Sprint and Cat today announced the S48c, a smartphone with military-grade toughness. Designed to handle shock, moisture, drops, dust, altitude, and extreme temperatures, it features a programmable push-to-talk (PTT) button and is compatible with Sprint’s Direct Connect service.
Cat says its phone is intrinsically safe, meaning it can be used in hazardous conditions and environments with flammable vapors. This is a first for the handset maker, and puts the device in a market space of its own.
Cat S48c Specifications
In the past we would find that rugged phones were not synonymous with powerful hardware. That’s not really the case here as the S48c offers up a fairly decent set of specifications.
What’s the difference in Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors?
Powered by a 2.2GHz octa-core (Snapdragon 630) processor, the device has 4GB RAM with 32GB of internal storage. Should you need more room for media, the microSD expansion card slot allows for another 128GB worth of space.
The main camera is a 13-megapixel sensor with an LED flash while the front-facing one has a 5-megapixel lens. What makes these particularly special, though, is that they’ll work just fine under water.
In terms of screen size, the S48c packs a 5-inch full HD display with Gorilla Glass 5 protection. Moreover, there’s wet finger tracking and glove mode, so it’s not only strong and sturdy, but responds to touch in any condition.
Rounding things out, there’s a 4,000mAh battery to deliver upwards of two days of usage per charge. And, while it ships with Android 8 Oreo, Cat has committed to an Android 9 Pie update.
Availability
The Cat S48c will run $480, or break out to $20 per month on Sprint Lease. Look for it in Sprint stores and online starting November 9.
