Samsung hangs on to the cell - new rugged phone with removable battery

[williamcll]

While everyone is focused on the lite galaxy models, the company's nordic division has announced a new phone with a LCD screen, IP69 and mid-range specs. 

Quote

Samsung's "Galaxy XCover Pro" seems to be bringing back the company's line of rugged smartphones, but this one is more than some extra protective plastic slapped onto an existing design. The phone has—get this—a removable battery, a feature that has all but disappeared from the market. There are a handful of very low-end smartphones that still have removable batteries, but as a mid-ranger, this would be the highest-end removable-battery phone on the market.

 

It's hard to say if the XCover Pro is currently official or not. Samsung's Nordic division posted a CES press release that detailed the never-before-seen XCover Pro, complete with specs and pictures, alongside several other previously announced phones. A later update scrubbed all mention of the XCover from the press release. The release said the phone would be for sale in Finland on January 31 for €499 ($554), but since the release was pulled, it's unclear if that is still accurate. Samsung Nordic listed the phone with a Samsung Exynos 9611 SoC, an eight-core, 10nm chip with four Cortex A73 cores and four Cortex A53 cores. This would make it a mid-range phone on par with the "Galaxy A" series. The phone has 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage that's expandable thanks to a microSD slot, and that sweet 4050mAh removable battery.

 

The display design is... interesting. The display is a 6.3-inch 2400×1000 LCD, which is strange, as most Samsung phones use the company's OLED panels. Like most modern Samsung phones, this device also has a circular cutout in the display for the camera, and while this makes sense on devices with slim top bezels, the XCover's top bezel seems like it would have had plenty of room for a camera.

 

As a rugged phone, the device has a IP69 water and dust resistance rating, and it has been "tested to withstand a drop of 1.5 meters." Other unusual features include a push-to-talk button, which looks to be the big, orange button on the side of the device. This button and the button on the top of the phone probably also count as the "two programmable buttons" mentioned in the press release. There is a fingerprint reader on the side of the device somewhere, probably integrated into the power Button. The rear has two cameras, one 25MP and another 8MP camera, while the front has a 13MP sensor. The biggest downside of the device seems to be the software, which is running nearly 1.5-year-old Android 9 Pie instead of the newer Android 10.

 

With Samsung Nordic being the only source for official info on this device, it's hard to say where it will end up for sale. A report from WinFuture.de claims the phone will see wider European availability in February. The XCover Pro has already visited the FCC, so a US release seems likely.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/01/samsungs-galaxy-xcover-pro-brings-back-the-removable-battery/

https://suomimobiili.fi/samsung-esitteli-kestavan-galaxy-xcover-pro-alypuhelimen-suunniteltu-karuihin-olosuhteisiin/

https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_xcover_pro-pictures-10001.php

Thoughts: It's not bad, but a 855/+ equipped galaxy S10 active would be a lot cooler. 

[Dabombinable]

And the price will be a killer here in Aus. This is exactly what my Mum has been wanting as an upgrade from her S5 (removable battery is a must - period). Problem is of course...it'll cost a large fraction of her work tablet.

[Arika]

They have a bezel but still wanted to stick their infinity o on it

[maartendc]

I would buy this.. if only Samsung was better with their software support for Android.

 

This goes a long way towards a more "sustainable" phone that you can keep for longer due to battery replacement....

 

But sadly that only works if you also get sufficient software updates.

[mr moose]

8 minutes ago, maartendc said:

I would buy this.. if only Samsung was better with their software support for Android.

 

This goes a long way towards a more "sustainable" phone that you can keep for longer due to battery replacement....

 

But sadly that only works if you also get sufficient software updates.

 

The world needs a universal rating system for gauging the environmental friendliness of a device, something that balances longevity/repairability to the materials used in it and how easily it can be recycled.   A device that can easily last 10 years with updates on minimal replacement parts should score higher than a device you can't fix and have to replace after 3 years.

[TrigrH]

39 minutes ago, Arika S said:

They have a bezel but still wanted to stick their infinity o on it

I was pretty interested till i saw punch hole camera  

[TVwazhere]

>Sees new phone

>*Ctrl+f* h-e-a-d-p-h-o-n

>0/0 results

 

Hmm......

[TechyBen]

3 hours ago, TrigrH said:

I was pretty interested till i saw punch hole camera  

Same. Everything shouted "my next phone", and yes, that would replace a *Note 9* with a phone like this... then I saw they wasted opportunity by cutting a hole in a beautiful screen (I only partly forgive them for rounding off the corners!).

 

Probably price/cost savings as it uses existing stock of the infinity o screens.

