Chinese rugged phone maker Doogee has launched the S98 handset, which sports a smartwatch-like secondary display in the middle of the rear camera array, comes with a three-day battery and rocks a 20-MP night vision camera.
As with Doogee's other adventure-ready smartphones, the S98 is a little on the chunky side at 15.5 mm (0.6 in) thick, but users won't need to wrap this model in a smartphone case for protection as it's already rugged to MIL-STD-810G standards, and benefits from IP68/IP69K sealing so can shake off dust and survive submersion in 1.5 m (5 ft) of water for at least 30 minutes.
Out front is a 6.3-inch FHD+ (2,400 x 1,080) LCD display at 409 PPI and 19:9 aspect topped by an unspecified version of Corning Gorilla Glass, while around back, in the center of the camera array, is a P50 Pocket-like circular touch display for clock functions, music playback control and at-a-glance notifications.
The rear smart display is flanked by a triple camera setup comprising a 64-MP F1.8 main camera with AI smarts, a 20-MP night vision camera using two IR sensors and a Sony IMX350 image sensor and an 8-MP F2.2 wide with 130-degree field of view, along with a dual LED flash module. Completing the photo/video chops is a 16-MP notch selfiecam based around a Samsung S5K3P9SP sensor.
Inside, the S98 is powered by a MediaTek Helio G96 mid-range system-on-chip with two Cortex-A76 cores clocked at 2.1 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores at 2 GHz, plus Mali G57 graphics, supported by 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage (with SD card expansion).
Other key specs include an Android 12 user experience with "a three year warranty on security and software updates," 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.1, a fingerprint scanner to the side, and a large 6,000-mAh battery for two to three days of normal use, or 18 days on standby, with support for 33-W fast charging and 15-W wireless charging.
The Doogee S98 is open for pre-order now at US$339, though there is a short promotion running until the end of March that shaves $100 off that ticket price. Shipping is expected to start from late April. The video below has more.
Product page: S98
