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With a waterproof, drop-proof design and a portable battery module, we can see the appeal of the Explore as merely a well-designed phone for people who want a handset that can work in all kinds of weather, including freezing conditions. That’s not to say the Explore is not fit for use by adventurers; it definitely is, and besides, there’s little competition in its niche. Google apps like Chrome, Gmail and Play Store are preinstalled. There’s also an app called Explore Hub with links to a wide range of potentially useful outdoor apps.
The point I’m making here is the Land Rover Explore R doesn’t look modern like a modern phone. But maybe that’s okay, because the phone’s major selling point is its durability and outdoor-readiness. Our personal favorite feature is that it can still work okay in freezing temperatures, from -30°C to 65°C/-22°F to 149°F. Regular smartphones stop working at about 0°C/32°F. For anyone who frequently skis or hikes in winter, that’s a potentially vital feature.However, where Land Rover’s phone stumbles is performance. Its mediocre Mediatek chip leads to underwhelming processing power, and when it comes to camera performance, the Explore comes up short compared to most other handsets at its price. Which is interesting, because I had no idea Land Rover’s new vehicle was an iPhone 4 rip-off: WAY-HEYYYYY! What a great joke. In-box premium off-road mapping voucher, giving a choice of country-wide or custom region topographical maps in many markets.
Brightness, at least, was solid, with the Land Rover phone achieving a maximum reading of 546cd/m2. That’s decent and on par with most recent iPhones but some way behind the class-leading LG G7, which reaches incredibly high 991cd/m2 in its brightness boost mode. In short, you’ll be fine using the Land Rover in most environments, but it might come up short if you’re planning on using it on an Arctic expedition or other extremely bright surroundings. Land Rover Explore review: Performance and battery life We learned only from the press release that the rear camera’s lens is designed like a Land Rover headlight, and that the front-mounted speakers resemble the engine’s grille. Clever stuff, but unless you’re a Land Rover fan, you won’t notice any of that. We didn’t. The Land Rover Explore’s 5in 1,920 x 1,080 display is fine for everyday use but I wasn’t blown away by its performance, at least in terms of its vital statistics. With the Standard colour profile enabled, the phone reproduced only 91.6% of the sRGB colour gamut. That’s by no means shameful but if you’re looking to edit photos of your adventures on your phone, what you see on the screen could be somewhat misleading, with blues and yellows in particular being way off. WLTP is the new official EU test used to calculate standardised fuel consumption and CO 2 figures for passenger cars. It measures fuel, energy consumption, range and emissions. This is designed to provide figures closer to real-world driving behaviour. It tests vehicles with optional equipment and with a more demanding test procedure and driving profile. Although the Explore is trying to be something rather more than the average Android handset, you wouldn’t know it from first glance. Sure, it’s a chunkier design than most, and the 5-inch screen doesn’t go edge-to-edge, but it’s nevertheless a pretty standard look.First things first, the design. The Land Rover Explore R is supposedly influenced by the company’s new Defender. In fact, Jon Sinclair — the business’ Director of Branded Goods and Licensing — says “the Explore R perfectly reflects [the] new Land Rover Defender.” Land Rover is especially popular amongst well-off suburban and city dwellers, many of whom are sold on its “rugged” and “real” branding. It’s not a wild leap of the imagination to think the company could make some cash pushing these underpowered devices onto people with too much money, not enough sense, and a desire to be tough.
Land Rover’s intentions with the Explore are very clear: to create a smartphone for those who spend much of their lives in the great outdoors. When assessed on those terms, it’s a roaring success, oozing style and refinement while boasting practically every mark of robustness and resilience you could ask for in a smartphone. As far as video is concerned, that’s equally disappointing. Although the Land Rover Explore will shoot footage at up to 4k and at 30fps, it does so without video stabilisation. One positive point, though, is that it records 4K using the HEVC video codec, which means your video clips will occupy considerably less space in storage than if they had been recorded as H.264 MP4 files. Land Rover Explore review: Verdict
The phone comes with an Android 9 operating system, which can be upgraded to Android 10. There’s 64GB of memory and a slot for a microSD card to expand this. Inchcape Retail Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is on the Financial Services Register ( https://register.fca.org.uk) FRN 312637. Gerard Mann Limited (FRN 405813) and Chapelgate Motors Limited (FRN 477636) are Appointed Representatives of Inchcape Retail Limited. Although the phone’s display is covered with regular Corning Gorilla Glass 5, and a tough factory-fitted screen protector, Land Rover has worked with the Bullitt Group (which makes the CAT phones) to ensure the display will respond to gloved fingers, even when it’s wet. For mapping the Explore R comes with the OS Maps app and a free 12-month premium subscription. Outside the UK the phone comes with the ViewRanger app. Premium grade, detailed off-road topographical mapping options from ViewRanger with Augmented Reality Skyline feature
The Land Rover Explore is a phone designed for those going off-grid. Or is it? There’s no question that this is one of the best phones around for true outdoor types. In response, Land Rover says this isn’t the sort of activity the phone has been optimised for; instead, it’s been tweaked to deliver the best performance in activities that require GPS and cellular connection in areas of weak signal, so you can keep in touch while you’re out in the wilds. Another highlight of the Land Rover Explore is its ViewRanger app, which allows hikers and cyclists to navigate using off-road topographical mapping in conjunction with that ceramic patch GPS antenna. Figures are shown as a range under WLTP testing measures. The lowest figures refer to the most economical/lightest set of options. The highest figures refer to the least economical/heaviest set of options.Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true 'breadth of capability' across the model range. Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Evoque each define the world's SUV sectors – which is also exported to over 100 countries. The journey towards electrification is already under way with a range of mild and plug-in hybrid models available today. Bluetooth ® is a short-range radio frequency technology that is capable of transmitting voice and data wirelessly. The range for Bluetooth ® devices is around 10 metres, and data can be transferred at a rate of 1 Mbps. Although the modified Android OS is outdoorsy to the core, too many of the key data metrics gathered become unavailable when the phone goes truly off-grid. Critical information like sunrise and sunset times only remain when the phone is refreshing on a data connection; go off grid – which is surely what this phone is for – and key data disappears.
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