TechRadar Verdict
It’s a lovely-looking phone with a replaceable battery.
But swapping the battery might not be needed if it were of greater capacity.
It seems to take some of the mistakes made in the Galaxy Tab Active5 and double down on them.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
Hopefully, Samsung will provide these pieces of the jigsaw soon.
But its much less powerful than the Motorola, which is only $50 more.
Thankfully, the Samsung stylists who worked on the XCover 7 did much better than most.
Inside are the battery and SIM card slots.
We suspect the latter.
Sitting alongside the processing package are two GPU ARM Mali-G57 MC2 GPU cores and an LPDDR4 memory controller.
In terms of processing power and graphics, this is a lower mid-range SoC, but it is efficient.
It also supports a 5G modem for those living in locations where that technology is available.
One striking aspect of the XCover 7 is the screen that Samsung gave this phone.
The colours, contrast and clarity of this panel are exceptional.
The screen surface is remarkably shiny, which isnt ideal for a phone used outside.
The results are mediocre compared to the latest 108MP sensors or even some of the better 64MP options.
Its not that this phone takes bad pictures.
The GFX tests, in particular, underline how this isnt a gaming phone in any respect.
Samsung has traded efficiency for performance and has assumed that its customers will respect that choice.
It offers reasonable battery life, fast charging, and an embedded SIM.
It seems unsure what the plan was there, but the same flawed thinking came with the Tab Active5.
Should I buy a Samsung Galaxy XCover 7?
Then, the XCover 7 is a robust solution with reasonable battery life and an adequate camera.
However, the Motorola ThinkPhone is lighter at around 189g and offers a much more powerful processor.
The sensor can probably capture 4K easily, but Samsung chose not to enable that in the photo tool.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
But those capabilities add cost.
Read ourDoogee S100 Pro reviewfor more information.
Read ourLenovo ThinkPhone by Motorola reviewfor more information.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
More rugged tech
Need the full kit for out in the field?
Here’s what we’ve reviewed so far:
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
