The Cat S52 is an embarrassment

[anon(10181084)]

So those of you who like rugged phones and use one or have used one before probably noticed that Cat hyped up and then released the S52. I was really hoping that for once they would make a futureproof flagship rugged phone. But no, they had to put the low-end Mediatek Helio P35 which is something you can find in phones around the $130 price point. That SoC is worse than the 3+ year old P20§found in the S41, don't even get me started... Now if they sold the phone for 200 bucks this wouldn't be that big of a deal, but they are selling it €499! To add insult to injury, they put a puny 3100mAh battery while their older phones had 4000-5000mAh...

 

[Morty2264]

Oh no! I'm sorry to read that. Rugged phones are definitely a necessity so it's saddening that they are not making a flagship-like model.

 

[anon(10181084)]

Oh no! I'm sorry to read that. Rugged phones are definitely a necessity so it's saddening that they are not making a flagship-like model.

I used to have the S41 until the screen failed right before a weekend family trip (being phoneless for 2 days WAS TORTURE) and I had to get a warranty replacement (which I gave to my mom since I was moving to the US). The S41, when I got it was decently powerful for my needs, but after a year and a half it started feeling a bit out of date. My mom does love it and gets a full week out of the battery (mine only lasted 2 days tops BEFORE I wore the battery out by 44%). I was hoping the S52 would've been flagship grade... They aren't getting a cent from me until they release a rugged flagship phone that works with Verizon. I could've gone for the extremely pricey AGM X3 with the SD845, but that is a GSM phone and Verizon and its MVNOs are the only usable networks in my area . I love rugged phone design and giant batteries, but I also love fast Snapdragon chips. Currently happily rocking a Straight Talk Galaxy S8 with an OtterBox Defender case (the performance of this thing for only $300 roasts all my previous devices and makes Cat phones look like pipsqeaks in comparison) and will continue to in the future just buy an older Samsung flagship like this and stuff it in a good case, at least until Cat steps up their game with a flagshipdevice that is accessible to me both with network support and proper price. The one great thing about Cat phones are their good quality LCD displays which, while not nearly as visible in sunlight, are immune to burn-in (my S8 display is degraded and burnt in quite a bit especially due to overuse of WhatsApp, and there is no Samsung store anywhere near me to have the screen changed for free so I am screwed in that regard... My old OLED tablet somehow doesn't have burn-in though...).

 

[Mooncatt]

I wouldn't count on a flagship grade rugged smartphone anytime soon from CAT or anyone else. That is a niche market, and those manufacturers tend to put only one or two good features on them (durable design and infrared camera in CAT's case), then skimp on the performance to keep the price comparable to other phones. Every time I look at a new rugged phone, it's the same story. I hadn't heard of that AGM X3 before, but even it isn't flagship grade by today's standards (I'd say a generation behind, so better than most rugged phones). Amazon only had one review of it, which was a 1 star rating.

So it's a trade-off. A durable phone with mediocre performance, or fragile flagship that goes into a case and hope for the best. Pick your poison.

 

[anon(10181084)]

I wouldn't count on a flagship grade rugged smartphone anytime soon from CAT or anyone else. That is a niche market, and those manufacturers tend to put only one or two good features on them (durable design and infrared camera in CAT's case), then skimp on the performance to keep the price comparable to other phones. Every time I look at a new rugged phone, it's the same story. I hadn't heard of that AGM X3 before, but even it isn't flagship grade by today's standards (I'd say a generation behind, so better than most rugged phones). Amazon only had one review of it, which was a 1 star rating.

So it's a trade-off. A durable phone with mediocre performance, or fragile flagship that goes into a case and hope for the best. Pick your poison.

Well one generation or even 2 generation flagship hardware is a hell ton times better than that Mediatek stuff they are putting. Just so sad. But ever since the S52 specs were unveiled, I've been hammering Cat on Twitter and I remain hopeful...

 

[Mooncatt]

Well one generation or even 2 generation flagship hardware is a hell ton times better than that Mediatek stuff they are putting. Just so sad. But ever since the S52 specs were unveiled, I've been hammering Cat on Twitter and I remain hopeful...

I've been hitting Asus on their neglect of VoLTE on the ROG Phone 2 in the U.S. See which one of us are successful first? Lol

 

[anon(10181084)]

I've been hitting Asus on their neglect of VoLTE on the ROG Phone 2 in the U.S. See which one of us are successful first? Lol

LOL... Cat knows me well from the days when I had the S41 and enjoyed it while it worked. Asus is a big company that doesn't have much contact with individual users.

 

[Mike Dee]

Well one generation or even 2 generation flagship hardware is a hell ton times better than that Mediatek stuff they are putting. Just so sad. But ever since the S52 specs were unveiled, I've been hammering Cat on Twitter and I remain hopeful...

They also advertise their devices as waterproof but upon clarification it's just waterproof to an IP standard.

 

[Inders99]

Put a decent case on your regular phone and there's your rugged phone.

 

[anon(10181084)]

Put a decent case on your regular phone and there's your rugged phone.

As I said, that is what I do with my S8

 

[Tsepz_GP]

Put a decent case on your regular phone and there's your rugged phone.

Exactly. Never really ever saw the point of many of these terribly specced "rugged" phones when you can get top of the line heavy duty cases for a top flagship.

 

[anon(10181084)]

The S41 was adequate for my needs when I bought it, but after a year it started to struggle. I constantly become more and more intensive of a user, so the Samsung I have is perfect for that. The one thing as I said already that I hate about my phone is the burn-in and that I have to pay attention to my use to avoid more burn-in... With the S41 I had no burn-in worry. Also, the S41 had superior battery life. But yeah, those small comfort of Cat devices have to be sacrificed in favor of having a proper Snapdragon SoC and a screen I can actually see in direct New Mexico sunlight.