Doogee S200 Review

Doogee S200 Review: Design

“Is this a coincidence?”
“Why is it so heavy?”
“You can use this thing as a weapon!”
These are the common responses I got from everyone I showed the Doogee S200 to. And while putting your smartphone in a sturdy sock and using it as a makeshift blackjack is an intriguing idea, that’s not what the S200 is about. As someone who has broken a phone or two in my life, I’m a fan of the mainstream phone. This is a sign of his innate endurance. The phone has IP68, IP69K and MIL-STD 810 ratings. This means the phone is waterproof and dustproof. It’s also drop-resistant and can withstand a drop of 5.9 feet (1.8 meters). It even has covers over the USB-C port to keep out water or dust. The display is made of Corning Gorilla Glass to prevent scratches.

Of course, this added protection adds quite a bit of bulk. The device measures 7.1 x 3.23 x 0.63 inches and weighs 12.9 ounces. That’s what it does Google Pixel 9 (7 oz., 6 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches), Samsung Galaxy S24 SE (7.5 oz., 6.4 x 3 x 0.31 in.), Nothing Phone (2a) Plus (6.7 oz., 6.4 x 3 x 0.33 in.) and iPhone 16 (6 oz., 5.8 x 2.8 x 0.31 in.) feels like a featherweight by comparison.

Despite the wheezing, the Doogee has a mech-based design that’s sure to appeal to fans of Gundam, Transformers, and Power Rangers. The black and pewter gray aerospace alloy rear panel is composed of a series of sharp angles that recede into gentle slopes. The centerpiece of the design is what Doogee calls the sub-screen. It’s like the Dynamic Island found on modern iPhones, only in a more convenient location (more on that later). The 1.3-inch round AMOLED mini display is flanked on both sides by four cameras that house the camera sensors.

The phone continues the mechanical look with four protruding screws running along the sides. The volume and fingerprint reader/power buttons are located on the right, with a dual-SIM tray and a button that users can customize for three separate actions – one for single, double and triple taps. The USB-C charging port is located at the bottom of the phone, hidden under a rubber seal.

The front of the phone consists mostly of a display surrounded by fairly thick bezels, especially at the top and bottom. A teardrop-shaped camera protrudes ever so slightly at the top of the display.

While the black and gray colorway is cool, I wish I could have gotten my hands on the green and yellow versions as I love a pop of color.

Doogee S200X Review: Display

It’s not OLED or even AMOLED, but I’ll still take the S200X’s 6.7-inch IPS LCD screen. As I watched the second second of the Squid Game, I saw every drop of blood spray as it left the bodies of the unfortunate contestants. The deep red offered an eerie contrast against the cheery rainbow-painted floors in the episode “Six Legs” on the 2400 x 1080 display. Sure, it’s not as bright as the aforementioned screens, but for the price I’m not about to wonder what the S200 has to offer.

The screen is not as bright as Pixel 9but I had no problem reading articles in direct sunlight. Games like Dead Cells and Zenless Zone Zero ran smoothly with the auto refresh rate, which automatically boosts the frequency from the standard 60Hz to 120Hz when you’re playing or working on something particularly demanding. Doogee has also included a barebones game mode that aggregates all your games and disables notifications.

Let’s talk about the screen. It’s a really useful way to interact with certain apps and features on the phone without engaging with the main display. In addition to the clock, you can read notifications, control your designated music app, check battery life, take photos, answer calls and several other useful functions.

Doogee S200 Review: User Interface and Performance

Unlike other Android phones, the Doogee runs stock Android — Android 14. The 2.2-GHz octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 7050 processor, 12 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of built-in memory are quite fast, allowing quick navigation between apps and home screens . I only saw a slight hint of lag when I started playing Zenless Zone Zero, and that was after running 50 pages in Google Chrome, a few G-Suite apps, BlueSky, and Threads.

It should be noted that the smartphone is listed with 32 GB of RAM. That’s because Doogee has mapped part of the 256GB to RAM to trick the system into thinking it has more capacity to install apps.

While the S200 hasn’t made the jump to Android 15 (and I’m not sure it ever will), you still get a ton of features from the previous OS, like more lock and home screen customization. You also get better security and data protection, such as using biometric authentication instead of passwords for more apps. Speaking of apps, there’s Toolbag, which is a collection of apps that tap into the phone’s build tool potential. It has a protractor, a plumb line and a level. Doogee also threw in the pedometer, the NFC card emulator and the mirror, which is a bit confusing.

When I ran Geekbench 6, the S200 returned a single-core score of 990 and a multi-core score of 2471. That’s a solid score, but it doesn’t match the Nothing Phone (2a) (1198/2824), the Pixel 9 (1699/4241) or the iPhone 16 (3412 and 8416).

Doogee S200 Review: Camera

Doogee has packed the S200 with an impressive array of cameras and features. The main shooter is 100MP with a 20MP night vision camera and a 2MP macro sensor. The photos I took had good colors, but details can sometimes be blurry. The wasp nest layers I made on a cloudy day are not as sharp as I expected. The same goes for a bouquet of glitter-covered roses. Still, I was impressed with how well the phone captured my dog’s fur, even though one was on the move licking his sister.

But my favorite shots so far are the night vision shots. That’s right, night vision. Although it made me look like something out of a horror movie, the mode was great for capturing my dogs’ antics in near pitch darkness. There’s also an underwater mode, but since the phone isn’t designed for diving or deep immersion, I’m not sure what you’ll be shooting. A 20-megapixel selfie camera was too good, capturing more than a few of my gray hairs and spots of color.

I really like how many camera modes the S200 offers. Besides Night Vision, there’s Beauty, 100MP, Super Night, GIF and Mono to name a few. But I missed the option to take wide or ultra-wide shots. The phone also lacks optical stabilization, only digital, which is part of the reason why some of the details in your images aren’t as sharp as they should be. The night vision and macro cameras do just that, leaving that puny 100MP sensor to do all the heavy lifting. And maybe I shouldn’t complain when the phone is so undeniably cheap, but if other similarly priced phones can do it, I can’t help but notice.

Doogee S200 Review: Battery

The S200 has a lot of good features, but the best by far has to be the battery life. Its 10,100 mAH battery lasted almost 24 hours, at 23:12, when playing a 24-hour YouTube video at 50% brightness. The phone has Quick Charge 3.0, which means the S200 can achieve a 50% charge in just 30 minutes. And if you’re in a pinch, you can use the S200 as a charging brick with its reverse charge function.

But Doogee, I have something I need to clear up with you. Why oh why do you have a big plate on the back of the phone with what looks like lightning bolts? I thought that meant the S200 had wireless charging capabilities. But imagine my surprise when I put the phone on not one but two different wireless chargers and got bupkis. Then I thought it was NFC, but it’s not.

Doogee S200 Review: Verdict

Should you buy the Doogee S200? It depends. The S200 has a lot going for it. It’s super tough and durable, has great performance and even better battery life. The rear subscreen adds some handy features and man, the night vision is just awesome. And you really can’t beat that price. But I’m not sure how many people would willingly settle for 4G in the 5G era. Also the cameras with all their features could be better and I’m not sure Android 15 will ever come to the S200. But for people looking for a rugged, rugged, semi-premium flagship phone for under $500, the Doogee S200’s competitors are few and far between.