AT&T has announced a new smartphone offering in the form of the Sonim XP8, an “ultra-rugged” device from Sonim meant to become available for purchase on April 30. The network operator claims the device is designed to meet or exceed the MIL-STD-810G durability standard, being resistant to extreme temperatures, shock, and humidity. The Sonim XP8 is said to be the only smartphone sold in the United States that comes with an IP69K certification, meaning the device can withstand high-pressure and high-temperature water sprays. The smartphone also sports a front-facing 100dB+ speaker which is equipped with noise cancellation capabilities and comes with a dedicated button for “Enhanced Push-to-Talk” functionalities which effectively serves as an SOS solution for quickly contacting an emergency contact or a group of people.
The Sonim XP8 sports Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 630 chipset clocked at up to 2.2GHz and equipped with the Adreno 508 GPU. The handset also includes a 4,900mAh battery said to offer up to 35 hours of talk time and 30 days of standby time. The device sports a 5-inch display with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels amounting to a widescreen aspect ratio and three physical navigation buttons. The Sonim XP8 also comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal flash storage expandable by up to 128GB via a microSD card. The rear camera of the handset is equipped with a 12-megapixel sensor that features both optical image stabilization and phase detection autofocus, whereas its front-facing camera is an 8-megapixel affair. Software-wise, the smartphone ships with Android 7.0 Nougat and supports both voice dialing and voice commands.
Consumers interested in acquiring the Sonim XP8 can now pre-order the device from AT&T for $699.99, or $23.34 per month on a 30-month plan. The unconventional-looking device also comes bundled with a screwdriver and a three-year warranty, and will be shipped to customers who place an advanced order on it by May 7, AT&T said. The rugged Android handset is also fully compatible with the wireless carrier’s FirstNet emergency response network.
