Best Rugged Smartphones 2019 [UPDATED]

Smartphone became the essential gadget for everyone. Some people need their phone to work when it’s raining and or in a dusty place, while normal smartphones stop working under these conditions. But, rugged smartphones are heavy duty phones designed to be strong, durable and high performance. These indestructible rugged phones will not stop working under rain and dust places or any other harsh environments, such as construction sites and quarries. Here is the list of best-rugged mobiles phones for 2019 you can buy online right now.

These rugged phones are built with military grade very strong materials, so that can last-long in any extreme conditions or even in a drop situation. Rugged smartphones survive more in heavy dust, water, drop situations and extreme conditions.

Best Rugged Smartphones 2019 You Can Buy Online:

Here’s the list of 5 best-rugged phones which are currently available to buy online right now, to fulfil your requirements in outdoor working areas. Most rugged phones are having old hardware specs and older version Android operating system. But, these heavy duty mobile phones are well suitable for business and enterprise customers.

1. Caterpillar Cat S40:

Caterpillar Cat S40 is the best rugged Android phone. Its a cheap rugged phone for those who want to buy Caterpillar device when compared to Caterpillar Cat S60. It has a 4.7-inch display with 540 X 963 screen resolution. Run on older Android 5.1 Lollipop OS. Caterpillar Cat S40 price is about $329 USD.

Caterpillar Cat S40 technical specifications:

• Powered by 1.1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor running at 1.1 GHz.
• 1 GB RAM and 16 GB onboard storage.
• 8 Megapixel primary camera, and 2 MP secondary camera.
• 3,000 mAh battery gives long lasting battery backup.
• The Cat S40 is impervious to dust and is designed to survive falls up to 1.8 meters (about 6 feet).
• The waterproofing features are not strong; it can work underwater up to 1 meter and 60 minutes.
• Cat S40 is the cheapest rugged smartphone.
• This phone is limited to the GSM-based cell networks.
• 7-inch 540 x 960 display.
• Android 5.1 Lollipop.
• Dimensions are 144.9 x 74.08 x 12.45 mm, 185 g.

2. Ulefone Armor:

Ulefone Armor rugged phone priced less than all Caterpillar rugged Smartphones. The device has decent hardware for its price tag. It has a 4.7-inch screen with 1,280 x 720 screen resolution. Runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, powered by a 1.33 GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6753 processor, along with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage. Ulefone Armor priced at $219.99 on Amazon.

It also has a 13 MP rear camera, a 5 MP front-facing camera and a 3,500 mAh battery. This heavy-duty Ulefone Armor with IP68 waterproof standards will work in up to 1.2 meters in water for up to 30 minutes. In fact, the company said, while testing the phone in the lab, it found that phone can go even deeper in water, up to 1.5 meters, and keep working for 30 minutes. The only drawback of the Ulefone Armor is it works only on GSM-based networks.

Honestly, despite being a brand not everyone will be familiar with, when it comes to specs and pricing, this is easily one of the best-rugged phones on the list.

Ulefone Armor technical specifications:

• 7-inch display with 1,280 x 720 screen resolution.
• Runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS.
• Powered by MediaTek MT6753 processor, 1.3 GHz.
• 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage, this can be expandable up to 128GB with a microSD card.
• 13 Mega Pixel front camera and 5 MP front camera.
• 3,500 mAh battery for long-lasting performance.
• 152 x 81 x 17 mm dimensions and 250 g weight.

3. Caterpillar Cat S60:

The Caterpillar is well known for huge construction vehicles and machines, also they are makers of caterpillar rugged phones. Caterpillar Cat S60 is the Best Rugged Smartphone from the company. Cat S60 has some great features which we will not get on any other rugged mobile phone. The main feature is the FLIR thermal imaging camera.

Note: The FLIR thermal imaging camera is designed to show heat that radiates out from locations that are normally invisible to the naked eye.

