ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Doogee V Max Plus is out there now on Amazon for $629.
• It is an exceptionally rugged telephone with a powerful case that protects it from out of doors extremes, with a battery that lasts longer than you may assume potential. 
• The V Max Plus forgoes the same old Android App Drawer, the cameras are merely serviceable, and efficiency is on par with mid-range Android units.

Do you spend time in rougher terrain? Perhaps you are an avid hiker or climber, or possibly your job requires you to work in off-the-grid places that are not precisely an air-conditioned workplace. In that case, you perceive the necessity for a telephone that may not solely stand as much as the weather but in addition has sufficient battery energy to go the gap. 

You actually do not wish to be caught in a state of affairs the place it is advisable to contact somebody, solely to search out out your battery is just too low or lifeless. I have been there. It is not enjoyable.

If that seems like a realistically believable state of affairs, the Doogee V Max Plus could be the telephone for you. The corporate is thought for producing units that may take a beating and carry on ticking, and the V Max Plus is not any exception. 

Let’s state the apparent: this telephone is huge and heavy. Put this in your pants pocket and also you may discover it is heavy sufficient to pull your trousers down. Yeah, it is that heavy. The explanation for that is the ultra-beefy case and the big battery. It is so large that it’s a little off-putting at first, till you understand simply how lengthy this factor lasts.

Doogee V Max Plus tech specs

• CPU: Dimensity 7050 / Octa-core / 5G
• RAM: 16GB + 20GB Digital
• Storage: 512 GB DDR5
• Show: 6.58″ FHD+ 120 Hz IPS with 480 nits, 16.7 million colours, 1500:1 distinction, and Gorilla Glass Victus
• Rear cameras: 200MP + 20MP + 8MP
• Entrance digicam: Sony 32MP
• Battery: 22,000 mAh with 33 W charging
• OS: Android 14
• Value: $629 on Amazon or presently $599 on the Doogee website

My expertise

Each time I open a Doogee telephone, I am unable to assist however snicker at how huge and heavy they’re. While you’re accustomed to carrying round a extra conventional Pixel 8 Professional, the dimensions and weight distinction is appreciable. On the identical time, I perceive why these telephones are designed as such. 

If it weren’t apparent by now, it needs to be clear that the Doogee V Max Plus is not geared toward your conventional consumer. These telephones are extra at house in rugged terrain, the place dropping a daily telephone would virtually actually result in catastrophe. So for anybody who spends an excellent period of time round rocks, water, mud, and different less-than-idyllic environments, this telephone is for you. 

You may drop it and it will snicker at you. You may sandblast a wall and it will carry on keepin’ on. It is powerful, and it means enterprise.  

However essentially the most spectacular function of the V Max Plus is the battery. We’re speaking hours right here that few telephones can match:

• 1,540 Standby hours
• 156 calling hours
• 142 music taking part in hours
• 45 video-watching hours
• 18 net shopping hours

After preliminary setup, I made a decision to shelf the telephone and see what occurs when it is simply left on. After every week, the battery had barely budged. Perceive, throughout that point, I did not use the telephone and I hadn’t put in any third-party apps that might run within the background. Even so, that is critically spectacular. If I attempted that with my Pixel 8 Professional, I would be fortunate to get two or three days out of it. That is what occurs if you set up a 22,000 mAh battery in a telephone: it lasts for seemingly ceaselessly. 

So far as the efficiency of the telephone goes (outdoors of the battery), it is actually not going to outdo Google’s or Samsung’s flagship units, however it holds its personal within the midrange house. Animations had been easy, apps opened rapidly, and navigation had little or no lag. I’ll say that the fingerprint scanner is not fairly as much as par, nevertheless. It is on the ability button and a bit gradual to acknowledge fingerprints. The face unlock additionally could be a bit hit or miss; generally it was sooner to only kind in my PIN.

If I needed to knock the telephone for one thing, it might be the truth that it does not its Android UI does not include the App Drawer. Due to that, each app you put in will add a launcher on the house display. For many who want a minimal interface, you may have to put in a third-party house display launcher (similar to my favourite, Nova Launcher).

For photograph hounds, the cameras are serviceable. With sufficient gentle, you’ll be able to take some good photographs. When the lighting will get a bit dim, be sure you have a really regular hand, in any other case your entire photographs will prove blurry. Talking of blur, the principle digicam does do a reasonably good job with background blur, so in case you like taking extra inventive photographs, you’ll be able to.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The Doogee V Max Plus is focused at a selected viewers: those that want a telephone that may take a beating and infrequently run out of battery. If that sounds such as you, this telephone won’t disappoint. It is a stable entry within the midrange house, and its sturdiness and battery life make it stand out. However in case you want your telephones extra petite, you need to shrink back from this beast.