On the hard street on Dam Square, from the stairs if you want to reach your studio in a healthy way: an accident with your phone is in a small corner. Still, there are phones with which you don’t have to be afraid at all if they end up in that situation. Rugged Phones. Rugged means rough and that’s exactly what these phones are made for: rough conditions.
Rugged smartphone
Rugged telephones mainly serve a business segment. Think of oil drilling platforms, the South Pole, on inland vessels and in locations where a mobile signal is not so obvious. If you just have an office job, the chances are small that you use a rugged phone, but if you often go on work visits in circumstances such as heavy industry or where there are extreme weather conditions: then you can also use such a rugged device.
At MWC in Barcelona it was bursting with providers of these types of devices. Some are huge: we even held one in our hands that weighed half a kilo. But there are also more convenient models. In the end, they can often do less different things than you are used to from others smartphones, But on the other hand, they do look considerably more robust. They also have to withstand a lot: shocks, dust, vibrations, water, high temperatures and low temperatures.
Can take a beating
You may know the IP rating of ordinary smartphones: it says something about the water resistance and dust resistance of the phone. Rugged devices often have very high IP ratings: they often have an IP rating of 68. In other words, you can go swimming with it or travel through a desert without having to worry that it will give up the ghost. In addition, rugged devices often go a step further: Then they are tested on a military standard (MIL-STD-810G): drops, high temperatures, and so on.
There are rugged phones from well-known brands, such as the Samsung Galaxy XCover 5 and the Motorola Defy. In addition, there are also some lesser-known players in the normal smartphone market, who are working hard in this market. Caterpillar, Hammer and Cleyver are examples of this. They often also offer accessories, for example with which you can ensure that you can communicate (via satellite) even without a telephone wave in the area.
No camera
Rugged devices come in all kinds of brands and sizes, but also in different price ranges. They are often in a fairly low price range, because you don’t have to do as much on them as on a regular smartphone. You can use the internet, but these types of devices are usually not equipped with an extremely great camera setup, for example. Many rugged devices are therefore in the price range between 50 and 300 euros. Make no mistake, however: for some devices you pay 500 euros, 600 euros and sometimes even 1,500 euros (for a device that sometimes doesn’t even have a camera).
The fact that such a device does not have a camera does not make it a bad device. It is precisely these types of telephones that are used by the military, for example, and privacy is very important in this context. Then a camera can often do more harm than good. Moreover, there are often functions that you do not have on a normal telephone, such as an alarm button or a kind of walkie-talkie function that allows you to talk to your colleagues in one go.
Rugged phone market
At the moment, the rugged phone market is expected to grow enormously. For example, this market should perform approximately twice as well in 2028 as it does in 2023. The question is whether it is mainly the real rugged brands that will prevail, or whether Apple, for example, will also participate in a rugged iPhone. After all, there is already a rugged Apple Watch…
By the way, if you are just clumsy, then a rugged device is probably not really necessary. Rugged covers are often available for regular devices, so you can ensure that your device is a bit more sturdy, without having to compromise on functionality.
