Doogee V Max 2 Pro Review

Doogee V Max 2 Pro OS, UI, and Software

The Doogee V Max 2 Pro runs Android 16 with Doogee's clean, lightweight skin layered on top. The Lock Screen embraces a stripped‑down look, pairing a compact date readout with a bold, oversized clock. Once you unlock the phone, the Home Screen presents a familiar arrangement: Google's search bar with built‑in Voice and Lens sits at the top, followed by a combined clock‑and‑date widget and three app rows, including the dock. You can use desktop shortcuts as needed, and Google Discover occupies the leftmost pane by default. Long‑pressing the Home Screen opens the Customization Picker, which offers a broader set of tools - Themes, Wallpapers, Widgets, and an extensive list of Home Settings - allowing deeper control over the phone's appearance and layout. The Home Settings panel gives you control over how the interface behaves and looks. Here, you can tweak notification‑dot appearance, choose between the classic multi‑page layout or an app‑drawer‑based launcher, adjust icon dimensions, and fine‑tune other visual elements. Out of the box, the launcher distributes apps across consecutive home screens, with the second page hosting an extended tools folder. If you prefer a centralized view, the App Drawer lists every installed app alphabetically on a single scrolling page, complete with a search bar at the top for instant filtering.

The Task Manager arranges recent apps in a horizontal card layout. From each card, you can jump to the app's info screen, enable split‑screen mode when supported, lock or unlock it to control background clearing, capture a screenshot, close it, or add it to the whitelist - where its lock state can also be managed. The Notifications shade is accessed via a swipe down from the top left of the screen, while the Quick Settings panel appears after a swipe from the top right side of the screen. Doogee V Max 2 Pro arrives with an expanded set of applications that reflect the smartphone's capabilities. The default apps include Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Child mode, Chrome, Clock, Contacts, Drive, Easy Launcher, Files, Find Hub, FM radio, Game Mode, Gemini, Gmail, Google Discover, Google One, Keep Notes, Maps, Meet, Messages, Personal Safety, Phone, Photos, Play Store, Settings, Sound Recorder, YouTube, and YT Music. The Child mode has become a standard feature over time, providing a parent-controlled environment for kids and students. The Easy launcher simplifies the interface and makes everything look bigger. It is suitable for the elderly and users with poor vision. The Game Mode blocks all notifications while you're playing, ensuring uninterrupted entertainment. The phone comes with several additional preloaded apps. Doogee Mall serves as a storefront for browsing the company’s product lineup, while Community provides a hub for discussions and device‑related topics. The Feedback app is available for reporting issues or submitting troubleshooting notes. Two apps focus on AI features: AI Album and AI Assistant. AI Album is the same enhancement suite found on other rugged models, offering four tools - object removal, background replacement, digital‑human generation, and a set of AI‑driven style filters. AI Assistant gathers a variety of utilities under one roof, including the Wall‑U assistant, a literature bot, a math bot, an astrologer, a naming tool, and several others. The Camping Lamp app controls the bright LED ring on the back of the device, letting you adjust its behavior and effects. For emergencies, the SOS settings app allows you to store key contacts, configure alerts, alarms, and lighting patterns, and set up quick‑access triggers so these functions can be activated immediately when needed. The Digital Screen app handles all functions of the rear display, showing device status information and offering the same controls that appear in the main Settings menu. Doogee also includes the POCSTARS app, which enables push‑to‑talk‑over‑cellular (PoC) communication with other supported Doogee devices. The familiar ToolBag suite is present as well, bundling a broad collection of practical instruments: a compass, sound meter, picture‑hanging guide, gradienter, height‑measurement tool, magnifier, protractor, plumb bob, alarm bell, mirror, and an NFC card emulator. Reverse Charging doubles as a Settings menu and manages the reverse charging capabilities of the device. Rounding out the utility apps is System Manager, which provides shortcuts to battery‑optimization tools, junk cleanup, a freezing room for suspending apps, and an app‑lock section for securing sensitive software. The Settings app is divided into 29 individual menus, arranged across five major sections. The first section covers all connectivity‑related features, which are explained in depth in the following part of the review. The second section contains six menus, beginning with "Notifications". This area includes the unified "Notification read, replay & control" panel, along with per‑app notification