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Doogee s58 Pro test / review

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Published on: 26-10-2020 / Modified: 07-10-2022
When I started testing phones on my blog, Xiaomi was still a somewhat exotic brand for most Europeans. This is no longer the case today and I wanted to test a brand that I had never tested before.

There are many Chinese brands that are still unknown in Europe and many of them will still be unknown in 3 years time, some will even have disappeared from the landscape. I chose Doogee because this brand has been around for 7 years and is growing every year.

There is something funny about the Doogee brand, if I had a dog, I could call it Doogee but the name is curious for a smartphone brand. Doogee mainly makes phones that are known to be unbreakable and are aimed at professionals (e.g. construction site workers) or outdoor sports enthusiasts who don't want to break their phone at the first shock. The brand may have a funny side, but that's not the case with phones!

I recently tested another such phone, the Ulefone Armor 7, the Doogee is much cheaper but addresses the same segment.

Manufacturer web site:
https://www.doogee.cc/
Site where I have bought the Doogee S58 Pro: https://www.banggood.com/custlink/vGDYFr8wp6

Structure of my tests

I test the phones according to a pre-established structure (see below) to provide you with as much information as possible. Unfortunately, this takes a long time. Some tests like network performance tests take several days and for photo tests I sometimes have to wait until the weather is suitable to take pictures in good conditions. I am therefore obliged to publish the tests step by step, so I invite you to come back if the test is not complete at the time of your visit.

Price Doogee S58 Pro

The list below shows the prices for the Doogee S58 Pro from more than 50 sites around the world. If you are not satisfied with any price, you can subscribe to a price alert to be the first to be notified when the price drops.

Timeline

14/10/2020 : I bought the Doogee s58 Pro on Banggood for 110€.
26/10/2020: I have received the Doogee s58 Pro, so I can start the test.

Why this phone?

I bought my first unbreakable phone a few months ago, I had bought the Ulefone Armor 7. I bought this phone out of curiosity and thinking that my test would only be of interest to people who need a solid phone for their work. I was quite surprised by the success of the phone and also by the public interested in this kind of phone. I hadn't imagined that sportsmen and women would be interested in this kind of phone, but it is indeed the case.

So I decided to test another phone of the same kind with a much more affordable price.

Unpacking

The Doogee's box has a special shape, I was not expecting a box like this at all. The Ulefone was packed in an industrial design box and in a format similar to other brands. The Doogee comes in a flat box that does not look like an industrial phone.

The contents of the box are well spaced out and include the phone, user manual, charger, USB C cable, USB to Jack connector and a small plastic scraper for cleaning the phone. This is an original accessory but it gives a fairly clear indication of the expected use of the phone.

First configuration

Setting up the Doogee s58 Pro follows the same steps as most Android phones with connecting to the network, updating the phone and recovering data from your old phone.

This procedure is minimal as Doogee is one of those manufacturers that do not impose any applications on you. Doogee does not install unwanted applications, I know that some visitors value this, so I'd rather say so.

Finish

The design of the Doogee s58 pro made me smile a little when I first picked it up. I'm sure that other manufacturers invest millions of Euros in the design of their phones, this is probably not the case with this Doogee and it is a perfect choice.

The Doogoo s58 pro is a work tool that is designed to withstand shocks rather than being a fashion item to be displayed in the evening. So the Doogee has a very industrial and rugged design but in this particular genre I think it's pretty good.


The front surface of the phone is quite large but the screen is actually quite small, it is one of the smallest screens I have ever had the opportunity to test, it measures less than 6 inches diagonally with a 61% occupancy rate. The screen is well protected by reinforced edges and I was surprised by the strength of the lighting which is really overwhelming for a phone of this size. The screen of the Ulefone Armor 7 is much less bright.


The sides follow the same line as the rest of the phone, they are reinforced with metal elements, the keys are also metal. There are the usual start and volume buttons on the right and on the left the red button is a customizable button. It is possible to associate a function or application to it for faster access.


The top and bottom of the phone are wrapped in a semi-rigid material to absorb shocks, the USB type C port is even completely covered by a cover.



The back of the phone is also well protected, the photo module is completely integrated in the back of the phone and protected by a resistant glass. I hope that this glass will not distort the colours of the photos as on the Ulefone Armor 7.

The loudspeaker is also located in the back, this is an unusual positioning, it will probably require some adaptation as the sound will come out of the back of the phone.

All in all I can't consider the Doogee s58 pro to be well finished but that's not the point anyway. In the industrial genre I think it's quite good.

