Lukasz Suliga 19/05/2020 Lukasz Suliga 19/05/2020

Doogee S95 Pro Super - Rugged Modular Phone Review - IP69K Waterproof Heavy Duty Smartphone

The Tech Travel Geeks’ Lukasz reviews the Doogee S95 Pro rugged modular smartphone. Want to know what he thought about the build quality, performance, cameras and added modules? Watch the embedded video or read the blog post with sample photos and videos

On the Tech Travel Geeks Youtube channel we unboxed the Doogee S95 Pro a few months ago, and had also unboxed the device when we visited their offices in Shenzhen. I’ve been using the Dooogee S95 Pro on and off since then, but I moved my SIM card from the Huawei P30 Pro to it a few weeks ago to properly review it.

You can buy the Doogee S95 Pro Super kit on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2T0NQdt

Want to know what I thought about the build quality, performance, cameras and added modules? Watch the video below or continue reading to find out, and make sure to subscribe to Tech Travel Geeks for more content like this.

Build quality

First of all, the phone is built like a tank. It’s a proper rugged phone with IP68 and IP69K certificates, which means that it can survive “powerful high-temperature water jets”. That’s thanks to industry-leading rubber on the back, which can survive a lot - so much so that it passed the MIL-STD-810G military environmental tests, and that certification isn’t easy to get.

It’s also thanks to the fact that all the ports like USB, SIM and microSD card are securely covered from any external factors.

We took it further though and wanted to see how much it can survive. The phone managed to stay on while being frozen and survived getting “liberated” with a hammer, which is amazing.

But then we decided to see if the phone can survive being driven over by a Tesla. The first attempt, on the grass, seemed to be successful, with just some scratches on the screen protector. Unfortunately, the second attempt, on concrete, affected the phone quite significantly - initially the camera app wouldn’t open, and then the screen stopped working properly, getting ghost touches. Removing the screen protector didn’t help solve the issue unfortunately.

Friendly reminder - don’t get your phone run over by a Tesla

So, is the S95 Pro super durable? Yes. Should you drive over it with a car? Here at Tech Travel Geeks, we’d advise against it.

Due to all of this ruggedness, the phone is obviously quite heavy, clocking in at 285 grams. For comparison, my Huawei P30 Pro weights 192 grams, but that’s the price you have to pay for the ruggedness. You’ll also most likely need two hands to operate it.

Screen

Doogee S95 Pro is great for watching some Netflix

The front of the device is a 6.3 inch 1080 by 2246 pixel Full HD screen, making it 395 pixels per inch. It’s an IPS screen, so an LCD rather than OLED. The quality is decent and fine if you want to watch some YouTube videos or even some Netflix on the go, but don’t expect the quality or refresh rates seen on OLED screens in current smartphones. Luckily, it’s still bright and good for daily use.

Performance

You can even play Fortnite on the Doogee S95 Pro!

What really positively surprised me was the performance. Having been mostly using phones with high-end chipsets, I was a bit worried about using a MediaTek chipset. However, the octa-core 12nm Helio P90 chipset impressed me personally. The software experience in the everyday usage was great and with no slowdowns. Everything was really smooth.

I wanted to test it to its fullest and tried throwing all the high end games at it, and I could barely make it sweat. All the recent racing games Asphalt 8 and Asphalt Xtreme were really smooth, and the latest Asphalt 9 was easily playable, with just a bit of a performance hit, but nothing impacting the gameplay. The same with Need for Speed: No Limits or Crazy Taxi Classic. I then tried first person shooters, and Dead Trigger worked really well, PUBG was mostly good, with some minor slowdowns. I was even able to play some Fortnite, with just some minor slowdowns. Only thing to note is that some games took a bit longer to load, despite 8GB of RAM, but you only need a bit of patience, that’s all. Overall, for such a device, it definitely exceeded my expectations.

Speaking of memory, the phone comes with 128GB of storage, and supports microSD cards in case you want to expand it even further.

