Samsung releases ‘tactical edition’ Galaxy S20 phone with beefy case and ‘stealth mode’
SAMSUNG has unveiled a new rugged smartphone designed for use by US military personnel.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 “Tactical Edition” features a chunky case to protect it from knocks and a “stealth mode” that makes it almost undetectable.
Samsung said the custom mobile – effectively a souped up version of the Galaxy S20 released in March – will be available later this year.
It described the gadget as a “mission-ready smartphone tailored to the needs of operators in the federal government and Department of Defense.”
The S20 Tactical Edition (TE) boasts several features that make it ready for use in the field.
They include the ability to connect to tactical radios used by personnel to communicate.
For missions carried out in the dark, there’s a “night-vision” mode, which switches the screen off when the user is wearing night-vision goggles.
This assures they won’t be blinded by light from the display when a late-night text or Candy Crush notification pops up.
To hide communications from enemy forces, Samsung has included its “Knox” security system, which meets various US government standards for secure data.
As if that wasn’t enough, the TE also has a “stealth mode”.
When activated, it “disables LTE and mute all RF broadcasting for complete off-grid communications”.
That’s all very well and good, but it sounds a lot like simply putting your phone on Airplane Mode.
Most of Samsung’s upgrades are to the S20’s software – as far as hardware goes, the TE is the same as its little brother.
Like the standard S20, the TE has a 6.2-inch OLED display, a triple rear camera system, 12GB of RAM, 128GB of storage and 5G support.
Samsung – a brief history
Here's what you need to know...
- Samsung is a major South Korean company made up of many businesses that operate globally
- It’s known locally as a “chaebol”, which means “business conglomerate”
- It was founded by Lee Byung-chul in 1938 as a trading company
- But over several decades, it branched out into food processing, insurance, textiles and retail
- It wasn’t until the late 1960s when Samsung entered the electronics industry – for which it’s best known in the west today
- It also launched businesses in construction and shipbuilding in the 1970s
- Today, Samsung’s most important sources of income are its smartphones and computer chips
- The firm accounts for around a fifth of South Korea’s total exports, and roughly 17% of the country’s GDP
- More than 320,000 staff are employed by Samsung globally
- And in 2017, Samsung turned over the equivalent of £174billion today in revenue
The S20 TE will only be available to “select IT channel partners”, meaning everyday consumers wont be able to get their hands on it.
The phone will launch in Q3 2020, according to Samsung – meaning sometime between June and October.
Samsung did not reveal a specific release date or price for the military gadget.
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