14 DAY TRIAL // Back in 2015, Kyocera announced a new smartphone with waterproof capabilities that allow the device to be washed with soap and water. The DIGNO smartphone featured high-end specs and protection against water.
Now, Kyocera announced a successor in the series, the Kyocera rafre, which can be washed with foaming hand and body soap, making it the perfect companion in the bathroom. The company markets the phone as a device that users can take with them in the shower and operate even with wet hands.
The phone is resistant to hot water and has a touchscreen display that lets users swipe or tap even if they’re wearing gloves or their hands are wet. The phone has IPX5, IPX8 / IP5X certification and protection against shocks and dust. The previous Kyocera waterproof phone had Asahi Glass DragonTrail X glass protection on its display.
Mediocre specs that include a 5-inch display and 2GB of RAM
Aside from being used when taking a shower, Kyocera rafre can also be a good companion in the kitchen, considering that it comes with a cooking app that can be operated using hand gestures. Users won’t need to actually touch the screen in order to swipe through pictures and recipes. They can also set timers and even answer calls without even touching the phone.
The smartphone’s specs are mediocre. Kyocera is known to provide mid-range smartphones through US carriers, and it seems that the new device is quite similar to other offerings from the company. The Kyocera rafre has a 13MP rear camera with phase detection autofocus, auto HDR and a feature for taking pictures in low-light conditions.
It’s equipped with a 3,000mAh battery which shouldn’t drain too fast considering the phone’s 5-inch display with HD resolution. It has 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory with the option to add up to 200GB using a microSD card. The phone runs Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. One interesting piece of information is the fact that the new phone doesn’t have an earpiece speaker, sound is transmitted using vibrations via the phone’s display.
The Kyocera rafre will be made available from March 2017 in Japan, in three color variants: Pale Pink, Clear White and Light Blue. Pricing has yet to be revealed.