Software

The S95 Pro uses Android 9 and hasn’t received a major update in the last 6 months. What’s more worrying, though, is the lack of security updates. As of writing on 8th May, my device is still stuck on January 2020 update. That’s not great unfortunately, so keep that in mind.

Doogee’s launcher is rather basic and doesn’t have an app drawer, so I installed Action Launcher instead, as I personally struggle without the app drawer. However, the overall software experience was all right.

Battery life

Doogee S95 Pro’s 5150mAh battery is great

Another area that’s quite impressive is the battery life, as expected in such a device. The phone comes with a 5150 milliamp hours battery and it will last you a day of constant usage without any problems, and even more if you don’t use your phone as much as I do. If you’re planning to go mountain biking or on a hike, you’ll be sure that your phone is safe AND that the battery won’t run out before the day ends.

When it comes to charging, you have two options. You can use a USB-C cable and plug it in. According to Doogee’s website, it offers 24W “turbo quick charge”. You can also use 10W wireless charging, which is great for a rugged phone like this. In general, you shouldn’t have any battery issues with this device.

Connectivity

When it comes to connectivity, you should be able to use the phone globally on most 3G and 4G networks, which is great. It supports dual SIM cards, so you can either have a work and personal number, or get a cheap SIM card while travelling. What’s more, it supports NFC, so you’ll be able to make wireless payments using Google Pay or similar, which is becoming more and more important right now.

Cameras

As someone who loves taking photos, there’s one area which would make it difficult for me to use this phone as my only phone, and that’s the camera. On paper, all looks good - there’s a 48MP main lens with the same sensor as the Xiaomi Mi 9T, an 8MP wide-angle lens and an additional 8MP sensor, as well as an LED flash on the back, and a 16MP front-facing camera.

I managed to take a few good photos with the main lens, before we had to stay home. Here’s a beach in North Berwick in Scotland, Placa de Catalunya in Barcelona and some monument in Barcelona, all looking good.

However, if you take the same photos on the wide angle camera, the colours shift towards red and the photos get darker, become pixelated and are unfortunately unusable.

Unfortunately, it’s the same with the zoom lens - here’s the Arc de Triomphe on the main camera, which looks good, but then the wide angle becomes dark and pixelated, and the 2x zoom looks like an oil painting, losing detail.

The night mode was actually quite good, as per the Sagrada Familia photos I took. Again, as long as you stick to the main lens.

Two of my favourite photos were of food in Barcelona - I really miss travelling now :)

There’s also portrait mode and some shots are good, but it appears to be finding the middle of the image and blurs everything outside, so don’t use it on inanimate objects.

Selfies weren't great, but passable - oh, hi Matteo!

I also used the front facing camera for video calls with family with no issues, as well as to share some guitar practice with my teacher.

For video, you get 4K 30 frames per seconds, just be careful that it’s quite shaky, so I’d recommend stationary shots. The wide angle camera doesn’t work for video though, just main and 2x zoom. Luckily, the 2x video doesn’t seem to suffer from the same issue as photos - just look at this amazing guy in Barcelona!

Modules

Finally, let’s end on something very unique to the Doogee S95 Pro. If you look at the back, you can find a 16-pin connector. There are two optional modules which you can buy in addition to the phone and connect them to the device - a battery and speaker. Exciting stuff!

Doogee S95 Pro Super kit comes with the phone, a battery module and a speaker module

Let’s start with the battery. It attaches really easily, and it stays on really well. It has a cut out for cameras, so you can still use them while charging on the go. The battery has a capacity of 3500 milliamp hours, which means that it should charge around two thirds of the battery, or up to 10 hours. In our tests, we went from 20% to 70% in around 3 hours. I found the battery a really good idea, especially if you’re on the go and urgently need a top-up

The speaker module is a 6W one with two speakers, has a 2000 milliamp hour battery and should last up to 3 hours. You don’t need to connect to Bluetooth, it just works. The sound is great, it’s quite loud and can fill a room. My by far favourite function is the stand, which allows you to watch some YouTube or movies on the go without holding the phone.

