Telstra Tough Max 2 Review

The very first thing we did with the Telstra Tough Max 2 was drop it on the floor. Well, we unboxed it first, but we were drop testing it before we even hit the power button. 

Most phones are a case of "handle with care"; precious bundles of glass and metal that can shatter with one wrong move. But when you put "Tough" in your product's name, we take it as a challenge. When you put "Max" in there too, we're definitely going to try and break it.

Maybe spending every single work day writing about technology leads to some pent up rage, but for the sake of this review, let's just call it thorough testing.

Thorough might actually be an understatement.

We stopped short of pegging the Tough Max 2 against a wall or trespassing onto a construction site, but we dropped it over and over and over again. We dropped it on carpet, we dropped it on concrete, we dropped it down our office stairwell. We even ran over the phone with a pushbike. And we repeated it all for posterity.

Every impact added another battle scar to the Tough Max 2's ruggedised retro-futuristic shell, but even as it picked up scuffs and dents, the handset still stood strong. It was a little less pretty then when it first came out of the box - let's be honest, it was never a looker - but it still worked fine. And despite our punishment, there wasn't a single crack on the screen. Not even a hairline fracture or a scratch. (And this was without using the bundled screen protector.)

Other than cosmetic damage, the worst dropping did was dislodge the phone's home button. The Tough Max 2 has a row of physical keys for home, back, and multitasking, as opposed to the software buttons you'll see on most Android phones. Since it's an actual button, we were simply able to snap the flailing plastic back into place.

All up, our Tough Max 2 survived over a dozen significant drops, and another dozen or so smaller drops when we were trying to snap a photo of it mid-fall. And a bike. Most other smartphones wouldn't survive the first impact. 

To be honest, we managed to break the Tough Max 2 eventually. 

After we ran over it with a car. 

Somehow, the phone still works, but it could use a screen replacement. I have no idea how this thing isn't in a million pieces yet. If you're using your Tough Max 2 like a normal person (as opposed to a phone smashing sociopath), it might even outlast you.

In addition to drops onto concrete, the Tough Max 2 can also survive drops into water; it's rated IP67 for water-resistance which means it be submerged to depths a metre for up to half an hour. It's worth noting that water-resistance isn't a permanent condition and can diminish over time. Repeated drops can decrease how water-resistant a phone is, so your Tough Max 2 could theoretically get to the point where it won't survive a swim anymore. But unless you share our sick phone torture fetish, this isn't necessarily something you have to be mindful of all of the time.

Okay, it's tough, but is the Tough Max 2 a good phone?

While the Tough Max 2's greatest strength is undeniably its resilience, it's a decent device that you're not going to hate using as a primary phone. On the inside you'll find modest hardware that's a bit more robust than what you'll find in absolute barebones smartphone. It's not $1,000 iPhone fast, but it day-to-day performance is smooth and almost never frustrating.

It's clear Telstra's actually put some thought into how and where the Tough Max 2 will be used. The display won't blow your mind, but it's more than bright enough to be legible in direct sunlight. Telstra hasn't sacrificed usability in making the Tough Max 2 tough.

The big compromise you'll end up making is photography; the Tough Max 2 simply doesn't have a very good camera. If you've got good lighting, you'll get photos that will look fine on Instagram. If you don't, you'll end up with a result between "okay but unclear" and "blurry impressionist disaster". Avid smartphone photographers need not apply.

One unique feature you won't find on many other phones is an RF port. If you live in a low signal area, you can attach an external antenna, which should theoretically improve your reception. The official antenna accessory will set you back an extra $35.

As the name might suggest, the Tough Max 2 is exclusive to Telstra. You can either get it on a plan, or see if your local Telstra store will sell it to you outright. Given the outright price of $432, we'd recommend going the outright option. It doesn't make sense to pay a phone this cheap off across 24 months. The comparatively affordable price-tag could also make it a good option as a secondary phone for when you need extra durability.

So who's the Telstra Tough Max 2 for?

The Telstra Tough Max 2 is a phone built with a singular purpose: durability. We genuinely believed it would survive being runover by a car. After the punishment we put it through prior, we thought the Tough Max 2 was nigh invincible.

It turns out the Tough Max 2 isn't quite invincible, but Telstra's utilitarian handset is one tough nut to crack. Telstra is pitching the device toward tradies, construction workers, and farmers, but we think it's also a good option for anyone who's a little clumsy or just sick of handling their phone with kid gloves. Or even for your kids. The only major compromise is poor camera quality.

Maybe just learn from our mistakes, and try to ensure the Telstra Tough Max 2 doesn't get hit by a car.

I don't want a Telstra Tough Max 2, what else can I buy? 

This is the point of the review where we'd normally recommend alternative devices that serve the same kind of purpose, but the Telstra Tough Max 2 is the only widely available "tough phone" currently on the Australian market. 

Right now, the best alternative is picking up a rugged case for your smartphone of choice. Otterbox, Griffin, and Lifeproof are reputable manufacturers of tough smartphone cases. 

Telstra Tough Max 2 camera samples 

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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