The Caterpillar Cat S60 camera can be used by building inspectors to find any heat that’s being lost around windows and doors. It can also discover if an appliance like a washing mashing or oven is overheating. It can also find if any moisture is building up in a house where it is not supposed to be. It’s kind of like the Predator’s heat vision but in the real world. Caterpillar Cat S60 price is $625.99 on Amazon.

In terms of hardware specs, the Cat S60 has a 4.7-inch 1,280 x 720 display and Android 6.0 Marshmallow pre-installed. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core CPU running at 1.5 GHz, along with 3 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal storage, a standard 13 MP rear camera and a 5 MP front-facing camera. It also has a large 3,800 mAh battery.

Caterpillar Cat S60 Specs:

• 7-inch display and 1,280 x 720 screen resolution.
• Older Android 6.0 Marshmallow Operating System.
• Powered by 1.5 GHz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor.
• 3 GB RAM, and 32 GB internal storage, this can be expandable up to 128GB via microSD card.
• 13 MP FLIR thermal imaging front camera, and 5 MP front camera.
• 3,800 mAh long lasting battery.
• 9 x 73.4 x 12.66 mm dimensions and 223 g weight.
• The big disappointment is Caterpillar S60 do not support Verizon Wireless.

4. Kyocera Brigadier:

While Caterpillar Cat S40, Cat S60, and Ulefone Armor cannot work on Verizon Wireless. Kyocera Brigadier rugged phone can work on Verizon’s network. This device is priced at $169.95 on Amazon. This phone is made by Kyocera Mobiles.

Kyocera Brigadier can work up to 30 minutes under 6 feet of water. It has IP68 certified against drops and dust. Kyocera Brigadier lacks built quality and latest hardware. The big plus of Kyocera Brigadier is it can work on Verizon wireless network, and it still can compete with any other rugged phone in the market.

Kyocera Brigadier Specs:

• It comes with the 4.5-inch display.
• Runs older version of Android 4.4 KitKat Operating system.
• Powered by 1.4 GHz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor.
• 2 GB RAM and 16 GB of storage, it can be expandable up to 32GB using a microSD card.
• 8 Mega Pixel front camera, and 2 Mega Pixel front camera.
• 3,100 mAh long lasting battery.
• 69 x 0.52 x 5.37 inches dimensions, and 6.56 ounces weight.

5. Samsung Galaxy S7 Active AT&T:

The major Smartphone maker in the world Samsung has released its Android rugged smartphone called Samsung Galaxy S7 Active. This device is exclusive to AT&T networks.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Active devices are having similar hardware specs. Both devices have 5.1-inch QHD Super AMOLED display with 2,560 x 1,440 screen resolution. Both are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor along with 4 GB RAM, and either 32 GB or 64 GB of storage. Also, these devices having 12 MP rear camera and 5 MP front camera. The biggest differences between both devices are its battery capacities and The Galaxy S7 Active has physical hardware navigation buttons on the bottom. Regular Galaxy S7 doesn’t have physical navigation buttons.

The Galaxy S7 Active display is shatterproof up to a drop of 5 feet. It has Corning Gorilla Glass 4 for more protection. The S7 Active has a rubberized body, which makes bulky while compared to the regular Galaxy S7. The rubberized body gives more protection from accidental falls. Unlocked Samsung Galaxy S7 Active priced at $444.95 on Amazon.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Active Rugged Smartphone Specs:

• It has 5.1-inch with 2,560 x 1,440 screen resolution.
• Runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS, there an update to latest 7.0 Nougat.
• Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor.
• 4 GB RAM and 32 GB or 64 GB of storage options, which can be expandable up to 256GB using microSD card.
• There is a 12 MP front camera, and 5 MP front camera.
• 4,000 mAh long lasting battery.
• 8 x 75.0 x 9.9 mm dimension and 185 g weight.

Though, rugged phones are less popular among smartphone users while comparing to other high-end premium smartphones. But we will surely see more rugged smartphones in the market for engineers working in harsh conditions.

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