Cat’s S60 is one of the most advanced tough phones on the market and combines high-tech gizmos with a sturdy outer casing for those that spend their working life outside.

The designers have definitely concentrated on function over style, so it’s pretty bulky and almost twice the thickness of a regular smartphone.

However, it comes with equally chunky buttons alongside the touch screen that make it pretty easy to operate.

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The outer case is made of both a hardened polymer and steel and it feels pretty indestructible – Cat claims that it’s drop-proof from a height of up to 1.8m.

Water shouldn’t cause too many problems, either. It can sink to two metres, while a switch activates speaker covers and allows it to go down to a further three metres.

The 4.7in screen is smaller than some of its rivals and the resolution is also lower than most, but it doesn’t really affect performance. The only big downside is the glare on sunny days, though the back light is just about bright enough to make the text visible.

Performance

The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor and 3GB of RAM, which is distinctly average compared with other phones in the same price range.

However, it’s not particularly noticeable unless you’ve got several power-sucking apps on the go at the same time, which can cause the handset to get hot.

The S60 runs the Android Marshmallow operating system, so there are plenty of apps available to download. Cat has even added a nice feature called the App Toolbox where you can instantly find a whole category of farming apps, including cattle trackers and tyre pressure guides.

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It comes with a 3,800mAh battery, which is a generous size and provided two days’ life with regular use. However, power-sapping apps and the thermal imaging camera drains the charge very quickly, so they’re best used sparingly.

On the plus side, a quick charge system fills the battery by 60% in just 30min.

Features

The normal camera is a healthy 13MP, but a thermal imaging system is the S60’s party piece. It allows owners to pinpoint parts of the image to provide an accurate temperature, which farmers can potentially use to find a cow that’s about to calve, see if the straw stack is heating up or find animals in the dark.

As well as the clever camera, the S60 comes with some other handy features. A dual sim set-up means you can be on two different networks, increasing the chance of having signal in the middle of nowhere.

There’s also an SOS button that will send a set person your location and a message in case of an emergency.

Tough smartphones compared

FW Verdict

The S60 feels farm-proof and is a good balance of technology and toughness.

It’s easy to use – though a bit on the bulky side – and the dust and waterproof exterior should stand up to outside life better than the average smartphone.

It comes with decent battery life too, provided you don’t run power-sapping apps all day, and at £530 it’s a worthy rival to the iPhone.