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MagyarThe CAT S62 Pro Rugged Smartphone Review: Robustness burdened by big compromises
The CAT smartphones from the S6x series are ideal companions for construction/industrial workers. The top-tier model S62 Pro features a thermal camera and carries high IP ratings. It is also made of very durable materials. The smartphone manufactured by Bullitt Group has an MSRP of 649 Euros (~$763).
The 248-gram (~8.75 oz) CAT S62 Pro is powered by the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660. The FHD+ 5.7-inch LCD touchscreen can be used with gloves on and is protected with the Gorilla Glass 6. The display has an 18:9 aspect ratio.
Comparison Devices
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Drive | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78.2 % | 10/2020 | CAT S62 Pro SD 660, Adreno 512 | 248 g | 128 GB eMMC Flash | 5.70" | 2160x1080 | |
| 78 % | 03/2020 | Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro Exynos 9611, Mali-G72 MP3 | 218 g | 64 GB UFS 2.0 Flash | 6.30" | 2340x1080 | |
| 73 % | 08/2020 | CAT S42 Helio A20 MT6761D, PowerVR GE8300 | 220 g | 32 GB eMMC Flash | 5.50" | 1440x720 | |
| 77.2 % | 01/2020 | CAT S52 Helio P35 MT6765, PowerVR GE8320 | 210 g | 64 GB eMMC Flash | 5.65" | 1440x720 | |
| 77.2 % | 09/2018 | CAT S61 SD 630, Adreno 508 | 250 g | 64 GB eMMC Flash | 5.20" | 1920x1080 | |
| 77 % | 01/2020 | Blackview BV9800 Pro Helio P70, Mali-G72 MP3 | 322 g | 128 GB eMMC Flash | 6.30" | 2340x1080 |
Case - CAT S62 Pro with an IP69 certification
The housing of the S62 Pro is made of a mix of plastic and aluminium. The smartphone is not compact and has a screen-to-body ratio of only 69%. The rugged smartphone is IP68- and IP69-certified and is compliant with the MIL-SPEC-810H standards. The S62 Pro is vibration-, dust- and water-resistant. The compliance with the US military standards means that the smartphone is able to withstand a wide range of temperatures, some solar radiation and submersion in acidic liquids.
The S62 Pro can also survive 1.8-m (~5.9 feet) drops. The housing of the rugged smartphone is incredibly rigid, thanks to a thick metal frame, which contributes a lot to the beefy weight of 248 grams (~8.75 oz). Both the choice of materials and the build quality are on a good level. The back, which is made of thermoplastic polyurethane, feels quite premium. The buttons on the right side sit very firmly in their cutouts. However, the power button is not very well positioned.
Hardware Configuration - CAT smartphone with a thermal camera
The S62 Pro features 128 GB of internal memory. However, only 100 GB is available to the user. The rest is occupied by the operating system. Those who need more storage space can insert a microSD card. The CAT smartphone supports exFAT.
The USB Type-C port on the bottom is used for charging and operates at USB 2.0 speeds. Thanks to USB OTG functionality, users can connect peripheral devices to the CAT smartphone. The main selling point of the smartphone is the FLIR Lepton 3.5 thermal sensor, which can measure a wide range of temperatures (from -20 °C to 400 °C/-0.4 °F to 752 °F). Thermal images can be blended with the images from the 12-megapixel sensor or used with Flir’s MSX technology (Multi-Spectral Dynamic Imaging).
Software - S62 Pro with Android 10
The S62 Pro ships with Android 10. According to the manufacturers, Android 11 is coming to the CAT smartphone. The security patches on our review device were last updated in August 2020, meaning that they are three months old. The manufacturer promises 3 years of software support. Moreover, the S62 Pro supports Android’s enterprise features.
Users will not be able to stream content in HD quality, because the S62 Pro only supports Widevine DRM L3.
Communication and Geolocation - CAT smartphone with NFC
The integrated Wi-Fi module supports the following IEEE 802.11 standards: a, b, g, n and ac. The CAT smartphone offers decent data transfer rates with our reference-grade router Netgear Nighthawk AX12 when compared to other rugged smartphones.
The S62 Pro supports Bluetooth 5.0 and features an NFS chip, which can be used for making contactless payments.
The rugged smartphone can use two SIM cards at the same time. All the necessary LTE bands, which are relevant in Germany, are supported.
In order to determine how accurate our review device is when it comes to geolocation, we take it with us on a bike ride. During this ride, we are also accompanied by the professional navigator Garmin Edge 500. Here we use both the smartphone and the navigator to map the same route in parallel. There is a 120-metre (~131 yards) difference between the S62 Pro and the Garmin Edge 500 at the end of our 12-km (~7.5 miles) ride. The ruggedised smartphone did not deviate too much from the professional navigator and had no trouble accurately mapping the route we took.
