Samsung Reveals It’s Latest Smartphone Aimed At First Responders And Government Agents

Samsung Galaxy XCover Field Pro is official: in a market where all the main top of the range are made of fragile glass – while offering IP68 certifications, and in some cases even MIL-STD-810G, there is still an important niche of users that goes in search of armored devices, equipped with physical keys and other important bits. 

We are talking about those who work on construction sites or other unusual environments, where the strength of a smartphone becomes the main criteria of choice, where an ugly but reliable device is to be preferred without any doubt to a beautiful but delicate one. This is the niche of the so-called rugged phones, the spot in which the new Galaxy XCover FieldPro just announced by Samsung is being placed.

Unlike many other rugged devices of the XCover family, this time the Seoul company chose to equip the smartphone with high-end hardware. Of course, this hardware does not fall in line with the latest top-of-the-range smartphones but it can match those of 2018. 

The hardware at the base of Galaxy XCover FieldPro is that of the S9, so that means we’ll find the same SoC Exynos 9810 under the hood, flanked by 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable internal memory, an 8MP selfie camera and a rear 12MP camera. 

The display measures 5.1 inches and the device gas a 4,500mAh battery. It has Android Oreo out of the box but Samsung assured the users that it will soon bring along an Android 10 update for the handset. 

It also features some physical keys that are essential for those who want to operate the device even while wearing, for example, work gloves. It has dedicated buttons for push-to-talk and emergency request. 

The phone comes with Band 14 support, also known as FirstNet, a channel used by first responders which is accessed by ambulances, the Chicago police department, the Seattle fire department, FEMA and the U.S Coast Guard, just to name a few. 

For now, there’s not details available on either availability or pricing and it’s unknown if the smartphone will be made available to civilians.