water-resistant in accordance with MIL-STD-810H, IP68 and IP69K. Visually, the AGM X6 is available from € 299.99 * in two different variants, the first of which has a plain black back and the second is a special edition (Phantom) with a transparent back. We are testing the latter today.

Technical data

AGM AGM X6 5G Rugged Smartphone 8GB+128GB Ohne Vertrag Handy Schlank und leicht

AGM AGM X6 5G Rugged Smartphone 8GB+128GB Ohne Vertrag Handy Schlank und leicht

€ 299.99

Lieferung in 1 Werktagen nach Zahlungseingang, Ends on: 26. August 2024

Buy now* eBay

AGM X6 test: Scope of delivery

AGM packs the X6 in a surprisingly large box made of yellow-colored cardboard. On the outside of the box you can see a picture of the smartphone as well as its name, the manufacturer’s logo and the company slogan “Find your Glory”. Two stickers with the technical data and serial and IMEI numbers were also placed on the box.

If you remove the protective film and open the lid, you will first see a white cardboard sleeve containing a quick start guide, stickers and a card with warranty information. Underneath you will find the AGM X6, which has been wrapped in an additional plastic cover to protect it from scratches. AGM has placed a black 10W power adapter and a 1.8 m USB-A to USB-C cable one level below.

AGM X6 test: design and workmanship

Typical for an outdoor smartphone, the AGM X6 also has a robust and high-quality design that complies with the military standard MIL STD-810H and industry standards IP68 and IP69K. This means it is waterproof, dustproof and should be able to withstand impacts from up to 1.5 meters without any problems. This is achieved by the rounded edges of the device, which have been rubberized and given a non-slip texture to ensure shock resistance.

With its dimensions of 174.95 mm x 81.49 mm x 11.42 mm, the device is slightly larger than the AGM H6, but significantly more compact than the Oukitel WP27, for example. The weight of 260 grams is also lower than most outdoor devices thanks to the lightweight materials (plastic, aluminum). Compared to conventional smartphones, the difference is of course still significant and the handling was somewhat unusual during the test period.

Unlike the rubberized edge, the back of the X6 is made of a barely textured plastic that offers significantly less grip. A real eye-catcher on the “color variant” Phantom, however, is the transparent back, which provides deep insights into the built-in technology. The NFC module, the battery and various ribbon cables can be seen, among other things.

On the side, two aluminum elements provide chic design accents. The four side buttons are also made of aluminum. On the right-hand side, we see two buttons for controlling the volume and a power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor. On the opposite side, AGM has placed a multifunction button that can be assigned different functions. When comparing the variants, we like the black version in combination with the silver elements a little better overall.

The general workmanship of the AGM X6 is very good. Nothing creaks or rattles and there are no different gap dimensions. The transparent back is also an interesting design element, but it probably won’t suit everyone’s taste. However, if you are looking for something special in terms of feel, you will probably not be happy with the X6, as the proportion of rubber and plastic is simply too high. However, this applies to almost all outdoor smartphones.

Ports and connectivity

All ports on the X6 are located on the underside. In addition to a USB-C 2.0 port, there is also a 3.5 mm jack socket for headphones. The microphone and a speaker are also installed here. The tray for the SIM or memory card is located on the top. It offers space for two nano SIM cards or one SIM and one microSD card. The earpiece at the top of the display also functions as a second speaker. This means that buyers of the X6 do not have to be satisfied with mono sound.

To establish wireless network connections, AGM equips the smartphone with a Wi-Fi 5 chip that supports the WLAN 802.11a/b/g/n/ac transmission standards. As Wi-Fi 6 compatibility is now also frequently used in significantly cheaper smartphones, the red pencil has also been applied here. Compared to a Galaxy S23, which achieves a download speed of approx. 285 MBits/s with a 300 Mbit/s line, we were only able to measure a maximum of 250 MBit/s with the AGM X6. Certain losses, albeit not major, are therefore to be expected due to the older standard.

