Review Cat Phones S52: the editor's opinion

Without always succeeding in providing elegant smartphones, Caterpillar has nevertheless launched smartphones with innovative features, such as the Cat S61 with its thermal camera and laser rangefinder. The Cat S52, the subject of this Review, puts on a less cleavage ergonomics than more conventional hardened smartphones thanks to a thickness largely revised downwards and even passing under the bar of 10 mm.

Is that enough to make it a good smartphone? Unlike other products of the manufacturer, the functionality of this mobile is quite limited and you have to settle for applications to download from a dedicated store. All for a marketing price of € 499.

So what is this Cat S52 worth in detail?

As with all rugged smartphones, it is the design and the design that make up all the substance of this mobile. This is even more true with this model in particular, which is not satisfied with resisting shocks, but is betting on a certain compactness to stand out from other mobiles of its kind. It must be said that rugged terminals are not the most visually exciting, and without being revolutionary in this area, the Cat S52 is certainly less ugly than its predecessors.

To appeal to professionals with a minimum of design concern, Cat Phones therefore manufactured a smartphone with dimensions of 158.1 x 76.6 x 9.69 mm when the S50, its predecessor, was much thicker (144.5 x 77 x 12.7 mm). However, it retains its military specification MIL-SPEC-810G guaranteeing it operation at a temperature between -30 ° C and 65 ° C for more than 24 hours, resistance to a high level of vibration, as well as humidity and corrosion. An IP68 protection index ensures it is waterproof up to 1.5 m for 35 minutes, and the S52 has a protective glass made of Corning Gorilla Glass 6. At the rear, a non-slip coating has been chosen .

For connectivity, the S52 trusts a USB-C port and logically offers a 3.5 mm mini-jack. The hatch housing the trolley for two nano-SIM cards and an SD is hermetically closed. Note that a fingerprint reader is located on the back of the mobile, something which is still unusual on rugged smartphones. Overall, we must admit that the design of the Cat S52 is worked compared to the old models, facilitating a grip which remains pleasant, even for the general public.

audio

Equipped with a headphone output, the Cat S52 has been subjected to our audio tests and we can immediately give you a first recommendation: do not turn up the volume of this terminal. In addition to the hearing damage that this could cause in the long term, the measured distortion rate breaks the ceiling. At lower volume (one notch), the levels recorded are much more satisfactory (0.008% distortion).

The power of this output reaches 84 mVrms when the average of the devices tested is 97.5 mVrms. Otherwise, the dynamic range is a little behind (84 dB), and the crosstalk is also in the middle (-53 dB). Without being particularly good, the headphone output of the Cat S52 is therefore quite correct.

The Cat S52 is therefore equipped with a 5.65-inch IPS LCD screen with the definition of 720 x 1440 pixels (for a resolution of 285 ppi). The maximum brightness here is 540 cd / m², which is comfortable for use in direct sunlight, although the screen is subject to reflections (reflectance rate: 50.8%). The arbitration was made in favor of the protection of the screen since it is this which alters this last result.
The minimum brightness does not drop below 20 cd / m², which is far from ideal for use in the dark without causing eye pain. However, there is a contrast ratio of 1,642: 1, which is good for an IPS panel.

This is the color reproduction that really hurts: the Delta E is 5.2 and we measure a color temperature of 7152 K, which is too cold. The S52 is also not the most gifted in terms of responsiveness, our measurements attesting to a long tactile delay of 168 ms and a persistence of 23 ms.

The Cat S52 is based on a Mediatek MT6765 Helio P35 SoC with 8 cores and accompanied by 4 GB of RAM. The graphic part is provided by a PowerVR GE8320. But no question here of using this mobile for long games on games that consume resources, the terminal is not designed for this use.

This is also what our Review results show, the Cat Phones S52 having obtained a very low game index of 15.6. The multitasking index is a little more flattering (81.85), but the overall index (48.73) is well below the average for smartphones. In short, the fluidity of this Cat S52 is not optimal, far from it, and we must avoid subjecting it to a heavy workload.

Our performance tests are carried out with viSer, the application developed by the company SmartViser.

Main module

One of the criticisms that can be made about rugged smartphones is that they are often poor in photography even though their use by professionals would make them the subjects of choice for high-performance photo modes. What about night workers who want quality shots? What about workers who need to zoom in or take a photo at ultra wide angle? These various subjects are currently snubbed – wrongly – by most manufacturers.

Let’s not shoot the ambulance too quickly. The Cat S52 is improving somewhat compared to its predecessors. In broad daylight, the smartphone produces decent shots, with a good level of detail and a certain homogeneity of the image, despite a delta E that is too high for our taste (7.08).

The system obviously finds its limits at night (under a brightness of 3 lux). There is a large loss of detail and texture, with consistent smoothing and a blurry feel as you move away from the center of the image. Our scene has a generally yellowish hue and the colors are greatly reduced. It will be difficult to get convincing shots in low light, especially as the exposure time gets longer (0.12 s) and the camera shake may appear.

ehealth and front sensor

The Cat S52 is capable of filming in Full HD from the rear sensor, but there is a certain latency in use, which does not encourage its use. This is just enough to help out.

As for the front camera, it offers 8 megapixel recording (in 4: 3 format), which will also help with ehealth conferencing and a few selfies hazardous.

With rugged smartphones, autonomy is a constant subject, since it is hard to imagine the potential buyer being content with a device to be recharged every night. Without being exceptional, the Cat S52 is one of the smartphones that allow you to spend more than a day and a half – or even two – away from a power outlet, provided that use remains moderate. We measured an autonomy of 16 h 51 min with the smartphone subjected to our intensive Review.

It's not the best in its class, since a terminal like the Crosscall Trekker-X4 goes up at more than 10 p.m. and a Cat S61 reaches 17 h 36 min. But the S52 works with a battery of only 3,100 mAh. In terms of charging, it will take approximately 2 hours to regain 100% energy.

Our battery tests are automated by viSer, the application developed by the company SmartViser.
The results obtained with viSer come from measurements carried out under real conditions of use (calls, SMS, videos, launching of applications, web browsing, etc.).