Cat has launched another rugged, super-tough smartphone with a thermal imaging camera, and the S62 Pro is Cat's best handset yet in most categories – certainly in terms of speed, style and optics.
While the Cat S62 Pro doesn't do anything significant that previous Cat phones haven't, it upgrades both the specs and the aesthetics of the device to instantly make it one of the most appealing devices in the Cat range.
The headline feature is once again that thermal imaging camera, now with four times the pixel capture capabilities than previous models. The FLIR Lepton technology installed in the camera module promises a higher and sharper resolution for identifying hot spots and cool areas in the range of -20°C (-4°F) to 400°C (752°F).
In terms of the phone's ruggedness, it passes the MIL-STD-810H military standard for toughness and durability, with an IP68 rating for dust, dirt and sand. It can survive drops of up to 1.8 meters (nearly 6 feet) onto steel, and 35 minutes underwater at a depth of up to 1.5 meters (nearly 5 feet).
Elsewhere there's a 5.7-inch, 1,080 x 2,160 pixel LCD screen, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor, 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage, which you can expand via a memory card. Those aren't top-level specs, but they're decent enough considering everything else you get with the phone. There's a standard single-lens 12-MP rear camera, an 8-MP selfie camera, and a 4,000-mAh battery that supports fast charging.
Android 10 is on board, currently the latest version of Google's mobile operating system, and you get all of this for US$749. That makes it pricier than many mid-range phones, but considering the protection and thermal imaging features you get, it seems a very competitive price overall.
Cat brand owner Bullitt Group is calling this the ultimate work phone – for monitoring machinery and making field recordings, for example – but it might also appeal to consumers who need a really tough phone and would appreciate some useful extra features on top. It's certainly different to most of the handsets on the market.
Despite all of the tech on board, the Cat S62 Pro comes across as reasonably stylish as well, and it certainly looks as though it means business: there's a rubberized shell and Gorilla Glass 6 on the front. The phone comes with a two-year warranty and three years of software updates.
Product page: Cat S62 Pro
