Kommersant FM columnist Alexander Levy tells how the XCover 5 survived a series of crash tests.
In the general mass of smartphones, the so-called secure options are rare. The more valuable and more important is the ability of each such model for a fisherman, tourist, courier or industrial company that needs such devices for its employees.
Samsung allows itself the luxury of spending money on the development and production of such a niche product. The current generation of XCover is already marked with the number 5. Whether this experience is enough to create a truly secure device, I found out during testing.
The vendor does not indicate the specific goals of using the novelty. But it limits the user’s imagination, based on the presence of large physical control buttons, a gloved touch recognition system, as well as protection from dust, moisture and shock. This is the highest IP68 standard found in smartphones, as well as certification according to the 810th military standard.
Whether this combination of properties helps to avoid the sudden physical death of the device, I tested through a series of crash tests and water treatments. Samsung XCover 5 fell on tiles, laminate, concrete base, asphalt from a height of up to 2 m. In some places the plastic case got chips and small scratches, but the screen came out of these tests in perfect condition. At the same time, almost every time a hard surface was encountered, the back cover was partially or completely opened. This did not affect the survivability of the smartphone, only if you do not imagine that after such a fall it will not be in the water. After all, it is on the back cover that a silicone or rubber contour is applied, it protects the electronics from liquid.
When immersed directly in water, the lid under pressure is pressed even more tightly against the smartphone, and the protection works perfectly. The Samsung XCover 5 also failed to break down with water. The device also successfully survived immersion in the sand. At the same time, I would recommend covering the 3.5 mm audio jack with additional protection, since it is rather troublesome to flush out particles from there.
It is unwise to expect impressive camera performance or perfect TFT images from the XCover 5. But it has connectors for two SIM cards, a removable or, say, a replaceable battery, a programmable separate button on the case, an NFC chip and connectors for charging not only Type-C, but also for industrial docking stations.
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