One thing I’ve come to love about Android devices is the fact that there are different sub-genre of the device. I’m talking about the fact that there are gaming-specific smartphones with all the bells and whistles that make them appear as such and of course, there are rugged smartphones.
Doogee is one of the top brands that make rugged smartphones. Their next-gen rugged device is said to debut alongside MediaTek’s 6nm chip codenamed “Next-G”.
The time of release isn’t yet confirmed but some speculations have it that the device could debut towards the end of the year. Further reports also have it that the device will be the Doogee S98 series.
Although little is known about the Doogee S98 series just yet, the report added that the Doogee S98 could come in three versions: the base model S98, a mid-range S98 Pro, and a high-end S98 Ultra.
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What’s funny is the fact that the Pro and the Ultra models are said to debut between the month of April or May while the base model may debut just this next month of March – therefore, the previous report about the release period of the devices might not be valid after all.
Speaking of features and specifications, the device is said to debut with an Helio G96 chipset and 8GB of RAM with 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. The good thing is that there would be support for an external microSD slot that can expand the storage space to about 512GB.
Powering the Doogee S98 series will be the current Android 12 OS and there could be about three years of security and Android version updates from the Chinese smartphone maker.
At the front, the rugged smartphone will reportedly sport a 6.3-inch LCD panel with FHD+ resolution and Gorilla Glass protection. The pixel density is said to be about 409ppi.
Its front-facing selfie camera will be tucked in a tear-drop notch at the center of the device and will make use of Samsung’s 16MP S5KP9P sensor.
Now, the most interesting part is the fact that this device will also have a secondary display at the back – similar to the recently-announced Huawei P50 Pocket.
According to a report from GSMArena, the secondary display will support custom wallpapers and double as a viewfinder for taking selfies using the main sensors at the back of the device.
As for these rear cameras, the device is expected to pack a triple set up with the main sensor being a 64MP camera and an 8MP ultrawide sensor that can reach 130 degrees field-of-view, while the last sensor is a 20MP Night Vision camera.
Being a rugged smartphone, it’s expected to be a general-purpose device and that is why the addition of a Night Vision sensor makes sense.
Still, on the camera system, there will be a primary flash right beneath the circular screen, and two infrared night vision lights right below the primary camera – located on the right side of the secondary display.
It’s a rugged smartphone and that means it won’t be very beautiful in its appearance and would be thick in fact. According to a report, the Doogee S98 will be about 15.5mm thick and could weigh about 320 grams.
In the power department, it’s said to be powered by a 6,000mAh battery with 33W wired charging and a 15W wireless charging. And it will reportedly come in three color options such as Champagne GHold, Chestnut Red, and Silver Gray.
Other interesting things to know about the device include the placement of its fingerprint sensor by its side and being IP68/69K dust and water-resistant, and MIL-STD-810G certified.
It will also have a customizable key on the left-side frame but won’t come with the 3.5mm headphone jack which is rather disappointing considering the fact that this is supposed to be a general-purpose device.
Besides, the smartphone will come with dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, and NFC (region dependent), but no 5G connectivity.
As for the pricing, there aren’t any details about this just yet but if the base model debuts this next month, then we can use the price value to predict the prices of the high-end models that will debut later on.
As for the high-end Doogee S98 Pro and the S98 Ultra, they will both have some distinctive features with the former sporting a Starlight Night Vision camera, while the latter sporting a Thermal Imaging Camera.