[NumLock21]

Samsung always has a rugged version of their galaxy s whenever one of their new product launches, but I believe they stopped a while back. Glad they decided to release a new one. 
 

[Bombastinator]

If I hadn’t abandoned the android platform because of spyware issues I would buy this.  Removable batteries just win.  Buy two and a charger and you can totally recharge a phone in seconds.  Lack of removable battery is the biggest thing I dislike about my current phone.

 

If its a choice between no headphone jack or removable battery it’s a narrower choice though. I’m going with removable battery because I don’t really use headphones.  If it had both it would be harder to argue with.  At the end of the day it’s biggest problem is it still runs android, and android phones home.  It’s definitively better hardware.  This defines the problem I have with smartphones atm.  A lot of android phone makers are making hardware that is better than Apple in different ways.  The problem is the OS is crap because it’s spyware.

[jiyeon]

7 hours ago, williamcll said:

Galaxy XCover Pro

I think I prefer the Samsung Galaxy Active moniker.

[redbread123]

this is sad, where a removable battery is a feature. ffs. like same thing with audio jacks, and people will call the portless iphone, inovAtIOn, 0 practicality the phone market is just depressing

[markr54632]

I get the feeling that they designed this intentionally so that it will not sell well with it's intended audience.

 

If trends keep going the same way I will be buying a cheap xiaomi or comparable and swapping out once a year when it breaks.

[Bombastinator]

48 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

Actually its Google services and rogue apps that are the spyware

 

But not if I can help it. XDA ftw

6 of one half dozen of the other for me.  If there was an app, even a root one, that just killed that stuff I would be able to at least see what was left and reevaluate.  Looking up XDA it appears to be just a development forum.  This may or may not actually be true.  Google is one of those services.  I wish them the greatest luck.  They are fighting the good fight.

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, redbread123 said:

this is sad, where a removable battery is a feature. ffs. like same thing with audio jacks, and people will call the portless iphone, inovAtIOn, 0 practicality the phone market is just depressing

It always was a feature.  It’s just that basically all phones had it as a feature because it’s not very expensive and the space cost wasn’t as important. It just became a really expensive one in terms of space.  Simultaneously alternatives got better.  Just like the headphone jack.  Unlike the headphone jack which is actually less expensive to produce this is slightly more expensive.  It will be seen more rarely.

[JoeCoke]

Give it a headphone jack and I'll finally have a worthy S5 replacement...

[Guest]

Quote

Samsung Exynos 9611 SoC, an eight-core, 10nm chip with four Cortex A73 cores and four Cortex A53 cores.

two quad-cores or a real eight-core??

[redbread123]

47 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

It always was a feature.  It’s just that basically all phones had it as a feature because it’s not very expensive and the space cost wasn’t as important. It just became a really expensive one in terms of space.  Simultaneously alternatives got better.  Just like the headphone jack.  Unlike the headphone jack which is actually less expensive to produce this is slightly more expensive.  It will be seen more rarely.

err i dont think price is a problem for apple when their flagship w/o a headphone jack costs around 1200$

[Bombastinator]

36 minutes ago, redbread123 said:

err i dont think price is a problem for apple when their flagship w/o a headphone jack costs around 1200$

Nope they’re worried about internal space.  This is why you see low end phones with headphone jacks and high end phones without them.  Cheap phones have less stuff inside. The high end phones have more stuff in them and need the space.  At this point Apple is kind of screwed for headphone jacks.  They went wireless and they’re stuck with it.  What they could do is do a proprietary jack that doesn’t use much space.  Some sort of clip thing with a flat port on the outside of the phone.  The problem with headphone jacks is they’re so dang deep. They’ve got way more connection surface then they strictly speaking need, and they’re a very inconvenient shape.

[TechyBen]

1 hour ago, Bombastinator said:

Nope they’re worried about internal space.  This is why you see low end phones with headphone jacks and high end phones without them.  Cheap phones have less stuff inside. The high end phones have more stuff in them and need the space.  At this point Apple is kind of screwed for headphone jacks.  They went wireless and they’re stuck with it.  What they could do is do a proprietary jack that doesn’t use much space.  Some sort of clip thing with a flat port on the outside of the phone.  The problem with headphone jacks is they’re so dang deep. They’ve got way more connection surface then they strictly speaking need, and they’re a very inconvenient shape.

I can think of a dozen or so adaptors I'd put on a headphone jack/etc to use with connectors. I don't dislike "dongles", I just see it as pointless taking out the jack, to replace it with a dongle. Make the charging port a headphone jack... XD (If they kept the DAC in the phone and converted headphones to USB 3.0 ages ago, with passthrough for charging, I'd have no complaint, it's the doing it the cheap, most inconvenient way I dislike).

