Four years ago, Sharp surprised the Japanese market by introducing a new design concept EDGEST in a smartphone called Aquos Phone Xx 302SH for the operator SoftBank. The main idea is to make the upper frame as narrow as the side frame. After three years of identical EDGEST backgrounds, the Japanese refused to design this design, but the Chinese seized it. And if the Xiaomi Mi Mix was practically frameless, then its imitators like our hero today returned to their origins: not frameless, but just the same frames on the sides and top. So, meet the Chinese celebration of Japanese design, Doogee Mix.
Specifications Doogee Mix:
- Network: GSM / GPRS / EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), WCDMA (900/2100 MHz), FDD-LTE (Band 1/3/7/8/20)
- Platform: Android 7.0 Nougat with the shell Doogee OS 2.0.0
- Display: 5.5 “, 1280×720 pixels, 267 ppi, AMOLED, glass Gorilla Glass 5
- Camera: dual, 16 + 8 Mp, phase autofocus, f / 2.2, flash, video recording 2176p @ 30fps
- Front camera: 5 megapixels, f / 2.2, video recording 480p @ 30fps
- Processor: 8 cores, 4×2.5 GHz + 4×1.6 GHz, 64 bits, MediaTek Helio P25
- Graphics chip: Mali-T880, 900 MHz
- Memory: 4/6 GB
- Internal memory: 64/128 GB
- Memory card: microSD
- GPS
- FM radio
- Bluetooth
- Wi-Fi
- Ports: microUSB, 3,5 mm
- The fingerprint scanner
- Battery: non-removable, 3380 mAh
- Dimensions: 144х76,2х7,95 mm
- Weight: 193 g
Configuration and Design
Doogee Mix comes in a box that looks like Xiaomi Mi Mix. Inside, in addition to the smartphone, there is a charger (5 V, 2 A), a USB cable, a ring-holder for the phone (it’s packaging in every possible way tries to lead you to the idea that there is a condom), an additional protective film, a hard plastic case, SIM- key and documentation. Out of the box, four tapes are glued on the phone: on the transport and on each side. Also from Doogee, we got an eight-gigabyte branded flash drive with smartphone advertising, but, most likely, it is not included in the delivery package for ordinary buyers. In general, Doogee is extremely generous with bonuses, for which it can only be praised.
In addition to the classic black coloring, Doogee Mix has two more – blue and blue (not yet sold). At first acquaintance, the device seems a bit awkward: wide and short. Removing the top frame, Doogee (as well as once Sharp) did not extend the screen, leaving the standard aspect ratio of 16: 9. However, after a couple of hours, it ceases to amaze. The screen, reaching almost to the top edge of the case, looks unusual and even futuristic even now, and rather large frames do not prevent it from enjoying it. Look at the official renderers, which, to put it mildly, are deceiving about the framework:
Under the screen, there is a fingerprint scanner, which works quite slowly and not very accurately. It also plays the role of the touch button “back” (single touch) and “home” (touching with hold). Due to the fact that optimization of the shell leaves much to be desired, in resource-intensive applications, attempts to perform the “back” action can only lead to vibrations from the key, but the “back” does not happen (this occurs, for example, after the screenshot of the results of AnTuTu and the desire to return to the main screen of the benchmark – five times vibrates from five unsuccessful attempts, but you do not move anywhere). From above – a traditional conversational speaker, to experiment with the transmission of sound vibration Doogee did not.
On the glass back panel, Doogee Mix is the only annoying element of his design – a logo that for some reason is golden. Even on the renderers. There is nothing more golden in the Mix design, so it looks rather inappropriate. Apparently, common sense to the design approach still could not overcome the Chinese passion for gold. Claims for ergonomics I do not have, except that it is slippery, and from the problems with the assembly – just a little dangling buttons on the right end and a jittery tray (there are either two SIM or SIM + microSD).
The Doogee Mix screen is a 5.5 “AMOLED panel with HD resolution; it pleases with an excellent depth of black and good by white standards, maximum viewing angles, and high brightness. When working with the display through the factory thick protective film, the eyes get tired pretty quickly, without it, but not much, and I’d like to see an analog of the sRGB mode here. Alas, the MiraVision section does not help you. In spite of all this, the screen is still good enough for medium-b level, let it not Full HD.
Software
Doogee Mix is based on the Doogee OS firmware (and you want to cut it to DOS, but I will not) version 2.0.0, which in turn is an add-on for Android 7.0 Nougat. Wireless updates are supported and released. One of the bug fixes was the presence on the customer’s phone of the email Email, it was removed with the update.
The Doogee OS firmware contains the Freeme shell from the Chinese team Droi. She suggests placing a search line on the main screen (searching by applications and contacts) and another very strange thing: a cat and Tetris image hanging from above, when you click on the “Know” menu, where you can find out the current date and download themes. Svay to the left of the first desktop leads to the panel with the news, broken into several categories. And if it is possible to refuse from Know and the search line, then from the news – it is impossible. And we could not understand how to adjust the news flow. It seems that nothing to change in the sources can not be removed or added.