Telephony & Call Quality - S62 Pro supports VoLTE and WiFi Calling
The call quality of the S62 Pro is on a good level. The microphone has no trouble picking up voices. Video calling over Skype with the front-facing camera works very well. The rugged smartphone features support for both VoLTE and WiFi Calling.
Cameras - CAT smartphone with a single camera
The single camera on the back has an f/1.6 aperture and features an image sensor from Sony. The 12-megapixel shooter offers a solid image quality, at least under good lighting conditions. However, the dynamic range, exposure and the sharpness are not impressive for a device with such a price tag.
Under poor lighting conditions, the camera does not produce good photographs, despite a wide aperture. Low-light photographs are noisy, poorly exposed and blurry. The pictures taken with the 8-megapixel front-facing camera are on a decent level. However, they are a bit washed-out and not very well exposed. The front-facing camera can record video at 1080p30. The rear camera can shoot UHD video at 60 FPS.
Image Comparison
Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.
Wide-angleWide-angleLow-light photography5X zoom
Accessories and Warranty - S62 Pro with free pick-up service
The box contains the S62 Pro, a modular 18-watt charger and a USB cable. The screen protector is pre-applied.
The manufacturer offers 24 months of warranty. In places where CAT services are available, users can contact Customer Service and request free pick-up and repair in the case of a defect.
Input Devices & Handling - CAT smartphones can be used with gloves on
The 5.7-inch touchscreen, which has been optimised for rough conditions, functions without any issues. Moreover, it can also be used with gloves on or with wet fingers.
There is a fingerprint sensor on the back, which works very reliably. However, the fingerprint sensor does not work very fast when the screen is off. The S62 Pro does not support facial recognition.
On the left side, there is a remappable orange button that can be used as a push-to-talk/SOS button or to launch applications.
Display - S62 Pro comes with an LCD panel
The 5.7-inch TFT screen has an 18:9 aspect ratio. The pixel density of over 400 DPI is more than sufficient for day-to-day use. The screen flickers at 35% brightness and below.
With the ambient light sensor enabled, the brightness peaks at 517 cd/m², which is not a great result for a smartphone primarily intended for outdoor use. However, when compared to the rest of the competition, the CAT S62 Pro does not look particularly bad. That being said, the brightness is not very evenly distributed. In the APL50 test, in which the screen displays a pattern of alternating black and white squares of equal size, we measured a brightness of 511 cd/m².
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 86 %
Center on Battery: 506 cd/m²
Contrast: 1234:1 (Black: 0.41 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 6.9 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 8.5 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
99.4% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.4
| CAT S62 Pro LCD, 2160x1080, 5.70 | Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro IPS, 2340x1080, 6.30 | CAT S42 IPS, 1440x720, 5.50 | CAT S52 IPS, 1440x720, 5.65 | CAT S61 IPS, 1920x1080, 5.20 | Blackview BV9800 Pro IPS, 2340x1080, 6.30 | Xiaomi Mi 10 Super AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.67 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 9% | 5% | 55% | 3% | 2% | 63% | |
| Brightness middle | 506 | 569 12% | 541 7% | 521 3% | 693 37% | 511 1% | 786 55% |
| Brightness | 489 | 562 15% | 532 9% | 530 8% | 672 37% | 508 4% | 791 62% |
| Brightness Distribution | 86 | 91 6% | 95 10% | 91 6% | 90 5% | 89 3% | 96 12% |
| Black Level * | 0.41 | 0.42 -2% | 0.52 -27% | 0.16 61% | 0.77 -88% | 0.29 29% | |
| Contrast | 1234 | 1355 10% | 1040 -16% | 3256 164% | 900 -27% | 1762 43% | |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 6.9 | 6.14 11% | 5.89 15% | 2.69 61% | 5.23 24% | 8.1 -17% | 1.1 84% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 12.6 | 10.92 13% | 11.35 10% | 5.07 60% | 10.18 19% | 15.2 -21% | 2.2 83% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 8.5 | 7.9 7% | 5.6 34% | 1.8 79% | 6.9 19% | 10.9 -28% | 1.8 79% |
| Gamma | 2.4 92% | 2.256 98% | 2.272 97% | 2.243 98% | 2.834 78% | 2.08 106% | 2.26 97% |
| CCT | 8818 74% | 8696 75% | 7884 82% | 6622 98% | 7137 91% | 9859 66% | 6315 103% |
* ... smaller is better
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 2358 Hz | ≤ 35 % brightness setting |  |
The display backlight flickers at 2358 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 35 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 2358 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17900 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
The screen of the S62 Pro has a good contrast ratio of about 1200:1. In the APL50 test, the contrast ratio stays the same. However, the black value increases very slightly.
