Doogee S200 Max
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Doogee S200 Max is on sale now for around $480.
- It’s a super chunky handset that won’t fit in your pockets, but it’s incredibly durable, passing IP68/IP69K and MIL-STD-810H standards.
- It’s not exactly cheap, and you have to be a certain user to carry a phone this durable.
$799.99 at Amazon
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I remember when companies such as Doogee started making ruggedized Android phones that were more for being used on a construction site than at home. They were big, bulky, and, well, not all that impressive in the performance department.
That’s all changed, as I’m now seeing ruggedized Android handsets that pack a lot of performance into their tough outer shell. The Doogee S200 Max is one such handset.
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Aptly named, everything about the S200 Max has been turned up to the max. This Android 15, 5G-enabled smartphone features a large 6.72-inch 2,400 x 1,080 pixel (2.4K) display that can reach a 120Hz refresh rate.
However, this isn’t the only screen — on the back is a 1.3-inch IPS always-on secondary screen that allows you to glance at things like notifications, the time and date, and battery status without being distracted by the big display.
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Running the show is a 6-nanometer octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 7050 processor, running at up to 2.6GHz and a whopping 16GB of RAM, which can be further augmented by 20GB of virtual RAM (my usual advice is to set the virtual RAM to the max for the best performance, but in this case it’s been done for me), and 512GB of storage. And if that gets a bit tight, you can expand it with a microSD card.
Performance-wise, the S200 Max felt buttery-smooth no matter what I threw at it. I usually have to wait a bit for a smartphone to complete its housekeeping tasks after first turning it on and setting it up, but this handset was straight to business, and effortlessly handled running a myriad of apps and browsers with dozens of tabs open.
The secondary display on the back of the S200 Max is handy.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
Powering this huge handset is a 22,000mAh ultra-large battery that offers a massive 1,200 hours of standby power (that’s 50 days of standby) or 30 hours of web browsing.
Try that with your iPhone 17 Pro Max!
The huge battery makes the S200 Max more a power bank with a phone attached, and Doogee is well aware, which is why the handset supports 18W reverse charging, so you can get your friends out of a battery pickle with their smartphone, camera, drone or whatever. The battery can be charged at up to 66W, and with this power, you can go from flat to full in two hours.
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This is one of the very few smartphones where I rarely have to think about battery life. In fact, I’m actually surprised when it needs charging!
And before you ask, yes, there are cameras galore on the S200 Max. On the back, there are three: a 108-megapixel main camera (this is a quad-Bayer sensor that uses four pixels instead of one to perform better under low-light conditions), a 20-megapixel night vision camera, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. And on the front is a 32-megapixel camera to handle selfies and video conferencing.
The night vision camera with active infrared floodlight is very effective.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
As is always the case with non-flagship handsets, the cameras are more than adequate for what users want — mostly capturing photos and video for social media. You don’t get the cinematic punch that you get with an iPhone or latest Samsung Galaxy, but even that’s wasted on social media because images and videos are compressed and downscaled to conserve storage space and bandwidth.
Everything is packed into a tough outer that’s rated for IP68/IP69K and MIL-STD-810H, and it can resist immersion in six feet of water for a day, drops from over 3-foot, dirt, dust, humidity, and pretty much anything else Mother Nature can throw at it.
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On the side is one of my favorite Android features — a fingerprint reader to handle all the biometrics.
Last but definitely not least, at the top is a twin-LED flashlight that is, no joke, one of the brightest I’ve seen on a smartphone. I made the mistake of looking into it in broad daylight and I was seeing after-images for several minutes. It’s crazy bright, and it was only later that I discovered it was only at 60% power.
There’s nothing subtle about the S200 Max!
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
Just be aware of its bulk. The device isn’t small, measuring 7.1 x 3.2 x 1 inches (yes, this is a one-inch-thick smartphone), weighing 1.2 pounds. It’s a truly behemoth of a smartphone, and there’s nothing subtle about the S200 Max. Unless you have a bag with big, huge cargo pockets or a belt to hang this phone from, you’ll be carrying it because this baby won’t fit into your pockets.
ZDNET’s buying advice
The Doogee S200 Max is one of those handsets that isn’t for everyone. You need a certain kind of user who wants a phone that is an inch thick, weighs well over a pound, and doesn’t fit in normal pockets.
However, for those who require durability, performance, and a battery life that lasts, this is a handset to consider. At $470, it’s not exactly cheap, but for those who need a combination of ruggedness, fantastic battery life, and good performance, this is one of the best handsets you can buy.
