Samsung's Galaxy XCover 5 is its newest rugged smartphone

Samsung Galaxy Xcover
Samsung Galaxy Xcover (Image credit: Samsung)

What you need to know

  • Samsung today announced the Galaxy XCover 5.
  • It's a phone that's tailored for field and factory workers, with shock absorption and waterproofing to match.
  • The new handset is coming to select markets in Europe, Latin America, and Asia sometime in March 2021.

Samsung today announced its newest handset, the XCover 5. It's another rugged smartphone in the XCover line that's the furthest thing you can imagine from the elegant and comparatively delicate Galaxy S21. Its whole thing is durability and toughness. So forgot the glass, this is built with enhanced shock absorption, aimed at surviving drops of up to 1.5, meters. Its also IP68-rated for dust and water resistance so it can endure being submerged in water for more than 30 minutes.

This also isn't the type of phone to ship with excessive amounts of RAM and internal storage, it's powered by an Exynos 850 processor, with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. At the front, you'll find a 5.3-inch HD+ TFT display. Aroudn the rear, there'a single 16MP camera for capturing images and scanning documents, and a 5MP front camera for video conferencing and face recognition. Finaly, there's a user-replaceable 3,000 mAh battery so buyers can stay away from chargers for longer.

Mark Notton, Senior Director of Mobile Product Portfolio, Samsung Electronics Europe, said:

At Samsung, we are rapidly investing in technology that delivers efficiency and durability for field and factory-focused businesses as they become increasingly mobile. The Galaxy XCover 5 is a device that addresses the challenges employers in the field often face, from ensuring protection of sensitive material to durable use in any environment. Whether on the factory floor or in extreme heat, rain or snow in outdoor conditions – it can keep up with the demands of the job, while improving productivity and increasing collaboration to make day-to-day work easier and more efficient.

The XCover 5 will be available on sale from March, and it'll come to markets in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Samsung hasn't specified which, but seeing as it launched the XCover Pro in Finland, we can assume that's included. South Korea is a given, and we expect more specifics to come out as the launch date approaches.

Michael Allison