Since the inception of smartphones and tablets, Samsung has been the only well-known brand that has consistently offered these devices in a rugged form factor. Therefore, it has a rich history of such devices, and today, Samsung has released an infographic explaining the brand’s achievements in the field of rugged smartphones and tablets.
Samsung calls the history of its rugged devices “The Toughness Evolution” and refers to its rugged smartphones and tablets as “Ruggedised Devices.” In a new press release, the brand took us on a trip down memory lane, showing us all the Galaxy XCover and Galaxy Active lineup of rugged smartphones and tablets the company has launched till today.
The Galaxy XCover, which was launched in 2011, was the brand’s first rugged smartphone. To withstand rough usage, the phone had an IP67 rating as well as Corning Gorilla Glass. While these features are common nowadays, they were rare back then. Other features of the device included 3.65-inch IPS LCD, 800MHz Marvell MG2 CPU, Android 2.3, 3.15MP rear camera, and a 1,500mAh battery. The phone, however, missed out on a selfie camera.
In 2014 the company launched its first rugged tablet, the Galaxy Tab Active. As you might have guessed, it came with an IP67 rating. While the tablet didn’t come with Corning Gorilla Glass, it did have thick lips around the display to protect against drops. The other features of the tablet were quite impressive as well. It had an 8-inch LCD, Snapdragon 400 SoC, Android 5.1.1, a 3.15MP rear camera, a 1.2MP selfie camera, and a 4,450mAh battery.
The Galaxy XCover6 Pro and the Galaxy Tab Active4 Pro, both of which were launched earlier this year, are Samsung's latest rugged smartphone and tablet, respectively. While most brands don’t prioritize rugged devices when it comes to software updates, Samsung has already updated the Galaxy XCover 6 Pro and the Galaxy XCover 5 to Android 13. The Galaxy Tab Active 4 Pro is also expected to get the Android 13 update very soon.
