Summary
- Samsung might be working on a Pro version of its rugged Galaxy XCover 7 phone.
- The Galaxy XCover 7 Pro could feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chip for better performance.
- It may also pack more RAM and a better camera to justify its Pro moniker.
If you want a rugged Android phone, you have limited options. Among them, Samsung’s Galaxy XCover lineup stands out as the best choice, being the only offering from a reputable Android manufacturer. The Korean company last updated its rugged phone series with the XCover 7 in January 2024, featuring a low-end MediaTek chipset. A year later, instead of launching the XCover 8, Samsung might give the XCover 7 a Pro refresh.
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The Android Authority team found references to a Galaxy XCover 7 Pro in code obtained from reliable sources. Based on the code string, Samsung’s upcoming rugged smartphone could use a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chip. This should make it notably more powerful than the XCover 7.
Qualcomm’s mid-range SoC packs an octa-core CPU featuring a single Kryo core clocked at 2.5 GHz, 3 performance cores running at 2.4 GHz, and 4 efficiency cores clocked at 1.8 GHz. Its powerful ISP can work with up to 200MP camera sensors and capture HDR videos at up to 4K resolution.
The integrated modem in the SoC supports mmWave and sub-6 GHz 5G, along with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4.
Will the XCover 7 Pro feature more RAM and a better camera to live up to its Pro name?
Given the Pro moniker and the more powerful chipset, the Galaxy XCover 7 Pro should ship with more RAM and possibly a better camera setup than its predecessor. For comparison, the XCover 7 packs 6GB of RAM and a single 50MP rear camera that can only record videos in Full HD.
The rugged aspects will likely remain similar between the Pro and non-Pro siblings, so the XCover 7 Pro should feature MIL-STD-810H certification, a POGO pin, a customizable XCover key, and an IP68 rating.
The faster internals and other improvements will come at a cost, though, with the XCover 7 Pro likely carrying a higher price tag than the $380 MSRP of the regular variant.
There’s no word on when Samsung will officially unveil the XCover 7 Pro. Given its non-Pro sibling launched around the same time last year, the XCover 7 Pro could also go official in the coming days or weeks.