Peripheral devices such as wireless headphones or input devices can be easily connected to the X6 via Bluetooth 5.0. The setup process did not present us with any challenges and we were not plagued by disconnections during the test period.

The display of the AGM X6

AGM uses a huge 6.78 IPS display for the X6, which has an FHD+ resolution, i.e. 2460 x 1080 pixels. Considering the display size, the resolution is decent. Unlike the AGM H6, however, the X6 unfortunately does not have a higher refresh rate. The display manages a maximum of 60Hz, which is rather a minimum in this day and age.

Thanks to the use of an IPS display, a solid color reproduction is achieved and the phone boasts good contrast and very good viewing angle stability. However, the maximum brightness is only average, which makes it somewhat more difficult to read in direct sunlight.

A screen protector was also applied to the display of the AGM X6 at the factory. The application was so good that we had to look twice after unpacking to discover the film. However, there were a lot of stubborn streaks that we had to remove with a little alcohol.

Hardware and performance

AGM equips the X6 with the Unisoc Tanggula T750, which is made up of six ARM Cortex A55 @ 1.8 GHz and two ARM Cortex A75 @ 2.0 GHz. An ARM Mali-G57 MC2 chip with a clock speed of 680 MHz is used as the GPU.

As with the AGM H6, the SoC is located in the lower mid-range, but now integrates a 5G or LTE modem and supports LPDDR4x RAM, of which 8 gigabytes are available. Although 5G support is commendable in terms of the price range, it has long since ceased to be a special feature. In addition to the RAM, AGM equips the X6 with 128 gigabytes of main memory, which can be expanded by up to 512 gigabytes using a microSD card.

Compared to other AGM smartphones, the X6 performs slightly better in the benchmarks. This is probably due to the slightly higher clocked CPU cores. Compared to a Samsung Galaxy S10, which is now five and a half years old, the benchmark results are unfortunately not as convincing. The AGM X6 is therefore not a gaming device, but everyday tasks such as YouTube, surfing the internet and similar tasks can be easily mastered with the X6.

Operating system, additional button and temperature sensor

Another positive aspect to mention is that AGM delivers the X6 with Android 14 from the factory and the OS is very close to stock Android. There is also no bloatware and fortunately a virus scan did not find any malware or spyware. Most of the pre-installed apps come directly from Google and there are only a few additional apps that AGM has brought to the device. However, AGM does not provide any information on whether and for how long there will be OS and security updates for the X6 and we were also unable to find any direct information on the security patch level in the system information.

One feature that AGM particularly advertises is a configurable additional button on the left-hand side. This button can be assigned one of five different functions via the system settings. In addition to activating the camera or flashlight, these include playing music, push-to-talk or starting the app for temperature measurement. Unfortunately, it is not possible to fully customize the button.

Another interesting feature of the AGM X6 is the built-in temperature sensor on the back, which is part of the camera module. The app required to use it is already pre-installed and does not require an account. After a brief explanation, you can get started straight away. The forehead, wrist and objects can be measured. All measurements are also recorded and can be viewed again and labeled. The measured values appear realistic.

The cameras of the AGM X6

The camera module of the AGM X6 protrudes slightly from the housing and is positioned in the middle. It is also slightly set off by a silver aluminum ring. Where at first glance you might think there are three camera lenses, there is in fact only one camera with 50 megapixels. Unfortunately, AGM does not provide any information about the built-in sensor in the technical data. AGM also installs an LED flash and a sensor for temperature measurement.

The following photo gallery shows three motifs that were photographed with the AGM X6, a Samsung Galaxy S10 and a Samsung Galaxy S23. The photos of the AGM X6 are brighter in comparison, but appear somewhat paler and washed out in places.

In addition to the comparison subjects, we have also taken further shots of various scenes with different lighting conditions. Unfortunately, these also show that the AGM X6’s camera is nothing special. Once again, there is a lack of sharpness and some objects appear overexposed and washed out despite normal lighting conditions. Unfortunately, it is hardly possible to take follow-up shots with the AGM X6. The images lack contrast and sharpness.

