Cat S60 Review: This Rugged Phone Beats the S7 Active

I must admit, I am far from the target customer for the Cat S60 ($599 unlocked), a rough-and-tumble phone made for people like contractors, firefighters and military personnel. After all, I spend most of my workday sitting on an ergonomically padded chair in a climate-controlled building while...

Great battery life; Unique built-in thermal imaging feature; Attractive; durable design; Superbright screen

Mediocre performance; Lackluster low-light photos; No 802.11 ac Wi-Fi

Cat S60 review: If Superman was a phone

The Cat S60 is thick and hefty with an unapologetically industrial design. In addition to being a tough SOB that can endure 6-foot drops and the most waterproof phone made to date, it also has one thing no other phone possesses: a built-in thermal imaging camera.

The Cat S60's durable build is impressive, but its appeal is limited to those who can make good use of its built-in thermal imaging camera.

The Cat S60 features a built-in thermal imaging camera; It can consistently survive 6 foot drops onto concrete and can take a 16 foot dunking into water; It has an expandable microSD card slot and loud front-facing speakers.

It's significantly thicker and heavier than other smartphones; The thermal imaging feature while cool and fun, is mostly useless aside from some specific cases.

Cat S60 review: a rugged phone that can see in the dark

Owning a smartphone means you're also privy to the very particular fear of dropping that smartphone. And many of us go different lengths to mitigate this problem. Some of us slap our phones in big, fat, protective cases. Others are like me - we lie to ourselves and pretend we'll be fine without one.

Very rugged; Thermal camera is fun and useful; Good standard camera

Mediocre screen; Expensive; Hefty design; Thermal camera app is sluggish

Cat S60 review: Phone with a built-in thermal imaging camera

Based on our limited time with the Cat S60, we're not too sure whether it'll be poplar with the general public. Its bulky form factor may be off-putting for some, and the addition of a thermal camera may not be enough to persuade a consumer to buy the smartphone - sure it's a cool addition, but we're not completely convinced that it's more than a gimmick. With that being said, if you're in an industry that requires the use of a thermal camera or if you're prone to breaking your smartphone then it's an ideal option. We'll give a more thorough verdict once we get a sample back to the PC Advisor towers!