Photo Crosscall
For the French smartphone brand Crosscall, attracting new customers obviously requires a small slimming regime. How do I know? Well, because I took charge of the latest smartphone from the Aix-based company, the high-end model called Stellar-X5.
It is thinner and lighter than the Core-Z5, the rugged smartphone intended primarily for professionals working on difficult terrain. It weighs around thirty grams less while its stretched format screen (20:9) is larger, 6.5” compared to 6.1”. But it is still a little heavier than the 220 g of the iPhone 15 Pro Max (6.7” screen).
Design-wise, however, the Stellar-X5 remains an Android device, apart from its optical unit (and we will come back to that).
He is the first representative of a new range that Crosscall is launching at the beginning of October.
As a reminder, Crosscall offers the Action range, for fans of outdoor activities, the Core range which equips, among others, French law enforcement and firefighters. The Stellar range targets professionals looking for a smartphone of good technical level, but also resistant and durable over time.
An undeniable need for aesthetics and storage issues
We are used to seeing Crosscall smartphones adorned with large buttons. Large buttons that provide quick access to dedicated functions. On the Core-Z5 for example, there are seven, four of which are customizable.
From this point of view, the Stellar-X5 is a blueprint. There are four fine buttons, two of which are programmable. The trick to maintaining a fairly wide range of functions directly accessible is for these programmable buttons to be activated either by a long press or a triple press.
On the port side, Crosscall has taken the plunge and also removed the audio Jack socket. With the Stellar-X5, the brand also says ciao to the micro-SD card slot. For the moment, this smartphone is only offered with 128 GB storage (backed by 8 GB RAM). This choice of Crosscall may raise questions… Fans of photo and video shooting could quickly run out of space.
Crosscall Stellar-X5 and Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max. Photo Moctar KANE/ZDnet France
Photographer Questions
On the photo side, a notable difference between the Crosscall Stellar-X5 and the competition’s high-end smartphones is its very modest optical unit. No x3 zoom (let’s not even talk about x5), here there are only two lenses. That of the main sensor (a 50 Mpx) and the wide angle of 120° associated with a 16 Mpx sensor.
We did take a few photos using the Stellar-X5, and the quality seemed good. But the device used did not, we were told, have a definitive version of its system.
However, having tested several smartphones from the brand, we can tell you that generally the quality of Crosscall photos is not high. The Stellar-X5 being presented by the brand as a high-end model, we will have to verify this during a less brief test.
It has become obvious, a requirement imposed by the competition: a high-end smartphone must be a good camera phone. Namely, on the video side, capture is possible in 4K but it is limited to only 30 images/sec (compared to the minimum 60 images/sec elsewhere).
X-Link and X-Space: the two big arguments
But Crosscall smartphones have one feature that we particularly like. This is their X-Link mounting system. It allows them to be combined with various accessories, from the bicycle or motorcycle adapter to the harness, including the charging dock. The attachment is done by magnetism and can be reinforced in certain cases by the addition of a fixative (for intense activities). It’s very useful.
And as with the Core-Z5, the Stellar-X5 can also be used as a simplified computer. Simply connect it via USB-C cable to a monitor and pair it with a keyboard and mouse. This is the very convincing X-Space office mode, which recalls the DeX solution offered by Samsung several years ago with its Galaxy smartphones.
Ad vitam aeternam (or almost)
Of course, we have not yet been able to test the great resistance of the Stellar-X5 to time. But it is designed to withstand around a hundred drops from a height of 1.5 m onto concrete. The device would also withstand being submerged under 2 m of water for half an hour. And unlike other IP68 smartphones, it would also not be afraid of sea water, if soapy water.
We have already checked the resistance of other Crosscall devices several times. This is the expertise of this company. So it should roll on this point for the Stellar-X5. Especially since this device is covered against other risks.
Crosscall is continuing its promise of a five-year warranty with this Stellar-X5! And repairability for ten years, as well as three major Android updates. Given that the impact of a smartphone on the environment is mainly linked to its manufacturing, this service proposal is not trivial.
And this is undoubtedly one of the strong arguments of the Stellar-X5, sold for the tidy sum of €900. Currently, there is nothing more expensive from Croscall, Core-Z5 included (€850).
Crosscall is exploring the possibility of also launching various color versions of the Stellar-X5. Photo Moctar KANE/ZDnet France