Our CalMAN test reveals acceptable colour (Delta E: 6.9) and grayscale (Delta E: 8.5) performance, especially for a product of this type (the ideal value for Delta E deviations is less than 3).
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 22.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 6.4 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 16.4 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 45 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 45.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 22.8 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 22.8 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 75 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.7 ms). | ||
Outdoors, the CAT smartphone leaves a mixed impression. While the screen content is barely readable in direct sunlight due to a low brightness, the display is legible in the shade.
The viewing angles of the IPS panel are very wide. The screen content appears somewhat dimmer at acute angles, though. However, there are no issues with colour distortion.
Performance - CAT smartphone with Snapdragon 660
The rugged CAT smartphone comes with the Snapdragon 660, which was released years ago. It is made using the 14-nm manufacturing process and offers eight Kryo 260 cores. It is significantly less efficient than the modern Snapdragon 765. The Adreno 512 serves as the GPU.
The Snapdragon 660 in combination with 6 GB of RAM provides a decent level of performance. However, the system does not feel particularly responsive, because of the slow internal memory. Users are also likely to encounter some slowdown when multi-tasking.
In our benchmarks, the CAT smartphone takes a slight lead over the Samsung Exynos 9611 in the Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro.
| AnTuTu v8 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| CAT S62 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro | |
| CAT S42 | |
| CAT S52 | |
| Blackview BV9800 Pro | |
| Xiaomi Mi 10 | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (157877 - 184230, n=3) | |
| Jetstream 2 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Smartphone (13.8 - 351, n=173, last 2 years) | |
| Xiaomi Mi 10 (Xiaomi Browser V11.4.23) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (29.8 - 51.4, n=3) | |
| CAT S62 Pro (Chrome 85) | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro (Chrome 80) | |
| CAT S42 (Chrome 80) | |
| JetStream 1.1 - Total Score | |
| Xiaomi Mi 10 (Xiaomi Browser V11.4.23) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (last 2 years) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (45.3 - 55.5, n=12) | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro (Chrome 80) | |
| CAT S62 Pro (Chrome 85) | |
| CAT S61 (Chrome 68) | |
| CAT S52 (Chrome 79) | |
| CAT S42 (Chrome 80) | |
| WebXPRT 3 - Overall | |
| Average of class Smartphone (39 - 304, n=122, last 2 years) | |
| Xiaomi Mi 10 (Xiaomi Browser V11.4.23) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (47 - 63, n=9) | |
| CAT S62 Pro (Chrome 85) | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro (Chrome 80) | |
| CAT S61 | |
| CAT S42 (Chrome 80) | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Smartphone (4633 - 89112, n=213, last 2 years) | |
| Xiaomi Mi 10 (Xiaomi Browser V11.4.23) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (8463 - 10945, n=14) | |
| CAT S62 Pro (Chrome 85) | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro (Chrome 80) | |
| CAT S61 (Chrome 68) | |
| CAT S52 (Chrome 79) | |
| CAT S42 (Chrome 80) | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total | |
| CAT S42 (Chrome 80) | |
| CAT S52 (Chrome 79) | |
| CAT S61 (Chrome 68) | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro (Chrome 80) | |
| CAT S62 Pro (Chrome 85) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (3796 - 4769, n=13) | |
| Xiaomi Mi 10 (Xiaomi Browser V11.4.23) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (388 - 9999, n=173, last 2 years) | |
* ... smaller is better
| CAT S62 Pro | Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro | CAT S42 | CAT S52 | CAT S61 | Xiaomi Mi 10 | Average 128 GB eMMC Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | 136% | -5% | 15% | 2% | 614% | 59% | 800% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 304.2 | 508 67% | 287.9 -5% | 286.2 -6% | 284.7 -6% | 1498 392% | 283 ? -7% | 1508 ? 396% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 185.3 | 181.1 -2% | 121.1 -35% | 195.4 5% | 212.2 15% | 680 267% | 193 ? 4% | 1118 ? 503% |
| Random Read 4KB | 79.4 | 108.6 37% | 51.6 -35% | 76.6 -4% | 44.7 -44% | 207 161% | 82.4 ? 4% | 247 ? 211% |
| Random Write 4KB | 12.43 | 100.5 709% | 14.8 19% | 21.3 71% | 15.1 21% | 215.9 1637% | 54 ? 334% | 272 ? 2088% |
| Sequential Read 256KB SDCard | 74.4 ? | 72.4 ? -3% | 83.1 ? 12% | 82.6 ? 11% | 83.4 ? 12% | 78.1 ? 5% | ||
| Sequential Write 256KB SDCard | 55.2 ? | 59.4 ? 8% | 62.5 ? 13% | 61.8 ? 12% | 63.3 ? 15% | 61.8 ? 12% |
Gaming - S62 Pro for gamers with moderate ambitions
The S62 Pro comes with the Adreno 512, which can run even demanding 3D games from the Google Play Store. Current titles such as Asphalt 9 or PUBG Mobile are playable even on high settings. However, we saw occasional drops in performance, particularly in the racing game Asphalt 9.