Doogee S95 Pro speaker module with a stand

Summary

So, what are my thoughts about this phone? If you’re in the market for a rugged phone, this should be a great device for you. It has a great battery, surprisingly good performance, and if you go with the version with modules, the functionality of the phone will increase significantly. It can also survive almost anything. Just bear in mind that the cameras aren’t great and software updates are quite behind, so be cautious if those two things are important to you.

Thanks for watching this detailed Tech Travel Geeks review of the Doogee S95 Pro. If you enjoyed this video, make sure you leave us a like and a comment, and subscribe to our channel for more videos like this - click here to subscribe.

Check our Doogee S95 Pro unboxing videos:

Also, watch the Doogee S95 Pro comparison with the Doogee S68 Pro:

Matteo Doni 24/02/2020 Matteo Doni 24/02/2020

All About Android 460 - We Roll Like TCL

Matteo’s latest appearance on All About Android.

Last week while vacationing in California I took the time to visit our friends ta the TWiT Lastpass Studios in Petaluma to appear on one of my favourite shows: All About Android.

Though Flo and Ron were out this week (congratulations on the new arrival Flo!), it was a great pleasure to be on episode 460 of All About Android with Jason and Ant.

I showed off the Oppo Reno 2 which we recently reviewed on the Tech Travel Geeks YouTube Channel as well as a few Doogee devices we are working on content for.

I’m on my way to Barcelona at the moment with Lukasz. We’ll be covering the Honor event from there and recording a fresh episode of the Tech Travel Geeks Podcast from what is not MWC week…

Matteo Doni 02/08/2018 Matteo Doni 02/08/2018

All About Android 380: The Mockadile Industrial Complex

Matteo, our Chief Mobile Opinionist, was a guest on All About Android on TWiT.tv. We have also published a couple of reviews here on Tech Travel Geeks.

This week I had the pleasure of being a guest on TWiT.tv's show All About Android. Jason, Ron and Flo were, as usual, excellent to chat to and we had a few giggles too. Flo even asked her woody Lenovo Smart Display to play some Jennifer Paige.

If you would like to be more aware of what is going on in the world of Android, with a bit of a US perspective, I recommend you subscribe to All About Android as an audio podcast, video netcast and YouTube Channel.

I also discussed our recently reviewed Doogee S50 rugged smartphone and the Nokia 1 Android Go smartphone.

Lukasz's impressively filmed and edited video review of the Doogee S50 is now live on YouTube. If you would like to see more content like this, please subscribe to the Tech Travel Geeks YouTube Channel.

Are all these suggested subscriptions not enough for you? We have some great news we will be publishing on Tech Travel Geeks tomorrow. Until then happy watching and listening!

Matteo Doni 31/07/2018 Matteo Doni 31/07/2018

Doogee S50 Review - Endurance Brick

Our Chief Mobile Opinionist Matteo reviews the Doogee S50. This device can put up with the ruff life…

The Doogee S50 is a ruggedised and shockproof Android smartphone with IP68 rating coming to us from, you guessed it, China.

Shenzhen based Doogee are known for delivering value devices and sometimes doing something quite different with their industrial design as we see here: the Doogee S50 looks like a spaceship from the future and feels like it has the heft to be a mass driver projectile. That’s probably due to the ruggedised casing and its 5180 mAh battery. While chunky and not at all slippery, the Doogee S50 is pleasant to hold and use, and pretty much ideal for long Pokemon Go sessions.

When I say the Doogee S50 is ruggedised, it’s probably a bit of an understatement: this metal and TPU brick with a screen not only feels as if it can take a beating, it really can. While Lukasz and I were stranded at Stansted Airport (also known as St Ansted) we had the chance to put the device through a few drop tests and the Doogee S50 came through completely unscathed.

As the floor near St Ansted Gate 30 is filthy, we then went and gave the Doogee S50 a rinse under the tap and a blow dry. When we eventually boarded the plane I had no problems listening to my favourite podcasts on the flight home (in flight mode obviously).

