A tour of the Doogee S96 GT ruggedized Android smartphone - ZDNet

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Closeup of Doogee S96 GT connected woody post

As idiosyncratic who takes my telephone with maine connected random adventures, I'm a large instrumentality of rugged smartphones. A sanction that's synonymous with rugged smartphones is Doogee.

Well, Doogee is backmost again with different rugged Android smartphone, the S96 GT, a revamped S96 Pro.

Is it immoderate good? Let's instrumentality a look, shall we.

Also: The 6 champion rugged phones

Doogee S96 GT tech specs

Display: 6.22-inch Corning Gorilla Glass IPS Waterdrop display
Resolution: 1520x720 pixel
CPU: MTK Helio G95 Octa Core；2 x Cortex A76 2.1GHz + 6 x Cortex A55 2.0GHz
GPU: ARM Mali-G76 Up to 900MHz
RAM: 8GB DDR4
Storage: 256GB
Rear camera array: AI Quad camera (48MP+20MP+8MP+2MP)
Front camera: 32MP
OS: Android 12
Battery: 6350mAh
Charging: 24W (15W wireless charging)
SIM tray: Dual SIM + microSD
Satellite navigation: GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou
Protection rating: IP68 / IP69K / MIL-STD-810H
Biometrics: Fingerprint reader
Weight: 310g
Dimensions: 167 x 81.4 x 15.5mm

Externally, the S96 GT looks similar galore of the different ruggedized smartphones I've looked astatine implicit the past mates of years. It's a immense show clad successful rubber, metal, and sealed ports. Colorful metallic and integrative are utilized to effort to soften what would different beryllium a precise utilitarian look, and for specified a chunky handset, you mightiness spell arsenic acold arsenic to telephone the S96 GT "stylish."

Well, if chunky smartphones are your style, that is.

As a smartphone S96 GT is speedy, lag-free, and pleasant to use. The accelerated octa-core processor helps to support things moving on nicely, and not erstwhile did I acquisition immoderate lags oregon hiccups erstwhile it comes to performance.

Also: The Doogee S89 Pro could beryllium the archetypal Batman-approved phone

The cameras are OK. Not great, but not atrocious either. The output is good for the likes of Facebook and Instagram, oregon for sharing with friends and family. There are a full clump of camera features to play with, ranging from Portrait, AI camera, and Night Mode, to Pro, Panorama, and Time Lapse modes.

One connection of informing though. Don't spot immoderate of the illustration photos that the shaper uses connected its website due to the fact that a speedy hunt shows these to beryllium repurposed banal images.

I truly privation smartphone makers would halt doing this.

Same arsenic the S96 Pro, there's a 20-megapixel nighttime imaginativeness camera, which uses the 4 built-in infrared floodlights to seizure achromatic and achromatic nighttime images. While it's casual to "Ooooh" and "Ahhhhh" implicit this, I'd overmuch similar a thermal camera, which would beryllium much utile and little gimmicky.

Still, if you privation to spot what's happening astir you -- retired to astir 20 meters -- successful the dormant of night, this smartphone volition springiness you that superpower.

Battery beingness is besides good, with the 6350mAh portion keeping this going for good implicit a time of use, though I did consciousness that the artillery beingness wasn't arsenic bully arsenic what I had with the S96 Pro.

Taking the S96 GT into the outdoors? No problems.

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The IP68 standing means that it shrugs disconnected bedewed and dusty environments, susceptible adjacent of withstanding h2o immersion astatine a extent of 1.5m for 30 minutes, and, according to Doogee, a time immersed successful factual astatine a extent of 1m (not definite however you retrieve it aft that).

You tin adjacent instrumentality photos and video portion underwater.

It tin besides grip temperatures extremes ranging betwixt 70°C (158°F) and -55°C (-67°F).

Closeup of rubber flaps connected Doogee S96 connected woody post

OK, present onto the not truthful good.

First, the display. A 720p show successful 2022 conscionable doesn't chopped it anymore. Yes, it's OK connected a fund phone, but connected a telephone costing $350, it's a monolithic letdown.

Secondly, the microphone is weak, making telephone calls frustrating. Add immoderate upwind oregon postulation noise, and it's virtually unusable without resorting to earbuds.

Also: The 6 champion Android phones

That said, however often does anyone marque calls these days?

But 1 happening you bash regularly connected a smartphone is look astatine the display, and that 720p show truly feels aged now.

If you're looking for a ruggedized, stylish Android 12 smartphone with a decent artillery and camera, past the Doogee S96 GT is not a atrocious bargain astatine all. Yes, determination are immoderate limitations, and I'd person preferred a thermal camera to the nighttime imaginativeness feature, but it's inactive a solid, reliable, well-made smartphone that's susceptible of surviving thing the beauteous overmuch large outdoors tin propulsion astatine it.

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