[pzspah]

All I want is a note9 with a swappable battery so I don't run out of juice midflight.

[dizmo]

I don't think there's enough people that would buy an Active phone. Samsung is good at repeatedly throwing something against the wall until it sticks.

If they've given up on something, the market simply doesn't exist in any financially viable way.

 

 

On 1/10/2020 at 2:12 AM, Dabombinable said:

And the price will be a killer here in Aus. This is exactly what my Mum has been wanting as an upgrade from her S5 (removable battery is a must - period). Problem is of course...it'll cost a large fraction of her work tablet.

Why don't you take a look at the newer Motorola Z phones? With the swappable battery packs it's easier than changing out a battery and you get significantly longer life.

On 1/10/2020 at 2:48 AM, mr moose said:

The world needs a universal rating system for gauging the environmental friendliness of a device, something that balances longevity/repairability to the materials used in it and how easily it can be recycled.   A device that can easily last 10 years with updates on minimal replacement parts should score higher than a device you can't fix and have to replace after 3 years.

The thing is, it's not as simple as just making a phone like that.
While yes, you can have replacement parts like that, you have to mass produce them to make it viable. On top of that, you have to have enough people to purchase said devices to make that feasible. It's simply not a very good way to go. And, honestly, most phones do have 10 year lifespans. They get sold or passed on to someone else, or they go overseas, where they're recycled or sold to developing nations. It's like like they all just go into a huge junkyard.

On 1/10/2020 at 3:57 AM, huilun02 said:

TAKE MY MONEY

I don't give a shit about overrated updates because this is what happens when you combine removable battery with Snapdragon chipset:

https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g2/orig-development/rom-lineageos-17-0-unofficial-d800-d801-t3967345

Samsung should make a flagship with removable 4,000mAh battery and just put lots of competitors' employees out of their job.

The market crying for removable batteries is likely a lot smaller than you seem to think.

On 1/10/2020 at 7:28 AM, huilun02 said:

I like how its got higher IP rating than IP68 despite the entire back plate being user removable without tools.

Now it just needs headphone jack and microsd slot. The S10e has headphone jack and microsd slot and is still IP68

 

Everytime someone argues in favor of no headphone jack for ingress protection, you just know they talking out of their arse

It's not hard to have a high IP rating, all it takes is rubber seals and gaskets.

On 1/10/2020 at 9:00 AM, sowon said:

I think I prefer the Samsung Galaxy Active moniker.

I don't think this phone really has the spec to be in the Galaxy line.

On 1/10/2020 at 9:16 AM, redbread123 said:

this is sad, where a removable battery is a feature. ffs. like same thing with audio jacks, and people will call the portless iphone, inovAtIOn, 0 practicality the phone market is just depressing

Being able to have a phone without ports is an innovation. Especially if they've improved wireless charging to the point you really don't lose out on anything over wired charging. Which they have. So. Bring on the portless future. If you don't think it's innovation, I don't think you really understand the meaning of the word.

On 1/10/2020 at 3:08 PM, pzspah said:

All I want is a note9 with a swappable battery so I don't run out of juice midflight.

They make these things called battery banks...

[TechyBen]

Companies are making imitation/replacement (quality!) iPhone batteries still. Don't say "it's not possible/there is no market". You know what there is no market for... computers, I recon only about 3 a year would be sold. Also, who puts ice in their drinks? That's crazy!

[TetraSky]

Rugged phone means no need for a case because it won't just slip out of your hand like pretty much every God damn phone on the market.
I'm interested in this and if I were shopping for a new phone, I would totally choose this over the regular Galaxy A's series or other mid range phones. (I see zero reason to get a "flagship" phone over a much cheaper mid range, other than maybe the camera... Which I never use anyway so... fuck that)

[mr moose]

2 hours ago, dizmo said:

 

The thing is, it's not as simple as just making a phone like that.
While yes, you can have replacement parts like that, you have to mass produce them to make it viable. On top of that, you have to have enough people to purchase said devices to make that feasible. It's simply not a very good way to go. And, honestly, most phones do have 10 year lifespans. They get sold or passed on to someone else, or they go overseas, where they're recycled or sold to developing nations. It's like like they all just go into a huge junkyard.

The market crying for removable batteries is likely a lot smaller than you seem to think.

 

I didn't talk about making a specific phone. I said I wanted a system for rating them.   Something transparent that makes it easier for consumers to choose phones that have smaller environmental impacts.