Two very similar phones, both built using the casing that won 2022 durability award (see here): the louder, heavier, cheaper, longer lasting - but slower H5; and the faster, lighter, laser & thermal vision equipped G1S. Here are our impressions after spending a couple of days with each.

g1s+h5

AGM H5

H5 is unique and interesting in a number of ways:

  • It is the first AGM rugged phone with Android 12
  • It has one of the loudest speakers in the world of mobile phones - 109dB (not loudest any more - Ulefone Power Armor 16 Pro wins - at least on paper - by 13dB)
  • It is a solid rugged phone, and it won JerryRigEverything's Smartphone Durability Award 2022 - see here for details and here for the H5 durability test.
  • Considering it has an entry-level Mediatek Helio P35, and a relatively low Antutu score (~108K), it has an reasonable Antutu HTML5 score of 17986. In practice, this means the device should be smooth and fast when browsing the internet and social media, even if it may feel slower e.g. when starting apps or multitasking.
  • The Wi-Fi speeds for both download and upload are around 40-43 Mb, which is ok for Wi-Fi 5, but approximately 10 times slower than G1S when placed 1m away from and access point (behind a concrete wall). When placed 5m away from AP (behind double concrete wall), the Wi-fi speeds were comparable for both H5 and G1S.
  • The night vision camera of both H5 and G1S is supported by a single IR led - acceptable for interior scenes, not impressive in either for exteriors. H5 creates slightly better shots, and the IR led seems to have a marginally stronger light - see comparison of two shots below.

g1s h5 night vision comparison

  • The 7000mAh battery is a big plus if you tend to stay away from chargers for long. Leave it overnight on standby, and you can expect around 1% of battery used in that time.
  • The official data says the device is 85.5mm wide - and, to our surprise, it is the actual full width, including the top/bottom corner bumps. The mid-height, "grip" width is even smaller - 82.5mm. The thickness of the device measured by us is 18mm (lower part) and 23mm (speaker part). The official specification says 23mm, so this is has been a nice surprise.
  • The macro camera seems to be a questionable addition - with 2Mpix resolution we found it of limited use.
  • The main camera performed reasonably well in good lighting conditions, however lack of OIS (optical stabilization - feature not present in any of the TI/NV phones we know) forces you to keep your hands steady to get a sharp shot.
  • Just like the other device, has NFC (e.g. for contactless payments)

See here for specs and reviews of AGM H5.

AGM Glory G1S

G1S stands out with its thermal camera module, but has also other interesting features:

  • It has Android 11, however the "feel" of the UI and the interface seems to be - subjectively for this reviewer - nicer than the newer UI of Android 12 in H5.
  • The screen resolution is higher, with 2340x1080 against 1600x720 in H5. Yet, none of them support L1 DRM, so you can't have full HD Netflix in either.
  • It has a high resolution (256x192) InfiRay thermal imaging module.
  • With virtually identical dimensions of both, it is lighter than H5 (315g vs 360g), at the cost of a smaller battery (5500mAh vs 7000mAh).
  • G1S is thinner than H5, both in the lower part, and in the top section. It has both positive and negative side effects: G1S sits more comfortably in a typical car phone holder, but H5 is much better at protecting the camera lens with the centrally located speaker bump.
  • It has a top-facing laser pointer.
  • It has a much faster processor, and gets almost 3 times higher Antutu score (330K vs 108K), but is two times higher in Antutu HTML5 test (34K vs 17K) - so big win in multitasking, and a smaller win in web browsing comfort
  • Wi-fi6 (ax) makes a huge difference - in Ookla speedtest it turned to be up to 10 times faster. Question is, do you really need those speeds, other than to impress friends?
  • Just like H5, G1S has NFC for contactless payments.

See here for specs and several reviews of AGM Glory G1S.

Speedtest - download G1S and H5

Photos from Glory G1S

IR and main camera, default settings

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cafe_01

Photos from Glory H5

Main and IR camera, default settings

cafe_01
cafe_ir_01

Conclusions

Both phones are unique. Both have good use-case scenarios. Both have pros and cons, and we cannot see a clear winner in all categories. G1S is faster - but it costs twice the price of H5. H5 is heavier - but it has a bigger battery. G1S has higher resolution screen and thermal camera - if you need them. Both are great quality-built rugged phones, both use the same excellent frame which won H5 the award for the best rugged phone of 2022, so in terms of build quality - you should be happy with either. The main differences are features. If you need a thermal camera - go with G1S. If you need a night vision camera - H5 creates heavier processed, less grainy shots. If you are a heavy gamer or multitasker - also consider G1S. If you party a lot, or work in noisy environments, and need a powerful sound - H5 wins. If you are on a tighter budget, and use your device mainly for browsing internet - H5 may be a good choice.

Keep in mind that part of the price is for ruggedness - you can find a regular phone for the same buck, that is faster and smaller. But then, if you don't care about dust-proof, water-proof, MIL-STD-810G/H, IP68, IPK69 - are you sure you are on a right website?

Acknowledgements

We want to thank AGM Mobile Poland for providing us with AGM H5 and G1S devices for testing and review.