The Aspera R9 is a $279 tough phone

Need a phone you just won't break? Aspera today announce its R9 tough phone, a rather robust looking device that touts an IP69 water-resistance rating. 

IP69 is the highest water-resistance rating around, and means the Aspera R9 can withstand being blasted by a high pressure hot steam jet and submerged as deep as two metres for up to 30 minutes. An IP69 rating also means the Aspera R9 is also dust-tight, so shouldn't have any issues handling mud. If the R9 gets dirty, Aspera suggests just hosing it off.

While Aspera hasn't provided specific metrics around drop resistance, it bills the phone as shock-proof. Given the chonky design, we imagine it could take quite a beating. There's also tempered glass over the screen, which should also help with durability.

Key specifications for the Aspera R9 include a 5.45-inch 720p+ display, a MediaTek Helio A22 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, dual SIM support, facial recognition, a 13MP rear-facing camera, and a 5,000mAh battery. It runs Android 10.

You can pick up the Aspera R9 outright from Harvey Norman or Leading Edge.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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