Samsung Galaxy XCover7 review

Glyptodont-like inside its armoured shell, the Samsung XCover7 may nonetheless be mistaken for a traditional cellphone inside a protecting case, maybe whereas mountain climbing at sundown via rocky terrain miles from the closest latte or whereas fishing it out of a lake.

With an IP68 ruggedness spec, but additionally a detachable again so you may swap out the battery for a recent one, the XCover7 is heavy however not significantly thick contemplating it comes with a built-in case. Nonetheless, it lacks the satellite tv for pc messaging of rugged telephones such because the Cat S75, so that you’ll want an exterior module or useful 5G protection to get your messages out.

Regardless of its mid-range £349 price ticket, this isn’t a cellphone you’re going to wish to use as your every day companion until you’ve got a very good cause to.

It’s extra prone to be one you retain as a spare for the occasions you don’t wish to threat your extra fragile mannequin getting damaged, or as a piece cellphone in case your job usually takes you into locations it’s prone to get moist, soiled or dropped.

Design & Construct

• Rugged
• Not particularly thick
• Heavy

The XCover7 doesn’t do a lot out of the extraordinary by way of its building. It’s a 6.6-inch smartphone with an integral protecting case, a single rear digicam lens, and a big extra button reverse the ability/quantity switches that by default controls the cellphone’s LED digicam flash/torch (however provided that the cellphone’s already unlocked).

All the pieces else is totally normal, and in case you’re within the behavior of slipping your cellphone into one thing extra snug to offer it a little bit of a safeguard in opposition to on a regular basis bumps, then you definately may not discover the distinction.

One factor that does stand out is the cellphone’s weight, which at 240g is heavier than similar-sized telephones such because the Galaxy S24+ (196g) or Pixel 8 (187g). It’s a noticeable distinction however not one which’s prone to drag you down too badly and is probably going the results of the additional armour and the battery being detachable.

The customized button is giant and textured, excessive sufficient up the casing to sit down properly below your finger (or your thumb in case you’re a lefty) for fast entry – the one downside is that it requires the cellphone to be unlocked, one thing that may’t be simply achieved in case you’re carrying gloves or a face masking.

Discover a technique to make it work, and you may customise the button to launch an app or the cellphone’s digicam with a single press or an extended one via its personal part within the Settings app.

It’s clear why the button is ready up the best way it’s, because it’s simple to press it accidentally which might result in the torch always approaching in your pocket, however with no emergency messaging system on-board for it to tie into it looks like a promoting level in want of an precise use.

Display & Audio system

• Brilliant and sharp
• Reflective in daylight
• Solely 60Hz

The XCover7 will get a 6.6-inch LCD show that’s surprisingly good, although a bit reflective in daylight. Samsung’s Airplane Line Switching (PLS) tech makes for a brighter display than many different LCDs, and it’s lined in Gorilla Glass Victus+ to withstand scratches.

It’s shiny and sharp sufficient to be helpful, and the decision is completely respectable.

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The place it falls down is in its refresh charge, which is decrease than these we’ve turn out to be accustomed to. A 60Hz framerate is totally high quality, after all, and has labored for video games and TV for many years, however when you’ve been uncovered to super-smooth 90 or 120Hz screens, it’s onerous to return.

There’s a bit mono speaker on the backside of the cellphone, recessed behind a slit within the casing, and whereas it’s pretty loud and ok for a video name from the highest of a mountain you’re not going to get the best sound high quality.

Much better to make use of Bluetooth 5.3 to connect wi-fi cans, or the three.5mm headphone jack – a helpful factor to see in a rugged cellphone as an affordable pair of wired headphones is extra prone to survive in your backpack than the newest earbuds.

Specs & Efficiency

• Environment friendly chipset
• Low-powered although
• Solely Wi-Fi 5

There’s an octa-core chipset powering the XCover7, and whereas Samsung doesn’t like to call it in its official spec lists, the CPU-Z app reveals it as a Mediatek Dimensity 6100+ MT6835.

