Until now, the CAT® S61/S60 was the only rugged thermal smartphone available on the market. That changed when Blackview released the BV9800 Pro rugged outdoor smartphone on October 18, 2019. Early in September, news that the BV9800 Pro would feature thermal went viral when Blackview began marketing the upcoming product. The BV9800 Pro is part of the Thermal by FLIR® program and boasts a Sony® 48MP camera in addition to a FLIR Lepton®. The Blackview BV9800 Pro may be a latecomer, but it shouldn’t be underestimated. Let’s look at how these two smartphones stack up against each other.
Display & Design
The Blackview BV9800 Pro and the CAT S61 both boast impressive rugged designs and quality. Both are
waterproof, drop-proof, and dust-proof (IP68 & IP69K & MIL-STD-810G certified), but they differ in their look and display. The Blackview BV9800 Pro sports a 6.3-inch IPS display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and supports a full HD resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. The CAT S61 sports 5.2-inch FHD (1080 x 1920) IPS display with a classic
16:9 aspect ratio. Our take: the Blackview BV9800 Pro has a more modern look thanks to its waterdrop notch and a larger display, while the CAT S61 has a more traditional design with a distinctive shape. Which one do you prefer?
Hardware & Software
The Blackview BV9800 Pro brings a competitive array of hardware and software to the rugged smartphone market. The Blackview BV9800 Pro is powered by MediaTek chipset, while the CAT S61 is fueled by Qualcomm chipset. To dive deeper, BV9800 Pro’s chipset is MediaTek Helio P70 octa-core 2.0GHz, coupled with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of ROM, and S61 is Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 octa-core 2.2GHz, with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of ROM. With regards to the operating system, BV9800 Pro runs on Android 9.0 Pie factory direct, while the S61 runs on Android Oreo, with an update required for Pie.
Camera
The BV9800 Pro also offers an improved photography experience. The Sony® 48MP main sensor with night
shot mode is embedded in a triple camera module that includes a FLIR® Lepton® thermal imager, an additional
5MP camera (to support the thermal imaging capabilities), and an extra flash, in addition to a 16MP front camera for gorgeous selfies. The CAT S61 features a 16MP rear camera with dual-LED flash, a FLIR®
Lepton® thermal imager, and an 8MP front camera.
Battery
The Blackview BV9800 Pro has a powerful 6580mAh battery with a wireless charging feature. In comparison,
the CAT S61 has a slightly smaller 4500mAh battery. Both come with an 18W charger.
Price
Our final take: overall, the Blackview BV9800 Pro is a clear winner in terms of look and feel, higher-resolution display, top-grade hardware and software, outstanding cameras, and long-lasting battery. All of this leads to the final determining factor — price. Surprisingly, the Blackview BV9800 Pro is currently priced at $429 in
Kickstarter, while the CAT S61 costs over double that number at $999