Doogee S200 Review

Doogee S200 Review: Design

“Is that a case?”
“Why’s it so heavy?”
“You could use this thing as a weapon!”
These are the common responses I got from everyone I showed the Doogee S200. And while placing the smartphone in a sturdy sock and using it as a makeshift blackjack is an intriguing idea, it’s not what the S200 is for. As someone who’s wrecked a phone or two in her life, I’m a fan of the phone’s bulk. It’s a sign of its innate toughness. The phone has IP68, IP69K, and MIL-STD 810 ratings. That means the phone is waterproof and dustproof. It’s also drop-proof and can withstand falls from 5.9 feet (1.8 meters). It even has covers over the USB-C port to prevent water or dust from getting in. The display is made of Corning Gorilla Glass to prevent scratches.

Admittedly, that added protection does add quite a bit of bulk. The 7.1 x 3.23 x 0.63-inch device weighs in at a chunky 12.9 ounces. It 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) Plus (6.7 ounces, 6.4 x 3 x 0.33 inches), and iPhone 16 (6 ounces, 5.8 x 2.8 x 0.31 inches) seem like featherweight in comparison.

Chonkiness notwithstanding, the Doogee has mech-based design that’s sure to appeal to Gundam, Transformers, and Power Rangers fans, The aerospace-grade alloy rear panel colored black and pewter gray is made up of a series of sharp angles that recede into gentle slopes. The centerpiece of the design is what Doogee calls a sub-screen. 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 that house the camera sensors.

The phone continues the mecha-look with four prominent screws running down the sides. The volume and fingerprint reader/power buttons sit on the right, with the dual SIM card tray and a button that users can customize for three separate actions – one for single, double, and triple presses. The USB-C charging port sits at the bottom of the phone, hidden beneath a rubber gasket.

The front of the phone consists mostly of a display surrounded by rather thick bezels, particularly on the top and bottom. A teardrop camera protrudes ever so slightly into the top of the display.

Although the black-and-gray colorway is cool, I wish I could have gotten my hands on either 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 Squid Game, I saw every drop of blood splatter as it left the bodies of the unlucky contestants. The deep red offered a lurid contrast against the cheerful rainbow-painted floors in the “Six Legs” episode on the 2400 x 1080 display. Of course, it’s not as vivid as the aforementioned screens, but for the price, I’m not going to pooh-pooh what the S200 has to offer.

The screen isn’t as bright as the Pixel 9, but I had no problem reading articles in direct sunlight. Games like Dead Cells and Zenless Zone Zero ran smoothly with the auto-refresh rate that automatically ramps the rate from the standard 60Hz to 120Hz when gaming or working on something particularly taxing. Doogee also included a barebones Game Mode that aggregates all your games and disables notifications.

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

Doogee S200 Review: UI and Performance

Unlike other Android phones, Doogee runs stock Android—Android 14. The 2.2-GHz octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 7050 processor, 12GB RAM, and 256GB of onboard storage are pretty spry, allowing for zippy navigation between apps and home screens. I only saw a slight hint of slowdown when I started playing Zenless Zone Zero, and that’s after I launched 50 Google Chrome pages, several G-Suite apps, BlueSky, and Threads.

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

Even though the S200 hasn’t made the leap to Android 15 (and I’m not sure that it ever will), you still get a host of features from the previous OS, such as more customization on the lock and home screens. 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 harkens to the phone’s construction tool potential. There’s a Protractor, Plumb Bob, and Level. Doogee also threw the Pedometer, NFC Card Emulator, and Mirror in there, 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. This is 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 outfitted the S200 with an impressive gathering of cameras and features. The main shooter is 100MP with a 20MP night vision camera and a 2MP macro sensor. The pictures I captured had good color, but the details can sometimes be fuzzy. The layers of wasp nest l took on a cloudy day aren’t as sharp as I expected. The same goes for a bouquet of glitter-dipped roses. Still, I was impressed with how well the phone captured my dog’s fur even though one was in motion as she was licking her sister.

But my favorite shots by far are the night vision shots. That’s right, night vision. Although it made me look like something out of a horror film, the mode was great for capturing my dogs’ shenanigans in near-pitch black darkness. There’s also an underwater mode, but since the phone isn’t designed for scuba diving or deep immersion, I’m not sure what you’ll photograph. The 20MP selfie cam was a bit too good, capturing more than a few of my gray hairs and colorful locs.

I really like how many camera modes the S200 offers. Aside from Night Vision, there’s Beauty, 100MP, Super Night, GIF, and Mono, to name a few. But I was missing the option to hit wide or ultrawide shots. The phone also lacks optical stabilization, only offering digital,l which is part of why some of your images’ details aren’t as sharp as they should be. The Night Vision and Macro cameras do just that, leaving that poor 100MP sensor to do all the heavy lifting. And maybe I shouldn’t be complaining 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 plenty of good features, but the best by far has to be the battery life. Its 10,100mAH battery lasts 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 only 30 minutes. And if you’re in a pinch, you can use the S200 as a charging brick with its reverse charge feature.

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

Doogee S200 Review: Verdict

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