You can preorder Cat's thermal imaging smartphone in June

There's also an SDK coming for third-party apps

• By James Vincent
 

Cat first announced its thermal camera-equipped S60 smartphone back in February, and now says it'll be accepting preorders for the device this June. Would-be buyers will be able to cough up €649 ($599) for the Android smartphone at Cat's website or thermal camera-makers' Flir's. However, the June preorder date is for European customers only, with Cat promising that availability for other territories will "follow soon."

As well as its thermal camera, the S60 has a ruggedized construction and superior waterproofing (it can survive underwater at depths of up to 5 meters for up to an hour). The device is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 617 processor and comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. Cat will also be releasing an SDK for the S60 this June, allowing third-party developers to build apps that work with the device's thermal camera. And while the S60 is certainly a niche product, an SDK could help it find uses with engineers, builders, and the emergency services.