Smartphones with Thermal Imaging: any thoughts and experience?

[Bicurico]

Hi,

I am wondering (again) if I should get myself a smartphone with a thermal camera.

There are several models, most from somehow obscure manufacturers, you can’t buy in a regular store. The list that interests me (I did not consider older smartphones or those with low screen resolution, under 2160x1080) includes these models:

Cat S62 Pro
Ulefone  Armor 18T, 18T Ultra, 19T
Doogee V31GT (even the brand name sounds little assuring)
Blackview BV9800 Pro
...

The CAT S62 Pro is the most "official" option, you can even buy it at regular stores. However, it has worse specs than the 19T, is a bit outdated, the FLIR module seems to have the same specs and it costs around 600 Euro (out of my budget).

The model I am most inclined to is the Ulefone Armor 19T since it can be bought occasionally for 420 Euro. The problem is, at this price you buy from dodgy sellers (meaning: if you have a problem with the phone, you are on your own). The camera is a FLIR module with 160x120 resolution.

I excluded the Ulefone Armor 18T, because it seems they have an issue with FW upgrade (kernel lock) and as a result these phones brick. With the shipped FW, they apparently reboot themselves a lot. Not sure if this has been fixed on the 18T Ultra. From the little information I researched, the 19T model was a quick fix with a different SoC, though the specs are a bit worse (less CPU performance, worse front camera, and lack of 5G).

The Doogee V31GT has an interesting price vs specs. The thermal camera SEEMS to have 256 x 192 resolution. It can be bought for 520 Euro. Sounds great, but the module is not made by FLIR, but seems a Chinese brand (not saying it is worse because of this, I understand the Chinese government funded thermal imaging R&D due to Covid-19). UPDATE: Just noticed that this thermal module can only cover the range of -15ºC to 150ºC vs -10ºC to 400ºC on the Ulefone FLIR module.

The Blackview BV9800 Pro is the cheapest on my list at currently 400 Euro. All specs are worse than the Ulefone Armor 19T (SoC, RAM, Flash, etc.). No info on the FLIR module resolution. For some subjective reason I cannot explain, I don’t like the phone at all.


Question 1:
Do you guys own any of these (or other) smartphones? If so, what is your general opinion? Do they work? Did they develop some faults (due to cheap base components like the SoC)? etc.

Question 2:
How does the thermal camera perform, compared to stand alone thermal cameras that cost about the same as the whole smartphone with camera?

Question 3:
Considering the life expectancy of a smartphone between 2-4 years, what happens after? Is using the outdated smartphone as a thermal camera functional? If not, why? (i.e. batteries or something I am not thinking off).

Question 4:
I could consider buying a thermal camera module you attach to your phone (available with MicroUSB, USB-C and iPhone connectors). How well do these work? I am not attracted to this option, because I know I won't have the module with me when I need it. Plus, these are almost as expensive as a smartphone with thermal imaging...

Note:

The reasons I am inclined to get a thermal camera are:

1) general interest
2) electronics diagnose to see which components get hot
3) check where the heat in my house is lost
4) trace where (hot) water tubes pass through
5) check for infections on people and cats

Thanks,
Vitor

[Vipitis]

older thread(with recursive old threads linked): https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/any-thermal-rugged-phone-recommendations-how-to-choose-it/msg4158307

* I own a CAT S62 (also S60) and used it several hours every day. The only real issue it has developed over the past 3+ years is that the action button seems to stop working for it's function (I set double press to toggle torch) about 12 hours after a reboot... really odd.
Another red flag is that there never has been promised Android updates. And finally the company behind all the CAT phones, Bullitt Group Ltd has stopped operating just a few months ago(https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7157713764983672832/). That is why you didn't see any new products during MWC this year.
Otherwise I had no issues using it as phone pretty much all day. The microphone can't handle really loud music when recording video - but that is a very niche application.

* The 160x120 Lepton is really limited by it's framerate and also it's software. No custom software works on this generation (works on S60).

* My S60 collects dust on my shelf. I have no extracted the Lepton to use it for monitoring my 3D printer - but that was an idea.

[5U4GB]

Another red flag is that there never has been promised Android updates.

Came here to say the same thing, Ulephone and Doogee at least are established second-tier manufacturers in China but like most of their equivalents you'll get at most one firmware update ever, fairly early on to fix the most glaring bugs, and after that it's unsupported.  So it may be a cheap way to get a nice portable thermal imager, but I wouldn't try and use it as a phone.

[Bud]

Get a separate thermal imager, do not get all in one phone and thermal in one package.

[Bicurico]

Thanks for the feedback - not much, but at least all pending into the same direction.

I gave up, for now.

The smartphone is the most important device I own, next is my main computer. Both provide me with my income and the phone will allow me to entertain my mind when I have nothing better to do.

I stopped buying premium phones (Samsung Galaxy Note), when I realized that they don't offer relevant functionality that is not present inmid-range phones (Redmi Note Pro) at a third of the cost. The advantage is that I am less paranoid with losing, dropping or breaking the phone and it allows me to get a new one every two years, which is still cheaper than a premium phone every 4-6 years.

The reasoning was to spend 150 Euro extra on my phone budget and get one with thermal imaging. I don't get a thermal camera or thermal camera module at this price and it would enhance the functionality of the phone greatly.

That sounds good, but reality is that I would have to buy an even less known brand (Ulefone instead of Xiaomi), would get zero support or updates and from what I read, t hese phones are prone to HW failure (buttons, WIFI, etc.).

Let's see what the future brings.

Cheers,
Vitor

[allsparks]

Hi,

I like the smart phone option, currently 1yr with the Doogee v20pro infiray sensor and I love it, I use the thermal camera all the time, the resolution is fine for most of our work all though generating reports is bit of a issue . I had a Blackview BV9900 pro with the FLIR sensor for the previous phone which did not have the same resolution of the V20 and only upgraded due to having mic issues with it.
I also use the Therm App th which has great thermal resolution but no image mixing and to be honest I have not used it since I bought into the android phones with thermal cameras.

[Vipitis]

rugged phone with embedded thermal camera will be much more durable than a dongle.

[JOE 2345]

I had infiray P2 pro, I think it's good for my daily use.