CAT S41

What is the CAT S41?

The S41 is the latest uber-rugged smartphone from building-site veteran CAT. It’s a rugged handset with all the trimmings of a modern smartphone, aimed at DIY enthusiasts, white-van folks and people who regularly find themselves in hazardous environments.

It lacks the FLIR thermal imaging sensor that made the older CAT S60 so interesting, but by offering buyers exactly what it says on the tin, the S41 earns its place as one of the best ruggedised handsets yet.

CAT S41 – Design

The S41 has the same functional, chunky design as past CAT phones, which considering its target audience is no bad thing.

Unlike competing rugged phones, such as the “shatterproof” Moto Z2 Force, the CAT S41 has been unashamedly designed for durability, not visual flair or comfort in hand. Though you’re not going to see it gracing many red carpets or fashionistas’ hands, the design ticks all the right boxes when it comes to ruggedisation as a result.

Eagle Magpie

Featuring a kevlar laced polymar chassis and Gorilla Glass 5 front, you’ll struggle to find a tougher handset than the S41. CAT lists as being capable of surviving from accidental drops to aquatic and sub-zero-temperature adventures.

Specifically, CAT claims the IP68-certified handset as being able to drops, not throws, from heights of up to 1.8 metres, any temperature between : -25C to 50C and prolonged submersion in water at depths of up to two meters.

I didn’t get a chance to take the phone down to 50m depths, but it easily survived an attempted at drowning in my bathtub with its port covers plugged.

Functionally the phone also ticks pretty much all the right boxes for its target audience. The front-facing physical buttons are a blessing for people who regularly us their phones with gloves on, aided by the screen’s dedicated “glove mode”. The underwater aquatic mode is another nice touch plumbers will likely find useful.

The mode is activated in the phone’s software shortcut menu and automatically opens the camera app. From there you can take photos and shoot video using the phone’s physical keys, which will be great for people using the phone to spot the source of a leak, for example.

I’m also pleased to see the physical programmable key make a return. This yellow key sits on the phone’s left long side and can be set to enact a variety of different tasks, ranging from turning on the flashlight to launching specific applications. CAT isn’t the first company to offer users a programmable key, but it’s a nice touch that will be beneficial to most professional buyers and DIY enthusiasts.

My only serious quibble with the S41’s design is its use of an older Micro USB charging port. With USB-C offering better charge and data speeds I can’t help but wish CAT had made the jump to the new standard. This is particularly true when you consider the fact that CAT’s made it so you can use the S41 as an external battery pack and charge other devices from it.

CAT S41 – Display

Screen quality is always one of the first areas sacrificed on ruggedised phones. To date nearly all the rugged phones I’ve tested have had fairly dull, washed-out, dim screens that, while functional, don’t hold a candle to most consumer-focused devices.

This largely remains the case with the CAT S41’s “Super Bright” 5-inch, FHD, TFT display. Though it’s called “Super Bright” the phone doesn’t come close to matching competing smartphones, like the Asus Zenfone 4, let alone mobile HDR-ready handsets such as the Galaxy S8 when it comes to max brightness.

The FHD resolution ensures everything looks suitable sharp, but colours are a little cool for my liking, and whites are far from the cleanest I’ve seen.

Fortunately the screen largely makes up for these compromises by being super-rugged. The screen managed to survive an accidental encounter with a falling paint can during a DIY session crack free. Outside of the Moto Z2 Force, I’m not convinced there’s another handset available that could survive the incident unscathed.

CAT S41 – Software

The CAT S41 currently runs on Google’s previous-generation Android Nougat software and there’s currently no official word on whether it will be upgraded to the latest Oreo build. Lack of Oreo aside, CAT has once again done a decent job taking a light touch to Google’s OS.

Unlike many competing companies, CAT has chosen to only make very light touches to Android’s native user interface and has kept duplicate applications and bloatware to a minimum. Outside of minor additions, like the aquatic mode, to the OS’s shortcuts menu, the UI is pretty much stock Android.

The selection of applications CAT’s added are also generally positive. Going through the app tray you won’t find any duplicate calendar or music apps. Instead you’ll find a wealth of DIY and industry-specific services that help boost the phone’s enthusiast and industry appeal.

