Samsung XCover Pro available, may give Microsoft Teams a frontline worker boost

Samsung's Galaxy XCover Pro is available on Verizon's network for $499 in a launch that's timed for public sector, healthcare and manufacturing industries.

The device, which was announced in January, is designed to bring a slimmer form factor to enterprise frontline workers and includes integration with Verizon Push to Talk Plus as well as Microsoft Teams. Samsung plans on updating XCover Pro with Microsoft Teams' Walkie Talkie feature later in 2020. Microsoft Teams has seen strong momentum amid the COVID-19 pandemic and move to remote work. 

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Samsung has been pushing into the enterprise as well as developing industry-specific use cases. Frontline workers are a hot market for technology vendors as enterprises look to connect this employee base. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic frontline and first responder workers have been in the forefront.

Partners such as Infinite Peripherals and KOAMTAC, ProGlove and Scandit are also customizing XCover Pro for various industries. In addition, XCover Pro NFC and technology TEEgris for mobile point-of-sale systems. XCover Pro will also be dual-SIM capable through an update in the second half of the year.

Samsung said it will provide a minimum of two years of availability from launch and three years of security updates. The device is available at Verizon, Samsung, Microsoft and distributor sites.