On May 16th, Gizcoupon reported that Samsung had released two new smartphones specially designed for the US military. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Tactical Edition and the Samsung Galaxy XCover 6 Pro Tactical Edition, respectively. These two devices offer additional specialized features and applications for military tasks based on the Galaxy S20 Tactical Edition launched last year.
Reportedly, Samsung Galaxy S23 and XCover 6 Pro Tactical Edition have applications such as the Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) and the Battlefield Assisted Trauma Distributed Observation Kit (BATDOK). ATAK can enhance real-time situational awareness for military personnel, while BATDOK collects and distributes real-time casualty information.
Furthermore, these two devices meet the security requirements of the US military and are protected by Samsung Knox and Knox Dual Data at Rest (DualDAR). They comply with the US National Security Agency (NSA) requirements for protecting confidential data. Samsung’s DeX technology is also a major highlight of these two phones. This technology allows military and law enforcement agencies to use the phone in the vehicle as a substitute for a laptop.
In terms of hardware, these two military-grade phones have the same configuration and quality as their commercial counterparts. The Galaxy S23 Tactical Edition has an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. It uses Gorilla Glass Victus+ and Armor aluminum alloy materials. In addition, it comes with a rugged military-grade protective case. Soldiers can wear it on the chest or forearm. The XCover 6 Pro Tactical Edition also has an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. It also complies with MIL-STD-810H standards, can withstand drops from 5 feet (approximately 1.5 meters), and usually works at various temperatures.
Samsung announced these two new devices at the SOF week last week. It said they would be officially launched this summer. However, the pricing is currently unknown. Samsung stated that these two military-grade smartphones “will be valuable tools to help our soldiers complete their missions.”