Specifications

The information below comes from the Device Info HW application. The application provides detailed technical information about the tested phone.The Doogee S58 Pro doesn't have a technical specification that makes you dream, but at this price and for this kind of phone, it doesn't really pose a problem.

What I noticed:
- the screen has a resolution of 720p
- it uses a Mediatek processor which often results in better GPS performance

CPU / GPU Performance

The Doogee S58 Pro uses a Mediatek Helio P22 processor, which is an entry-level processor that does not offer extraordinary performance. The closest phone to this configuration that I have been able to test is the Huawei Y6 2019. This phone was appallingly slow but this is not the case with the Doogee which is much smoother in use.

For the graphics part, the Doogee is equipped with a PowerVR GE8320 graphics processor and here again this processor is not designed to offer a big performance. This is not the purpose of this kind of phone anyway, so it should not affect the use of the phone.

Benchmark Antutu/3DMark

As I wrote in the previous paragraph, the Doogee S58 Pro is not a performance bully but this phone was not designed for a performance seeking audience. So an Antutu performance test doesn't make much sense but there are still some interesting elements.

I got an overall score of 92084 points, that's not much and it was predictable. On the other hand the CPU performance is better than the Huawei Y6 which has a similar configuration and the memory score is not very far from the Samsung Galaxy A21s. These elements probably explain why the Doogee is not appallingly slow in use.

The Doogee uses a sleek version of Android, which may also explain why it is fluid in use as an overlayer could have penalized it.






Gaming

To test the performance in game, I download the mobile PUBG game and evaluate the in-game experience, graphics level and depth of vision. This game is quite demanding and should help you evaluating the performance of a phone.

I tested PUBG Mobile on the Doogee S58 Pro as I do with all other phones. The game works without any problem but you have to make some concessions on the experience like accepting jerky movements or evolving in a poor graphic environment. The textures are not very nice but with this level of performance, it is not possible to do better.

Network performance

After testing the wifi and finding that the signal was below average, I was worried that the same could happen with the 4G signal. Fortunately, this is not the case. I took just over 800 measurements and I got an average signal of -96.22 dBm, which is a little above average.

The signal was fairly stable over all the measurements as it never went below -98 dBm and the best signal I got was -95 dBm.


Signal 4G (before december 2020)

The ability to pick up the network correctly is an essential element for a phone but it is only very rarely measured. To measure a phone's ability to pick up the network, I perform a large number of measurements on the same cells to be able to compare phones under similar conditions. The signal is measured in dBm, a value of -90dBm indicates a worse signal than -70dBm. These measurements are therefore taken under real conditions and not in a laboratory, they are not scientific but give a good indication of performance.



Signal 4G (from December 2020)

I decided to change the methodology for measuring the network because I noticed that the configuration of the mobile network changes over time. This makes it more difficult to compare phones because the conditions are no longer exactly the same.

To overcome this problem, I set up a device that captures 24 hours a day about ten parameters from the mobile network (ex: cell id, rssi, rsrq, snr, frequency,...). I then place the phone next to the device for 24 to 48 hours taking the same measurements so that I can compare them.

Overview of the phones tested with this methodology



Download/Upload speed

To test the download speed, I have identified some 4G cells offering good performance where I test all my devices several times to see what download and upload speed they can achieve.

Wifi performance

To test a phone's ability to receive the network properly, I take measurements near my router and then remotely (and always at the same place). This gives me an average in dBm where a value of -90 dBm indicates poorer performance than a value at -30 dBm.


Wifi signal

I measured a -26dBm signal near the router and lost the signal at the remote location where I usually do my remote tests.

The Doogee doesn't pick up wifi very well when you move away from the router, in 5Ghz I lost the signal after about ten meters, I regained some range in 2.4Ghz but the range is still limited.





Download/Upload speed

To test the speed in Wifi, I connect to my router in 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz (if available) and use the Ookla application to measure the speed.

GPS performance

To test the quality of the GPS signal I use the Offline Maps application and I make the same train trip in pedestrian mode. Why? In pedestrian mode, the GPS does not artificially correct the signal to stick to the road, it has no markings, so you can see the actual position. I then use an application to measure the accuracy of the signal.

When I tested the Ulefone Armor 7, I received a lot of messages from hikers who wanted to know if the GPS was accurate enough for hiking. As the Doogee S58 Pro is aimed at the same type of audience, I did my GPS accuracy test in the forest to see how accurate it would be. The forest was not very dense and some of the foliage had already fallen (autumn) but the GPS signal was quite good with an accuracy of 1 to 2 meters in the woods.

