CAT S42 by Bullitt
The CAT S42 marks the fourth CAT branded phone that I’ve had the pleasure of dropping intentionally on the pavement. The S41 was the predecessor to the S42. The CAT S60 and S61 used up all my synonyms for rugged and tough. So with the S42 in my hands, I have to wonder if that type of phone, even if designed for certain industry segments (rough, outdoor, construction, etc.) is absolutely necessary when new phones that don’t look like rubberized bricks carry some of the same protection features.
This thought stems from my review of the LG Velvet. It’s a slick rectangle that carries a passing grade for MIL-STD-810G rating as well as being IP68 rated. These are the same ratings boasted by the CAT S42, so the real point of contention is the form factor. Clearly, being a thicker, squatter phone with sealable ports isn’t entirely necessary. LG has proved that you don’t need to create a phone that resembles a steel toed boot in order to meet certain waterproofing and physical standards.
Yet, the CAT S42 has a certain appeal in its form factor that speaks to the industries for which it is designed. There is this psychological relationship we have with our phones (intentionally created by a decade of fragile phones) in which we feel we have to protect them from harm. After all, our lives are as much tied up in our phones as anything else, so it’s naturally to want to coddle them from danger. The CAT S42 (built by Bullitt) allows for a certain amount of ambivalence when it comes to worrying about endangering it by including it in more physical work of its target market of electricians, construction crews, first responders and other keyworkers.
The CAT S42 has been drop tested up to 1.8m (6ft) onto steel, highlighting its Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5 screen and its particular resistance to dropping. The camera is something that also exists. Honestly, the cameras on these phones (save for the FLIR on the S60) have never been up to current industry specs, and why should they be? That’s not why people buy these phones.
The battery however, has always been impressive on these phones. This one has a 4200 mAh Battery and 1.8GHz Quadcore Processor (running Google Android 10) that all but guarantees at least a full day of constant use before a charge is needed. It’s been sitting on my desk as a second phone with infrequent use and I haven’t had to charge it in days. That’s a huge selling point for a rugged (that’s the quota for that word) outdoor-focused phone.
Here’s the thing about these phones and this one in particular, it’s supposed to get dirty. That’s why it has rubber bumpers on the edges. That’s why the ports are sealed and it doesn’t have a massive screen (the 5.5” HD+ display isn’t terrible, but certainly no OLED beast). That’s why it’s built with its particular users in mind and with their feedback from phone to phone. Each one of these phones corrects some minor issue with the last one, in this case being flimsy hinges on the port covers that were problematic on the S41.
Each iteration of this phone feels more secure, tougher and reliable than the last, as well as coming in at a better price point (retail for the CAT S42 is a mere $299 USD). This is a phone that is dropped into wet cement and only results in a shrug. Sure, the LG Velvet could theoretically be treated with the same casual disregard based on protection ratings alone, but it would feel different. That’s what you get with a CAT phone, you get a sense of protection along with the actual, physical feel of protection (because the rubberized grips on the back have texture, among other similar physical traits).
At this point though, because more phones are meeting the protection standards offered here, it’s hard to recommend this phone outside its intended customer base. Which, shouldn’t matter to CAT. It doesn’t recommend that we start commuting to to the office in Bulldozers. When I first started reviewing these phones, I was enthralled with a phone that could accept the abuse that I unwittingly heaped upon it. To me, having a phone that could survive my clumsiness with the device was more important than a nice camera and fancy screen. That is no longer the case.
So do you need this phone? Sure, if your day-to-day life encompasses some sort of work that includes poking around in walls, crawling through crawlspaces, driving an ambulance and saving lives, putting out fires, pouring cement, traversing the outdoors, piloting a crane, driving a truck or any of the many professional use cases for such a phone. The CAT S42 (on sale now) is a well priced, durable contraction to most of the phones on the market. It serves a purpose — peace of mind while working in variably destructive environments — and for that, it’s worth every rubberized inch.
A review unit was provided by the manufacturer.
