A Tough Phone That Delivers

Doogee has built a reputation over the years for creating rugged smartphones designed to withstand the harshest conditions.The brand’s S89 and S89 Pro are also on our list Smartphones with insane battery life, but is often criticized for lacking the advanced features found in flagship devices. This latest smartphone from Doogee packs a lot of cool features, including a powerful MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC, 5G connectivity and a stunning 108MP main camera.

I’ve been using the Doogee V30 for the last few weeks. At its $529 price point, we can confidently say that this device offers the best value, whether you’re a pro who needs a smartphone that can handle demanding tasks, or someone who needs one. A rugged device for outdoor activities, the Doogee V30 ticks all the boxes. In this review, I’ll explain why the Doogee V30 stands out and why we think he’s one of the best options in the category. Let’s get started.

design

Starting with the design, you’ll notice that the Doogee V30 looks like every other rugged smartphone. Yes, it’s pretty thick. The smartphone weighs over 350 grams and is 18.3 mm thick at its widest point. This is by no means a lightweight, everyday-carry smartphone, but for its intended use and audience, thickness and weight are tradeoffs that require increased durability and protection.

This device has two color options, black and orange. We tested the black version of this device and found that the vegan leather and wood grain sides gave it a very high quality feel and a unique look. All in all, it’s safe to say that it looks more elegant than your average rugged phone.

If you look around the device, you’ll notice that it has a USB-C port on the bottom and a power button (which doubles as a fingerprint scanner) and a volume rocker on the right side. On the left is a SIM card tray and customizable buttons that can be programmed to launch apps, activate voice assistants, turn on a flashlight, and more.

screen

Shifting focus to the front, the device features a 6.58-inch FHD+ IPS LCD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. This display supports a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, so you can be sure that the content you see will be silky smooth. In an age when all smartphones have punch-hole cameras and dynamic islands, the Doogee V30 comes with a water drop selfie camera. There’s an LED notification light on the top bezel and two front-facing speakers (two more on the bottom) for a rich multimedia experience. The phone also comes with a pre-installed screen protector, which is a nice touch.

The Doogee V30’s display is what you’d expect from an IPS LCD screen. Visuals are sharp and clear, but viewing angles may be lacking. That being said, the 120Hz refresh rate is a standout feature that offers a silky-smooth experience without any noticeable flicker. However, he lacks one feature that some users find useful. It’s the ability to wake up the display with a double tap.

Function and performance

The Doogee V30 comes pre-installed with the company’s custom Android 12-based software. It offers a slightly modified version of stock Android with a familiar Chinese ROM-inspired notification bar and quick settings toggle. The software is well optimized and has no excessive bloatware.

The Doogee V30 is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC with an integrated 5G modem. This allows for his fast 5G speeds out of the box. In terms of memory, the V30 boasts 8GB of RAM, which can be increased to a total of 15GB using the device’s memory fusion technology. This technology uses your smartphone’s idle ROM to increase his RAM capacity across the device. The device also offers a generous 256GB of onboard storage (UFS 3.1) that can be expanded up to 1TB via the TF/SIM tray.

One of the standout features of this smartphone is the eSIM connectivity. Like the latest flagship smartphones such as the iPhone 14 and Pixel 7 series, the Doogee V30 allows you to configure your preferred SIM without physically inserting it into the device. While this may seem like a “force” feature, I found the process of configuring his eSIM on the V30 to be incredibly fast and easy. Doogee provided us with a sample eSIM of his and we were set up in just a few minutes, so our experience was smooth.

SIM vs eSIM vs iSIM: What is it? What is the difference?

Another great feature of the Doogee V30 is the smartphone’s IP69K rating. Simply put, it means that the smartphone is not only waterproof and dustproof, but can also withstand high-pressure and high-temperature water jets. from water damage.

So how does the phone work in real life? The Doogee V30 performs exceptionally well in everyday use thanks to its powerful octa-core Dimensity 900 processor and plenty of memory. The phone can easily handle everyday tasks like sending emails, scrolling through social media, sending messages in IM apps, and editing documents. Whenever I felt sluggish, the 120Hz refresh rate covered it.

camera

Looking to the back, the Doogee V30’s rear is equipped with a triple camera setup consisting of a 108MP primary sensor, a 16MP ultra-wide angle lens, and a 20MP Sony Night Vision sensor. The front-facing camera is a 32MP selfie camera housed in a waterdrop notch.

As for image quality, the V30’s camera performs well, especially considering its price. This camera captures pretty good images during the day, but like all mid-tier Android smartphones, it struggles in low light.

The camera typically captures 24MP images (using pixel binning technology), but the company also included a “108MP” mode in the camera app to enhance the detail and clarity of the photos. Meanwhile, the “Night Vision” mode allows users to take pictures even in the darkest environments.

Overall, the Doogee V30’s camera may not be on the level of flagship smartphones from big-name brands like Apple, Google, and Samsung, but it’s more than enough for everyday use, like casual social media posting or document scanning. We provide high quality photos.

battery life

This is why we are here, right? Battery life is one of the most important considerations for smartphone users, especially those looking for a rugged smartphone, and the Doogee V30 does not disappoint in this regard. Doogee V30 is equipped with a 10,800mAh battery that supports 66W fast USB-C charging and 15W wireless charging.

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During our testing, the phone’s battery lasted for two full days of moderate to heavy use, including browsing, texting, YouTube streaming, social media scrolling, and phone calls. Careful management can extend battery life by up to 3 days on a single charge. This is a great feat.

As mentioned, the V30 supports 66W fast charging. Amazingly, with the USB-C charger bundled in the box, this feature gets his battery from 0% to 100% in just about an hour and a half. This is quite surprising considering the size of the battery.

It also supports 15W wireless charging, but it takes quite a while to fully charge, so it’s not very practical. A nice addition (especially given the size of the battery) would have been support for reverse wireless charging, but unfortunately it’s not here.

Conclusion

So is the Doogee V30 worth buying? Absolutely. The device will tick all the boxes. From the inclusion of new technologies such as eSIMs to the increasingly popular 5G support, this phone is future-proof and always ready to handle the demands of the connected world.

Unlike other rugged smartphones that may sacrifice specs for durability, the Doogee V30 is powered by a powerful MediaTek Dimensity 900 processor with up to 15GB of RAM and fast 256GB UFS 3.1 storage combined to provide excellent performance for demanding tasks. The 120Hz screen is also great.

If that wasn’t enough, the Doogee V30 also offers some nice extras like front-facing stereo speakers, a 20MP night vision camera and an IP69K rating, giving you even more reasons to love this phone. We highly recommend considering the Doogee V30.