Both the touchscreen and the motion sensor work very well while gaming.
Emissions - S62 Pro does not get hot
Temperature
Both the back and the front of the S62 Pro stay relatively cool under load.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 38.9 °C / 102 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 39.2 °C / 103 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 30.5 °C / 87 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
Speakers
The mono speaker on the bottom is quite loud (92 dB(A)). However, the lows are almost completely missing. The mids and the highs are rather well reproduced.
There is no audio jack, which means that buyers will have to use the USB-C port to connect headphones.
CAT S62 Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (91.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 23.8% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (4.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.8% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (16% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 3% of all tested devices in this class were better, 4% similar, 93% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 21% of all tested devices were better, 5% similar, 75% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (87.1 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 77% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(-) | nearly no mids - on average 77% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(-) | nearly no highs - on average 77% lower than median
(+) | highs are linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(-) | overall sound is not linear (118% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 85% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 6% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 95% of all tested devices were better, 3% similar, 2% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Battery Life – CAT S62 Pro could have lasted longer
Energy Consumption
Both the LCD screen and the SoC are not energy efficient. This is why the power draw is high even in idle operation.
| Off / Standby |   0.03 / 0.47 Watt |
| Idle |  1.68 / 2.75 / 2.8 Watt |
| Load |
4.84 / 7.79 Watt |
    
| |
| CAT S62 Pro 4000 mAh | Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro 4050 mAh | CAT S42 4200 mAh | CAT S52 3100 mAh | CAT S61 4500 mAh | Xiaomi Mi 10 4780 mAh | Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 20% | 19% | 27% | 22% | 34% | 3% | 23% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 1.68 | 0.9 46% | 1.5 11% | 1 40% | 1.4 17% | 0.53 68% | 1.052 ? 37% | 0.897 ? 47% |
| Idle Average * | 2.75 | 1.8 35% | 2 27% | 1.9 31% | 1.9 31% | 1.46 47% | 2.62 ? 5% | 1.452 ? 47% |
| Idle Maximum * | 2.8 | 2.3 18% | 3 -7% | 2.7 4% | 2.6 7% | 1.52 46% | 2.88 ? -3% | 1.629 ? 42% |
| Load Average * | 4.84 | 5.4 -12% | 3.6 26% | 3.6 26% | 3.5 28% | 3.83 21% | 5.1 ? -5% | 5.55 ? -15% |
| Load Maximum * | 7.79 | 6.9 11% | 4.9 37% | 5.2 33% | 5.6 28% | 8.89 -14% | 9.08 ? -17% | 8.31 ? -7% |
* ... smaller is better
Battery Life
In our Wi-Fi test, in which we limit the display brightness to 150 cd/m², the S62 Pro achieves a good battery runtime of about 11 hours. However, the CAT smartphone could have lasted longer, given its potential use cases.
| CAT S62 Pro 4000 mAh | Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro 4050 mAh | CAT S42 4200 mAh | CAT S52 3100 mAh | CAT S61 4500 mAh | Blackview BV9800 Pro 6580 mAh | Xiaomi Mi 10 4780 mAh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | |||||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 668 | 731 9% | 836 25% | 637 -5% | 923 38% | 1492 123% | 662 -1% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict of the CAT S62 Pro: Niche product with a reason to exist
The S62 Pro is a good rugged smartphone, which has a very robust housing that can withstand a lot of adverse conditions. Moreover, it also features a thermal camera. All in all, our review device has a reason to exist, even though it is a shaky one, because other 600-Euro (~$707) smartphones offer a much higher level of performance and better hardware.
The manufacturer made a few poor choices when it comes to the SoC, internal memory and display brightness. The display is not bright enough and the Qualcomm SoC from 2017 in combination with an energy-inefficient LCD panel prevents the S62 Pro from achieving excellent battery runtimes.
Those who can do without a thermal sensor and can live with a lower IP rating should think long and hard before buying the S62 Pro.
CAT S62 Pro
-
10/05/2020 v7
Marcus Herbrich
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