Introduction
This is the
DOOGEE S60.
Hardware
Taking the name from the CAT S60, the most powerful rugged device ever made with a thermal camera, the DOOGEE S60 tries to follow, at least in part, the idea of providing decent hardware even in rugged devices. As a result, DOOGEE choose to use a Mediatek Helio P20/25 with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of ROM, with probably everything you can fit in a device, such as NFC and Wireless Charging.
Unboxing
It comes packages in a pretty standard DOOGEE box, i would have expected something different for this kind of device though, with some accessories: 1x Micro-USB Cable, 1x 5 to 12V Pump Express USB Charger, 1x Quick Start Guide, 1x Warranty Card, 1x Plastic Screen Protector. 1x Screwdriver with extra screws and the Smartphone (of course). A screen protector is already applied.
When it comes to the design, this is the best rugged device i have ever held in my hands, with no crazy coloured parts or any other weirdness. I got the Black Version and the full-black design looks gorgeous. It is also solid of course as you would expect from an IP68 device, but it isn't perfect, since keys can be pressed too easily (must have been harder).
It is 16.2x8.33x1.52mm, that translated in a single word would mean "big", with a weight of 286g, not too much considering that also non-rugged devices sometimes reach this weight.
On the front side there is a classic flat glass with a FHD IPS panel underneath, with big bezels.
The upper front side features the earpiece, the sensors hole that includes both light and proximity sensors and a front-facing camera. An RGB Notification LED is also here.
Here you can see the LED in action.
As regards the lower front side, there isn't anything at all except a nice-looking DOOGEE logo. On-screen keys are used here.
On the back side there is a world of things, with screws to remove the whole back cover.
The upper rear side of the device features a big Sony IMX230 camera sensor with dual-tone dual-LED flashlight, an hole that seems to be for the secondary microphone and a cover for the SIM-Card/MicroSD area that can be removed with the provided screwdriver. Almost in the center there is the fingerprint scanner that has been cut in the photo ^^.
On the lower rear side there is the NFC/Wireless Charging pad, the supposed stereo speaker grills and some words about the device itself.
Device
Screen
Being the first 5.2 inches smartphone i ever review, i don't know how other panels behave, but the one i found here is pretty good, with excellent color accuracy and an overall nice viewing experience.
The light sensor works reasonably well, and the screen brightness is higher than average.
Viewing Angles are perfect thanks to the flat glass, with no distortion on any side.
Camera
Photos taken using the rear camera, that is a Sony IMX230 (21MP), look just OK, with a low noise level but also low image detail. Consider the number of megapixels, i would have expected some better results.
HDR works pretty good though, with some nice gain in brightness and image detail. Sometimes photos look warmer than usual though.
The Flashlight is pretty powerful and, being dual-tone, is doesn't mess up color accuracy.
Video Recording is a kind of flashback of what happened on the BL7000, videos recorded at 1080p30 show an high level of noise, and this is confusing considering that in photo mode this doesn't happen.
As regards the Front-Camera, it is a wide-angle variant with the same noise level found on the rear camera so photos look a bit noisy.
Audio
Starting from the speaker, it is really important to report that even though DOOGEE declares a Stereo Speaker system, only one of the two holes provides audio so it is clear that there is only one speaker inside unless my unit is faulty.
Anyway, from the single speaker unit the sound is really loud and powerful, probably one of the best i have ever found on a smartphone, with minor distortion at maximum volume.
Both Microphone and Earpiece instead work decently well, with a nice hearing esperience and no single problem while in-call.
GPS
Even though there is an high amount of Metal on this device that could interfere with the GPS Antenna, here it works great, nearly perfect, with excellent accuracy outdoors and impressive accuracy indoors. The signal is stable, and GLONASS is supported.
Indoors on the left, outdoors on the right.
Telephony, Mobile Network & WiFi
The same consideration i made for the GPS Antenna applies here. With full support for European 4G Bands (Band 20 included), i managed to stay connected to my 4G Network everywhere, with even better results compared to my Redmi Note 4. Outstanding results for a Mediatek device.
WiFi Performance is great too. Of course WiFi 5GHz is supported, and i was able to reach the same speed i get on my laptop, the maximum reachable using my VDSL internet connection.
Battery Life
Battery Capacity is slightly disappointing since it doesn't match the declared value, and the amount of missing mAhs isn't low at all. (declared 5580mAh, real ~4970mAh)
Battery Life is still good though, considering the power-hungry SOC, a result of 15h and 7min using the PCMark Battery Test isn't bad at all. (WiFi on, minimum brightness, Sync on)
Thanks to the Mediatek Pump Express charger, it is possible to recharge the battery completely is more or less 2 hours (as long as you keep the device cold of course), but it reaches a maximum of 9V even though the Charger is made to reach up to 12V.
Last but not least, Wireless Charging. Working just fine with a wireless charger i have here, made for Samsung devices.
Software
Similar to most DOOGEE devices released in the past few months, also this one runs on DOOGEE OS based on Android 7.0 Nougat. Basically, it is a slightly skinned OS with a custom launcher that i recommend to replace. Except Xender and Zello, there isn't any bloatware preinstalled and both apps can be uninstalled/disabled.
The OS runs pretty smooth with no lags at all (excluding the launcher), and the Toolbox app is also pretty useful to use all features included with the device.
Just like most Mediatek devices, also this one features the usual set of features such as Gestures, Double tap-to-wake and MiraVision.
All kinds of sensors are here, including a Barometer.
No malwares detected using Malware-Bytes Anti-Malware.
The fingerprint scanner is another thing that requires heavy optimization on this device, it is accurate and fast when it works, but it frequently stops recognizing fingerprints even while the screen is on (as you can notice in the video).
