Hey, what’s up? Sami here. I’ve reviewed all different kinds of phones. Normal ones,
strange ones, and today is about a rugged phone: the Doogee V20. Well, I got this handset back in
February but never got a chance to edit a final review. I brought this unit here and
there to test, one time even dropped to the sea, but I accidentally deleted that footage.
I wasted a whole day! Anyway, here is the review for the Doogee V20, after two months.
Design: Just like you would expect for a
rugged smartphone, this thing is heavy and thick. It weighs 304grams and has the same thickness
as a foldable. With one of these in my hands, I guess no one would dare to fight with me.
All jokes aside, this phone is definitely not made for someone who is looking for a light
and thin one. One good thing I like about this phone is despite this chunky design, it actually
looks far from ugly. The back comes with this carbon fiber finish, it’s merely a finish though,
and this phone has a conventional construction of polycarbonate and aluminum. The buttons feel solid
and the use of an Easy Key, a customizable key on the left side is a great idea. You can apply
different gestures in the settings. I just loved it; it seems no other phone has this feature.
Another unconventional design is the cover for the type-c charging port, I know it’s for
keeping water and dust at bay, but it’s a bit annoying to open each time when I’m charging.
Of course, the most distinctive design is the rear camera module, there is a small 1.05-inch panel to
the right of the triple camera cluster on the back. Though we’ve seen such a design on the Mi
11 Ultra. It can be set to show a clock, reveal who is ringing you or provide a quick means to
control media playback. For this display I would say it’s more of a decoration than a practical
use as most of us would put the phone face up. Overall, compared to the previous Doogee phones,
let’s say the Doogee S70 I’ve tested before, the Doogee V20 has a less aggressive
ruggedized design and looks more casual and premium.
Extreme durability test: Speaking of that Doogee S70,
I really wanted to do the same extreme durability tests on the V20, crash it, freeze it,
boil it. But later I found there is no need to do the same because that Doogee S70 had survived from
all those tests and that’s a machine from almost four years ago! The Doogee V20 has even pushed
one step further with IP68 / IP69K and confirms to MIL-STD-810G tests. This phone is water-resistant
at a depth of 1.5m for up to 30 minutes, and drop-proof from a height of 1.5m onto concrete.
I have every reason to believe it would survive all those tests even if I really test it.
What I really like: So what I would like to share
with you is something that’s unique about this phone. The best feature I like about this phone is
its Night-vision feature. This is a fun feature to play with and is extremely important in a
dark outdoor environment. Just check some of the footage, these were taken under almost
zero light circumstances while my normal camera wouldn’t be able to take any footage.
Another unique feature is of course the battery life. The giant 6000 mAh capacity
can easily Another unique feature is of course the battery life. The giant 6000 mAh capacity
can easily last for two days with mixed use that includes gaming,
phone talks, as well as photo and video shooting. While for charging, I can charge from 15% to 62%
in 37 minutes by using its 33W wired charger, not bad for such a big battery phone. Surprisingly,
it also supports 15 W wireless charging. This is great so I could avoid removing
the protective cover of the USB-C port, which might cause the wear and tear.
Regarding the software side, people always say don’t expect too much from a rugged phone,
but there is a lot to love about this Doogee V20 actually. The operating system is smooth,
I never faced any system crashes, random restarts, or app freezes.
It offers some custom features and useful tools like the underwater mode of the camera,
which allows the user to operate the camera with the help of the physical buttons alone,
like the OutDoor Toolbox app suite, it’s handy in certain work or outdoor-related situations.
Alright, that’s the video. To conclude, I think for a specific niche,
Doogee again has done a decent job. There is a lot going for this handset, like the durability,
special night-vision camera, gigantic battery life and specialized OS, these are important
for a rugged phone. It is not a device for kids or people with small hands, but definitely one
for those who like their digital companions built to last. And with this excellent price,
which you can find it in the description, it is worth a try, even after two months or more
months.