Doogee V10 Review - 5G connectivity and great battery life in a compact rugged package

OS, UI and software

The Doogee V10 runs on Android 11 and its UI resembles a lot that of the S97 Pro but there are plenty of differences when you delve into the details. This time, the Lock Screen has retained the classic shortcuts to the Voice search and Camera apps on the bottom left and right corners. By default, the gesture navigation is on and during setup, you can choose to activate Google Assistant access from the Lock Screen. The Home Screen is as classic as it can be. A swipe to the right from it opens Google Discover, as usual. A swipe to the left from the Home Screen leads to the apps on the second desktop. There's no App Drawer option. App shortcuts are supported. The Widgets menu offers limited options - notifications dots, At A Glance, Google Discover toggle, toggles for using dynamic icons with the Calendar and Clock. There are no options for customization. The Task Manager tiles the apps horizontally and for each, you get shortcuts to app info and split-screen mode (if the latter is supported). For the V10, Doogee has also added a lock/unlock option and an option to whitelist an app that you do not wish to be cleared off - that's accessible from the "Manage" option. The Notifications and Quick Settings have a classic Android layout and design. The Quick Settings toggles are listed on two screens and contain options that are not presented in other places such as the Underwater Camera, for example.

The Doogee V10 arrives with the very basic set of pre-installed apps that you'd expect. No bloatware at all. Of course, there are the standard Google apps such as Google Assistant, Calendar, Chrome, Drive, Duo, Files, Gmail, Discover, Maps, Play Store, Keep Notes, Photos, YouTube, and YT Music; the default Android applications - Phone, Contacts, Calculator, Camera, Clock, FM Radio, Messenger, Videos, Notes, Sound Recorder. Doogee has also included a Thermometer app with which you can take a person's or an object's temperature and even keep records of it. The System Manager comprises the usual freezing room, app autoboot, app lock, one-key clean, and rubbish clean. The Power Manager is also a part of this app but you can check it in the Battery section of this review. A special Game Mode app for blocking notifications and incoming calls during gameplay is also provided. The standards Kids Space is also here as well as the usual ToolBag with a compass, sound meter, gradienter, height measure tool, magnifier, protractor, plumb bob, alarm bell, and pedometer. The System Settings comprise two tabs - one for the settings and one for some of the smart functions of the device. The settings themselves have a familiar layout with a search on the top, round icons in different colors, and several lines that separate them into four groups. The layout of the menus is also different from that on other Doogee smartphones even though the general logic is preserved. The first group is about connectivity - a separate toggle for the airplane mode, a menu for managing the SIM cards and mobile data, Wi-Fi settings, Bluetooth menu, and one for other wireless connections - hotspot & tethering, NFC, cast display, nearby share, Android Auto, VPN, etc. The second group is about managing all features of the device and is the largest one of all four. It begins with the App & Notifications settings, including conversations, notifications history, bubbles, screen time, app management. The second menu in the group is about the battery but this is discussed in the Battery section of this review. The Display menu is third and as we've already mentioned - it contains all the standard features for the screen. The Sound menu that follows is not an exception and contains the classic volume level bars, vibrations and DND settings, other sound settings, and sound enhancement options including a Hi-Fi audio toggle. The Storage menu comes next followed by the Privacy and Location ones. These two are all about account activity, permissions to access data, autofll services, activity controls, ads, usage, and diagnostics, etc. The third group of settings is dedicated to security and personal safety. The Security menu is first and includes Google Play Protect, Find My Device, Google Play System Update, and Security update. It also manages the screen lock, fingerprint IDs, face unlock, Smart Lock, encryption and credentials, etc. There's a separate menu that manages the fingerprint IDs, so you are able not only to use your fingerprint ID for unlocking the device or an app but also for quick launch shortcuts, snap photos, answer calls, go back to the Home Screen, or open the Task Manager. Two other menus in this group also refer to your personal data and device security - Accounts and Google. The rest of the menus are about convenience and safety - Digital Wellbeing and parental controls, Accessibility, SOS Call settings. The fourth group comprises only two menus - System and About phone. The System menu is where you can check for OTA updates, manage the languages and input, dates and time, backup and reset options. From here, you can also choose the type of system navigation and enable other gesture interactions. Finally, there's the Function tab with settings about the customizable physical button, kids mode, gesture motions, QR code scanner, the Smart Touch floating dot, easy mode UI, and one-hand mode.