Oukitel WP33 Pro 5G smartphone review – Massive workhorse with unusual features

The Oukitel WP33 Pro is a 5G cell phone that can also be used when traveling thanks to its numerous supported frequencies in the LTE and 5G range. Practical: On the website you can read under “Frequencies” which providers the phone is guaranteed to work with in many countries. During our two-week test phase, the cell phone reception was always at a good level in numerous spot checks but did not reach the level of high-end smartphones.

Wi-Fi networks can be accessed at a maximum of Wi-Fi 5 speed, and there are certainly better-equipped rugged phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy XCover 6 Pro or the Nokia XR21. A gigabit internet connection cannot really be utilized with our test device, but the device achieves the usual data throughput for its equipment, which remains very stable throughout the test.

The system is based on Android 13, Oukitel does not change much here either and only pre-installs a few of its own apps and no third-party advertising apps. The security patches are from November 2023 at the time of testing, so they are no longer completely up-to-date. There are supposed to be sporadic updates for 3 to 5 years, not exactly a reliable statement for buyers.

It is annoying that there is no Widevine certification, which means you cannot watch streaming content from the major providers in high quality.

If you hold the phone in your hand for a long time, the heavy weight can cause arm fatigue. However, it is generally very easy to use and the touchscreen is precise, while the sensitivity is ok right up to the corners. There are two hardware buttons for volume control, which are quite far apart. This is a clever solution, as you can feel and operate them easily even when wearing gloves.

The other hardware buttons are also quite large and easy to find: There is a freely configurable button on the left-hand side of the housing, which can be assigned to the flashlight or a sound recording, for example. If desired, it can also simply start a selected app.

On the right is the standby button, which also contains the fingerprint sensor for biometric unlocking of the phone. Unlocking works very reliably and quickly when touched. Conveniently, you can even trigger some special functions by touching the fingerprint sensor if you want to: for example, you can quickly access the home screen or answer calls. There is also facial recognition, which works reliably but is not quite as secure due to the pure 2D recognition via the front camera.