In industries like manufacturing, construction and logistics, there’s a long-standing perception that consumer smartphones aren’t tough enough for frontline use. But that’s now changing with the advent of ruggedized smartphones that comply with MIL-STD-810, the Department of Defense’s gold standard for mobile survivability and endurance.
The MIL-STD-810 standard was created to ensure technology is tough enough for soldiers on the battlefield, but it’s also a good benchmark for evaluating use on the manufacturing plant floor, the construction site, in the shipping warehouse and other challenging working environments.
For businesses looking to move beyond single-purpose barcode scanners, two-way radios and bulky data terminals, MIL-STD-810 smartphones offer the ideal combination of rugged durability, mobility and powerful performance. Here’s a deeper dive into MIL-STD-810 and how Samsung has used the standard to validate the durability of its Galaxy XCover Pro smartphone.
What is MIL-STD-810?
The armed forces need mobile technology that can withstand a wide variety of intense operating conditions. The technology standard MIL-STD-810 prescribes an array of testing criteria to simulate harsh operating environments. Issued by the U.S. Army’s Developmental Test Command, this standard helps ensure that rugged devices are tough enough for battlefield use. To meet the latest MIL-STD-810 specifications, a smartphone has to keep functioning in low-pressure altitudes, extreme temperatures and high humidity, and resist water, dust, shock and even salt fog.
The MIL-STD-810 specification is a rigorous standard that asks developers to identify deficiencies and shortcomings in equipment design, materials, manufacturing processes, packaging and maintenance methods. This industry standard is the best available evidence for proving that a device will be capable of withstanding the rigors of field operations, and in recent years has been adopted by technology manufacturers to design tests for rugged smartphones, tablets and laptop PCs.
Samsung’s Galaxy XCover Pro: Making the grade
In developing its rugged new Galaxy XCover Pro smartphone, Samsung used the MIL-STD-810 methodology to assess the device across 22 durability tests. Here’s the full list of tests conducted on the Galaxy XCover Pro in an independent testing lab:
- Repeated drops from 1.5m
- Continuous vibration
- Vibration combined with high temperature
- Storage at high altitude
- Operation at high altitude
- Storage at low temperature
- Operation at low temperature
- Solar radiation
- Blowing rain
- Dripping rain
- Salt spray
- High-temperature storage (constant)
- High-temperature storage (cyclic)
- High-temperature operation (constant)
- High-temperature operation (cyclic)
- Settling dust
- Blowing dust
- Temperature shock
- Humidity
- Altitude combined with humidity
- Icing
- Immersion in water
In addition to MIL-STD-810 tests, the Galaxy XCover Pro earned an IP68 rating — the standard international certification of resistance to dust, dirt, sand and water.
Ruggedness beyond durability
Durability isn’t the only advantage of the Galaxy XCover Pro. Another crucial element of ruggedness is battery life. For field workers, a reliable mobile device is one that they know will turn on and stay on for as long as they need it. The Galaxy XCover Pro delivers with a 4,000mAh battery, support for wireless fast charging and a maximum power-saving mode to extend battery life. Heavy-duty pogo pin connectors make it quick and easy to drop the device into a gang charger, or attach accessories.
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The Galaxy XCover Pro also features programmable physical buttons that can be set to open a specific app or perform another device function that’s frequently used for a particular job. This is ideal when the device is used with a push-to-talk (PTT) application or for barcode scanning. It also features “glove mode” which provides enhanced touch sensitivity.
For a convenient device unlock, the XCover Pro includes both facial recognition and a fingerprint sensor built into the power key. Like all Samsung smartphones, Knox security protects the device from the chip up.
Simply put, it’s a MIL-STD-810 smartphone that’s field-ready for the demands of any job — and customizable to your business’s unique needs.
The XCover Pro wasn’t just handed its military-grade qualification; it earned it. Learn more about the rigorous testing the device passed to become our most durable phone yet. Does a rugged tablet better suit your business needs? Check out Samsung’s Galaxy Tab Active3 and Tab Active Pro.
