Samsung Galaxy XCover 6 Professional Assessment: Laborious to beat

Samsung Galaxy XCover 6 Professional in a nutshell

As much as 2022, Samsung was mainly the one large telephone model with a daily rugged telephone vary within the XCover line. With the looming menace of Lenovo/Motorola, and Nokia, the South Korean model up to date its “Professional” mannequin in 2022 with an intermediate SoC, and saved a lot of the options present in earlier XCover fashions, together with the detachable battery, micro SD card slot, and headphone jack.

The Galaxy XCover 6 Professional additionally gives pogo pins for equipment and battery-free use, and a pair of programmable further buttons, positioning it for company shoppers. To differentiate it from rivals such because the Motorola Defy (evaluation) and the newcomer ThinkPhone, Samsung guarantees a lot better software program help, with 5 years of safety updates and 4 Android upgrades.

That after all comes at a price, with a instructed retail value within the US equal to the flagship-level Galaxy S21 FE that obtained 4-stars in our evaluation. Samsung appears to imagine the XCover 6 Professional options deserve its market positioning within the enterprise market much like what the ThinkPad, Latitude, and EliteBook fashions occupy within the laptop computer market. However is it sufficient?  

Show and construct high quality

Samsung has adopted a easy recipe all through the XCover vary: One of many hardest glass supplies out there, a rubberized plastic construct, and a detachable battery cowl. The XCover 6 Professional isn’t any totally different:
The telephone grip is sweet and reduces the possibility of accidents, together with ridges on the perimeters and the again.

Professionals:

• Good construct high quality.
• MIL-STD-810H spec for vibration, mud, humidity, and so forth.
• Display screen sensitivity for utilizing gloves.
• Two further programmable buttons.
• Headphone jack and micro SD slot.

Cons:

Apart from the now widespread IP68 ranking for water and dirt ingress safety, the Galaxy XCover 6 Professional is constructed following the MIL-STD-810H customary for altitude, humidity, immersion, salt fog, mud, vibration, drop, temperature, and even fungus.

The LCD show is protected by a Gorilla Glass Victus+ layer, which on the time of launch was the highest-end providing from Corning, an vital precaution, contemplating the massive 6.6-inch display. On the detrimental facet, it’s surrounded by significantly thick bezels, however that attribute can be present in different rugged telephones by Motorola and Bullit, the XCover’s fundamental rivals.

Talking concerning the show, it gives first rate coloration copy with ok brightness for outside use. It has a 120 Hz refresh fee like most Samsung mid-rangers however would not provide the deep distinction discovered on OLED shows.

One attention-grabbing element concerning the show is that it gives elevated sensitivity for utilizing the telephone with gloves and even in moist environments. In testing with common winter gloves, contact response was virtually indistinguishable from utilizing the machine with naked fingers. Sadly, we did not have work gloves to check within the eventualities talked about by Samsung within the advertising supplies…

The Samsung Galaxy XCover 6 Professional consists of a few different uncommon options, together with a micro SD card slot, a headphone jack, a pair of Pogo pins for charging, and a pair of additional buttons we are going to cowl within the software program and efficiency part. 

Efficiency and software program

The efficiency of the Snapdragon 778G processor is already well-known, with a very good steadiness of efficiency and effectivity cores that must be sufficient for the overwhelming majority of customers.
 And it’s good to know that Samsung did not smash the SoC status on the XCover 6 Professional, with good thermal management that leads to a efficiency degree on par with the very best intermediate telephones available in the market.

Professionals:

• The Snapdragon 778G gives wonderful efficiency.
• Virtually no bloatware.
• No indicators of overheating.

Cons:

On paper, the XCover 6 Professional is nearly like an enormous brother to the Galaxy A53, and may very well be seen as a substitute for the Galaxy A73 (ineffective trivia, their product codes are SM-G736 and SM-A736, respectively), and the benchmark outcomes present:

The desk additionally makes it clear how a lot sooner the XCover 6 Professional is compared to the Motorola Defy, however take into account that the Bullit-built Defy dropped closely (no pun meant) in value and prices (on the time of writing) virtually a 3rd of the Samsung MSRP, and competes with the older—and equally priced—XCover 5.

