Cat S61 With Upgraded FLIR Thermal Camera, Air Quality Sensor Launched Ahead of MWC 2018: Price, Specifications

Cat, the US-based construction machinery manufacturing company, has lent its name to yet another smartphone from Bullitt Mobile - the Cat S61 rugged smartphone, successor to the S60. The new smartphone sports an upgraded thermal camera that is touted to read temperatures up to 400-degree Celsius and includes a laser-assisted distance measurement solution as well as an indoor air quality sensor. It will go on sale in select markets following an initial showcase at MWC 2018 next week with a price tag of $999 (approximately Rs. 65,000).

Unlike a delicate piece of hardware, such as the iPhone X, the Cat S61 is built with a robust body that has a die-cast aluminium frame, meeting the US Military's MIL-SPEC 810G standard. The handset is touted to resist drops from up to 1.8 metres and immersion in up to 3 metres of water for 60 minutes, including salt water. It is also claimed to be resilient to all types of dust. The smartphone, like previous Cat offerings, is meant for outdoor professionals, such as architects.

Alongside its solid build, the Cat S61 is marketed with the ability to measure temperature up to 400-degree Celsius, which is significantly higher than the 120-degree Celsius temperature measuring of the Cat S60. The smartphone has a FLIR thermal camera system to let field workers measure temperature while on the go. Additionally, there is an embedded laser that helps to measure point-to-point distances up to 10 metres. The laser technology integration can also be used to calculate areas.

Cat has provided an air quality sensor on the S61 that automatically samples the air every 30 seconds and notifies users of high levels of indoor air pollutants. The built-in sensor can detect various volatile organic compounds, including paint, solvent, and furniture among others.

Cat S61 specifications

In terms of specifications, the Cat S61 doesn't have as top-notch hardware as the latest Samsung Galaxy models. The handset, however, runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box (upgradeable to Android P) and features a 5.2-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) display along with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 SoC, which is clocked at 2.2GHz, coupled with 4GB of RAM. The smartphone has a 16-megapixel rear camera sensor with PDAF and an 8-megapixel front camera sensor.

The Cat S61 has 64GB of onboard storage that is expandable via microSD card. On the connectivity part, the handset has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, FM radio, and Micro-USB. Sensors on board include the FLIR thermal camera and indoor air quality as well as accelerometer, barometer, compass, gyro, and proximity. Besides, the smartphone packs a 4500mAh battery with Quick Charge 4.0 support and measures 150x76x13mm.