While most hardcore Samsung fans may find it difficult to think of anything else besides the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 super-powerhouses the company is widely expected to unveil in a few months, the world's largest smartphone manufacturer is obviously working on many other products as well.
Two of these are pretty much guaranteed to generate quite a bit of excitement among their admittedly small but incredibly loyal target audience, undoubtedly standing out from today's "mainstream" handsets and tablets with extra-robust designs.
Yes, it looks like both a Galaxy XCover Pro 2 (or XCover 6 Pro) phone and a Galaxy Tab Active Pro 2 slate are coming relatively soon, and here's everything we know about these next-gen rugged gadgets.
What's in a name?
No, we're not about to go philosophical all of a sudden or start waxing poetic on the meaning and abstract interpretation of product monikers in the modern mobile industry. Instead, we'll simply report that Samsung appears undecided between Galaxy XCover Pro 2 and Galaxy XCover 6 Pro marketing labels for its upcoming muscular Android handset, which might not make a lot of sense... unless you're familiar with the somewhat convoluted history of this niche lineup.
Newly revealed image of the Galaxy XCover Pro 2/Galaxy XCover 6 Pro.
That explains the big numerical distance between the two possible names, and despite the aforementioned Qualcomm SoC not being a screamer, we believe the Pro suffix is entirely warranted here. Compared to the non-Pro XCover 5, aka SM-G525, this SM-G736U phone in the pipeline right now is set to upgrade the RAM count (from 4 to 6 gigs), as well as the display resolution.
The SM-G736U model number, by the way, suggests a much stronger connection with the first-gen XCover Pro, aka SM-G715, while also confirming a US release (in an unlocked variant at least) beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Equipped with 5G connectivity as standard and a good old fashioned headphone jack, as well as almost certainly running Android 12 out the box on the software side of things, the Galaxy XCover Pro 2 may come with a considerably smaller screen than originally believed.
That's at least based on the pretty impressive 450ppi density revealed by Google, which seems to work out to a diagonal of around 5.85 inches rather than 6.56 inches at a resolution of 2408 x 1080 pixels. Those numbers might not be exact, of course, but it's highly unlikely now that the XCover Pro 2/XCover 6 Pro will offer more than 6 inches of screen real estate.
Whatever the precise usable size, said panel is guaranteed to have reasonably large bezels around it and a somewhat outdated waterdrop-style notch, with two unspecified cameras slapped to the phone's back and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.
What's in a rugged tablet?
Unfortunately, we can only guess what the Galaxy Tab Active Pro 2 will have going for it, as reliable leaker Roland Quandt is merely ready to confirm this device is a "thing", with absolutely no other details revealed or rumored at the moment by no other credible tipsters.
This is the original Galaxy Tab Active Pro with a rugged design and built-in stylus.
Based on that name (which may or may not be final), we can assume this big guy will take after 2019's 10.1-inch Tab Active Pro instead of 2020's 8-inch Galaxy Tab Active 3.
Meanwhile, the complete lack of any other info suggests Samsung's next rugged slate will be released at some point after its next rugged phone, although we're sure devoted fans of these kinds of devices would appreciate some sort of a special event dedicated to the two's simultaneous announcement. We'll see what happens, of course, but if we were you, we wouldn't hold our breath and just be happy Samsung is turning its attention back to this product category in a pretty big way.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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