Samsung revisits the history of the rugged XCover family in a neat infographic

Samsung introduced the Galaxy XCover6 Pro this summer, and a few weeks later it also introduced the Galaxy Tab Active4 Pro to the world. Now, no doubt inspired by our flashback series, the Korean company has decided to take us on a trip down memory lane and revisit the accomplishments of the two rugged ranges.

It all started with the Galaxy XCover. Samsung’s first rugged smartphone was introduced in August 2011 – it had Wi-Fi, an accelerometer and a touchscreen with Corning Gorilla Glass – features that weren’t available on many mainstream handsets at the time. The successor was called XCover 2, and it arrived in March 2013. It brought a selfie camera, HD quality video recording and Android Jelly Bean with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI 5.

Samsung Galaxy X Cover 2

The first rugged tablet for Samsung was called Galaxy Tab Active and arrived in late 2014. It was primarily a B2B device with IP67 dust and water resistance for field workers. It also had a Snapdragon 400 chipset with a quad-core processor, delivering decent performance.

Samsung’s rugged family followed with the Galaxy XCover 3 in April 2015. It features a bigger screen, 4G LTE capabilities, and a customizable key for quick app launches. Samsung also introduced the Samsung Knox internal security platform – after all, these devices were used primarily by business users, often working with sensitive information.

Two years later, in April 2017, we saw the XCover 4 arrive on the scene. It had a faster chipset and more RAM and storage, which are logical evolutionary steps in the world of smartphones. Nevertheless, Samsung has also brought MIL-STD810G certification for even better durability. The military grade standard covers the broadest selection of durability tests.

Official images of the Samsung Galaxy XCover 4s

Big screens are essential, and that’s why in fall 2017 we saw the arrival of the Galaxy Tab Active 2 – a rugged 8-inch tablet with S Pen support, 3GB of RAM and a again IP68 certification for dust and water resistance. Two years later, in the summer of 2019, the XCover 4 got a minor upgrade with double the storage capacity and dual SIM.

In the fall of 2019, Samsung further improved the performance of its rugged devices. We saw that the Galaxy Tab Active Pro came with a 10nm Snapdragon 670 chipset, 4GB of RAM and a 10.1-inch display. It supported Samsung DeX and brought touch sensitivity for use with thick gloves.

Samsung Galaxy Tab Active Pro

The Galaxy XCover Pro arrived in early 2020 – a B2B device with a 6.3-inch screen and more uncompromising protection against drops up to 1.5 meters. An agreement between Samsung and Walmart, where the retail giant decided to buy 740,000 units for its associates, is a testament to the quality of the commercially oriented product.

In fall 2020, we saw the Galaxy Tab Active3, which was even more advanced than its predecessors. Samsung introduced a cool feature called battery-free mode, which basically allowed the phone to run without using the battery, when plugged in. It also had fast Wi-Fi 6 connectivity and MIL-STD-810H certification for ruggedness.

The Galaxy XCover 5 also boasts the latest military-grade MIL-STD-810H protection, an Exynos 850 chipset, and a larger 5.3-inch display. It was also the first XCover phone to get rid of physical keys on the front – something its non-rugged Samsung Galaxy siblings ditched in 2017.

This quick tour ends with the latest devices – the XCover6 Pro, the first 5G smartphone in the series. It also has 6GB of RAM and Samsung DeX support. The Galaxy Tab Active4 Pro has also joined the hype train of next-gen connectivity thanks to the Snapdragon 778G chipset. It also got other features previously seen only on XCover devices – touch sensitivity, battery-free mode and active key.

The evolution of the XCover line is surely impressive, showing how far we’ve come when it comes to getting extra durability without losing much in terms of user experience. Who knows, in a few years the rugged line could become the latest victim of its success as mainstream phones embrace the same level of durability.

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