Galaxy XCover Pro will bring its removable battery to the US

It seems that the Galaxy S20, formerly known as the Galaxy S11, may have a bit of competition from its own ranks even before it hits the market. Granted, the Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy Note 10 Lite aren't exactly flagship material and neither is this Galaxy XCover Pro. But with a rugged body and a removable battery from eons past, it will at least give the premium Galaxy S20 competition in the enterprise market where Samsung will make the new phone available.

Samsung already launched the Galaxy XCover Pro last week but, in addition to the lack of an announcement, it was easily drowned out by the CES 2020 noise. Now that that's over, Samsung seems to be ready to reveal to the world the latest iteration of its rugged, enterprise-ready Galaxy line.

As already reported, the Galaxy XCover Pro is more of a mid-range smartphone running on an Exynos 9611 with 4 GB of RAM. On top is a 6.3-inch FHD+ Infinity Display, meaning it has no notch but does have a punch-hole cutout in the corner for a 13 megapixel f/2.0 fixed-focus camera. On the back, you have a more typical dual camera setup with a 25 megapixel main shooter and a supporting 8 megapixel fixed focus camera.

Of course, judging by those specs alone, the Galaxy XCover Pro would probably be hardly worth covering, even with its IP68 dust and water resistance rating 1.5-meter drop protection, and MIL-STD 810G certification. But unlike almost all smartphones these days, including and especially those built like tanks, the Galaxy XCover Pro offers a removable 4,050 mAh battery that many users probably wished was still available today.

Given its durability features, it's not surprising that Samsung is targeting the enterprise market rather than consumers. The Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro will be part of its Enterprise Edition offering and, according to Engadget, will be available from Verizon for $499 within the first half of the year.