Highlights include the phone’s enhanced SOS Location Alert services, plus the Toolbox marketplace. The Location Alert is a safety feature that lets you quickly send out SOS messages with your location, or check on the whereabouts of team members when working in dangerous areas.

Toolbox is an app marketplace that collects useful services in specialised, CAT-specific categories. These include sections for specific industries like agriculture and construction, plus areas for interests, such as “rugged work” and sports.

The Toolbox marketplace is pretty well stocked and includes a curated, ad and malware checked, set of useful apps for simple things like spirit levels, tape measures and unit converters to more advanced, industry specific services, like industrial control manuals.

CAT S41 – Performance

The CAT S41 is middle of the pack when it comes to performance. The 2.3GHz, octa-core Qualcomm MTK P20 MT6757 CPU is a mid-range slab of silicon that emphasises power efficiency offer grunt and, while I maintain 3GB RAM is plenty for most users, you can get more at this price point.

With real-world use the tech is more than up to scratch. The CAT phone opens applications reasonably smoothly and with no noticeable lag. Web browsing and video streaming run fine. Every app in the toolbox ran with zero issues. Demanding processes like 3D gaming can put more of a tax on it and load times on titles such as Riptide GP2 were longer than competing consumer-focused phones, like the Zenfone 4, but considering the S41’s focus this is hardly a deal breaker.

The Cat S41’s synthetic benchmark scores mirrored my real-world impressions. You can see how the S41 compares to the equivalently priced Zenfone 4 in the table below.

Phone	Geekbench single-core	Geekbench multi-core	Antutu
CAT S40	869	3908	63576
Zenfone 4	858	4146	68680

CAT S41 – Camera

It’s a similar story with the S41’s camera tech. The 13-megapixel rear and 8-megapixel front camera combo isn’t industry-leading, but it’s more than good enough for everyday tasks.

The 13-megapixel camera can’t match the shutter speeds or low-light performance of top-end dual-lens cameras. Camera modes are also fairly stripped down and limited to basic auto, manual and panorama options.

But for productivity tasks, like recording the size or type of screw you need to replace, or capturing before and after pictures of your latest DIY project, photos captured in regular light are more than good enough for sharing on social media.

If you want to capture a selfie of yourself and the shelves you just put up, the front camera is also fine in regular light and decent for video calls.

My only quibble is with the S41’s speakers and microphone, which have a tendency to pick up a minor hiss when recording or taking and making calls.

You can see sample photos taken on the CAT S41 below.

image: https://ksassets.timeincuk.net/wp/uploads/sites/54/2017/12/CAT-S41-tools-1024x759.jpg

CAT S41 – Battery

Battery life is one area in which the CAT S41 excels. The 5000mAh battery puts every other phone, including the gigantic Huawei Mate 10 Pro and Razer Phone, to shame when it comes to capacity, and makes the S41 one of the only phones I’ve tested that can constantly last a full two days off one charge with regular use.

Regular use entailed listening to music to and from work, taking and making a few calls, constantly checking my social media feeds and incoming messages, sporadic web browsing and watching a few Youtube videos.

The S41’s stamina remained impressive when I threw more intensive tasks at it. Looping video with the screen at around 60% brightness the phone lost between 4-9% of its charge per hour. Most phones discharge around 10% per hour faced with the same test.

The battery sharing feature is another nice touch that lets you use the CAT S41 as a battery pack for other devices. It’s activated using a bespoke app and features a custom Fast Charging mode that lets you charge external devices at speeds of 1.5 Amps.

Using it to top up my Pixel 2 work phone from 30% battery the CAT S41 still managed to last a full day off one charge, which is pretty impressive.

Why buy the CAT S41?

If you’re a self employed handy-person or extreme-sports enthusiast in need of a rugged smartphone, the CAT S41 is a great choice. Featuring a robust, albeit chunky build and offering excellent battery life and a pleasingly bloatware-free Android install, the CAT S41 is one of the best ruggedised phones to arrive this year.

The only downside is that, as with all specialist ruggedised phones, you’ll have to accept some hardware compromises in the name of durability.

Verdict

A solid choice for anyone on the market for a rugged smartphone.

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