DOOGEE S98 Smartphone Review: Rugged and Innovative

Incredibly rugged smartphone with truly impressive cameras.

Doogee S98 Smartphone Review Featured

Pros

  • 4 cameras, including 64 MP AI rear and 20 MP night vision
  • Dust-proof, waterproof, and military grade
  • Screen protector included
  • Fast charging
  • Long-lasting battery life
  • High performance processor
  • 256 GB onboard storage

Cons

  • Heavier than standard smartphones
  • Didn't include correct charger

Our Rating

9 / 10

With so many Android devices on the market, sometimes it’s hard to find the best option for your needs. For those with active lifestyles that need a durable phone with innovative features, the DOOGEE S98 could be the perfect solution. With a brand philosophy of “Our spirit is to have the courage to keep challenging and exploring,” you’d expect an impressive device. I recently had the pleasure of seeing just how well the DOOGEE S98 smartphone lives up to the brand’s promises.

This is a sponsored article and was made possible by DOOGEE. The actual contents and opinions are the sole views of the author who maintains editorial independence even when a post is sponsored.

Overview of Features

Straight away, the DOOGEE S98 has an incredible feature set, along with accessories, that you won’t find on most major smartphones. Even when you lift it for the first time, you can tell it’s designed to be more durable and rugged than the competition.

The phone has a 6.3 in. LCD FHD+ waterdrop screen. The 1080 x 2340 resolution screen is heavily protected from drops with a Corning Gorilla Glass protector. A peak brightness of 480 nits gives you clear, crisp colors.

It weighs in at 0.7 lbs. (320 g) and measures 6.77 in x 3.22 in x 0.61 in. Yet, despite being slightly heavier and thicker than many other brands, it fits comfortably in the hand.

It comes with Android 12 and is prepared to handle most any app with a MediaTek Helio G96 octa-core 12nm 2.1 GHz processor. It also has 8 GB RAM and 256 GB onboard storage, which is expandable to 512 GB.

Doogee S98 Smartphone Review Cameras

There’s a heavy focus on photography with three AI-enabled rear cameras and one front camera:

  • 64 MP main camera with two rear flashes
  • Sony 20 MP night vision camera with two infrared lights
  • 8 MP wide angle camera powered by Samsung’s S5K4H7 sensor chip
  • Samsung 16 MP front camera

There are also various camera modes, such as panorama, GIF, night vision, HDR, AI, watermark, time lapse, slow motion, and more.

It’s designed for all-day use, thanks to the 6000 mAh battery. With average use, it can last up to three days and 18 days on standby. It can last up to 10 hours with constant gaming and/or video use or 28 hours with calls. The battery is made to rapidly charge with the 33 W charger in around two hours. It can also charge wirelessly with a 15W wireless charger.

Doogee S98 Smartphone Review Charger

If all that’s not impressive enough, the rear display is an instant standout. A circular rear display lets you control music, receive notifications, take calls, check the time, and set alarms. Plus, the display is customizable.

It’s also easy to secure the device with facial recognition and a side finger print scanner. With NFC tech built in, you can also trade in your physical wallet for a digital wallet. And, for easy access to a favorite tool, there’s a custom side button.

Durable phones are important for active lifestyles. This device is IP68, IP69K, and MIL-STD-810G rated. This all means it’s dust proof, waterproof, and military grade.

In the Box

Doogee S98 Smartphone Review In Box

I’ve never seen a smartphone packed so neatly and securely, along with having everything you need to start using it safely. Not only is a screen protector already installed, a second one (along with the installation kit) is included. There’s also a 33W charging adapter and USB-C cable. Sadly, my DOOGEE S98 smartphone came with a European charging adapter, so I wasn’t able to test that, as I’m based in the U.S., but it did charge well wirelessly and with the fast charge adapter that came with my last smartphone.

Getting Set Up

Doogee S98 Smartphone Review Setup

I was surprised to see that the phone was actually at 60 percent charge when it arrived, so I was able to go through the normal process of connecting to Wi-Fi, setting up my Google account, and installing a SIM card. The DOOGEE S98 smartphone supports two nano SIM cards and a microSD card in the slot above the custom button.

Doogee S98 Smartphone Review Sim

Speaking of buttons, the custom button resides on the left side, while the power, volume, and fingerprint sensor buttons are on the right.

Doogee S98 Smartphone Review Buttons

There were two other things I wanted to set up: the custom button and the rear display. You can choose three different types of clicks, so the button can actually handle three tasks, such as opening a favorite app, opening the camera, taking screenshots, recording, opening the flashlight, etc.

With the rear display, you’re able to customize the look of the clock, incoming call, and music displays. I was able to customize when the display turned out, such as when I turned the phone over or double-tapped it.

Doogee S98 Smartphone Review Rear Options

Overall, it was easy to get everything set up. Within minutes, I had my SIM card installed, my account linked, and several options customized. After that, I let it charge. Even without using the included charger, it only took around 45 minutes to charge the remaining 40 percent. Wireless charging took slightly longer.

Using the Cameras

While having a rear display is fun, I didn’t realize the full potential of the DOOGEE S98 smartphone until I started testing out the cameras. The main 64 MP AI rear camera provides exquisite detail, even when you zoom in. Whether I took pictures in low or bright light, the images turned out amazing. If you love nature photography and want to see every detail, this is the phone camera to take with you.

Doogee S98 Smartphone Review Pictures
Taken with DOOGEE S98

Even the 8 MP wide angle camera worked well, though obviously not quite as detailed. The front 16 MP camera takes great selfies and offers filters to take even better pictures. There are also editing features for all images.

Doogee S98 Smartphone Review Edit

Just as impressive as the rear AI camera, though, is the night vision camera. I’ve used night vision cameras before, but the clarity on this one blows the others away. In a pitch black room, I could see clearly. The same holds true outdoors.

Doogee S98 Smartphone Review Night
Lights versus pitch black

If you enjoy hiking, camping, or just want to take pictures of nighttime wildlife, you can’t beat the camera setup on this phone. Plus, its rugged design can handle being tossed in a backpack and even dropped on a trail.

Using the Phone

Doogee S98 Smartphone Review Screen

During my review, the battery only had to be charged once outside of the initial setup. This was with heavy video watching, playing multiple games, listening to music, taking photos/videos, and taking several hour-long video calls. The sound quality for calls is great, but it’s not the best for music. However, that’s not what the DOOGEE S98 is marketed for, and it’s easy to connect Bluetooth earbuds for better sound. Plus, you can just use the rear display to control your music.

Doogee S98 Smartphone Review Fast Charge

The phone lasted for around 30 hours before I had to charge it. Typically, I’d need to charge my own smartphone after just a few video calls and listening to music for a few hours. I was also impressed that the device didn’t get warm when playing games.

Final Thoughts

Doogee S98 Smartphone Review Final

Between the rugged design, incredible cameras, and innovative rear display, the DOOGEE S98 smartphone is a powerhouse of a device. It’s built to last throughout your day and then some. While it’s designed mainly for people with rough jobs that can easily damage most phones and active outdoor lifestyles, it really is perfect for anyone.

Try the DOOGEE S98 yourself for $499.99, though you can get it for 32% less right now, making it just $339.99.

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