Introduction
This is the
DOOGEE MIX.
Hardware
Being one of the first Xiaomi Mi Mix clone released in 2017, this MIX tries to be as similar as possible (of course not equal), providing a 5.5" screen in a smaller body. Also as regards the RAM/ROM capacity, it tries to be as similar as possible, with a maximum of 6GB of RAM and 128GB of ROM. Unfortunately though it uses a Mediatek CPU, precisely the Helio P25, that isn't bad at all, but not as powerful as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820.
Unboxing
Packaging, with a really nice look, comes with some accessories: 1x Micro-USB Cable, 1x 5V/2A USB Charger, 1x Quick Start Guide, 1x Warranty Certificate, 1x Hard Plastic Case, 1x Phone Holder (Ring), 1x SIM Card Tray Remover and the Smartphone (of course). A plastic screen protector is already applied, and an extra protector is included.
As already introduced before, the design has been copied almost entirely from the Mi Mix, but with a Metal Chassis (instead of Ceramic), a smaller overall size (being smaller the screen) and less glossy colors. The device feels solid, and the Gorilla Glass panel placed on the back makes it looking really premium.
When it comes to the size, well...this is able to beat all 5.5" inches devices released in the last few years. It is only 14.44x7.67x0.80cm, unbelieably compact, but with a weight of 198g, unfortunately feels heavy due to the small size and high weight. I guess the amount of glass increased its weight.
On the front side there almost bezel-less AMOLED Display with an overall clean look (2.5D curved) and the upper front side of the device features an Earpiece (a real one), and the Sensors hole that includes Light, Proximity and Gesture Sensors. Somehow they choose to not include a Notifcation LED, in 2017 i think this is a must have feature.
As regards the lower front side, there is the Fingerprint Scanner in the center (doesn't work as a physical button, can't be pressed), and a Front-Facing Camera that due to space issues couldn't have been placed on the upper side. There is some wasted space though.
On the back side there is the Glass Back Cover i mentioned before.
The upper rear side of the device features the Dual Camera Sensor supported by a Single-LED - Single-Tone Flashlight, and nothing else. On the lower rear side, excluding the DOOGEE logo, there isn't anything at all because the Speaker is positioned on the lower side of the device.
Device
Screen
This is the most interesting part of the device, its almost bezel-less AMOLED screen looks gorgeous, even though i don't like AMOLEDs too much (due to unreal colors). Talking about color accuracy on a AMOLED is like talking about speed for a city car. Colors look really saturated and un-real, and the white balance is a bit messed up. Someone can like it, someone might not. This is really personal.
Unfortunately due to its 720p Resolution, pixels are noticeable on camera, and sometimes also while using it. I don't understand why DOOGEE choose to include a 720p screen instead of 1080p, the Helio P25 is fast enough to handle 1080p Apps/Games.
Its light sensor supports smooth light changes with a maximum brightness of ~500lux. Great Brightness for best usage under direct-sunlight.
Viewing Angles are awesome, as we all know, AMOLEDs are the best when it comes to this.
Camera
Luckily DOOGEE choose to include a pretty good camera sensor for this device, a Samsung ISOCELL 16MP sensor with fast focus-time and good overall quality. It also supports Camera API 2 for Manual Controls such as Manual Focus, RAW Recording and so on. This is the first Mediatek Device i review with Camera2 Compatibility.
I guess the software isn't 100% ready though because the amount of noise is slighlty too high even while shooting outdoors, and sometimes the Flashlight is out-of-sync.
Here you can see an HDR-on/off comparision, plus some random extra photos.
The Blur Effect using the "Blur" option seems to work. (aka Bokeh)
Macros are probably the most detailed ones.
Indoors shoots are decent, nothing to complain about.
The flashlight isn't super powerful, being a Single-LED only, but it is still able to support the camera sensor properly, when it isn't out-of-sync of course.
As regards Video Recording, the quality and frame-rate of 1080p30 videos is OK, and it can shoot also in 2160p25 with a decent stable frame-rate.
The Front-Camera is placed on the lower front side of the device, so you need to shoot photos with the device upside-down for selfies and so on. The Quality isn't too bad, but colors look a bit washed-out.
Audio
Surprisingly, considering the small size of the device, its Speaker is powerful, with a little amount of low-frequencies and excessive distortion at maximum volume. The Earpiece though is a whole different story, due to its limited size, there is a complete lack of low-frequencies, and the volume is a bit limited.
As regards the Microphone, it is as good as the speaker, with high sensitivity and clarity. Everyone was able to hear me perfectly while in-call.
GPS
GPS Quality is perfect, with no issues at all with signal stability and accuracy. Finally Mediatek fixed the GPS on the Helio P25 considering the amount of issues present on the Helio P10.
Indoors on the left, outdoors on the right.
Telephony, Mobile Network & WiFi
Providing full european bands support (with 4G Band 20), the device was able to keep a stable connection to my 4G Network, with decent speeds (considering other devices tested in the same place) and mid-high signal.
WiFi 5GHz is supported, and connected at 121Mbps, i was able to reach almost ~60Mbps. Probably not as high as expected from the Link Speed, but still better than using the 2.4GHz connection.
Battery Life
As my usual reviewing routine, i measured the real battery capacity using an USB Tester, and it seems to be way lower than declared, ~300mAh less. (declared 3380mAh, real ~3080mAh)
Luckily, PCMark run just fine on this device even though it is running Android Nougat. Other Mediatek Devices with Nougat (and also some with Marshmallow) caused the Benchmark to stop by itself after some hours. The result is not so good unfortunately for a 3380mAh battery, but for a 3080mAh it is acceptable.
Thanks to the 2.0A charger, and the small battery, it is possible to recharge the device completely in more or less 2 hours. Maybe a Pump Express Charger would have been appreciated for even faster charging, but it is fast enough already.
Software
Unlike previous DOOGEE devices, this is the first one released with DoogeeOS (based on FreemeOS), with an ad-hoc launcher and some extra customizations. It is based on Android 7.0 Nougat (hopefully will be updated to 7.1.1 soon), with June 2017 security patches and, unfortunately, some pre-installed bloatware that can be uninstalled and/or disabled.
The UI feels smooth, i must admit not as smooth as i would have expected, but this is an early release so i can't blame DOOGEE for that. OTA Updates will gradually improve the device, just like other brands do.
Following the Mediatek line-up, also this one features MiraVision, Gestures (such as tap-to-wake) and so on...
Yes, it includes a Magnetometer/Compass and Gyroscope! Finally a device with a complete set of sensors.
No malwares detected with Malware-Bytes Anti-Malware using latest definitions.
As regards the Fingerprint Scanner management, it is as easy to manage as on all Android Nougat devices, and it is fast to unlock the device. I have to report that sometimes, after keeping the screen off for a long time, it sleeps a bit too much, requiring to turn on the screen in order to get the finger recognized.
