Best Rugged Smartphones
Counting down the top 10 toughest rugged smartphones from an engineers’ point of view.
We asked 51 engineers this question: What are the top 3 toughest smartphones that you have used in the last 10 years?
The respondents’ answers varies upon the nature of their work, geographical location and weather conditions.
Among the respondents, 91% of the civil engineers has the same answers. This is probably because the nature of their work require a robust quality that can absorb shocks from accidental drop, and should withstand dusts and a brand associated with construction.
69% of biomedical engineers opted for smartphones that can self disinfect such as copper metal material which is currently being use in hospital toilets, door handles and bed frames.
While 42% of the mechanical engineers that we surveyed like different kinds of smartphones that can withstand vibrations and easy to clean.
We have chosen engineers with diverse background in mission critical operations such as power, water, utilities, oil and gas, construction, heavy industries and military facility management.
These engineers are based in various locations: Dubai, Houston, Johannesburg, London, Manila, Mumbai, Osaka, Riyadh and Sydney.
The branch of engineering includes civil, geodetic, mechanical, metallurgical, electrical, HVAC, chemical, biomedical, industrial, computer and electronics.
Counting down the top 10 toughest rugged smartphones according the engineers.
10. Land Rover Explore rugged smartphone
Price: $479.00
Where to Buy
What makes this smartphone one of the toughest?
Finally Land Rover made a waterproof phone.
The award-winning Land Rover Explore: Outdoor Phone has been made to help you explore further, for longer and with added confidence.
Find new routes, tracks, trails and paths with a durable phone that’s waterproof, drop tested and built to withstand extreme temperatures from the mountain to the surf, with a battery that won’t cut your day short.
Would be cool if it could get run over by a Land Rover and still works.
Specifications & Features:
- Dual-SIM (Nano-SIM), Network Compatibility : SIM CARD 1 [ 2G GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 and/or 3G 850(B5) / 900(B8) / 1900(B2) / 2100(B1) and/or 4G/LTE 800(B20) / 900(B8) / 1800(B3) / 2100(B1) / 2600(B7) ] and SIM CARD 2 [ 2G GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 ]
- 5″ TFT FHD (1920×1080) optimised for outdoor use with sunlight readability, Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- 64GB ROM, 4GB RAM, Expandable storage via microSD
- MIL SPEC 810G, IP68, Android Nougat (update to O), Deca Core 2. 6GHz 64 Bit MTK Helio X27, 4,000mAh Non removable Lithium Ion, Rear Camera :16MP with PDAF, dual LED flash, Selfie Camera : 8MP
9. Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro rugged smartphone
Price: $759.00
Where to Buy
What makes this smartphone one of the toughest?
Galaxy XCover Pro is a Beauty and a Beast. The XCover Pro is built for business without sacrifice, equal parts beauty and beast.
Military-grade phones – Built to stand up to challenges the real world dishes out without sacrificing on experience. The Galaxy XCover Pro withstood all 21 of the MIL-STD-810G tests in addition to withstanding repeated 1.5M drop tests. Plus, these rugged smartphones have an IP68 rating giving them resistance to dust, dirt, sand, and water.
Specifications & Features:
- Dual-SIM, Network Compatibility
- 5.0 inches, PLS TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 720 x 1280 pixels
- 32GB Storage, 3GB RAM, Up to 1TB microSD Card slot, Android 9.0 (Pie), Exynos 7885 (14 nm), Octa-core (2×1.6 GHz Cortex-A73 & 6×1.6 GHz Cortex-A53), Mali-G71 MP2
- Primary Camera : 16 MP, f/1.7, PDAF, LED flash, HDR, panorama, 1080p@30fps | Front Camera : 5 MP, f/2.2
8. Ulefone Armor 7 rugged smartphone
Price: $86.95 – $186.37
Where to Buy
- Buy this on Amazon
- Buy this on Banggood
- Buy this on GearBest
- Buy this on Lazada app
- Buy this on Lazada website
- Buy this on Shopee
What makes this smartphone one of the toughest?
The first Android 10 OS rugged phone in the world, it will brings you more smarter and simpler operation experience,well protect your privacy and security. Armor X7 is alos a global 4g unlocked rugged phone, which will guards you to travel all around in the world.
Specifications & Features:
- IP68/IP69K protection grade – Freely use the phone despite wet or dusty environment
- 5-inch HD Screen – To bring high color saturation and good hand grip feeling, support one-hand operation.
- Full Protection – Built by soft TPU and aluminium alloy reinforced polycarbonate material
- User Customized Button – Single press to record, open flashlight, cut screen-shoot and more functions.
- GPS + Glonass + Galileo – The satellite navigation systems provide you with more accurate positioning and fast positioning speed.
- 4000mAh Long-lasting Battery – The big battery prolongs your outdoor activities without the risk of battery failure.
7. Blackview BV9500 Pro rugged smartphone
Price: $285.18 – $408.56
Where to Buy
- Buy this on Amazon
- Buy this on GearBest
- Buy this on Lazada app
- Buy this on Lazada website
- Buy this on Shopee
What makes this smartphone one of the toughest?
10000mAh Battery, Wireless Charging, 5.7Inch Screen, Dual Sim, 4GB Ram+64GB ROM, Dual Camera
Specifications & Features:
- Helio P23 (MT6763T) octa core 64bit up to 2.5GHz CPU, high performance, combine with 6GB+128GB, run faster and operate more smoothly.
- 5.7 inch FHD+ IPS 2160*1080 screen, 3-generation Corning Glass, 18:9 ratio, full angle, 16.7M color temperature display, big view, vivid color.
- 13.0MP S5K3L8 FF 1/3.06 inch 5P front camera, clear for video chat and selfie.
