Cat S42 review: «Am I doing something wrong?»
The Cat S42 is sturdy, but after testing I'm still left wondering: why own the best-protected phone if there's nothing worth protecting in the first place?
I really wanted to love the Cat S42. But after putting it through its paces, I'm unsure what the Cat S42 really is.
The phone itself is pointless. But it's sturdy – I'll give it that. And likeable. I mean, I still like Cat phones. If you hold as many rectangular things with rounded edges in your hands as I do, you're sometimes happy to get something radically different. I like the blocky design, the shameless «I'm a brick» and the unique build of the phone.
I also respect Cat and how they're courageous enough to keep sending me phones, even though it's the second time it hasn’t gone down well for them. Maybe it'll be different with the S62 – they do have that in the pipeline.
But the S42 is a phone that I just don't understand. This is the first time I’ve tested a phone and thought, «Am I doing something wrong here?»
Android in slow mo
I never expected the Cat S42 to break speed records. It features 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal memory – FYI, the term «ROM», though often used interchangeably, is actually incorrect – and at about 250 francs, it's fighting for its place at the top of the lower price segment. Or vying for a spot in the lower section of the mid segment. The first time I thought «I wonder if that'll catch on» was when I read the name of the system on a chip (SoC): MediaTek Helio 6761D A20.
MediaTek is often the SoC that's built into a phone when it has to meet these two exact requirements:
- that the phone works
- that the phone is cheap.
Yep, the phone is cheap and it does work. Well, just barely. It's hard to make Android any slower, but somehow Cat has managed to. It's hard to believe when Android is a platform that's optimised for the lowest possible specs. With a few exceptions, all apps should run smoothly.
But with Cat S42, you can already tell the operating system is slower. Starting up the phone is fine. It's afterwards that things get a bit hairy. If you click through the settings quickly, you'll already begin to notice it a bit. But trying to download apps while checking Instagram? Definitely slow. It makes me wonder how this phone is meant to work in practice.
Frustrated, I throw the phone in the fountain nearby. Funnily enough, this is when I fall back in love with Cat. The phone seems to be indestructible. It's almost like it's encouraging me to chuck it about.
«Is there something wrong with the camera?»
You might be able to get away with the slow speed. It might not even be an issue for you. Maybe that's what you're used to. Perhaps you're just going to use this phone like a work tool. Great. In that case, let's see what this tool can do. For starters, there aren't any additional sensors or camera modes. That means no air sensor or infrared camera, unlike in the Cat S61. In terms of sensors, the phone is the same as a Wiko or a Mara phone.
Cat has been focusing its advertising on the «ultra-bright» 5.5-inch IPS display. I’ve seen brighter. But alright. So be it. The lip around the display is designed to protect the phone and stop the Gorilla Glass 5 display from hitting the ground. This lip can get in the way of swiping on the phone, but it’s nothing you can't get used to after a few initial, annoying minutes.
I keep dropping the phone. The fun doesn't wear off. I should say here that I kept dropping it because I was so happy about how sturdy and tough the phone is. But really, it was because I just wanted to drop it.
As I’m somewhere in Langau after work, a comment someone left on a previous article about the iPad flashes through my mind. They explained that they use the iPad to take photos on a building site. The pictures could then easily be sent to whoever needed them, before even getting to the office.
Does the Cat S42 have a good camera?
No, not really. It makes me wonder if I’m doing something wrong. Because I'm sitting here with a phone that's too slow and too weak to deliver photos. A simple shot in good light with hard shadows, and already the Cat S42 breaks out in a sweat. The funny thing is, the photo looks better on the screenshot than on the finished image. Then there's the fact the phone needs a good second or so to process the image, which is just a disgrace, really. And it's not like there's any reason for it, as the camera doesn't have to carry out any fancy processes. The last time I saw «Image processing» was on the Nokia 9, which had quite the experimental camera array. So I'm more likely to cut that a bit of slack. But with a single-cam set-up where no stellar performance is required? It just shouldn't happen.
I start to ask myself, am I the problem? To get some answers, I whip out the other phone I've got with me, the iPhone 11 Pro Max. The comparison isn't fair as they are about three price chasms – I mean classes – apart. But still, the image from the Cat S42 is bad.
Since Cat are pushing the phone's brightness in their advertising, I think to myself, «The phone must work in the dark.» Hey, who knows when you might be on a dark building site and need a photo for your report.
Yeah, so it's no use in the dark either. But, to be fair, the iPhone 11 Pro Max isn't up to the task either.
The Oppo Find X2 Pro Lamborghini edition, on the other hand, delivers a solid picture. Just so you know what technology can do in the dark and what is possible.
All in all, the S42 camera is a flop. So what's it made for, you might well be wondering. What kind of ideas went into its development?
What is wrong with Cat?
Disillusionment slowly starts to set in. The Cat S42 simply isn't a good phone. What's the point of owning the best-protected phone if there's nothing to protect. The S42 is slow, weak and just not cool.
And yet, this doesn't mean we should completely write off Cat this year. As a rule of thumb, it's the S40 series you can quite happily ignore. But do look out for the S60 series, which is set to welcome a new member, the S62. My prediction is that Cat will be back on form with that one. After all, their flagship shows just what they're capable of: laser measuring equipment, infrared cameras, Snapdragon. That should make it one not to miss. Even if it's not for iPhone-kids or the Huawei fan club, the Cat S62 will certainly be for those who think like me: that there isn't anything that can't be improved by adding a laser to it.
But back to the phone I was testing: the S42. A phone that doesn't really do very much. Or if it does do something, I want to know what.
Can anyone tell me what this phone is supposed to be good for?
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Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
