Kyocera, no stranger to making rugged smartphones, is releasing a successor to the DuraForce XD, which debuted in January. The upcoming DuraForce Pro is being touted as the only rugged smartphone with a “Super Wide View FHD Action Camera.”
And that’s what the Kyocera is marketing. Rather than carrying a GoPro around during your adventurous exploits, why not lessen the load and use a smartphone that complies with the Military Standard 810G, meaning it’s shockproof, drop-proof, dust-proof, can withstand temperature extremes, solar radiation, humidity — you get the idea. Oh, and if that’s not enough, it’s IP68-rated, meaning that you can take it underwater up to 2 meters deep for 30 minutes.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Pricing and availability
Kyocera’s DuraForce is now available on T-Mobile. It’s $425 outright, or $17 down and $17 per month for 24 months on a payment plan.
That’s in line with pricing across the other three major U.S. carriers.:
- Verizon is offering the DuraForce Pro for $408, or $17 per month for 24 months.
- Sprint is selling it for $432, or $18 per month for 24 months.
- AT&T has it for $419, or $14 for 30 months.
Action Overlay mode
The DuraForce Pro’s good for more than weathering the elements. A recent software update introduced Action Overlay mode, which is exclusive to the T-Mobile version of the DuraForce Pro. With it, you can record video clips with a head-up display (that you’ll have to buy separately) and see stats like your speed, distance traveled, g-force, altitude, elapsed time, and date.
Specs
The 5-inch, Android 6.0-packed DuraForce Pro has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels that’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 617 — the same chip in the new Moto G4 and ZTE ZMax Pro. It comes with 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, dual front-facing speakers, and a large 3,240mAh battery that supports QuickCharge 2.0 and wireless charging. And it sports NFC, a fingerprint sensor, Bluetooth 4.2, and a boatload of other sensors such as a barometer.
The specialty of this smartphone is its dual camera set up on the rear — a 13-megapixel camera sits next to the “Super Wide View” 1080p camera that has a 135-degree lens. It’s an action camera, meaning it has an “underwater mode, sports mode, slow motion, time-lapse” and can capture 1080p video. Of course, there’s a 5-megapixel front-facing camera as well if you want to snag some selfies.
Kyocera looks to take things several steps further with support for “popular action-camera mounts,” but the company was quite vague with the terminology. Overall, the DuraForce Pro is not much to look at with big bezels and thick buttons, but that’s what you get when you want a device that can withstand almost anything.
Article originally published in August 2016. Updated on 05-26-2017 by Kyle Wiggers: Added pricing information for all four major carriers, plus details of Action Overlay mode.