I took another video showing the map this time, here again the positioning is correct. The orientation is not good but I have not yet found a phone capable of giving the right orientation. I first passed within 1m of the river, then went into a more wooded area and got closer to the pond.

Battery range

The Doogee S58 Pro has a huge 5180 mAh battery, which in theory should give it an enormous range. The reality is slightly different as the Doogee S58 Pro is penalised by its very bright display. When the display is switched on at 100%, the Doogee lasts 845 minutes. This is a good score but other phones with a smaller battery (and a less bright screen) do better. On the other hand, with a 50% screen, the battery life increases to 1908 minutes. The brightness of the screen seems to have a linear impact on the battery, doubling the brightness will halve the battery life. This is not the case for all phones.

To enjoy good battery life, you'll have to play a little with the phone's lighting to find the level of lighting and battery life that suits you.

Photo camera test

To test the quality of photos produced by a phone, I do a technical test (resolution, sharpness, chromatic aberration,...) in studio (identical conditions) to evaluate the technical part objectively. From the second half of 2020, I built my own laboratory to take completely objective technical measurements. I then take pictures in real conditions to see how the camera performs. I then evaluate these photos according to my criteria but I publish the photos so that you can evaluate the result according to your criteria.

Hardware

The Doogee S58 Pro is equipped with a Sony IMX298 Exmor RS main sensor. Although Sony sensors generally offer good image quality, this sensor is quite old as the Xiaomi Mi 5 launched in 2016 was already using it.

Default app

Photo quality

Photo test / studio



The Doogee S58 Pro is only equipped with a Sony IMX 298 main sensor at the rear and a macro module. The test will therefore be very quick.

I was quite amazed at the quality of the main sensor in the studio, the exposure is really good, the colours are quite faithful although they could be a bit more saturated. The sharpness is quite good as well. I didn't expect a good result with a sensor that has been around for 5 years. However, I did notice that the sensor was having trouble finding the focus area, it was constantly moving from a front to a back area and vice versa.

The macro module is not very good, it allows you to take very close photos but the colouring is bad, the photo is very noisy and the resolution is not very good. The presence of this macro sensor is therefore not very interesting.



Photo test / sunny



I didn't expect to be able to take great pictures with the Doogee S58 Pro but the result is still a bit better than I expected.

I took these photos at the end of the day in low light, so nature is bathed in orange light. The Doogee S58 Pro produces photos with too much warm colouring because even though the light was indeed orange it was not as orange as in the photo. The sky was slightly blue but here too the colour temperature is also too warm.

The sharpness of the image is correct but the dynamic range is quite low because the sky is quickly overexposed. If you want to take pictures with a very bright sky, most of the time you will get a completely white sky and the rest of the picture will be quite dark.

I tested the normal photo mode, the HDR mode and the pro mode and it is with the pro mode that I got the best results. To do this I adjusted the colour temperature, lowered the exposure a notch and locked the ISOs at 200. The photo showing my shadow was taken in pro mode with these settings.

So the Doogee s58 does not produce extraordinary quality photos but in this price range (



Photo test / cloudy

Test photo / night

Not yet available / tested

Video quality

Stabilisation



The Doogee S58 Pro does not have effective video stabilisation, so impacts are quite visible. Pixel recalculation is also highly visible.

Video normale conditions


The quality of the video follows a bit the same trend as the quality of the photo. The colour temperature is too high and the dynamic range is reduced. The Doogee s58 Pro seems to have difficulty focusing as the video shakes and moves for no apparent reason. Video quality is clearly not a strength of this phone.

Video low light

The Doogee S58 Pro does not have a night mode, so it is unable to produce quality night-time video.

Audio quality

To test the quality of the phone's audio output, I connect the device's audio output to a measuring tool, then play sounds on all frequencies and measure the differences between the original sound and the sound produced by the phone. In this way I measure the phone's ability to correctly reproduce all sounds.

Frequency Response

This test is intended to test the device's ability to correctly reproduce all frequencies. The white line in the middle of the graph is the ideal situation and the other colors come from tests on different phones. A deviation from the reference line indicates a deviation from the ideal situation. To see good sound at all frequencies, it is therefore necessary to get as close as possible to the reference line.

The Doogee S58 Pro is capable of reproducing most frequencies but its performance is not linear. The white curve is not smooth and if I compare it with the Redmi Note 9, it follows the same trend but is much less consistent. I have not noticed these differences when listening with headphones, the sound is similar to what a Redmi Note 9 is capable of producing.

