Rugged phones have a bad reputation. They are considered a novelty act, a bulky monster that should only show its face on a construction site or in a military capacity. But Doogee, a Chinese company, looks beyond a few niche boxes to bring us the Doogee S200, a mid-range smartphone with serious ruggedness but enough features to brush the flagship category with your fingertips.
Available for as low as $229 on AliExpress or $339 on Amazon, the S200 is almost a bargain with its extreme durability, near-day-long battery life, and features you’d expect on a high-end smartphone . There are some caveats, however. For example, because this phone isn’t released to the US market, it won’t work on some 5G networks from some of the biggest carriers. And the performance, while good, doesn’t match that of other mid-range phones. But somehow he manages to execute some of the more taxing games surprisingly well.
However, the S200 is inexpensive for those looking for a rugged smartphone with ridiculous endurance and performance that will surprise them.
Doogee S200
The Doogee S200 brings rugged durability and excellent battery life to a powerful gaming phone for under $500.
Benefits
- Ultra robust design
- Excellent battery life
- Surprisingly strong gaming performance
- Cool Camera Features
- Really affordable
Disadvantages
- 5G networks limited in the United States
- Performance is not as strong as competing base models
- Cameras are a mixed bag
- No Android 15
Doogee S200 review: design
“Is this a case?”
“Why is it so heavy?”
“You could use this thing as a weapon!” »
These are the common responses I received from everyone I showed the Doogee S200 to. And while placing the smartphone in a sturdy sock and using it as a makeshift blackjack is an intriguing idea, that’s not what the S200 is for. As someone who has destroyed a phone or two in their life, I’m a fan of phone volume. It’s a sign of his innate tenacity. The phone is rated IP68, IP69K, and MIL-STD 810. This means the phone is waterproof and dustproof. It is also drop-resistant and can withstand drops of 5.9 feet (1.8 meters). It even has covers over the USB-C port to prevent water or dust from entering. The screen is made of Corning Gorilla Glass to prevent scratches.
Granted, this extra protection adds a bit of bulk. The 7.1 x 3.23 x 0.63-inch device weighs 12.9 ounces. This makes the Google Pixel 9 (7 ounces, 6 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches), Samsung Galaxy S24 SE (7.5 ounces, 6.4 x 3 x 0.31 inches), Nothing phone (2a) More (6.7 ounces, 6.4 x 3 x 0.33 inches), and iPhone16 (6 ounces, 5.8 x 2.8 x 0.31 inches) seems featherweight in comparison.
Despite its shocking nature, the Doogee has a mechanic-based design that is sure to please fans of Gundam, Transformers, and Power Rangers. The aerospace-grade alloy rear panel colored black and pewter gray is made up of a series of sharp corners that recede into gentle slopes. . The centerpiece of the design is what Doogee calls a sub-display. It’s like the Dynamic Island found on modern iPhones, just in a more convenient location (more on that later). The 1.3-inch circular AMOLED mini-display is flanked on both sides by four chambers housing the camera sensors.
The phone continues its mecha look with four prominent screws on the sides. The volume and fingerprint reader/power buttons are on the right, along with the dual SIM card tray and a button that users can customize for three distinct actions: one for single, double, and triple presses. The USB-C charging port is on the bottom of the phone, hidden under a rubber gasket.
The front of the phone mainly consists of a screen surrounded by rather thick bezels, especially at the top and bottom. A teardrop-shaped camera protrudes slightly at the top of the screen.
While the black and gray colorway is cool, I wish I could get my hands on the green and yellow versions, because I love pops 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. As I watched the second second of Squid Game, I saw every drop of blood splatter as it left the bodies of the unlucky contestants. The deep red provided a stark contrast to the cheerful rainbow-painted floors in the episode “Six Legs” on the 2400 x 1080 screen. Of course, it’s not as vivid as the screens mentioned above, but for the price, I’m not going to poo-poo what the S200 has to offer.
The screen is not as bright as the Pixel 9but I had no problem reading articles in direct sunlight. Games like Dead Cells and Zenless Zone Zero ran smoothly thanks to the auto refresh rate which automatically increases the rate from the standard 60Hz to 120Hz when you’re gaming or working on something particularly taxing. Doogee has also included a barebones gaming mode that consolidates all your games and turns off notifications.
