Samsung is keeping the removable smartphone battery alive with its new, rugged Galaxy XCover Pro smartphone.
The device, showcased in ‘leaked’ images by reports this week, has already launched in Finland (via The Verge) and features a 4,050mAh battery that can be easily swapped out for a spare.
User-replaceable batteries have become a long-missed feature of modern smartphones, which now feature unibody designs and batteries tucked away within the internal components.
However, Samsung is bucking the trend with its mid-range device, which also offers a 6.3-inch LCD screen with a 1080p resolution. The Infinity-O display also has a wet touch mode and a glove mode, making it easier to use in unpleasant weather conditions.
In terms of cameras, there’s a punch hole 13-megapixel selfie camera within some rather sizeable bezels, as it to be expected from a device designed to withstand the thrills and spills of an active lifestyle.
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There’s a dual camera on the back of the device, which will ship running Android 10, with a 25-megapixel main sensor and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera.
Doing the heavy lifting is an Exynos 9611 processor, coupled with 4BG of RAM and 64GB of built-in storage. That can be boosted by a microSD card up to 512GB in size. In terms of its resistance to the elements, it’s IP68 water and dust resistant, and is designed to withstand falls of up to 1.5m.
Availability appears to be limited to Sweden and Finland at present, and there’s no news on a launch in the UK and the US as yet. Pricing is listed at €499 (around £423).
So far, it’s been a busy start to the year for Samsung’s smartphone division, with the Galaxy S10 Lite, Galaxy Note 10 Lite and Galaxy A71 all breaking cover since 2020 began.
Would you like to buy the Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro if it ever went on sale in Blighty? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
