The U.S. Army is not happy with the way their Android devices are performing that they are now ditching them and upgrading to the iPhone 6S. In a report in DOD Buzz of Military.com last July 15, 2016, the iPhone 6S will be the device platform of choice for the Tactical Assault Kit, citing unnamed sources from the U.S. Army.

In the news report, the iPhone 6S is smoother and faster as compared to the Android device they are using which tends to freeze and has to be restarted often. There is no mention of what specific Android smartphone they are using for the Android Tactical Assault Kit (or ATAK) as there are powerful and fast Android smartphones though the photo used in this story shows a soldier using a Samsung Galaxy Note II for the Nett Warrior System, which in itself was a powerful device when it was released almost 4 years ago.

Screenshot of the Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK) (Source: Wikipedia)

The Tactical Assault Kit is the Special Forces version of the Army’s Nett Warrior Battlefield Awareness Tool. The problem is said to be more obvious when they use the Instant Eye the mini UAV that was developed by PSI Tactical Robotics which sends a live aerial view feed to the smartphone. The Android smartphone is said to freeze and the fail to refresh properly. With the iPhone, they say it is seamless.

U.S. Army iPhone 6/6S Case (Source: Sazzle)

With the use of the iPhone 6S, the ATAK will be renamed to iTAK or the iPhone Tactical Assault Kit.  The Special Operations Forces will be using the iTAK connected to a Harris AN/PRC 152A radio which allows the operator to talk to various units in other service branches of the U.S. military by crossing various waveforms as compared to the AN/PRC-154A Rifleman Radio which is limited to army units.

At least during downtime the troops using the iPhone 6S can still check in their Facebook accounts, Tinder, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, or perhaps play with Pokemon Go making it such a useful tool for the soldiers on and off the battlefield.