settings, history, conversations, bubbles, adaptive notification behavior, flash alerts, and every other related toggle. Next comes the "Display" menu, where the usual options are joined by controls for the LED notification light and the "Top screen display" feature, which can turn the status bar fully black and hide the punch‑hole camera. The Do Not Disturb suite now appears under "Priority Modes", the third menu in this group, offering tools for managing interruptions and creating tailored usage scenarios. "Sound & Vibration" follows as the fourth menu, presenting all audio‑related settings in a clear, well‑organized structure. Here you’ll find five independent volume sliders, ringtone and alert controls, Live Caption, Spatial Audio for wired headphones, media options, vibration and haptic settings, various toggles, and sound‑enhancement features. After that come "Security & privacy" and "Passwords & accounts". The "Security & privacy" section includes the full set of modern Android protections: the standard security check with recommendations, plus five core categories - apps, device, account, device unlock, and updates. The "Privacy" subsection adds detailed privacy controls, a privacy dashboard, and the Private Space feature. Setting up a private space is simple and provides a secure, isolated environment accessible only to the user. Additional safeguards include "Advanced Protection", which defends against harmful apps, unsafe connections, online threats, and other risks. Everything else is grouped under "More security & privacy", which brings together Android System Intelligence, Google Autofill, Android Safe Browsing, Extended Unlock, and more, along with an overview of your current protection status. The third section is more straightforward. It starts with the "Apps" menu for managing all aspects of installed software, followed by "Battery" (covered separately), "Storage", "Reverse charging", and "Accessibility". "Reverse charging" handles the device’s power‑sharing capabilities. The "Accessibility" menu includes the expected tools - screen reader, interaction controls, captions, and audio‑visual adjustments for users with hearing or vision needs - plus an additional option dedicated to configuring the POCSTARS app, which is a thoughtful inclusion. The fourth group is the most extensive, housing familiar menus such as "Location," "Safety & Emergency," "Digital Wellbeing & Parental Controls," and "Google". The "Fingerprint" menu adds extra utility by allowing the fingerprint sensor to double as a navigation tool, enabling actions like going back, returning Home, or opening the Task Manager. The "Memory Expansion" submenu allows you to toggle virtual RAM on or off, with support reaching up to 32GB. "Performance Management" functions as a rebranded version of "DuraSpeed", prioritizing chosen foreground apps while limiting background activity for anything not on the list. The "Side Key Function" section lets you map single‑press, double‑press, and long‑press actions to the customizable button on the left frame. "Light Realml" mirrors the standalone app of the same name, offering identical controls for the rear RGB ring—complete with multiple profiles, individual adjustments, and a master switch. "Gloves Mode" is a straightforward toggle that increases touch sensitivity so the screen remains responsive when you’re wearing gloves. The "Personalization and Wallpaper" menu includes the usual tools for wallpapers, theme colors, icons, and fonts, but also adds three important controls: refresh‑rate selection, navigation‑mode configuration, and launcher customization through the Home Settings panel. The last entry in this section is "Featured Functions", a catch‑all hub for a wide range of extra tools. It opens with "Smart Touch", a floating on‑screen dot that doubles as a shortcut panel and an alternative navigation method. The next submenu, "Gesture motion", includes ten toggles for features such as smart call answer, smart switch, three‑point screenshot, and others. "Night Light" and "One‑handed mode" also appear here, each activated with a single switch. The "Side Application Bar" adds another quick‑access strip for selected apps. You can also enable "Dynamic Capsule", mistouch prevention, lift‑to‑wake, real‑time network speed indicators in the status bar, and the "Anti‑theft Alarm for Mobile". This section also includes a dedicated submenu for managing the "Digital Screen", mirroring the standalone app’s functionality. The fifth and final group contains just two menus: "System" and "About phone". "System" covers everything related to software upkeep and device configuration - updates, language and keyboard settings, date and time, backup and reset tools, and gesture controls. The gesture area includes toggles for quick camera launch, system navigation (again), power‑button behavior, and a shortcut to silence incoming calls. "About phone" provides all essential device information, including hardware and software details, owner data, build number, Android version, IMEI, SIM status, and more.