Skip to main content

Archos’ 101 Saphir can withstand dust and drops, and your wallet probably won’t cry

Rugged tablets might not be new, but Archos’ 101 Saphir shows you do not have to break the bank to get a durable model — so long as you are okay with modest hardware.

The 101 Saphir’s biggest selling point is how rugged it is, which is thanks mainly to the rubber case that protects the tablet from drops as high as a little over three feet. The 101 Saphir also features an IP54 rating, so while it is mostly protected from dust, the tablet can only handle splashes of water.

Related Videos

Elsewhere, the 101 Saphir features a 10.1-inch, 1,280 x 800 resolution IPS display, with a 2-megapixel selfie camera above it and a 5MP sensor around back. The display is large enough to put the included keyboard with a built-in trackpad to good use, though the size of your hands will likely determine if it is suitable for you.

Under the hood, MediaTek’s 1.3GHz quad-core MT8163 chipset and 1GB RAM power the tablet, with the 16GB of native storage augmented through the MicroSD card slot. Given the modest internals, the 6,000mAh battery should deliver in spades, though the mention of a meager five hours of battery life for video playback through the video player has us a bit concerned.

The 101 Saphir does feature some niceties not typically found on low-end tablet hardware, such as USB Type-C, two stereo speakers, and Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. Overall, however, the 101 Saphir will appeal more to those who are rough with their devices and do not want to break the bank to replace it.

Speaking of which, Archos did not say how much the tablet will go for when it becomes available in June, though it will be shown off during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week.

Editors' Recommendations

Your Pixel 7 is about to get a whole lot less buggy — here’s why
Two Google Pixel 7 Pro smartphones.

Google is rolling out a new Android 13 update that fixes 46 bugs and performance issues for the Pixel 7. The fixes range from squashing smaller bugs to larger, systemwide updates that do things like optimize battery life and overall performance, making this one of the most substantial Pixel 7 updates to date. While the update, Android 13 QPR2, provides a lot of fixes for the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro specifically, it also cleans up performance for the entire Pixel 6 line as well.

There are plenty of small fixes in the update. However, the bigger ones seem like they're going to noticeably improve the user experience for all Pixel 7 owners on just about every front.

Read more
The one thing the iPhone 14, Galaxy S23, and Pixel 7 all get wrong
Apple iPhone SE (2020) being plugged in to charge.

At Mobile World Congress (MWC) this year, new smartphones broke cover as one would expect. I won't bore you with all the details; Digital Trends' Joe Maring and Jacob Roach wrote an excellent roundup of all the best MWC 2023 announcements already.

One key quality-of-life-improving feature we picked up on as a theme was charging speed. Apple, Samsung, and Google, the mainstream phone brands by coverage (even if not all by sales), stick to a fast-charging average speed of just over an hour — even with the latest iPhone 14, Galaxy S23, and Pixel 7. By comparison, a phone from Xiaomi, Oppo, or OnePlus can get you moving in 30 minutes or even less. It's time to demand more from our phones.
Fast charging exists — just not for you

Read more
I used two of the year’s oddest tech gadgets so you don’t have to
The open Nokia 5710 XpressAudio and Huawei Watch Buds

If you’re intent on not keeping your true wireless earbuds in a normal charging case, and want to hide them inside a different gadget, now is your time. The Huawei Watch Buds is a smartwatch with a pair of true wireless headphones inside, and the Nokia 5710 XpressAudio is a 4G phone that stores a pair of earbuds in the back.

It’s a bizarre niche that I’m surprised contains two products. I’ve used them, so it's my duty to report that both are a bit silly — and I don’t want to use any more of them, thank you very much. However, for the few people out there thinking they want to buy one, this is what they're like. For everyone else, you get to marvel at two of the oddest tech products seen in a while.
Phone or smartwatch?

Read more