The Samsung XCover7, glyptodont-like behind its armoured shell, may be mistaken for a regular phone within a protective cover, possibly while hiking after twilight through mountainous terrain miles from the nearest cappuccino or fishing in a lake.
With an IP68 ruggedness rating and a removable back so you can swap out the battery for a new one, the XCover7 is weighty but not particularly thick, especially given it comes with a built-in case. However, it lacks the satellite messaging of rugged phones like the Cat S75, so you’ll need an additional module or convenient 5G connectivity to send your messages.
Despite its mid-range pricing of £349, this isn’t a phone you’ll want to use on a daily basis unless you have a compelling reason to.
It’s more likely to be one you retain as a backup for times when you don’t want to risk breaking your more fragile model, or as a work phone if your job frequently takes you into wet, dirty, or drop-prone environments.
Design & Build
- Rugged
- Not especially thick
- Heavy
In terms of construction, the XCover7 does little to stand out. It’s a 6.6-inch smartphone with an integrated protective casing, a single back camera lens, and a huge extra button opposite the power/volume buttons that controls the phone’s LED camera flash/torch by default (but only if it’s unlocked).
Everything else is entirely conventional, and if you’re used to slipping your phone into something more comfy to protect it from everyday shocks, you may not notice the difference.
One feature that stands out is the phone’s weight, which is 240g heavier than comparable-sized phones like the Galaxy S24+ (196g) and Pixel 8 (187g). It’s a visible difference, but not one that will significantly detract from your performance, and it’s most likely due to the increased protection and replaceable battery.
The custom button is large and tactile, and it sits high enough up the casing to nestle perfectly under your finger (or thumb if you’re a lefty) for rapid access; the only issue is that it requires the phone to be unlocked, which is difficult to do if you’re wearing gloves or a face covering.
Find a method to make it function, and you can customize the button to start an app or the phone’s camera with a single or long press via its own section in the Settings app.
It’s obvious why the button is configured the way it is, as it’s easy to push it by accident, resulting in the torch constantly turning on in your pocket, but with no emergency messaging system on board to hook it into, it feels like a selling point in need of practical use.
Screen & Speakers
- Bright and sharp
- Reflective in sunlight
- Only 60Hz
The XCover7 has a 6.6-inch LCD display that is quite nice, albeit a little reflective in sunlight. Samsung’s Plane Line Switching (PLS) technology produces a brighter screen than many other LCDs, and it’s protected by Gorilla Glass Victus+ to resist scratching.
It’s bright and sharp enough to be practical, and the resolution is completely acceptable.
Where it falls short is in its refresh rate, which is lower than what we’ve been accustomed to. A 60Hz framerate is just good and has been used for games and television for decades, but once you’ve experienced super-smooth 90 or 120Hz panels, it’s difficult to go back.
There’s a little mono speaker at the bottom of the phone, recessed behind a slit in the shell, and while it’s powerful and adequate for a video conversation from the top of a mountain, the sound quality isn’t excellent.
It’s far preferable to use Bluetooth 5.3 to connect wireless headphones or the 3.5mm headphone jack, which is a great feature to have on a robust phone because a cheap pair of corded headphones is more likely to survive in your bag than the latest earbuds.
Specs & Performance
- Efficient chipset
- Low-powered though
- Only Wi-Fi 5
The XCover7 is powered by an octa-core chipset, and while Samsung does not like to mention it in official spec lists, the CPU-Z program identifies it as a Mediatek Dimensity 6100+ MT6835.
This lower-mid-range processor from the end of 2023 separates the CPU cores into two blocks, with a pair of 2.2GHz Cortex-A76 cores and six 2.0GHz Cortex-A55 cores.
It’s an unexpected option for a Samsung phone, since the firm often employs Snapdragons or its own Exynos CPUs, but despite the perceived lack of high-end power, it’s a good choice for a rugged phone because it extends battery life.
The Samsung XCover7 has 6GB of RAM, so it has no trouble switching between apps – most likely the camera and messaging apps rather than any power-hungry games, given the paltry two-core GPU – and it’s responsive enough in use, though it’s unlikely to win any speed awards because there’s a split second lag between pressing the Home button and the open app sliding out of the way.
One anomaly is the use of Wi-Fi 5 rather than Wi-Fi 6, which means you won’t be able to take advantage of fast internet connections with the XCover7. This is certainly acceptable until outlying campsites and mountain routes receive fibre connections, leaving airport Wi-Fi as the last hotspot before the hot springs.
It puts the phone in an unusual position where its 5G radio could download faster than its Wi-Fi, so keep the eSIM or physical SIM slot stocked with data allowance.