The X6’s camera only has a digital zoom with 1x, 2x, 3x and 5x settings. We don’t need to tell anyone that a digital zoom significantly degrades image quality. Nevertheless, we wanted to mention the possibility at least once. An example with all four levels is shown below.

Videos can be recorded with a maximum resolution of 1080p at 30 frames per second. Unfortunately, the AGM X6 also lacks an image stabilizer. This quickly leads to camera shake, especially in low-light shots, and requires a steady hand, or better yet, two.

With 16 megapixels, the front camera takes high-quality selfies and also has a sensor for facial recognition. Like Face ID, this can be used to unlock the device. Face recognition was quick to configure and worked very well and quickly during our test.

Battery life of the AGM X6

The AGM X6 is relatively thin for an outdoor smartphone. As a result, there is not quite as much space for the battery. However, with a capacity of 5,000 mAh, it is on a par with numerous Android flagships or smartphones with a similar display size. However, other outdoor smartphones from the manufacturer, such as the H5 Pro and the G2 Guardian, were equipped with batteries of up to 7,000 mAh.

In the PCMark 3.0 Battery Life Test, the AGM X6 achieved a battery life of 13.5 hours with a display brightness of 200 cd/m², activated WLAN and Bluetooth. The battery was charged to 100% and the test ended automatically when the charge level fell below 20%. The result is rated as a very good value. Depending on how it is used, the AGM X6 could therefore get by for two days or more without a power socket. In stand-by mode with WLAN and Bluetooth activated, the device lost around 4-5% battery per day. If we roughly extrapolate this value, we would get a standby time of up to 20 days.

The AGM X6 can only be charged via USB-C 2.0 with a maximum of 18 watts, which of course takes a correspondingly long time. AGM has not implemented a wireless charging function for this outdoor smartphone either. However, a suitable 10W power adapter including USB-A to USB-C cable is included in the accessories package. Charging from 20% to 100% took around two hours with this power supply unit.

AGM X6 test: Conclusion

With the X6, AGM has developed a decent and durable outdoor smartphone that remains relatively compact despite its class and also looks quite stylish thanks to the transparent back. It also comes with features such as dual SIM support, space for a microSD memory card (if a SIM slot is omitted), eight gigabytes of RAM, a 5G module and an up-to-date, stock Android 14 without annoying bloatware. The X6 also impressed us with its very good battery life, fingerprint sensor and well-functioning facial recognition.

The last main feature of the AGM X6 is of course its resistance to shocks, water and dust. Not only does it comply with the military standard MIL-STD-810H and the industry standard IP68, AGM also advertises IP69K certification, which is currently the highest standard for protection against dust and water.

Unfortunately, there are compromises to be made in terms of general performance. The lower mid-range Unisoc Tanggula T750 Octa-Core is therefore only suitable for simpler tasks such as browsing, YouTube or casual gaming. In addition, the built-in 50MP camera is average at best and its images appear blurred and washed out in places. The lack of image stabilization also presents buyers with major challenges when taking moving images. Although the large IPS display has a decent resolution overall, good color reproduction and a high viewing angle stability, it is weak in terms of maximum brightness and only has a refresh rate of 60 Hz.

The built-in temperature sensor, on the other hand, makes a good impression and is an interesting feature. However, we don’t see this as a real selling point. In the targeted price range of around €300, the AGM X6 offers a good overall package for € 299.99 *, but is likely to struggle with the strong competition, as it often has the edge, at least in terms of performance and camera quality. However, these devices are usually less robust.

AGM AGM X6 5G Rugged Smartphone 8GB+128GB Ohne Vertrag Handy Schlank und leicht

AGM AGM X6 5G Rugged Smartphone 8GB+128GB Ohne Vertrag Handy Schlank und leicht

€ 299.99

Lieferung in 1 Werktagen nach Zahlungseingang, Ends on: 26. August 2024

Buy now* eBay