Crosscall Stellar M6 and M6e: the French brand aims for sustainability with a touch of elegance
Crosscall continues its path in the world of rugged smartphones. If it concentrates a large part of its activity in the professional world – it equips the gendarmerie or the SNCF – the brand also intends to appeal outside the framework of these product fleets. It targets its Stellar range models at an audience demanding in terms of robustness, whether sports enthusiasts outdoor or craftsmen, for example, but looking for a device resembling a classic smartphone.
After the Stellar-X5 in 2023, billed at around €800 (€900 when it was announced), Crosscall is completing its catalog with two more accessible terminals, the Stellar-M6 and Stellar-M6e. We find most of the advantages expected from rugged smartphones: an IP68 certification complementing the MIL-STD-810H military standard, and Crosscall announces resistance to falls from 1.5 m on concrete, to salt water, to temperatures ranging from -20 to 60° C, and allowing the use of gloves since physical buttons are included. To protect its screen, Crosscall has certainly not opted for the most recent Corning glass, but still offers Gorilla Glass 5. The case, made of thick plastic to better resist shocks, is logically not the lightest from the market: count 242 grams.
Beyond these elements, Crosscall is banking on a technical sheet including a 6.1-inch IPS display (720 x 1560 pixels, its main compromise), a Qualcomm QCM4490 processor accompanied by 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. A 4500 mAh battery promising two days of autonomy, a 50 Mpx back photo sensor (8 Mpx on the front), compatibility with wifi 6 and with eSIMs complete the package. It should also be noted that the Stellar-M6 is compatible with a range of accessories intended primarily for professionals, such as a barcode scanner.
Hardware and software durability
The announced robustness of the Stellar-M6 is accompanied by a promise of durability. The smartphone debuts Android 14, with the promise of five years of OS updates and security patches, five years of hardware warranty, and a repairability rating of 9.3/10. The Stellar-M6e includes identical equipment, with the exception of its wireless connectivity (wifi 5, Bluetooth limited to the 5.0 standard), its RAM increased to 4 GB, and loses the fingerprint reader of its big brother : this explains its more contained introductory price. Count on a price of €499 for the Stellar-M6, and €399 for the Stellar-M6e.