In the settings launcher, there are two interesting items – DIY and “Witchcraft.” In DIY, you can change the size of the icons and letters in their captions, the animation of scrolling the desktops and removing labels. In “Witchcraft” you can select a trace from the drawings, which is behind the finger on the desktop – circles, hearts, asterisks. I will give adequate people: the trail can be turned off altogether. And you can also drop the application menu and leave all the icons on the desktops.
Inside, the changes are smaller: Doogee has redrawn several basic applications and added several traditional for MediaTek budgetary chips: MiraVision, BesLoudness, a bunch of different gestures, one-hand mode, and a QR-scanner.
If we talk about the Doogee OS as a whole, then nothing good comes to mind – meaningless chips, no localization, so-so design and shitty optimization (a smartphone with a bunch of RAM now and then thinks for a long time, slowly responds to your actions, sometimes even the password input panel on the lock screen lags, is it like at all). If the Doogee Mix had a clean Android, it would be better, we think so. The slogan launcher sounds mocking: “The smallest and fastest user system.” B-fast.
Camera
Doogee Mix has a dual rear camera, assembled from 16-megapixel and 8-megapixel modules. Judging by the Doogee site, it is needed for two things: double optical zoom and background blur. True, the zoom is actually digital from the main module, and the blurring of the background is badly done – instead of selecting the boundaries of objects with the help of the second camera, vignetting is simply applied. Honestly, we are not at all sure that the second camera is – some suspect that in reality there simply is an ambient light sensor, a bluff. When you close the second hole, the phone says there is not enough light.
Maybe, at least the main 16-megapixel camera at Mix is good. Noises, soap, narrow dynamic range and sometimes ignoring the press of the shutter button. In the daytime, the frames come out more or less, although under ideal conditions it can be seen that they do not have clarity, the range is very narrow, and the white balance has a noticeable warm shade. In the room and in the evening the shots are generously strewn with noises, and the focus turns into an insecure slow-wittedness. In general, everything is much worse than in the examples on the site, which the company found in Google Images (well, or in Baidu Pictures).
Immediately after the shooting, do you want to check whether a successful SELF-has turned out or not. And you have to turn the phone over again because the gallery interface does not adapt for all these spreads. But the quality of the front-end is such that you will soon get tired of doing all these semi-submersibles. Declared 5 Mp, but for some reason, it is not indicated that this is five megapixels of fuzziness and colorlessness.
The quality of the picture during video shooting is not particularly impressive. In 4K there are artifacts due to the low bitrate at 14-17 Mbps, but the saddest is the brakes. Brakes the final video sequence and slows down the viewfinder when recording is in progress. Maybe that’s why Meizu removed 4K-shooting from Pro 7? Then it is for the better. On Mix, I advise shooting in 1080p. The sound recording is relatively good; there is a constant autofocus.
Performance and Tests
The Doogee Mix is based on the MediaTek Helio P25 chipset (eight 64-bit cores, the maximum quartet frequency is 2.5 GHz, the Mali-T880 graphics). The company is 4 or 6 GB of RAM and 64 or 128 GB of internal memory. At us a variant on 6/64 GB, from which after the first inclusion are accessible 3,7 GB of RAM and 50 GB of ROM. You can expand the internal memory by inserting microSD instead of one of the nano-SIM. The phone has a choice between two performance modes. In a balanced gadget noticeably tupit everywhere and everything, so we recommend using the smartphone in a high-performance. But do not harbor any special hopes, he also slows down in him, only less. The results of the benchmarks are presented below in both modes, the differences in the figures are minimal, can easily be written off for inaccuracy. However, in the real world, the differences in the behavior of a smartphone are very noticeable, although it is still one of the slowest devices. Optimize the shell as required.
The situation in games is pretty good; I would say good. We have an average chipset, yes, but the resolution here is only 720p. Such things as Moto Rider, Air Attack 2, Dead Trigger 2 and even Asphalt Extreme go on maxima without any complaints. In the World of Tanks, there are no constant 60 fps, but all the same, tankers will be pleased with what they saw if they lower the schedule, of course. In general, with the games Mix copes better than digests the shell. By the way, folk beliefs that it is inconvenient to play with EDGEST in landscape orientation due to a small indent is nonsense; there are no such problems. Under load, the phone is very hot at the top in any mode of the processor. Using such a similar system-on-chip Meizu Pro 7, such a shortcoming is not noticed (we are preparing a review), then this is exactly the defect of Doogee. Trotting, is, But you can not see it behind the lags of the interface. And it does not affect games very much.
The capacity of the Doogee Mix battery for papers is 3380 mAh, the Keweisi tester measured 2880 mAh. Full discharge when the video was shown took us 12 hours (the battery statistics for some reason the phone refuses to show), and with the usual active operation, it is enough for a day and a half. Nothing unusual, although you can expect more from a smartphone with AMOLED-screen.
Conclusions
Doogee one of the first Chinese companies not the first echelon released its variation on the theme of Xiaomi Mi Mix. The phone turned out really cool in appearance: glass, metal, minimal frames, solid black front panel. Only the rest of the company scored a little. Otherwise how to explain the dull shell, the weak chambers and the mediocre implementation of a pretty good iron.
