Xcover 7 Pro: Construction site smartphone with 7 years of Android updates
After more than two years, Samsung is relaunching its rugged smartphone with the Galaxy Xcover 7 Pro. Included: a tablet with a hot-swappable battery.
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 7 Pro und Tab Active 5.
(Image: Samsung)
Samsung's rugged smartphone series is being renewed: the Galaxy Cover 7 Pro replaces the Xcover 6 Pro. In tow is a robust tablet for the construction site. The Xcover 7 Pro has been given a slight visual overhaul and has been given a slightly larger battery and a more up-to-date chip compared to its predecessor.
The battery of both the smartphone and the tablet can be removed and replaced. The battery of the Tab Active 5 Pro tablet can even be replaced during operation.
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 7 Pro: Larger battery and mid-range chip
The robust smartphone is roughly the same size as its predecessor and apparently has the same 6.6-inch display with a 120 Hertz refresh rate as the Galaxy Xcover 6 Pro. Once again, an LCD panel is used instead of an OLED screen, which reproduces colors less vividly. At least the screen is protected with a newer generation of Gorilla Glass Victus.
At 240 grams, the Xcover 7 Pro weighs five grams more, which is probably partly due to the slightly larger 4,350 mAh battery. The battery of the predecessor has a capacity of 4,050 mAh. The smartphone is charged either by cable or pogo pins on the back. Wireless charging is not supported. The same applies to the tablet.
(Image:Â Samsung)
As befits a rugged device, the Samsung smartphone is protected against dust and water to IP68. It also complies with the US military standard MIL-STD-810H. The rugged tablet supports the same types of protection.
The devices also share the same processor: Samsung uses Qualcomm's eight-core Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chip, which is manufactured using the four-nanometer process, in both models. The processor is also used in Nothings' mid-range Phone 3a and 3a Pro smartphones, for example.
Other features include a dual camera with a 50-megapixel wide-angle and eight-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor as well as a 13-megapixel front camera. The RAM is quite limited at six GB. The flash memory starts at 128 GB as standard, but can be expanded by up to two TByte using a microSD card.
The outdoor smartphone also supports 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth v5.4 and NFC. A stereo speaker with Dolby Atmos support is also on board. The tablet also has the same features.
Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 5 Pro with 5G
(Image:Â Samsung)
Samsung's rugged tablet has a 10.1-inch LC screen that offers a refresh rate of 120 Hz, just like the smartphone. The manufacturer also claims a brightness of up to 600 nits. With the S-Pen, it should be possible to make entries on the device even in the rain. According to Samsung, operation with gloves is also possible thanks to increased touch sensitivity.
Two cameras are installed for photos or video calls: There is a 12-megapixel camera on the back and an 8-megapixel camera on the front above the screen.
(Image:Â Samsung)
As with the rugged smartphone, six gigabytes of RAM are installed; you can choose between 128 and 256 gigabytes of flash memory. The tablet's memory can also be expanded using a microSD card.
One UI 7: Android 15 with 7 years of updates
While Samsung has withdrawn the update to One UI 7 for some devices, the manufacturer is delivering the two rugged models with the latest software based on Android 15. AI functions include Circle-to-Search, an object eraser and other functions on board.
As with the top models in the Galaxy S25 series, Samsung promises seven years of updates and security patches for the Xcover models. It remains to be seen how smoothly the devices will survive the long update period with six GB of RAM.
According to Samsung, both rugged models will be available from April 28. The manufacturer charges from 609 euros for the Galaxy Xcover 7 Pro, while the Galaxy Tab Active 5 Pro 5G starts at 809 euros.
(dahe)
