Most of us think that only the smartphones made by the huge companies like Apple, Samsung are the most productive and efficient devices and the manufacturers who work on a smaller scale cannot make a phone worthy of opposing them let alone beat them at any price point.
Well, today we are going to talk about a smartphone of immense utility and productivity made by the company that you may have never heard of, CAT. They announced their current flagship device the CAT S61 during the MWC, and the device got many heads up due to the rugged design and immense productivity features.
The smartphone industry is developing in such a rapid pace that the idea of having a phone to talk to the far-off people has become a little gloomy and the devices have become are made with more productivity in mind rather than being premium. As a result, we got this device. Let’s dive into the deeper details and see what difference this device makes in the market.
Specification
First, let’s get done with the traditional specification part, the device may be a flagship device of the company, but unfortunately, it could not get the flagship SoC. However, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor here is also a good performer for various mid to heavyweight tasks. The display department can be thought of as “the new display from the past” since it has the rare 16:9 aspect ratio at Full HD (1080p) resolution.
The device has nearly stock Android 8.0 experience with the promise of providing the Android 9.0 update as soon as possible, the healthy 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage are also good choices. The camera here is decent too at 16 Megapixels with phase detection Autofocus, while the front camera is rocking 8 Megapixels and combines it with the AI capabilities.
The fun part is not even in the basic specifications; it is hidden in the plethora of sensors that you would find on this device, and probably the reason why you would want to buy this device.
The thermal sensors, heat signature sensor with a live display built into the camera module, the humidity sensor, compass and the list goes on. These sensors make the grounds of the usability and utility nature of the device. Lastly, the dimensions are a bit disappointing for a device in 2018 as 163 x 78 x 13 mm seems like a bit on the bulky side of the spectrum and the 250 g weight reflects that too.
The usability features
As I mentioned before the utility of this device comes from the sensors as the rest of the specifications are either too ordinary or less than “flagship specifications,” looking at the most productive sensors the first one to notice is the thermal imaging camera.
The CAT S60 also had a thermal imaging camera but this time around it is improved, you can take photos make videos, and also you can change the heat signature color and make it the way you would like with the help of MYFLIR app. A live temperature scale can be seen on the right side so that you can check the temperature of anything that you are seeing; the temperature scale maxes out at 400 degrees Celsius.
The 400 degrees Celsius resolution mark is only achievable through the High-temperature mode if you are around things that are less hot you may want to stay at the default state as it is much more accurate. The main utility of the sensor is that you can see through (not literally) most of your electronics so that you may have a better chance to “see” which part is the most heated one as on most circuits the overheated parts usually are the base of the problems. There is also a YouTube live option if you want to stream or to capture data for field work
Another useful sensor is the indoor air quality meter or the humidity sensor, which can save you from a lot of trouble if you live in places with extreme climate conditions. The sensor can measure temperature, humidity, and the level of volatile organic matter in the air, which can turn out to be helpful in the paint workshops or construction environments where hazardous matters are in abundance.
Lastly, the laser measurement tool can measure distances, the laser emitting diode is placed beside the rear camera, and you can measure the distance up to a certain point through a live location. The rear camera automatically captures the laser reflecting. It can be proved very useful as it can measure the area of a certain place.
Price & availability
The components do not determine the price of this device but the amount of utility it can bring on the table if it houses a place inside your pocket. The device is a good investment of $1000; if you work or live in the environment that can benefit from the sensors, otherwise it’s not the device for you. The complete availability option of the device are not announced yet, but it can be bought from Amazon or BestBuy.
