The CAT S60 handset has been launched in India, it is pricey and a lot different from the others smartphones that are available in the market. S60 is world’s first smartphone to feature a built in FLIR Thermal Camera.
CAT S60 unboxing
The box pack is yellow color, and inside you will get the handset, a screen guard, user manual, warranty information booklet, data cable and travel charger 5V/2A. Earphone is not included. SAR value as mentioned on the box 0.854 W/kg@1g Head and 0.557 W/kg@1g body.
CAT S60 Design, Display and OS
The S60 is a rugged smartphone and like other rugged smartphone this one is made to survive falls and hence has extra layer of protection. The frame that is being used is made of die-cast steel frame – it is really tough almost impossible to bend.
The overall protection makes the handset feel quite bulky but the weight is quite acceptable. Weight with battery is 223 grams and thickness is 12.66mm. The handset is so tough (rugged) that it will survive a drop from 6 feet (condition that the screen should not get a direct / pointed hit – example a sharp object hit to screen, in that case the screen will break but handset will survive).
This is a dual SIM handset with 4G LTE support however VoLTE support is missing, you can use Jio4GVoice to make calls using Reliance Jio SIM. There are dual nano SIM slots and a separate micro SD card slot that can use 128GB external cards.
There is LED notification and good number of sensors – accelerometer, proximity, light, gyro, magnetic and pressure.
S60 sports a 4.7 inch screen with HD resolution. Color reproduction, viewing angles and touch response are very good. The screen also comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection. Do note that though Gorilla Glass 4 is tough it is breakable.
Android Marshmallow version 6.0 runs out of the box.
CAT S60 Memory and Storage
The CAT S60 is packed with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. On first boot you will get around 22GB free space and 1.3GB free RAM. I tried connecting external pen drive it did not detect.
CAT S60 Performance
This handset is using well known Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 MSM8952 octa core processor @ 1.5GHz coupled with Adreno 405 GPU. Performance was smooth, lag free and max battery temperature I encountered was 43 degrees.
CAT S60 Benchmark
Quadrant : 22099
AnTuTu : 45369 / 7487
Nenamark 2 : 60 fps
Disk Speed : 145 MB/s read / 71 MB/s write
Multi Touch : 10 point
CAT S60 Gaming
Hardware is powerful and it easily played Modern Combat 5 and Asphalt 8 in high quality mode without any lags.
CAT S60 Camera
There is 13MP camera on the rear and 5MP on the front. The camera quality is below average not really that good, it captures okay quality images in daylight and hardly anything in low light. FHD video can be recorded and video quality is decent.
Camera Rating 2.5 out of 5
CAT S60 Rear and Front camera sample
Download Original Image files (right click and save) (do not use it for commercial purpose, without permission of gogi.in).
CAT S60 FLIR Thermal Camera
This is something unique and no other smartphone comes equipped with. The FLIR Thermal Camera can detect heat signature and gives you a different view of the surrounding. Basically using a Thermal Camera you can easily know the Heat source and you can also use this in complete dark Environment.
The Thermal Camera can be used to know the area on a laptop / smartphone that is heating up, to detect leakages, to detect heat source and also to detect movements for security purpose. The thermal camera interface comes with some filter and you can capture still thermal shots or even record thermal videos.
CAT S60 Thermal Sample
Others
The CAT S60 comes with a dedicated button that can be programmed and a SOS button too. You need to assign contact numbers. During an emergency press the SOS button and an SMS with your location will be sent to your pre-defined contacts.
No issues with sound and network. Sound is loud but it will reduce if you keep the switch in 5M position.
Waterproof
This S60 handset can survive up to 5 meter depth for 60 minutes. There are special switch with 2M/5M markings near the speaker vents on front face bottom and top (Check video review). You need to use the appropriate switch when using handset under water. The handset can record underwater videos.
The 5M switch will seal off the speaker vents as they could get damaged at 5M pressure. There is a speaker dry app that you can use in case for some reason water enters the speaker vent.
CAT S60 Battery
The S60 houses a 3800 mAh non-removable battery with quick charge 2.0 support. On a full charge you can expect 4 to 6 hours of non-stop moderate to heavy usage. It will give you an easy 1 day of mixed usage.
CAT S60 Battery Performance (time / battery % drop / estimated battery temperature)
- Running Benchmark app – 10 minutes / 5% / 35 degree
- Asphalt 8 + MC5 game play – 29 minutes / 11% / 43 degree
- FHD video play back – 24 minutes / 6% / 37 degree
It took me 2 hours 45 minutes to charge the handset from 0% to 100% using wall charger.
Verdict
The handset is good, very tough, hard to break (except the screen – depends), water proof and dust proof. Overall hardware is powerful, battery life is pretty good and heat-up is under control. Camera is not at all good but the thermal camera is something unique.
Now if this thermal camera can be of any use in your business or profession then you can think of buying this handset, thermal technology is not cheap. However if thermal camera is of no use then makes no sense buying this handset.
Rating 4.2 out of 5
CAT S60 is available in India for Rs. 64,999.