Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 Smartphone Review – Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 was released in January 2024 as their newest rugged smartphone for industrial use. But most rugged smartphones have low-end specs, so Samsung designed this smartphone to provide a powerhouse experience that not many manufacturers are providing in the rugged smartphone industry.
So, they have equipped the smartphone with all the latest technologies, including 5G connectivity. It also features a great design language that is usually not found in rugged smartphones. The smartphone will be available globally and will start shipping soon. Let’s begin with a detailed review of the Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 smartphone and see if this smartphone is worth purchasing.
Table of Contents
Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 Smartphone Review
Highlights
- The Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 features a 6.6-inch TFT LCD with HD+ resolution.
- The smartphone has an octa-core SoC with 5G connectivity ready to go.
- Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 is powered by Android 14 with One UI 6 user interface better customization and user experience.
- The smartphone has a 50MP rear camera and a 5MP selfie camera in the front.
- There is a Li-Po 4050 mAh battery inside the Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 with 15W fast wired charging.
Design and Display
All rugged smartphones are built like tanks, so they don’t look all pretty and they don’t need to. Rugged smartphones are to be used in industrial environments and need to be able to withstand tough and dangerous situations. But that doesn’t mean it has to have a bad design, which many rugged smartphones do. This is not the case with the Samsung Galaxy XCover7. It brings a new and special design design to the table without being too much on the nose.
They made a great design while also playing it a bit safe. The design is quite pleasing to the eyes and doesn’t look out of the world, which is good. The build of the smartphone is also strong and feels solid in hand. As for the display, you get a 6.6-inch TFT LCD. The viewing angles of TFT may not be as good as an IPS display but it’s so well calibrated by Samsung that you will hardly notice anything.
The display is also protected against scratches and shatters with the Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+. The smartphone also has the IP68 certification, which makes the smartphone resistant to dust and water. The Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 is available for purchase in only the Black color option. It also has a MIL-STD-810H military-grade certification, so the smartphone has a better resistance against cracking or other damages even with falls from heights up to 1.5m.
Memory and Internal
The Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 comes with an octa-core 5G SoC. This is a modern chipset with 5G connectivity that many other rugged smartphones don’t have. This is a wonderful addition, especially in 2024. This chipset has the performance needed to run all your favorite apps without any issues.
As for gaming, it can run most modern games easily but don’t expect games with high-end graphical fidelity games to run flawlessly. It’s not a gaming chipset but it will handle most games just fine. As for RAM and Storage, the smartphone has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.
There’s also a dedicated MicroSDXC expansion slot for future storage expansion. The smartphone also runs Android 14 out of the box with One UI 6 and that should greatly improve your user experience. Some Pogo-like pins on the rear side can be used to connect to some specific external accessories.
Camera
The Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 has a 50MP camera in the back, which is capable of taking pictures with great detail levels, great dynamic range, superior white balance, and saturated colors. The Samsung Galaxy XCover7’s night mode also works like magic and it turns the photos taken at night into great pictures that are better than any other smartphone in the same price range.
The camera also supports portrait mode. The background bokeh in the portrait pictures is natural and the human subject blend in with the background blur perfectly. For selfies, there’s a 5MP selfie camera that can take some decent selfies provided that there’s good lighting condition. For video recording, the phone manages to shoot with 1080P@30FPS resolution from the rear cameras.
Battery and Others
The Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 has a Li-Po 4050 mAh battery. This high-capacity battery allows the smartphone to last for as long as 1 – 2 days on a single charge. So, this smartphone can be perfect for people who work in industrial environments as the battery will last for several days, so you don’t need to regularly charge your battery. Samsung also incorporated a 15W wired charging that is somewhat fast but there are way better options on other smartphones at the same price range.
A 15W charger can charge the smartphone to 100% in 2 – 3 hours. Apart from that, the smartphone has Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, and Samsung Knox Vault for data security. However, there’s no fingerprint option for biometric smartphone unlock, which could be a deal breaker for some people. So, keep that in mind. The Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 is available for purchase at $400 (Rs 32,990 in India) approx.
Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 Pros and Cons
Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 smartphone.
| Specifications | Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | January 2024 |
| SIM | Dual SIM |
| Dimensions | 6.65 x 3.15 x 0.40 inches |
| Weight | 240 g |
| Size | 6.6 inches |
| Display | TFT LCD 20:9 ratio ~400 PPI density |
| Protection/Others | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ IP68 dust/water resistant Drop-to-concrete resistance from up to 1.5m MIL-STD-810H compliant |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2408 pixels |
| OS | Android 14, One UI 6 |
| Chipset | N/A |
| CPU | Octa-core |
| GPU | N/A |
| Card slot | microSDXC (dedicated slot) |
| RAM | 6GB |
| Internal | 128GB |
| Camera | 50 MP (wide), PDAF Dual-LED flash, HDR, panorama Max – 1080p@30fps |
| Selfie | 5 MP (wide) |
| Loudspeaker | Yes |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 5.3, A2DP, LE |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS |
| NFC | Yes |
| Infrared port | No |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, charging connector pins |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Battery | Li-Po 4050 mAh 15W wired |
| Colors | Black |
| Expected Price | $400 (Rs 32,990 in India) approx |
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 is a decent rugged smartphone that wins in some areas such as the display, processing, and latest Android features, but loses out in other areas. The lack of a fingerprint scanner and a reliable fast charger can be a big no for many users, especially when it has a smaller battery compared to other rugged smartphones. Don’t get us wrong, the battery in the Samsung Galaxy XCover7 will last 1 – 2 days, there’s no doubt about that. But the battery in other rugged smartphones often lasts a full week instead of a few days. Even this would be acceptable if the pricing is all right. However, the pricing details are not out yet but judging by the price of its predecessor, it will be a bit premium.
This is where the dilemma is. At such price tags, rugged smartphones from other brands will have way better specs and features. So, if you need better specs and the best features, then the Samsung Galaxy XCover7 is not for you. But if brand value is important and you need quicker after-sales services, then this smartphone makes sense. That’s because Samsung’s after-sales service is way above other brands and they have a ton of service centers. The best alternative to this smartphone would be the Ulefone Armor 24, which was released a few months ago. This smartphone has better specs in almost every way while also costing less than the Samsung Galaxy XCover 7. However, the final decision is up to you, so choose a smartphone based on your requirements and needs.