Gaming efficiency can be good, with video games like Name of Obligation: Cell operating easily with excessive settings even with the HD texture pack. Most individuals will not discover variations between the XCover 6 Professional or another latest telephone outfitted with the Snapdragon 778, Exynos 1280, or Dimensity 1000 processor.

Finest-in-class software program help

The XCover 6 Professional’s promoting level in the case of its company market might be the software program, with Samsung’s 5 years of safety updates and 4 One UI upgrades, virtually double what Motorola gives. In truth, as we unboxed the machine the very first thing we did was to replace it to Android 13, a model that hasn’t arrived on the Lenovo telephones.

One other “company” trait of the XCover 6 Professional is its lack of bloatware, solely YouTube Music and Fb sneaked their means in—the Bing app was put in as a result of we mistakenly selected Microsoft’s search on the EU-mandated alternative display throughout setup. Not even Samsung’s military of redundant apps was put in, so Well being, Notes, Members, and even the browser have been absent, leading to a clear set up occupying 26.67 GB.

Delving deeper into the One UI options, you’ll discover a few further choices, particularly to make use of the extra buttons discovered on the left and prime sides of the XCover 6 Professional. The additional keys—along with the facility button on the suitable facet—could be programmed as a wide range of shortcuts, together with push-to-talk (PTT), flashlight, or to open particular apps.

Within the biometric class, the XCover 6 Professional comes with a side-mounted fingerprint reader on the facility button, and the same old face recognition various for these utilizing gloves. Remember that the rugged Samsung telephone would not have depth sensors to supply Apple’s FaceID or Microsoft’s Hi there ranges of safety towards related folks or footage of your face (one thing that’s defined within the settings).

Samsung Galaxy XCover 6 Professional digicam

For normal customers, the digicam part might be the weakest level of the Galaxy XCover 6 Professional.
There may be nothing improper with the telephone’s cameras, they’re merely uninspiring.

Professionals:

• The ultra-wide digicam is actually extensive.
• No ineffective cameras on the again.

Cons:

• The ultra-wide lens is actually extensive.
• Picture high quality is common at finest.

Pictures in daylight are okay and corresponding to most mid-range telephones, however coloration copy appears a bit muted, particularly when in comparison with the normally saturated photos produced by Samsung telephones.

What shocked me most—each positively and negatively—was how extensive (open) the ultra-wide-angle digicam was. Many recordsdata have been deleted as a result of a finger or piece of clothes showing within the shot, alternatively, the extensive discipline of view (FoV) ensured a definite look when in comparison with the primary digicam.

Talking of distinct appears to be like, colours on ultra-wide pictures appear rather less saturated than these from the primary digicam, and there have been hints of distortion however that may very well be merely the results of the extensive FoV.

Selfies have been okay, regardless of the less-than-ideal circumstances (and topic)—these heavy gentle flares have been utterly my fault. The extent of element and colours have been good, however the topic separation with the Portrait mode had a little bit of issue with insurgent hair strands.

Detachable battery means critical enterprise

The battery division holds the Galaxy XCover 6 Professional’s quirkiest characteristic, a detachable battery.
 Not solely can the telephone be again in motion after a fast battery swap, however it will also be used with no battery, utilizing an non-obligatory dock.

Professionals:

• Good (however not nice) battery life.
• Elective battery-free operation utilizing Pogo pins.
• Reverse wired charging.

Cons:

Samsung sells substitute batteries for round $50 (mannequin quantity GP-PBG736ASABW) which is neither low-cost nor outrageously costly. The XCover 6 Professional ecosystem already exhibits some indicators of the loopy critical equipment out there for the outdated XCover Professional, together with 10-unit charging cradles utilizing the pogo pins, and barcode scanner sleds with non-obligatory pistol grip deal with and card readers.

