Endurance test: The Caterpillar CAT S50 smartphone has accompanied us through thick and thin on the trails for a whole year. During this time it flew through the dirt, went swimming and generally had to put up with a lot and once even saved the tester from serious injuries. Now the third and final part of our endurance test.
Endurance test #1: Technical data & housing
Endurance test #2: handlebar mount, battery and first practical impressions
We've really grown to love it. The CAT S50 smartphone from Caterpillar has been with us on all our trail trips for almost exactly a year now. If you often ride your bike with your smartphone in your pocket or backpack, you will be able to appreciate how reassuring it is to have such a robust representative of its kind with you. Such a season on the mountain bike rarely goes by without falls, surprising torrential thunderstorms or other adversities, and the expensive smartphone all-rounders are often the ones who suffer. We really enjoyed not having to worry about durability and robustness.
The painful endurance test – passed!
Advertising promises regarding resilience and stability are one thing, but unfortunately it often looks different in practice. However, with a mobile phone like the CAT S50 in particular, it is crucial how much the smartphone can ultimately withstand if something really unforeseen happens. That's what happened to our tester a few weeks ago: On a trail tour in the foothills of the Alps, a small brake application at an exposed hairpin is enough and we go over the handlebars and down the embankment. A rollover later, the thigh slams onto a rock with momentum and full weight. Take a deep breath – everything is still there, the pain is bearable. Material check: The bike is 10m further down, the glasses are past their best, as are the bike shorts, where the rock has torn a fingertip-sized hole at thigh level - the Caterpillar logo flashes at us from the hole - oh oh!
With hands that are still a bit shaky, we pull the smartphone out of our pocket. Everything still seems to work, although the back is marked by the sharp edge of the rock. When we got home, we inspected the damage more closely in the evening: A deep scratch on the plastic back and a few small marks on the display are all that can still be seen from the fall. As a reminder, the cell phone took the full weight of our tester (a good 80 kg) and was pushed onto a sharp rock. Technically there are no restrictions afterwards, even the camera lens was spared from damage thanks to the thick metal edge. A few days later, a bruise appeared on our tester's thigh, the size and shape of which is very reminiscent of the CAT S50. Well, if that isn't an endurance test!
Weak points of display and camera
We had already noticed the display as a weakness of the CAT S50 before. The viewing angle stability is average and it is difficult to read in direct sunlight, even at full brightness. During our test phase we encountered another problem. There are times when images appear to burn slightly into the display and show through slightly over a period of time.
In order to reproduce the problem for this test, we showed a test image on the display for about a minute (left) - if you then switch to another app, the image from before still shines through slightly in the background (right). This is particularly noticeable when surfing for a long time or after typing long texts, since the on-screen keyboard shines through for a long time. Although the images disappear again after a while, the situation is still annoying.
Another weak point is the at best average camera. Even in good lighting conditions, it has major problems producing sharp images. The photos are often washed out and out of focus, the problem here seems to be not only the lens or the sensor itself but also the focus, which rarely works reliably. There is a lot of image noise in the dark and unfortunately the photos are often unusable. The camera is sufficient for snapshots on the go - but unfortunately it cannot take serious photos. Fortunately, the videos recorded in 720p are quite usable.
Example photos (click to enlarge):
The weaknesses of the camera are clearly visible in the example photos. Thanks to sufficient light, the alpine panorama shouldn't be too much of a challenge, but unfortunately, like the photo of the bike, it is extremely blurred in places. The problem with the focus can be seen very clearly in the photo from the forest: Although this was set in the middle of the picture, the camera repeatedly focused on the branch on the right of the picture.
Other observations
Otherwise, the CAT S50 behaved pleasingly inconspicuously. We also used it for some time in everyday life, for which it is just about suitable with its borderline form factor. Apart from the size and weight, there is absolutely nothing against using the Caterpillar smartphone as an everyday device.
The voice quality is good, the software runs without errors and is fast enough and, as previously explained in detail, everything you need is available on the interfaces. Even the covers on the interfaces, which seemed a bit skeptical and not very durable to us at the beginning, came through the test period without any damage. The headphone and charging connections, which are sometimes opened several times a day, are still perfectly tight and show no signs of wear. Here we were wrong with our skepticism!
Conclusion
So what is the conclusion after this extensive and exhausting endurance test? Well, the CAT S50 is a really extremely robust smartphone that can really do almost anything and that even the heaviest falls couldn't break it. Technically, it is now more of a lower middle class, but thanks to the slim stock Android and little bloatware, the smartphone still runs smoothly and can cope with almost all requirements.
The overall disappointing display clearly spoils the otherwise really positive overall impression. Poor viewing angle stability, average brightness and some image errors or problems with burn-ins are not good testimonials. The camera is also average at best - sufficient for snapshots, but unfortunately no longer state-of-the-art.
However, if you can live with these weak points, you get an extremely robust, relatively compact outdoor smartphone with the CAT S50, which shows its full strength as a companion on the trail, when climbing or similar activities.
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