Only a few days after a leak, Samsung is officially announcing the new rugged smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro is created for frontline workers in different industries. You can say it is an enterprise phone but with a rugged build. It boasts almost premium specs including a long-lasting battery, Samsung Knox protection, and an immersive display as described. Microsoft Teams brings the phone a walkie talkie capability so it’s more convenient and efficient to use in such industries that need constant communication.
According to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, the “powerful combination of Microsoft Teams and the new Galaxy XCover Pro builds on this partnership and will provide first-line workers everywhere with the technology they need to be more collaborative, productive and secure.” Security, productivity, and further collaboration are what the Galaxy XCover Pro delivers. There is no 5G connectivity yet but this one is efficient to use.
The rugged phone is ideal for manufacturing, retail, logistics, and healthcare businesses. These industries require more robust and intelligent equipment and a worker needs the Galaxy XCover Pro as help in his job. The device appears to be light and thin but it really is rugged with its MIL-STD 810G certification and IP68-water and dust-resistant training. The 4050mAh battery may be enough to last the whole day but a pogo-pin support and third-party charging dock compatibility help in providing power when there is emergency or no power in the surrounding area.
It comes with a pair of programmable keys that you can set depending on what action you want them to do. Don’t expect any physical home button because Samsung decided to do away with it. Other specs and features include a large, 6.3” FHD+ Infinity screen that is almost edge-to-edge, touchscreen that can be used even during snow or rain, glove mode, and voice to text message ability.
Samsung has also worked with other companies to provide daily software and hardware solutions for businesses. They are as follows: Visa, Scandit, Infinite Peripherals, and KOAMTAC among others. For retail, there is the Samsung POS working with Tap to Phone pilot program by Visa.
For data security, the multi-layered Knox platform offers encryption and boot- and run-time protection, data isolation, and hardware-backed protection. As with most smartphones, this one also comes with facial recognition and a fingerprint reader.
Samsung will sell the phone worldwide. It will be sold as an Enterprise Edition with the promise of four years of security updates and two years of availability. In the US, Verizon will sell it for $499.