Cat's new S60 is the world's first smartphone with an integrated thermal camera

Just days before Mobile World Congress kicks off in Barcelona, Cat has introduced a new smartphone that’s the first of its kind. The Cat S60 is the world’s first smartphone with an integrated thermal camera, and it’s also the world’s most waterproof smartphone. Sounds pretty cool, right?

The embedded thermal camera is made by none other than FLIR, the company that’s currently leading the pack in thermal imaging technology. Why would you want such a device? Having access to this special type of camera will let you detect heat loss around windows and doors, spot moisture and missing insulation, identify over-heating appliances and circuitry. Oh, and it lets you see in complete darkness too. Thermal cameras let you visualize heat that’s normally invisible to the naked eye. You can pick up heat and measure surface temperatures from a distance of up to 50-100 feet, and also see through certain obscurants like smoke.

It’s also waterproof to depths of up to 5 meters for one hour. This allows it to be used as an underwater camera, which should definitely come in handy in some scenarios.

Like all other Cat phones, the S60 is extremely tough and rugged. It has a 4.7-inch display with auto wet finger and glove support, an octa-core Snapdragon 617 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of on-board storage, a 13MP rear camera and 5MP front camera. It also sports 4G LTE connectivity, a 3800mAh battery, a MIL Spec 810G rating, and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It’ll retail for $599/€649/

Cat will be showing off the S60 at MWC 2016 next week. Android Authority will be in Barcelona to bring you all the best Android-related coverage, so be sure to stay tuned!