Anyway, again to the evaluation… Battery life was good, contemplating the 4.050 mAh rated capability, with greater than a day of use with default settings. And for these with vary nervousness, it’s attainable to change to 60 fps mode with an adaptive battery characteristic, which resulted in a couple of 30% enhance within the PC Mark Battery check—from 10h57 to 14h25. Testing with airplane mode reaches a theoretical 17h05 in PC Mark.

On the subject of charging, in addition to the Pogo pins various, the Galaxy XCover 6 Professional would not provide the rest. Wi-fi charging might be a casualty of the detachable battery—though fashions such because the Galaxy S5 had each—however one thing that’s curiously lacking from Samsung’s advertising supplies is the inclusion of reverse wired charging (or Energy Share, because the model calls it).

In truth, whereas testing the XCover 6 Professional, it was in a position to trickle cost a pill, albeit slowly. It’s a welcome addition to office environments powering different devices and equipment, and will even function a advertising bullet level to make use of the XCover 6 Professional as an influence financial institution in a pinch, pairing it with a cradle within the again workplace recharging further batteries.

However I digress, in the case of wired charging, the XCover 6 professional gives solely 15 W charging, which was sufficient to cost the telephone in lower than two hours, however bear in mind we’re coping with a 4.050 mAh battery. One final thing: The XCover 6 Professional doesn’t include a charger within the field.

Samsung Galaxy XCover 6 Professional technical specs

I’ll record under different factors that will curiosity the NextPit group, however usually are not price further paragraphs:

• The Galaxy XCover 6 Professional consists of NFC help and is suitable with Google Pay for contactless funds.
• The evaluation unit packaging included a USB-C to USB-C charging cable.
• The software program model in the course of the check was G736BXXU2BWA1 (January 2023 safety patch).
• After resetting the up to date handset, the working system indicated 26.67 GB of used house.

	Specs
System
Picture
Design	Entrance: Gorilla Glass Victus+ Again: Detachable plastic cowl IP68 and MIL-STD-810H resistance certifications
Display screen	LCD TFT 6.6 inch FHD+ (2408 x 1080p) 120 Hz refresh fee
Reminiscence	6 GB RAM 128 GB ROM As much as 1 TB microSD
CPU/ GPU	Snapdragon 778G | TSMC N6 (“6 nm”) | Adreno 642L GPU
Digital camera	Important: 50 MP | f/1.8 Extremely-wide angle: 8 MP | f/2.2 | 123° FOV Selfie: 13 MP | f/2.2
Video
Interface/OS	One UI 5.0 primarily based on Android 13 4 Android updates + 5 years of safety updates
Battery	4050 mAh 25 W wired charging Reverse wired charging Appropriate with charging docks with Pogo pins Charger not included
Audio
Dimensions & Weight	6.65 x 3.15 x 0.39 in | 8.29 oz 168.8 x 79.9 x 9.9 mm | 235 g
Connectivity	5G | Wi-Fi 6E | Bluetooth 5.3 | NFC

Closing verdict

It’s not straightforward to evaluation a distinct segment machine, particularly one with a restricted vary of opponents. The rugged telephone market is stuffed with choices from small firms, however these typically cannot provide the identical degree of software program and buyer help as Samsung, with its large devoted company gross sales groups and R&D.

Reality be advised, the XCover 6 Professional goal market will not be the normal client. And amongst large manufacturers, the one rivals for the XCover 6 Professional are the Motorola Defy and the longer term Suppose Cellphone, each with weaker insurance policies in the case of the so-important-to-corporate-customers software program help.

The Samsung Galaxy XCover 6 Professional will not be low-cost, however neither is the Motorola Suppose Cellphone with its flagship value and weaker software program safety coverage. And one other vital a part of Samsung’s grip on the company market is its established community of equipment companions, with specialised instruments for area of interest purposes most of us cannot even think about.

And a distinct segment is one thing that the robust Samsung appeared to have discovered—the identical can’t be mentioned about one in every of its rivals. Even if you’re not an enormous enterprise, in case you worth options like a detachable battery, headphone jack, micro SD slot, first rate software program help, good efficiency, and a rugged construct, the Galaxy XCover 6 Professional is your solely possibility available in the market.