This lower-mid-range chip from the tip of 2023 splits the processing cores into two blocks, with a pair of two.2GHz Cortex-A76 cores accompanied by six 2.0GHz Cortex-A55 cores.

It’s an uncommon alternative for a Samsung cellphone, as the corporate normally makes use of Snapdragons or its personal Exynos chips, however regardless of the perceived lack of top-end grunt, it’s a sensible alternative for a rugged cellphone because it extends battery life.

Foundry/Ian Evenden

There’s 6GB of RAM hooked up, so the XCover7 has no downside swapping between apps – prone to be the digicam and messaging apps relatively than any power-drinking video games, given the paltry two-core GPU – and it’s responsive sufficient in use, although unlikely to win any awards for velocity as there’s a cut up second of lag between urgent the House button and the open app sliding out of the best way.

One oddity is the inclusion of Wi-Fi 5 as a substitute of Wi-Fi 6, which implies you received’t be capable to take advantage of quick web connections with the XCover7. That is maybe comprehensible till distant campsites and mountain trails get fibre connections put in, leaving you with airport Wi-Fi because the final hotspot earlier than the new springs.

It places the cellphone within the curious place of its 5G radio probably having the ability to obtain sooner than its Wi-Fi, so that you’ll wish to hold the eSIM or bodily SIM slot provided with knowledge allowance.

As beforehand famous, there’s no native satellite tv for pc messaging functionality on the XCover7, so until you’re in possession of a separate dongle the query of Wi-Fi or 5G is moot anyway when you’re far sufficient away from civilisation.

Cameras

• 50Mp
• Adequate in shiny mild
• Solely 1080p video

Single-camera telephones are usually the most affordable of funds fashions, with some kind of quick telephoto or ultrawide being normal gear for mid-rangers and above. There’s just one lens on the again of the XCover7, nonetheless, and it’s not likely as much as Samsung’s ordinary excessive requirements. 

There’s a 50Mp sensor behind the wide-angle, f/1.8 lens (there’s a digital zoom possibility too, which lowers picture high quality), which bins information all the way down to 12.5Mp by default (although high-res mode is only a faucet away within the digicam app).

Its pictures are high quality in both mode, however there’s not one of the color pop or glowing sharpness you’d count on from a cellphone images champion just like the Xiaomi 14 Extremely or Galaxy S24 Extremely.

The XCover7 can take okay images whereas the solar’s up, however element and saturation drop off as the sunshine fades. It would most likely do for documenting work journeys to industrial websites, however in case you’re planning to journey someplace photogenic you would possibly wish to slip a distinct digicam in your bag.

Foundry/Ian Evenden

And whereas the digicam app begins up swiftly sufficient, there’s a noticeable lag between tapping the on-screen shutter button and the image being taken.

In moist circumstances, the touchscreen may not reply in any respect, wherein case the customized aspect button will act as a launch, and is usually a higher possibility all-round because it cuts down on the latency, although it does imply you’ll want to carry the cellphone in two fingers.

One other disadvantage is the video functionality. The XCover7 is capped at 1080p/30fps, which a minimum of means you received’t replenish the 128GB of storage with monumental 4K information. 

Across the entrance is an analogous story, with a 5Mp selfie digicam that’s ok for a video name however little else. 

Battery Life & Charging

• Lengthy utilization from a cost
• Replaceable battery
• Replacements not simply out there

In case you ever owned a Samsung Galaxy S II, again within the misty reaches of 2011, then changing the battery within the XCover7 feels relatively related – hook your fingernail below the notch offered for the aim on the again cowl, pull the again off, then do the identical for the battery and slot a brand new one in.

They’re small and rectangular, and you possibly can in principle carry plenty of them, however replacements don’t appear to be out there from the Samsung web site. They’re additionally, at 4050mAh, not very massive.

