Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro is a $799 MILSTD, IP68 smartphone with a removable battery

Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro

The Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro is a crossover between a consumer device and something a tradie or warehouse person would use. It is a fully-featured phone for tough environments.

The Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro (Australian website here) looks pretty much like any other smartphone. We use the term crossover because it has the best of both worlds in a phone that would not look out of place on a boardroom table. Let’s leave the boardroom aside for a minute.

What are the unique features of the Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro?

Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro
  • Model SM-G715F-ZKAXSA (model for Australia must have ‘F’ suffix)
  • IP68 means waterproof (1.5m for 35 minutes)
  • MIL-STD 810 means it has ruggedness
  • Gorilla Glass 5 front and back for drop ability – survives 1.6-meter, shoulder-height drops onto hard, rough surfaces up to 80% of the time. Or add a tempered glass screen protector to be doubly sure.
  • Removable 4050mAh battery and pogo pin charging (perfect for fleet use) Talk time: 29 hours, internet/video 14 hours
  • USB-C 2.0 15W 2-hour fast charge (no DeX)
  • Two user-definable buttons – for things like push-to-talk (PTT) or to activate scanning
  • MS Teams PTT compatibility
  • NFC for mobile point of sale solution (mPOS)
  • Hardware (or software) barcode scanning
  • Top service LED (viewable from your pocket)
  • Dual LED flash/torch
  • Decent rear camera 25 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), PDAF + 8 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm, 2X Optical zoom, 1080p@30fps
  • Decent selfie 13MP HDR 1080p@30fps and face recognition
  • Wi-Fi AC dual-band/VHT80 (up to 1.2Gbps), BT 5.0 LE and single-band GPS
  • Side-mounted fingerprint sensor and power button
  • 6.3” 2340×1080, 19.5:9m 409ppi, 600nit high brightness, wide viewing angle TFT screen. Glove setting for the screen. Widevine L1 for HD content
  • Samsung Exynos 9611 eight-core processor
  • 4/64GB UFS 2.0 and microSD slot to 512GB
  • 4G LTE bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41
  • 159.9 x 76.7 x 9.9mm x 218g
  • Android 10, all Google apps and One UI 2.0
  • Country of Manufacture: South Korea
  • Manual
  • 3-year product Lifecycle and 3-year security monthly
  • $799
Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro

GadgetGuy’s take – Samsung are creating a new crossover category – one that is long overdue

As far as specs go, it is a decent smartphone for the price. But what price can you put on the ‘special features? I know dozens of tradies that will covet this, and perhaps Canon’s new TR150 battery-operated portable A4 printer. It is an office in their pocket.

It will sell via relevant Telco’s, distribution and resellers focusing on business. My advice is to seek it out even if you are a sole trader.

I love it for the replaceable battery that should cost under $100. It means that you can get years from this – buy one and charge it, swap it etc.

Samsung has a big winner, especially if consumers get wind of this device. We have requested a review unit.