The most rugged smartphones on the market offer extreme endurance, large batteries and a wealth of outdoor use cases. As a matter of fact, we have brought together the best phones for intensive use for you. Some phones on this list meet military standards. So we’ve put them through rigorous testing to make sure they can withstand extreme temperatures, water, shock and more. Here are the most rugged smartphones on the market.
See also: Best Apple Phones (iPhones)
The Most Rugged Smartphones
The Most Rugged Phones of 2022
Nokia XR20
The Nokia XR20 is the first rugged smartphone launched under the Nokia brand with the help of HMD Global, which currently owns the brand. Unlike other rugged smartphones that stand out with their designs, the Nokia XR20; It’s there to match with its slim profile and sleek look. In terms of durability, the XR20 is the first rugged smartphone with IP68 certification, MIL-STD-810 rating and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. The device, meanwhile, has a red emergency button along with a dedicated Google Assistant button.
Ulefone Armor 9 FLIR
The Ulefone Armor 9 FLIR is the most ruggedized smartphone you can find right now, and it has a few top-of-the-line tools you’ll have a hard time finding on the competition. The phone comes with both endoscope and FLIR camera, giving you versatility for a variety of tasks. It also offers a large battery to ensure the handset lasts longer and has enough processing power for most tasks.
Blackview BV9900 Pro
Blackview BV9900 Pro, with its usefulness; It features an FLIR thermal imaging camera, which is rare in rugged smartphones. This is led by a 48MP camera that is useful for a range of photography needs; joins a number of ‘standard’ cameras. The phone performs well with the MediaTek Helio G90 processor paired with 8GB of RAM and handles many tasks with ease. It’s also pretty well protected for a rugged phone.
Doogee S97 Pro
The device features a mix of black plastic and gray metal with an intentionally utilitarian design. It is also one of the heaviest and most durable smartphones at 350g. Despite that, the S97 Pro handles it pretty well thanks to its curved edges, and its screen is surprisingly bright. It also has two customizable buttons, a fingerprint reader and four camera sensors on the back of the device.
Ulefone Armor 10 5G
The Ulefone Armor 10 5G is the first rugged 5G compatible smartphone and while it isn’t the best protected phone we’ve tested; have features that can compete with their competitors. You won’t find wireless charging on many ruggedized smartphones, and you won’t get cameras that good or truly 5G compatibility. So if these features are important to you, this phone can be a great choice.
Unihertz Atom XL
The Unihertz Atom XL is the company’s best and most durable phone. Atom phones are pretty small, and even this extra-large version has a 4-inch display. Many of these types of features are what you’d find on a non-rugged 6-inch smartphone; Packing in a 4,300mAh battery, 48MP camera and 6GB of RAM is impressive.
CAT S62 Pro
IP69 certification, Android 10 operating system; Sold with adequate hardware and the promise of Android 11 updates, the S62 Pro is among the most durable phones. Unfortunately, it does not have features such as the laser measurement sensor and air quality measurement sensor that come with the S61. Another downside is that it’s relatively expensive.
CAT S50
The CAT S50 has a 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 720 pixels. The phone, which is powered by the Cortex-A7 processor running at 1.2G Hz clock speed, has an 8MP camera. This main camera with LED flash support can also record 720p video. The phone with 8GB expandable internal storage; With IP67 certification, it can stay in 1 meter deep water for 30 minutes.
Doogee S90
The Doogee S90 was thought to be different from other rugged smartphones on the market, and to be fair; that’s what we’ve got, with a modular design that lets you build the phone that best fits your needs. This modular approach means the Doogee S90 is bulkier than many of its competitors. So keep that in mind. That said, the Doogee S90 performed excellently in tests. It also rounded up some of the best numbers seen in benchmarks.
Blackview BV9500 Pro
Blackview has a number of rugged IP68 certified Android phones. And if its specs are a little light, it tends to be both solid and affordable. This model, however, comes at a pretty high price point. And it has all the features including PTT (push-to-talk) for walkie-talkie style communication. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find another rugged smartphone that offers anywhere near the features and battery life of the Blackview BV9500 Pro.
Blackview BV8800
With MediaTek’s new Helio G96 quad-core processor, the latest Blackview is in a robust design; It has four rear cameras and a large 8380mAh battery. In terms of durability, the BV8800 is IP68 and IP69K certified. It is rated MIL-STD-810 and can be submerged up to 1.5m for 30 minutes. One of the cameras can record in complete darkness, and the standard 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is enough for a relatively inexpensive design.
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 3
Samsung is famous for its Xcover series when it comes to the most durable phones. Xcover 3 comes with IP68 water protection, glove-operated display, 4050 mAh battery capacity, a modern design, adequate hardware level and OneUI 2 software. Although everything seems perfect, the lack of a measure that protects the screen of the device gives negative points. Still, it has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.
See also: Best Samsung Galaxy Phones 2022