Fancy flagships like the Galaxy S series or iPhones are pretty sweet devices, but they usually don’t tick all the boxes for anyone who’s not a city slicker. Especially folks who’d consider themselves as leading what’s described as an ‘active’ lifestyle. If you’re of those, you know what we’re talking about – what becomes paramount is not how well it plays PUBG, but whether it’ll last you on a 5-day hike, and if it’ll take a tumble onto the ground without shattering into pieces.
That’s where the Doogee S88 Pro excels: It meets MIL-STD-810, IP68, and IP69K protection standards – which means that not only can it survive drops and be submerged in water, but it can also withstand exposure to a high-pressure stream. Another feature that should make sense is the 10,000mAh battery. Sure, with a battery that big, you can’t expect a sleek, skinny device, but a device that lasts a few days of intensive use (Doogee claims 7-8 days of normal usage) is better than a phone that’s a style statement but is dead by the time you get to your campsite. The S88 Pro also functions as a wireless charging pad, letting you fuel up other devices you might be carrying.
The design might be polarizing, we have to admit – it’s not exactly subtle, with a very gaming-gear aesthetic, though the LED lights function as notification lights as well. The phone’s decently specced out otherwise – with a mid-segment MediaTek Helio P70 processor, 6GB RAM, and 128GB storage. The 6.3in Full HD display is protected by Gorilla Glass (Doogee doesn’t mention which generation). Turning to the cameras, there’s a 16MP camera at the front, and a triple-camera array at the rear: with a 21MP main sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide, and an 8MP macro lens. Finally, it comes as a pleasant surprise to find Doogee using a near-stock version of Android 10, with no heavy ugly skins, although you get a set of apps (sound meter, bubble level, gradient meter, and more) that burnish its ‘active’ credentials some more.
The Doogee S88 Pro will be on sale for $249.99 although early birds can get it for $199 – at Doogee’s online store or Aliexpress.