The sound quality without headphones is appalling, the sound is shrill and unpleasant. With headphones the experience is much better, the Doogee offers a sound performance (in terms of frequencies) equivalent to the Redmi Note 9.

Dynamic Range

This test is designed to test a phone's ability to play sounds at different volume levels. Here too, the phones must be as close as possible to the reference.

The Doogee S58 Pro offers powerful sound at the limit of what is bearable, I was surprised by the sound power of this phone to the point that I had to remove my headset. This phone looks rough but the sound it produces is just as rough. It is one of the loudest phones I have ever tested.

Unfortunately this power is accompanied by a very pronounced distortion, the sounds get mixed up and the quality is greatly degraded.

Noise Level

This test aims to identify if the device under test is able to reproduce sounds without too much noise. A high score indicates a low parasite rate, a lower score indicates a higher presence of parasites.

The Doogee S58 Pro does not present any interference problems, we see here the effect of the volume on the curve where it is very close to the reference while the Redmi Note 9 is dropped.

Screen quality

To test the screen, I use a colorimetric probe that measures the color accuracy of a screen, as well as other parameters to see if a screen is able to correctly reproduce an image. I also test the brightness level to determine if the screen will be able to display an image in full sunlight.

Colorimetry

I measured a colour deviation of 6.38, not a great score but it is not catastrophic. The colorimetry is very cold, I measured a white at 8201K there it should be at 6500k. I haven't found any possibility of changing the colour temperature to alleviate the problem.



Brightness / Contrast

The first time I started the phone, I found the display to be particularly bright and this is confirmed by the sensor. When the brightness is pushed to 100%, the screen is capable of producing 644 cd/m², which is absolutely huge. With such brightness the screen is readable in almost all conditions. This phone is designed to be used outdoors, which is probably why Doogee is able to provide such a high level of brightness to the screen.

I measured a contrast ratio of 2146:1, which is an excellent score for this type of display.

Biometry

The Doogee S58 Pro has a fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone. This fingerprint sensor works very well and is very fast.

Operating system

The Doogee S58 Pro runs on Android 10 and doesn't carry all sorts of unwanted applications like with Samsung, Huawei or Xiaomi.

The applications are sorted on the right screen, there is no application drawer or specific search engine, which is a bit of a shame.

For the rest, this version of Android is very similar to what is found on most other phones on Android 10. I was positively surprised by the fluidity of the interface because unlike other low performance phones, the transition from one screen to another is done without jerking.

Encoutered bugs

Not yet available / tested

Accessories Doogee S58 Pro

Compare Doogee S58 Pro with the others

Test / Review conclusion

The Doogee S58 Pro is a phone for a specific audience. On the one hand there is a professional audience who will use this phone as a working tool that will not break at the first drop. On the other hand, there is an audience with outdoor activities such as hiking for example.

Does this telephone fulfil its mission for both of these audiences? Yes, and its qualities are not limited to its solidity and waterproofness. I was positively surprised by this phone. Its price positioning (I bought it for 110€!) and its low performance gave me the impression that the phone was going to be slow and impractical for everyday use, but this is not the case. Of course it looks a bit rough to be considered a fashionable phone but it does what it is meant to do and does it properly.

The Doogee s58 Pro certainly offers no less than a normal phone in the same price range. It has good 4G network sensitivity, the listening sound is good even if it is a bit muffled by its protective armour. It offers good GPS performance and its very bright screen will allow you to use it under the sun without any problems.

The quality of photos and videos is not extraordinary but it is no less good than other phones in the same price range. For games, it's the same, it allows you to play games like PUBG mobile but with a lower level of graphics.

From a purely practical point of view I was generated by the protection of the USB port because I use cables with magnetic connectors, I had to switch back to a traditional cable because my cables did not fit into the USB slot. I also find that the buttons on the side are a little bit raised and I had trouble distinguishing the volume buttons.

This is the first Doogee I've tested, I think I'll test others because for 110€ there aren't many other phones of this type.

Strengths

Solidity
Waterproofing
GPS
Screen brightness
4G network sensitivity

Weaknesses

Poor quality rear speaker sound (for music)
Below average wifi signal
Low performance
Average photo/video quality but equivalent to the competition

Alternatives to this product

I have not yet tested many phones of this type, so far I have only tested the Ulefone Armor 7. Other brands offer phones of this type, there is notably Oukitel or Blackview but I have not yet bought any. So I will only compare the Doogee with the Ulefone.

The Ulefone is much more expensive than the Doogee (about 3x) but it doesn't offer 3x more features. I would say that apart from the performance aspect, the Doogee offers a much better price/performance ratio.

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