5 things to know about the Cat S60, Caterpillar’s first (thermal imaging) smartphone

Kudos should go to Caterpillar for recognizing a need among a number of specialized professions, and taking the steps necessary to develop a worthwhile solution to fill that void. The all-things-construction company has formally introduced the Cat S60, its very first smartphone. But a mobile calling device only it is not — the gadget fulfills several other needs beyond fielding phone calls and text messages. 

Here are five of the more noteworthy things to know about it. 

#1: The Cat S60 has a FLIR thermal imaging sensor built into its back

The sensor, located right next to the phone’s camera, allows FLIR cameras to see in total darkness by visualizing heat and highlighting temperature contrasts from a distance of 50 to 100 feet away on an 80×60 heat map; it can do this through smoke or other things that might otherwise block a regular sensor. It’s ideal for utility workers, building professionals, first responders, and other similar professionals who need to see in the dark, or otherwise identify places of overheating items or heat loss. 

#2: It has regular smartphone features

The Cat S60 has a 4.7-inch 720p display. It runs Android’s Marshmallow OS via a Snapdragon 617 processor. There’s a 13MP camera included, along with a 5MP rear-face face camera. 3GM of ram are included, and everything is powered by a 3,800mAh battery. 

#3: Plus many other features

Caterpillar’s Cat S60 supports location tracking using GPS as well as assisted-GPS, Glonass, and even the Chinese Beidou satellite network. It also has Bluetooth, NFC, and FM radio tuner features, and has included within it, barometer and altimeter sensors. 

#4: The Cat S60 is super rugged

The smartphone is water resistant up to a submersion depth of 5 meters. It’s also considered drop resistant, what with the fact that it’s outfitted with Gorilla Glass 4. 

#5: It’s expensive (as it should be)

Considering all of the included features in this device, one would anticipate a high price point—and that assumption would be correct. For 32GB of storage, the Cat S60 will cost $599. 

The Cat S60 will hit the shelves this May. 

Via ThePrimeVersion