As previously stated, the XCover7 lacks native satellite messaging functionality, so unless you have a separate dongle, the option of Wi-Fi versus 5G becomes irrelevant if you’re far enough away from civilization.
Cameras
- 50Mp
- Good enough in bright light
- Only 1080p video
Single-camera phones are often the most affordable, with a short telephoto or ultrawide lens standard in mid-rangers and upwards. The XCover7 has only one lens on the back, and it isn’t up to Samsung’s typical high standards.
Behind the wide-angle, f/1.8 lens is a 50Mp sensor (there’s also a digital zoom option, which reduces image quality), and the camera software automatically compresses data down to 12.5Mp (though high-res mode is just a tap away).
Its photographs are acceptable in either mode, but they lack the color pop and sparkling sharpness that you’d expect from a phone photography champion like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra or Galaxy S24 Ultra.
The XCover7 can capture decent images when the sun is shining, but quality and saturation deteriorate as the light decreases. It will definitely do for filming business trips to industrial sites, but if you intend to visit a photogenic location, you should pack a separate camera.
While the camera app launches quickly, there is a substantial latency between tapping the on-screen shutter button and the image being captured.
In damp situations, the touchscreen may not respond at all, in which case the custom side button will work as a release, and can be a better alternative overall because it reduces latency, but it does need you to hold the phone with two hands.
Another disadvantage is the video capability. The XCover7 is limited to 1080p/30fps, which means you won’t fill up the 128GB of storage with massive 4K files.
Around the front, there’s a 5MP selfie camera that’s adequate for video calls but offers little else.
Battery Life & Charging
- Long usage from a charge
- Replaceable battery
- Replacements not easily available
If you ever owned a Samsung Galaxy S II back in 2011, replacing the battery in the XCover7 feels very similar: catch your fingernail under the notch provided for the purpose on the back cover, take the back off, then do the same with the battery and slot a new one in.
They’re small and rectangular, so you could theoretically carry a lot of them, but replacements don’t appear to be available on the Samsung website. They are also rather small, with a capacity of 4050mAh.
USB charging packs, which can charge more devices, may be more practical. Pulling the phone’s back off also allows you to access the SIM and microSD slots, and it has a pleasing old-school charm while also being simpler than fiddling with a tray and removal tool, though how many times you’ll be able to do so without compromising the phone’s ruggedness remains to be seen.
The small capacity should reduce battery life, but the efficient chipset allows it to recover to 15 hours of continuous use with the screen on, which is enough for two days of light use or more if tucked in a backpack on standby.
There is no charger in the package, which is acceptable for a supplementary gadget that will most likely be charged by a power pack or solar panel rather than a wall connection, however there is a USB-C to C cable.
Charging is at 15W, suggesting that power packs will be used instead of high-wattage wall chargers.
Software & Apps
- Android 14
- Seven years of support
- Can be laggy
With Android 14 and Samsung’s OneUI 6.0 on top, the XCover7 is up to current. However, unlike some other Samsung models, it doesn’t support DeX mode, so you won’t be able to connect it to a desktop monitor while in the forest.
According to Samsung, it should receive security upgrades for up to seven years and OS updates up to Android 16.
Given its intended use – cold, wet, or dusty environments, long periods in backpacks, and the outdoors – Samsung’s Easy mode is ideal, with increased contrast and larger icons that can be seen around screen reflections and more likely to be accurately selected with a gloved hand if you’re wearing those clever touchscreen gloves.
Price & Availability
- Reasonably priced
- Buy it for the ruggedness
- Not a mainstream product
The XCover7 is available directly from Samsung, but we also saw it on Amazon in the UK. At the time of writing, it does not appear to be available in the United States.
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy XCover7 ?
The Samsung Galaxy XCover7 is not a phone you’ll buy on a whim or use on a daily basis. It’s simply too limiting for that.
However, there are other instances in which it would be an excellent pick, such as travelers venturing off the main road or into rainy or dusty environments, where the armored back and ability to swap batteries may come in handy.
However, its drawbacks – the stripped-back camera, the slow performance, and the lack of fast Wi-Fi – mean that unless you need a second handset for those locations and know you’ll use it frequently, popping your regular phone, many of which now have an IP68 rating, into a protective case may be a better option.
Specs
- CPU: Mediatek Dimensity 6100+ MT6835
- RAM: 6GB
- OS: Android 14 (OneUI 6.0)
- Storage: 128GB + MicroSD
- Screen: 6.6in 1080 x 2408 PLS LCD, 60Hz
- Rear camera: 50Mp f/1.8
- Front camera: 5Mp f/2
- Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, USB Type-C (USB 2.0), 3.5mm headphone port
- Dimensions: 169.0 x 80.1 x 10.2
- Weight: 240g
