Whether it’s for work, adventure, or disaster preparedness, you may need a way to communicate that doesn’t rely on the cellular network. Until late last year that meant carrying around a separate device, whether it’s a satellite phone or something text-oriented like the Garmin inReach Messenger.
Satellite communications are now starting to feature on select smartphones. We’ve seen this with Apple’s new iPhones, but those have somewhat limited capabilities: They can connect you to emergency services, or they can send your location to friends and family. However, you can’t chat with your friends and family like you could with inReach, for example.
Now the Bullitt Group is making non-emergency two-way satellite communication possible with new phones like the Cat S75. Note to North American readers: The same hardware as the Motorola Defy 2 is available, plus there is a separate communication device, the Motorola Defy Satellite Link, which enables the same functionality on any Android or iOS phone.
What is this feature? For starters, there’s a free 12-month membership to Emergency Response Centers operated by FocusPoint International. You will be able to contact them 24/7 using the app or the dedicated SOS button on the top of the phone.
In case of an emergency, there is a simple questionnaire that will help you communicate your situation to the emergency services (eg if you are alone, if someone is injured, etc.).
For other communications, you can send and receive messages to regular cellular subscribers, who will receive them as text messages. Note that if they want to respond, they’ll need to download a free app. Here are the plans, the Cat S75 comes with three months of the Essential plan for free:
The app works with the Bullitt Satellite Messenger service. You can quickly send location check-ins with a single tap or type a message – messages are limited to 140 bytes, which is 140 characters of the Latin alphabet, although it will be less with other alphabets (it has full support for Unicode).
Typical of the Cat brand, the phone is built to be rugged. This one skips the show of rubbery textures and exposed screws on the outside. However, at 171 x 80 x 11.9mm and 268g you definitely won’t confuse it with a regular phone. It’s not too big, for example the iPhone 14 Pro max is 77.6mm wide and weighs 240g (it’s only 7.9mm thick). Either way, you won’t be wearing the S75 in skinny jeans or a clutch.
The phone has a 6.6-inch 20:9 display, FHD+ IPS LCD panel with 120Hz refresh rate. If you look closely, you’ll see a small lip running around the perimeter of the phone. This keeps the Gorilla Glass Victus panel off the table if you put the phone face down. You don’t have to look that closely to see the huge bezels, but that’s typical of rugged phones.
The S75 can withstand drops of up to 1.8m (6ft) onto steel plates. The MIL-STD-810H test includes vibration and drops, as well as salt spray – this phone will do just fine or an oil rig. It was also tested in extreme temperatures (-30°C/-22°F to 75°C/167°F) for 24 hours.
IP68 dust and water resistance is complemented by IP69K for resistance to high temperature water jets. The phone is rated to survive up to 5m (16ft) underwater for 35 minutes. The camera also has an underwater mode if you want to snap some pictures while down there.
The S75 has the so-called Hygiene+ antimicrobial coating with silver ions. Your phone is easy to clean with alcohol wipes or just a little soap and water.
Back to the camera, it lives on a bump that doesn’t have the same display protection. The triple module includes a 50MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide angle and a 2MP macro (who knows, a macro camera might actually be useful on a phone like this).
We didn’t mention this before, the front camera is an 8 MP module, which is not in a notch or a hole, but… you know, there is a huge bezel above the display.
The Cat S75 launches with Android 12 and Bullitt has promised to update it to Android 14. This release is important as Google is working on native support for satellite connectivity. Also, the phone will get 3 years of quarterly security patches and then another 2 years of emergency patches.
The software runs on MediaTek hardware: the Dimensity 930 and also Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) communication hardware that allows the phone to connect to satellites. There’s 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage on board, plus a microSD slot if you need more.
The 5,000mAh battery is sealed within the phone and supports 15W fast charging via USB-C, as well as Qi wireless charging. There are no pogo pins to charge the cradles.
The Cat S75 is already available for pre-order via selected couriers and resellers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The cost is $600/€600/£550 (this includes the 3-month Essential plan). The Bullitt Satellite Messenger service will launch in Europe and North America this quarter and will expand to other regions later this year.
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