DOOGEE S68 Pro: One tough Android smartphone

High-end smartphones such as the iPhone are great, but they're just not tough enough for people who live and work in tough environments. While cases give you some added protection, nothing beats having a smartphone that's built to survive from the ground up.

The DOOGEE S68 Pro is such a smartphone.

Must read: Don't buy these Apple products: February 2020 edition

On paper, the tech specs of the DOOGEE S68 Pro are pretty good. Sure, can't compete with high-end Android devices, but the hardware is perfectly up to the job of running the Android platform, and modern apps.

• MTK6771 Helio P70 processor
• Mali-G72 MP2 GPU
• Android 9.0 Pie
• 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM
• 21MP+8MP+8MP triple rear camera and 16MP front camera
• 6300mAh battery, supports wireless charging and reverse-wireless charging
• Water and dust-resistant to IP68, and IP69K high-temperature resistant

The DOOGEE S68P Pro is a capable Android smartphone, and I used it as a daily driver for over a week without any complaints. Speed is good. Capacity is great (and it can be augmented with a 128GB F-Flash card). The cameras would be more than acceptable to anyone not utterly spoilt by high-end smartphone cameras. And the battery feels like it goes on and on and on.

For the $220 price tag, the DOOGEE S68 Pro is a marvelous handset.

But what about that robustness? Here are the listed specs:

• 1.5M Drop Proof
• IP68 1.5M Waterproof
• 99 percent Dust Proof
• MIL-STD-810G
• Survives from -40℃ to +60℃

I decided to take the DOOGEE S68P Pro into the wet, rainy wilds of North Wales to put them to the test.

DOOGEE S68 Pro: How tough is it?

And test it I did. I put it through much more than would be expected of a smartphone, and put it through testing that would have destroyed an iPhone.

I left it outdoors in lashing rain for several days. I threw it about onto rocks and slates. I tossed it into puddles (both before and after bouncing it on the rocks). I dropped it into mud, and then washed it with a hose.

I dented it. Scratched it. Scuffed it. The screen looks like a bear has been chewing on it.

Video 1: Air toss

Video 2: Air toss

Video 3: Air toss

Video 4: 'Frisbeeing' the handset display-side down across sharp rocks

But it still works. It survived. And I continue to use it without any problems. Sure, it's scared and a bit rough, but the damage is cosmetic. Even the display is in one piece and totally functional.

This is one tough handset. Highly recommended for those who don't spend all their time in an air-conditioned room, and who take their tech out into the elements, and need that tech to survive hard use, day after day.

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