Last time I reviewed the DOOGEE V20, a flagship rugged phone with an OLED screen, Iwas very impressed with it. But today’s star is equally impressive, the DOOGEE S98. It’s also DOOGEE’s newest flagship phone. And it is also a little different from other rugged phones on the market.
DOOGEE S98 Box
The DOOGEE S98 comes in the same large flat square box as the V20. When you open the lid, the package contains almost the same accessories as the V20 and is placed in the same place. There is the white pry bar that helps you open the SIM Card Slot and charging port. There is also an extra piece of Anti-explosion film. The phone is pre-applied with a tempered film, too.
This charger is also a 33w Type-C charger. From the charging protocol compatibility, it should be the same charger as the V20. The only difference with the V20 is that there is no USB-C to A Female cable in the box this time.
Doogee S98 Design
The design of the Rugged phone is like a human fingerprint, there are no two rugged phones in the world that are exactly the same, but the S98 is even more special. If you only look at the back, you won’t even think it’s a rugged phone. The back panel is very smooth to the touch and has a stitching design. Although it is still made of rubber, it looks like it is made of leather. It seems like the same phone used by business people.
The most special thing is this camera module. Most other phones have the camera in the middle, but the Doogee S98 is different. It has a huge round screen in the middle of the back panel. Yes, it’s massive, almost as big as my watch. This screen has the same function as the V20, you can check the time, switch songs or answer calls. But also, like the V20 there is no way to use the camera’s preview. The S98 also has NFC and custom buttons, and the SIM Card Tray can be installed with two SIM cards and a Macro SD Card. Anyway, I think the design of the S98 is even more special than the V20, and it is also very functional.
Doogee S98 Display
The S98 uses an FHD+ LCD screen. The quality of this screen is not much better than other rugged phones. Of course, if you compare it with the V20, the gap could be even bigger. The screen is not its strength, but it is enough to ensure normal use. The important thing is that its system is Android 12 by default. The gesture animation is smooth, and the UI looks good. Because the system update frequency of rugged phones is relatively low, so you want a rugged phone with Android 12, and we suggest you to buy the phone whose factory system version is Android 12.
As with other rugged phones, the S98 has Corning Gorilla protective glass plus a tempered film to protect the screen. It is enough to ensure that the screen will not be broken when dropped at a height of 1.5 meters. All ports are waterproof and IP68 and IP69K certified.
Doogee S98 Camera
The camera system of the S98 is the same as the V20, consisting of a 64 MP main camera, an 8 MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 20 MP Night vision Camera. The performance of this camera system is almost the same as the V20. Because the main camera doesn’t have the same pixel 4-in-1 in auto mode as other phones, you get a clear, sharp photo most of the time. Even when you zoom in on a photo, you can still see very clear image details.
The S98’s night mode is almost no different from auto mode photos when taken in a well-lighted night scene. Only when the environment is very dark, you can see that the night mode photo will be slightly brighter.
The ultra-wide-angle camera can help you capture a wider picture, but of course, the quality of its photos is not as good as the main camera, especially at night when the light is not good.
Finally, the Night vision camera has added the autofocus function. And while the V20 will remind you that you’re out of focus by flashing the IR fill light, the S98 will simply turn off the IR fill light when it’s out of focus. This directly eliminates the possibility of you taking blurry photos.
Doogee S98 Performance & Benchmarks
DOOGEE V20 is using MediaTek Helio G96 processor. This is the first time we are seeing this processor. According to the results of Benchmark Tests, in Antutu the phone scores 300,000 points. In 3DMark it is close to 1200 points.
It seems that the GPU performance of this processor is similar to that of the Dimensity 700 processor of the V20, but the CPU performance is a bit worse. However, light mainstream games such as PUBG are stable at 40fps, and COD Mobile can even run at 60fps.
Doogee S98 Battery Life
The battery capacity is 6000mAh, which can standby for 432 hours or play games for 10 hours. It also keeps the good tradition of DOOGEE phones with long battery life. 33w charging power is much faster than most rugged phones. And it also supports 15w wireless charging. So its good.
From the V20 to the S98, DOOGEE has always come up with some interesting phones. If the V20 gives rugged phone users the option of an OLED screen, then the S98 is the rugged phone that allows more people to use the business style.
It’s so special that it’s almost impossible to find a second rugged phone with a watch embedded in the back panel.