The 5.7” IPS display is clear, has good colour reproduction and is perfectly adequate for an HD+ panel (HD+ 1440x720). As a Chief Pixel Density Enthusiast, this device gets my approval with its 282 pixels per inch (ppi) pixel density.

The Doogee S50 is powered by a Mediatek Helio P23 chipset (built on a 16nm process), 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. Android 7.1 runs the show and while not the latest version of Android performs very smoothly as there seem to be very few customisations from AOSP. The default launcher is simple and functional, and there is nothing to stop you installing Action Launcher or your launcher of choice.

Dual SIM or single SIM with MicroSD storage are enabled options thanks to the internal gubbins and the well protected card tray.

When it comes to cameras, Doogee didn’t hold back on the S50: there are 4 sensors on the device. On the back you will find 16MP and 13MP sensors with f/2.0 aperture. These work in tandem for portrait/blur mode and perform pretty decently. There is also a single LED flash in case you need it.

On the front there is a 16MP sensor and an 8MP one. In this case one is for standard selfies (beutified by default obviously) while the other is for group selfies as it sits behind a wide angle lense. Nothing says “I’m a rugged outdoorsy type” as much as taking a selfie

The fingerprint scanner on the back is fast and works well. I like the ergonomic positioning and have had no problems using it. In case you are wearing gloves while using the Doogee S50 you can also use face unlock. The face unlock isn’t as fast as the Honor 10 or the Huawei P20 Pro, but is still perfectly usable and very convenient.

Not having NFC may be an issue for those wanting to use the device for payments or public transit.

The 5180 mAh battery can also be used to charge other devices. You’ll need a micro USB to USB A female adaptor to do that, and remember to make sure it is a slimline one as the casing may impede you from plugging in.

The courage port, also known as the 3.5mm audio jack has a similar issue: because of the depth of the casing and the width of the aperture you will only be able to use audio devices or accessories with slim 3.5mm audio connectors. wider ones will simply not slot in.

A combination of the Mediatek Helio P23 chipset, the HD+ (1440x720) rather than FHD+ (2160x1080) screen, and 5180 mAh make the Doogee S50 an endurance champion. I’ve noticed that recently it has become my device of choice for Pokémon Go walks, because of the amazing battery performance.

To sum things up the Doogee S50 is a great device for travellers who may be exposed to the elements a little more than others. Not only that, it can take a bit of a beating as we have seen. The good overall performance, the excellent battery life and clear screen are a clear plus for the Doogee S50. The only downsides I can see are the lack of NFC, which for some people may be a deal breaker, and very slow battery charging that I have noticed. For less than £200 or $250 you get a lot of smartphone. The ruggedness may avoid you some headaches if you tend to smash phones.

From tech travel geeks this is a recommended buy, in particular if you are going to be using your smartphone outdoors or play Pokemon Go a lot.

You can purchase the Doogee s50 at the following AliExpress Store: http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bBQSEFiC

Lukasz Suliga 27/04/2018 Lukasz Suliga 27/04/2018

What's in my bag - Round The World edition

Lukasz is on his amazing round the world trip. In this post he enlightens us on what tech he is carrying with him on the epic eastward journey.

Welcome to a new section on Tech Travel Geeks - What's in my bag. We'll be talking about the tech we love and carry with us on our travels. First off, Lukasz.

And it's a big one. This year, I got extended annual leave at my full time job (I work at Skyscanner, the travel search website), and I will be using it to fly around the world in just under 6 weeks. Below, you will find a map with my itinerary:

Bag

The challenge with this trip is that I hate checking my luggage in - extra time wasted before the flight, risk of losing the luggage, and you need to wait for it to show up after the flight. So I'll be trying to pack all my camera gear, productivity equipment, as well as clothes for the whole trip into one carry-on bag.

My choice of bag is the Hugger 30l Black Camo bag by Douchebags. I've been very happy with it so far, but I've only used it on two short trips, so you can expect more information about this bag in the future. It's been great so far, with a large and comfortable main compartment, handy top pocket (especially at airports) and a laptop case on the back. We'll see if my opinion changes after 16 flights and 33,000 miles.