Let’s talk about the subscreen. This is a very useful way to interact with certain apps and phone functions without interacting with the main screen. Besides the clock, you can read notifications, control your designated music app, check battery life, take a photo, answer calls and some other useful features.
Doogee S200 review: User interface and performance
Unlike other Android phones, Doogee uses stock Android: Android 14. The 2.2GHz octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 7050 processor, 12GB RAM and 256GB built-in storage are quite snappy, allowing for fast browsing between apps and home screens. I only noticed a slight sign of slowdown when I started playing Zenless Zone Zero, and that was after launching 50 Google Chrome pages, several G-Suite apps, BlueSky, and Threads.
Note that the smartphone is listed with 32 GB of RAM. In fact, Doogee has mapped part of the 256 GB to RAM to make the system believe that it has more capacity to install applications.
Even though the S200 hasn’t made the jump to Android 15 (and I’m not sure it ever will), you still get a host of features from the previous OS, like more customization on the lock and home screens. You also benefit from better security and data protection, for example by using biometric authentication instead of passwords for more applications. Speaking of apps, there’s Toolbag, which is a collection of apps that bring home the potential of the phone’s building tools. There is a protractor, a plumb line and a level. Doogee also added the pedometer, NFC card emulator and 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 2,471. That’s a solid score, but it doesn’t match the Nothing Phone (2a) (1,198/2,824 ), the Pixel 9 (1,699/4,241) or the iPhone 16 (3,412 and 8,416).
Doogee S200 review: camera
Doogee has equipped the S200 with an impressive set of cameras and features. The main shooter is 100 MP with a 20 MP night vision camera and a 2 MP macro sensor. The photos I captured had good colors, but details can sometimes be blurry. The layers of wasp nests I took on a cloudy day aren’t as crisp as I expected. The same goes for a bouquet of roses dipped in glitter. Still, I was impressed with how well the phone captured my dog’s fur, even though one of them was moving as she licked her sister.
But my favorite photos by far are the night vision photos. That’s right, night vision. Although it made me look like I was in a horror movie, this mode was ideal for capturing my dogs’ shenanigans in near-pitch darkness. There is also an underwater mode, but since the phone is not designed for scuba diving or deep immersion, I’m not sure what you’ll be shooting. The 20MP selfie camera was a little too good, capturing more than a few of my gray hairs and colored spots.
I really like how many camera modes the S200 offers. Besides Night Vision, there is Beauty, 100MP, Super Night, GIF and Mono, to name a few. But I was missing the ability to take wide or ultra-wide shots. The phone also lacks optical stabilization, offering only digital, which is part of the reason why some details in your images aren’t as sharp as they should be. Night vision and macro cameras do just that, leaving that poor 100 MP sensor to do all the heavy lifting. And maybe I shouldn’t complain while the phone is undeniably cheap, but if other similarly priced phones can do it, I can’t help but notice.
Doogee S200 review: battery
The S200 has many great features, but the best by far is the battery life. Its 10,100 mAh battery lasts almost 24 hours, at 11:12 p.m., when playing a 24-hour YouTube video at 50% brightness. The phone features Quick Charge 3.0, which means the S200 can reach a 50% charge in just 30 minutes. And if you’re in a hurry, you can use the S200 as a charging brick with its reverse charging feature.
But Doogee, I have a problem with you. Why, oh why, do you have a big plate on the back of the phone with what looks like lightning bolts on it? I thought this meant the S200 had wireless charging capabilities. But imagine my surprise when I placed the phone on not one, but two different wireless chargers and received bupkis. Then I thought it was NFC, but it’s not that.
Doogee S200 Review: Verdict
Should you buy the Doogee S200? It depends. The S200 has a lot to offer. It is extremely robust and durable, offers excellent performance and even better battery life. The rear sub-display adds some handy features, and man, that night vision is just plain cool. And you really can’t beat this price. But I don’t know how many people would happily accept 4G in the 5G era. Plus, the cameras with all its features could be better, and I’m not sure Android 15 will ever come to the S200. But for those looking for a rugged, rugged semi-premium flagship phone for under $500, the Doogee S200’s competition is few and far between.