- 16.0MP IMX298 AF 1/2.8 inch 6P + 0.3MP GC0310 1/5 inch 2P+1R dual back cameras with flash light, good for taking clear pictures.
- Powered by 4.4v 10000mAh high capacity Li-ion polymer battery, charged by 9V 1.5A, support wireless charge.
6. OUKITEL WP5 rugged smartphone
Price: $102.26 – $149.99
Where to Buy
- Buy this on Amazon
- Buy this on GearBest
- Buy this on Lazada app
- Buy this on Lazada website
- Buy this on Shopee
What makes this smartphone one of the toughest?
Android 10 Smartphone, 8000mAh Battery, IP68 Waterproof, 5.5″ HD + 4GB 32GB, Face ID Fingerprint, Triple Camera
Specifications & Features:
- CPU MT6761 4-core, GPU IMG GE8300 @ 550 MHz
- RAM 4GB, ROM 32GB
- Operating system Android 9.0
- Face ID+Fingerprint
- Certification Standards: IP68 Waterproof / MIL-STD-810G
- Battery 8000mAh(type-c)
- Quick Charge 5V/2A
- Type 5.5”HD+ 18:9 Corning Gorilla Glass
- Resolution 720*1440 Pixels, Touch panel 5 Points Multi-point Touch
- Rear Camera 13MP+2MP+2MP Rear camera and
- Front Camera 5MP Front camera
5. Ticwris Max rugged smartphone
Price: $135.99 – $259.63
Where to Buy
- Buy this on Amazon
- Buy this on Banggood
- Buy this on GearBest
- Buy this on Lazada app
- Buy this on Lazada website
- Buy this on Shopee
What makes this smartphone one of the toughest?
2.86 inch SmartWatch rugged phone
Specifications & Features:
- 8.0MP HD video call, face ID unlock
- Large HD dial, 2.86 inch, 480 x 640 resolution
- Large battery 2880mAh, 5 – 7 days long standby time
- Large capacity 3 + 32G, support to download various APPs, run more smoothly
- Noise-free HD 4G call
- IP67 professional waterproof
- Support multiple languages, compatible with more countries and populations
4. CAT S61 rugged smartphone
Price: $679.99
Where to Buy
What makes this smartphone one of the toughest?
Thermal screening smartphone with embedded FLIR Technology – Compatible with the SAF/EST thermal screening app.
Specifications & Features:
- Single SIM 64GB
- Integrated FLIR Thermal Imaging Camera
- 10,000mAh Rugged Power Bank
- CAT S61 Hybrid Case
3. Unihertz Atom rugged smartphone
Price: $350.00
Where to Buy
What makes this smartphone one of the toughest?
The smallest 4G rugged smartphone in the world
Specifications & Features:
- Smallest 4G Rugged Smart Phone
- 4GB RAM, 64GB ROM
- Fingerprint Scanner
- Type C
- Super Mini 4G Cell Phone Android 9.0 Pie
2. Doogee S95 Pro rugged smartphone
Price: $359.99 – $530.24
Where to Buy
- Buy this on Amazon
- Buy this on GearBest
- Buy this on Lazada app
- Buy this on Lazada website
- Buy this on Shopee
What makes this smartphone the toughest?
48MP AI Triple Rear Camera Helio P90 Octa-Core 6GB+128GB, 5150mAh Global 4G LTE Cell Phones Android 9.0 IP68 Waterproof, 6.3-inch FHD+, NFC, Wireless Charge
Specifications & Features:
- OS: Android 9.0
- CPU: MTK, Helio P90, 2xCortex-A75, 2.2GHz & 6xCortex-A55, 2.0GHz
- SIM Card:Dual Nano Cards
- Display: 6.3″ IPS 19:9 Waterdrop Full Screen FHD+Display
- RAM: 8GB Front camera: 16MP f/2.0 80* Wide-angle
- ROM: 128GB Rear camera: SONY IMX586 48MP+8MP+8MP f/1.8+f/2.4 Wide-angle LED Flash
- Battery: 5150mAh Support Wireless Charging
- External Storage: Micro SD Card(T-Flash Card)up to 256GB
1. CAT S48C rugged smartphone
Price: $497.99
Where to Buy
What makes this smartphone the toughest?
Thermal screening smartphone with embedded FLIR Technology – Compatible with the SAF/EST thermal screening app.
Specifications & Features:
- Battery life: Improving your phone’s battery life is one less thing you need to worry about, thanks to the range of Cat rugged phones designed to let you be connected, even in remote locations, far away from electrical outlets.
- Rugged: Drop proof & shockproof, Cat® phones are made to be rugged and tough. Built to Mil-Spec 810G, with IP68 and IP69K ratings, they will keep you going all day
- Waterproof: Cat phones are designed to perform to high standards even in the wettest environments. With wet finger tracking, you can use the screen in the rain or when wet
- Integrated Thermal Imaging: Embedded thermal imaging camera
⋅ Detect temperature up to 100ft
⋅ Measure temperatures from -20°C degrees to 120°C degrees - Drop Proof: ll Cat phones are drop tested onto concrete from up to 1.8m (6ft) to prove their rugged credentials and the Cat S60 is reinforced with a strengthened die cast frame to withstand big drops.
- HVAC Indoor Air Quality Monitor: Measure temperature, humidity and the levels of indoor air pollutants in your environment
- Laser Assisted Measure: Estimate-level accuracy up to 8 metres
- Dust Proof: Cat phones offer a range of smartphones and mobiles made to be dustproof, rugged and built to survive. The design and rugged features of the Cat S41 and Cat S60 are IP68 certified, ensuring protection against dust that may harm the equipment.
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