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Kyocera DuraForce PRO 2
When you want a tough, waterproof rugged, state-of-the-art smartphone that doesn't need a case
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)
During each of the past several years, well in excess of a billion new smartphones have been shipped to consumers eager to have the latest and greatest. And that "latest and greatest" means sleekest, thinnest, and glossiest — precisely what makes a case absolutely necessary to protect that precious investment.
Which really makes no sense at all. Phones are with us all day long. We grab them, fumble them, stick them into pockets and purses. Phones are, by far, what we're most likely to drop during any given day. So why all the sleek, slender, wafer-thin phones? That's the trillion dollar question.
Almost everyone agrees that a small flip-phone would make far more sense than anything we have today. Except that, of course, phones today aren't really phones. They are do-it-all, life-isn't-possible-without companions. Yet, why the gloss and slenderness? If sense ruled, phones would look like this:
"This" being just large enough to get the job done, and not as large as possible. "This" means intelligently designed and engineered so they don't get scratched, dented and broken without an ugly case. Simple as that.
So major kudos to Kyocera for making just such a phone, one that actually makes sense. And for having done so for years. Kyocera (Kyocera Mobile really; the Kyocera mothership itself has 70,000 employees and makes all sorts of things) is different that way.
Whereas Apple, Samsung, Huawei and the like seek world domination, Kyocera makes phones for those to whom the maxime — coined by 19th century American architect Lous Sullivan —"form follows function" actually means something. And that means flip phones, keypad phones, and phones that don't break, the latest of which is the DuraForce PRO 2.
In a way, Kyocera's decision is no different from the one Panasonic made when, realizing that laptop computers became generic, concentrated on a niche that became the Toughbook brand. But the two went about it in different ways. Whereas Panasonic established itself as the leader in rugged mobile computing, Kyocera never focussed on a unified brand for its phones and instead primarily moves product through wireless carriers.
The Kyocera DuraForce PRO 2
But now on to the phone itself, the DuraForce PRO 2. With a footprint of 5.9 x 2.9 inches it's between the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. It's thicker (half an inch) than those two, and heavier (over eight ounces) as well. That, however, doesn't make it thick and bulky as dedicated rugged devices often are. In one's hand it actually feels just right.
The screen measures "only" 5 inches diagonally and there's none of that LCD-wrapping-around-the-edge that's so fashionable today. Instead, there's a margin. That means no need for a camera "notch" and you can actually hold the DuraForce without its screen interpreting mere holding as a touch command.
The phone's display is recessed into the housing by a millimeter or so, and that's just enough for the tough enclosure to take the brunt of the impact instead of more fragile glass. Even if that glass is, in the Verizon version we tested, of the sapphire variety (which Kyocera calls Sapphire Shield) and said by some to beat Gorilla Glass.
But what about tech? Due to lower unit volumes, niche market electronics often aren't state-of-the-art. That's not the case here. The DuraForce PRO 2 is powered by a very competent 2.2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon SDM630 CPU. Measured benchmark performance meets or beats most recently introduced rugged mobile computing products. And the OS is current as well, Android 8.1.
The screen sports 443 pixels per inch, way sharper than the new iPhone XR and just a bit short of the top-end iPhone XS Max. In terms of luminance, we measured 590 nits, more than holding its own for work out there in the field. Battery capacity is around 12.3 watt-hours, again more than Apple's finest. The battery, however, is non-removable.
Great imaging
On the camera side, more good news. This is an area where ruggedized devices historically have struggled. Not so the DuraForce Pro 2. Its imaging capabilities are premium smartphone-class. Between a 5MP front camera, a 13MP rear camera, a separate 4K wide angle action camera, and a display sharp enough to truly see what you're taking a picture of, imaging is first rate. Below are our standard sample pics. Click on the image for a full-size version.
But not even that is all the DuraForce PRO 2 offers in terms of imaging. You can also superimpose an action overlay that can show speed, elapsed time, distance, altitude, G-force, date and time, and even the route. That can certainly come in handy for action video.
And the DuraForce PRO 2 even has an underwater mode! Yes, not only does it compensate for the different color situation underwater, but it even reassigns the phone's physical buttons so that you can operate the special underwater camera menu. You can go snorkeling with this phone! How's that for going way beyond the basics?
Tough and rugged
Now what about ruggedness? That obviously matters as it's the primary reason for picking the DuraForce PRO 2 over all those sleek and slender premium consumer phones. Here the news is predominately good. There's a very wide operating temperature range, wide enough to use the device pretty much anywhere.
There's the IP68 rating, which means the phone is totally dustproof and can also handle full immersion down to two meters for 30 minutes. True, most premium consumer phones are also waterproof today, but the way Kyocera went way beyond just sticking an IP68 label on it makes us believe that this is the real thing. And there's the Sapphire glass both for the screen and the camera lenses.
There are references to the MIL-STD-810G ("blowing dust & sand/vibration/transit drop from 5 feet (1.5 meters)/ functional shock/salt fog/solar radiation/ humidity/temperature extremes/ thermal shock/high altitude/icing and freezing rain/blowing rain").
And the DuraForce PRO 2 even carries a hazardous locations safety rating. Non-Incendive (no sparking), Class I (flammable gases), Division 2 (present for a short time), Group A-D (types of gases), T4 (max surface temp 275F). For what that means, see Kyocera's brochure.
There is, however, one improvement we'd like to suggest. The housing material of the device is way too slippery. Slippery means it's easy to slip out of hands or fall off surfaces.
Kyocera DuraForce PRO 2: bottom line
The Kyocera DuraForce PRO 2 is for those who want a modern smartphone they won't have to baby. It doesn't need a case. It's virtually invulnerable. It has a bright, terrific, and very sharp 5-inch display. It's quick. It runs Android 8.1. It has three very good cameras (including 4k video), with good imaging software support. It can be used as an underwater camera. It comes with useful special apps. It supports memory cards up to 512GB. It's available in the US through AT&T, Verizon, and FirstNet. And costs less than half as much as the cheapest iPhone XS. Conrad H. Blickenstorfer, May 2019
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