Land Rover Has Launched A Tough Smartphone With Two-Day Battery Life

Fair warning: this article contains pictures of a hipster beard. Land Rover and the Bullitt Group have announced a rugged new smartphone designed for life outdoors.

Thanks to a 4000mAh battery and a simple five-inch HD screen, the Explore handset can run for two full days, says Land Rover, even with the screen on constantly. Battery life can be redoubled to four days of constant use with an Adventure Pack add-on.

If you drop it while crossing a shallow river it’s no problem. The Explore is fine with being under water, to a depth of 1.8 metres (6ft). That goes for salt water as well as fresh. You can still use the screen as normal even when it’s wet, or when you’re wearing gloves.

Extreme temperatures are no problem; the phone can deal with Arctic cold and desert heat without breaking a sweat. It can brush off vibration and thermal shock, but no specific mention is made of it being able to cope with being dropped, so we have to assume it’s as vulnerable to screen breakages as most other handsets.

Lost in the wilderness? Easy for the Explore. It has its own off-road mapping, its own weather service data, its own compass and an SOS light. It’s the Swiss Army knife of phones. You can, of course, buy a host of accessories like bike mounts and extra batteries.

It’s due for a full reveal at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on 26 February. It goes on sale soon after, with a UK price of £599.