Foundry/Ian Evenden

It’s maybe extra probably that USB charging packs may very well be carried as a substitute, as they’re in a position to cost extra units. Pulling the again of the cellphone off can be the way you entry the SIM and microSD slots, and it has a delightful old-school attraction in addition to being easier than fidgeting with a tray and removing software, although what number of occasions you’ll be capable to do it with out compromising the cellphone’s ruggedness stays to be seen.

The small capability ought to deliver down the battery life, however the environment friendly chipset permits it to bounce again to fifteen hours of fixed use with the display on, sufficient for 2 days of sunshine utilization or extra if stashed away in a backpack on standby.

There’s no charger within the field, which is okay for a supplemental machine that’s extra prone to be charged from an influence pack or photo voltaic panel than a wall socket, however you do get a USB-C to C cable.

Charging is at 15W, which factors to an expectation of utilizing energy packs as a substitute of high-wattage wall chargers. 

Software program & Apps

• Android 14
• Seven years of assist
• Will be laggy

One factor concerning the XCover7 is bang updated, and that’s Android 14, with Samsung’s OneUI 6.0 excessive (although in contrast to another Samsung fashions, it doesn’t assist DeX mode, so that you received’t be connecting it to a desktop monitor whereas within the forest).

Samsung has mentioned it would obtain OS updates as much as Android 16, and it ought to get safety updates for as much as seven years.

Given its supposed use – chilly, moist or dusty environments, lengthy spells in backpacks and the outside – Samsung’s Straightforward mode fits it nicely, the elevated distinction and bigger icons higher in a position to make themselves seen across the reflections on the display, and extra prone to be precisely chosen with a gloved hand in case you’re utilizing these intelligent touchscreen gloves.

Foundry/Ian Evenden

Worth & Availability

• Moderately priced
• Purchase it for the ruggedness
• Not a mainstream product

The XCover7 is out there immediately from Samsung, and we additionally noticed it on the market at Amazon and Argos within the UK. On the time of writing it doesn’t appear to be out there within the US.

The older XCover6 Professional (which relies on a distinct, and probably extra performant, chipset, has an ultrawide digicam and might do 4K video) can be out there, as are rugged telephones from the likes of Nokia (the XR20) Cat’s S75 with its built-in satellite tv for pc messaging, and specialist companies resembling Doogee and Blackview.

At £349 the cellphone is positioned in a aggressive mid-range sector of the market, the place consumers can select between telephones from Nothing, Motorola, and even Samsung within the type of the Galaxy A55 5G.

Apple iPhones are nonetheless a bit out of attain at this degree, however none of this issues in case you’re eager about shopping for the XCover7 – it’s the rugged options you’re after, and this implies you’ll purchase the extra survivable cellphone even when it’s not the most effective performer.

Do you have to purchase the Samsung Galaxy XCover 7?

The Samsung Galaxy XCover7 isn’t a cellphone you’ll decide up on a whim, or as an on a regular basis cellphone. It’s simply too restricted for that.

There are, nonetheless, some conditions wherein it will make a darned good selection, resembling travellers heading off the crushed path or into locations which might be moist or dusty, the place the armoured again and talent to swap batteries could turn out to be useful.

Nonetheless, its drawbacks – the stripped-back digicam, the low efficiency and the shortage of quick Wi-Fi – imply that until you want a second handset for these locations, and you understand you’ll use it usually, then popping your ordinary cellphone, a lot of which now include an IP68 score, right into a protecting case could also be a greater possibility.

Specs

• CPU: Mediatek Dimensity 6100+ MT6835
• RAM: 6GB
• OS: Android 14 (OneUI 6.0)
• Storage: 128GB + MicroSD
• Display: 6.6in 1080 x 2408 PLS LCD, 60Hz
• Rear digicam: 50Mp f/1.8
• Entrance digicam: 5Mp f/2
• Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, USB Kind-C (USB 2.0), 3.5mm headphone port
• Dimensions: 169.0 x 80.1 x 10.2
• Weight: 240g