Camera and lenses

As Chief Aperture Officer at Tech Travel Geeks and a big camera enthusiast, the majority of space in my bag is taken by my camera equipment. My camera of choice is the Panasonic Lumix GH5, which is one of the best Micro Four Thirds cameras on the market, especially for video shooters. It has fantastic 4K image in 60 frames per second, which allows me to get slow motion from all of my footage without the need to change any settings. It also has top-of-the-line image stabilization and a way-too-uncommon flip-out screen, which for me is a deal breaker for other cameras. Sony, your move!

I'm also taking a few lenses with me. Starting from the widest, I have the 16-36mm equivalent lens, a 24-120mm equivalent zoom lens, my favourite - the 85mm-equivalent lens, and the telephoto 70-200mm equivalent. I might have to leave one of them home, as they don't all fit into my Amazon Basics camera bag, but we'll see how much space I'll have when I add clothes and other necessities.

For audio, I'm taking the Rode VideoMicro microphone with a wind shield. This time, I'm leaving home the Zoom H5 audio recorder due to space constraints, and because I wouldn't most likely have enough time to use it for run-and-gun filming.

Other filming equipment

DJI Mavic Air drone - the smallest 4K drone available, a fantastic and hugely enjoyable tool which allows creating some amazing footage. You can see my unboxing and first impressions video, recorded for Coolsmartphone.com, on my Youtube channel, but also expect more on TechTravelGeeks
GoPro Hero 5 - a useful tool especially for extreme sports and water sports, so I'm hoping to use it a few times, together with the floating handle and Lumecube, a great waterproof LED light, which might come in handy underwater
Joby GorillaPod - the key tool in Casey Neistat's arsenal, so I couldn't leave it out. What I'm leaving home, however, is the Zhiyun Crane gimbal stabilizer, but it's way too big and heavy for this trip

Phones

My current daily driver is the Samsung Galaxy S9+, which is a fantastic phone. You can watch my other videos about it on our Youtube channel, including the unboxing video and a comparison with the S8+, focusing on travellers. I'll definitely take it through its paces during this trip.

In addition to this, I'm also taking the Doogee BL7000 (thanks, Matteo!). It's actually the first time that I'm taking two phones with me, but I'll be treating this one as a power bank/music player most of the time. This phone has a 7000mAh battery, so I'm taking it instead of an extra power bank, with the benefit of using it for other purposes as well.

Laptop

My laptop of choice is the new 13.3" Microsoft Surface Book 2. I've stayed with Windows over the years, and I couldn't be happier with this laptop. It has top specs, which allow me to edit 4K video without any issues, great keyboard, and a screen which transforms into a tablet. You can expect a more thorough review on TechTravelGeeks in the near future.

Since I film everything in 4K, and film a lot, I need lots of storage. I'll be taking two portable hard drives, 2TB and 4TB, initially as redundancy, and in case I use more data, as extra storage. I'm also taking a number of SD and MicroSD cards, there's never too many of them.

Entertainment

Nintendo Switch - it's my first console since the Playstation 2 (I don't play that many games), but I couldn't be happier with the purchase. However, even though I have a few AAA titles like Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild, and more recently - Doom, I usually play quick games like Pinball and quick racing games
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones - my first noise cancelling headphones, they really changed my commuting and travelling experience forever
Chromecast - for streaming from my phone or laptop, in case there's a TV and decent WiFi in one of the hotels

Cables and chargers

Lots of them. However, I'm trying to limit the number of chargers I'm taking, so I'll be reusing the laptop charger and drone charger for recharging other devices, since they both have spare USB outs.

I'm also taking a universal power adaptor, which supports 4 different types of outlets, as well as an extension block.

I hope you liked this new section on Tech Travel Geeks. If you did, please don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit that "like" button. Also, please do contact us through the comments section on YouTube or via our social media channels, we'll be really happy to hear from you. Thanks for reading!