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The best rugged phones

Phones built to survive drops, water and job sites.

A rugged phone is a set of trade-offs, not an upgrade. You gain a sealed body, a screen that works through gloves and in the rain, and a chassis that survives being dropped on concrete. You give up camera quality, processing speed and, usually, several years of software updates. Decide which of those you can live without before you compare models.

Read the ratings rather than the marketing. IP68 covers dust and immersion; IP69K adds high-pressure steam, which matters if the phone gets hosed down at the end of a shift. MIL-STD-810H is a testing standard rather than a guarantee, and the drop height it was tested at — typically 1.5 or 1.8 metres, onto concrete or steel — is the number worth comparing. None of these ratings survive a cracked seal, so a phone with a replaceable back panel is in a different position from one that has to be opened by a technician.

The hardest question in this category is not which phone is toughest. It is who will still be supporting it. Several of the models below came from a manufacturer that no longer exists, which means no firmware, no warranty and no replacement parts through official channels. That does not make them bad phones, but it changes what you should pay and how long you should expect to keep one.

CAT S22 Flip open and closed, showing the 2.8-inch touchscreen and the cover displayCATCAT S22 FlipA real Android phone in a rugged clamshell. The original, and now the most expensive way to buy it.
Two Unifone S22 Flip units, one open and one closed, showing both displaysUnifoneUnifone S22 FlipThe S22 Flip hardware — a rugged Android clamshell — at a fraction of the price.
VAHVARNA Arctic X1 open and closed, showing the 2.8-inch main screen and the 1.44-inch cover displayVAHVARNAVAHVARNA Arctic X1The best-documented version of the rugged Android flip: cover display, glove mode and a 100 dB speaker.
CAT S62 Pro front and back, with the FLIR thermal camera app open on screenCATCAT S62 ProA thermal camera you can call people on — and the only CAT phone with a full US and Canada warranty.
CAT S62 front and back — the 5.7-inch display, dual rear camera, fingerprint reader and textured lower panelCATCAT S62The S62 Pro without the thermal camera — and without the price that comes with it.
The CAT S48c seen from the front at an angle, showing the rubberised bumpers and the side keysCATCAT S48cThe CAT phone that works on Verizon — and the one certified for hazardous atmospheres.
CAT S42 front and back, showing the ribbed rubber back and the yellow programmable keyCATCAT S42The cheap CAT phone, and the one owners keep for three years instead of six months.
CAT S75 from every side: front, back, both edges, top and bottomCATCAT S75A rugged 5G phone with satellite messaging — sold in the US as an imported EU model.
The Galaxy XCover7 Pro, front and back — the ribbed protective back panel and the two rear camerasSamsungSamsung Galaxy XCover7 ProA removable battery, a card slot and two physical SIMs, from a company that will still exist in seven years.