What you need to know
- Samsung has introduced a "rugged" version of the Galaxy S20 called the S20 Tactical Edition.
- In addition to a rugged case, the phone also comes with a few additional software features.
- Samsung says the Galaxy S20 Tactical Edition will be available in Q3 2020 through "select IT channel partners."
Samsung has announced (opens in new tab) a new version of its flagship Galaxy S20 phone tailored for the U.S. army. It says the phone will provide warfighters "with the technology that will give them an edge in the field" and "an easy to manage and deploy mobile solution that works with a broad range of technologies" to federal program managers and executive officers.
Unlike the "Active" versions of Samsung's past flagships, however, the S20 Tactical Edition isn't actually an all-new phone. It happens to be a standard Galaxy S20 equipped with a rugged case and software features customized for operators in the federal government and Department of Defense (DoD). Like the regular Galaxy S20, the S20 TE sports a 6.2-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, 12GB of RAM, 128GB storage, sub-6GHz 5G support, and a triple-camera setup on the back.
The Galaxy S20 TE can easily connect to tactical radios and mission systems out of the box and has a night-vision mode that enables one to turn the display on or off when wearing night-vision eyewear. For complete off-grid communications, the device offers a "stealth mode" that disables LTE and mutes all RF broadcasting.
It also includes Samsung's useful DeX software, which operators can use to do things like completing reports in a vehicle or at the base. Samsung's new S20 Tactical Edition is certified for special operations as well, thanks to its defense-grade Knox mobile security platform that utilizes DualDAR architecture to provide two layers of encryption.
The Galaxy S20 TE will be sold through "select IT channel partners" in the U.S. sometime in Q3. Needless to say, it will not be sold to consumers.
