Is the Caterpillar S52 smartphone as durable as it claims?

• CAT, the telephony branch of the manufacturer of mechanical excavators Caterpillar, is launching its S52, a resistant smartphone in hostile environments.
• If he keeps his promises when it comes to his ability to withstand shock in the face of falls, water, dust and extreme temperatures, he also has some weaknesses.
• Slightly lazy processor, correct photos but no more weigh down the use of a device sold for almost 500 euros anyway.

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Do you know Caterpillar? Originally, it was a manufacturer of construction equipment, such as mechanical shovels. Combined with a strong image of robustness, “Cat” has embarked on product diversification, with boots, sports jackets and even smartphones *, all supposed to be super-strong. The CAT S52 is the manufacturer’s new “resistant” terminal. We started a test and dug a little bit to find out what it was worth.

Resistance promises kept

The strength of the CAT S52 is beyond doubt in the test. With the IP68 standard, the device withstands shock against sand, dust and dirt. It resists immersion up to 1.5 meters for at least 35 minutes and falls on concrete up to 1.5 meters. We dropped it several times (even face down), made him drink the cup, submerged it in concrete (!) … without the CAT 52 stopping working. Nevertheless, some marks appear: scratches on its metallic outline and micro scratches on its screen. The S52 is tough, but not invulnerable.

The smartphone also spent one night freezing them in our freezer, CAT ensuring compatibility with low and high temperature differences between -25 ° C and + 55 ° C for up to 24 hours. When I woke up, the smartphone answered the call well.

A perfectible aesthetic

Most expectations in a hostile environment therefore seem to be met. Still, with the CAT 52, we are far from refinement in terms of the design of smartphones of the moment. Solid, thick (9.69 mm, compared to 9.1 mm for the Oppo A5 or 8.5 mm by the
Xiaomi Mi A3, for example), we can however feel that it is trying to get closer to current mobile phone codes.

Its 5.65 ’/ 14.35 cm screen is surrounded by screwed metal borders which we imagine to play close protection. The matte plastic back cover with a few streaks will obviously not have the visual effect of the iridescent shells of certain flashy smartphones, as with Honor and his 9X. It will however have two merits: not to collect fingerprints and participate in a better grip of the product.

A fairly fast processor

In Android 9 (with update to Android 10), the CAT 52 is easy to use. Its rear fingerprint reader instantly falls under the index finger and unlocks the smartphone in a flash. Tested with a wet finger, unlocking however systematically ends in failure. Glass Gorilla Glass 6, the screen will catch your finger and navigation may be sluggish. This is undoubtedly the price to pay for a screen resistant to multiple falls and which, as a result, will also be passable with wet fingers, even gloves. It’s not 100% effective, but it works.

In HD + (1440 x 720 pixels), the screen is sufficient for the majority of uses even if we found that it could lack a little brightness. Another downside: the on-board processor (Helio P35 Octo-Core clocked at 2.3 GHz) is not the most vigorous. This is a mid-range model from the MediaTek brand that is generally found on low-cost Chinese smartphones, such as the Xiaomi Mi Play, the Oppo A8 or the Honor Play 8A. Its 3100 mAh battery is fine, nothing more: one day of autonomy in regular use.

Honest but limited photos

Equipped with a single front photo module, the CAT 52 takes honest shots. With its sensor Sony at 12 megapixels (f / 1.8), the camera produces beautiful photos with perfectly detailed foregrounds. Our various tests make it possible to obtain images with a good level of precision.

But if you look closely, the backgrounds leave concrete and display a noise which indicates insufficient image processing. At the front, the 8-megapixel front sensor adapts well to correct light conditions: the self-portraits are precise and there too detailed. If the CAT does not experience any difficulty outdoors to draw us the portrait, it is another story in low light: the smoothing operated on the face by the smartphone pushes its “Botox” effect a little too far and erases the defects of skin and other ridulins…

Almost alone in his universe

Sold around 455 euros (64 GB), the Cat S52 remains a resistant smartphone but with average performance. However, there will be hardly any competitor in its path in this product and price category. In Crosscall (its designated rival) the Action-X3 is 349 euros, but if its battery goes a little further (3500 mAh), its screen is smaller (5 ”), less defined (1080p), less solid (Gorilla Glass 4)… in short, it’s an already old model under Android 7…

For specificities and a price approaching those of S52, it is necessary to obtain on the market of refurbished smartphone where we find the
Trekker-X4 at 499 euros. Still, behind the CAT S52, it is not the developers of the Caterpillar jackhammers who are at work. “CAT” is a trademark license entrusted to
Bullitt mobile limited which manufactures and markets its smartphones in 70 countries. In the same spirit, the firm also develops smartphones under the Land Rover stamp and even
Kodak Ektra…

* Caterpillar is also the title of a song by Alain Souchon!

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