Doogee Mix Unboxing And First Impressions

Doogee Mobile, a promising Chinese brand just entered the hotly contested Philippine smartphone market with a bang. The company has just introduced the Doogee Mix, a potential game changing handset with very impressive design, powerful specs and very aggressive pricing.

Meet Doogee Mix!

As a quick recap, the Doogee Mix has the best specs among all the locally available smartphone for the price yet. In particular, at PHP 10,995, it is the most affordable smartphone in the country with whopping 6 GB of RAM, a feature that's very rare to find even in the high-end mobile game.

Moreover, it has a Mi Mix like near tri-bezel-less 5.5 inch screen for better ergonomics, speedy yet 20% more power efficient Helio P25 chipset and a dual camera setup with modern modes for better mobile photography.

On paper, the Doogee Mix is a heavyweight. Is it worth all the hype? It's time to check its actual performance.

Doogee Mix Specs

Display: 5.5 Inch HD Super AMOLED 1280 x 720 resolution w/ 2.5D curved glass at 267 ppi

CPU: 2.5 GHz 64 Bit Helio P25 octa core processor

GPU: Mali T880

RAM: 4 GB / 6 GB

ROM: 64 GB expandable via micro SD card

Back Camera: 16 MP + 8 MP f/2.0 w/ 2x optical zoom, monochrome mode, PDAF and LED flash

Selfie Camera: 5 MP f/2.0 w/ 2x digital zoom and 86 degrees wide angle lens

Battery: 3,380 mAh

OS: Android 7.0 Nougat

Connectivity: WiFi, 3G, LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, A GPS, GLONASS dual SIM

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic

Others: Fingerprint scanner

Dimensions: 144 x 76.2 x 7.95 mm

Weight: 193 g

Price: PHP 9,995 (4 GB RAM variant), PHP 10,995 (6 GB RAM model)

Disclaimer: This is a seeded unit from Lucky HR, the local distributor of Doogee Mobile in the Philippines. Rest is assured of our honest review.

Unboxing / Accessories

SIM ejector tool, 2A USB wall charger and USB cables

The packaging of Doogee Mix is jam-packed. It goes with a premium-like black box with lots of inclusions inside.

Case, phone ring holder, screen protector and cleaning cloth

Doogee has included a 2A USB wall charger, USB to micro USB data / charging cable, 3x screen protector (2 attached on the phone already), cleaning cloth, phone ring holder (in condom-like packaging), hard case, SIM ejector tool and warranty card.

Interestingly, Doogee failed to include a generic earbuds with mic. Still an outstanding package for a midranger.

Build Quality / Design

Glassy back (prone to fingerprint smudges)

This is where the Doogee Mix stands out. The handset is sleek, solid and premium. It is made out of a sturdy metal frame with glass in front and ceramic-like glossy glass at the back.

Flashy aesthetics, tough enough feel!

It may just be prone to scratches and fingerprint smudges, but Doogee has included several free protectors (back and front), hard case and a ring holder to enhance protection even against accidental drops.

Headphone jack slot on top

Mic, micro USB slot and single speaker below

Hybrid SIM slot at left

Volume rocker and power button at left

Design-wise, the Doogee Mix is a reminiscence of the Mi Mix. It tried to mimic the tri-bezel-less screen of Mi Mix in a smaller 5.5 inch screen. The 93 percent screen-to-body ratio is impressive even if bezels are still a bit noticeable. At the back, the glass material that Doogee used is sleek. It also has proper curves all over.

It's a reminiscence of the Mi Mix, close to premium for the price!

Mostly, the buttons and ports are on easy to locate positions. The ejectable hybrid SIM tray slot is at left, volume rocker / power button at right, headphone jack slot on top and mic / micro USB slot / speaker grills below.

There's a camera protrusion behind. The front camera below is on a weird position.

Moreover, we liked that it is just as big a most 5 to 5.2 inch phone despite having a big 5.5 inch screen. As a result, the phone is a joy to hold. It is simply ergonomically better in the hands.

Initial Findings

1. The Doogee Mix has close to premium aesthetics, impressive for the low asking price. The 5.5 inch AMOLED screen looks great with eye popping colors. It also has 10 points of touch. But, it isn't as sharp compared to other phones with FHD panels.
2. What's inside is a powerhouse on paper for the price. It's probably the most affordable phone in the world equipped with MediaTek's power efficient yet capable Helio P25 octa core chip. It is even paired with the gaming ready Mali T880 graphics and whopping up to 6 GB of RAM. 3,380 mAh of battery is also quite big for the lower screen resolution. Unreal!
3. The Doogee Mix boots with Android 7.0 Nougat OS out of the box.. The custom skin it is using is quite neat and feature packed. It could just be too flashy for some. Still needs some refining for us.
4. The main camera looks impressive on daylight. The 16 MP + 8 MP dual main cameras has 2x optical zoom, monochrome mode and background blur mode. The 5 MP selfie camera is uninspiring so far. Output from the selfie cam is violetish in color even in broad daylight.
5. Android keys are on-screen, no light indicator, OTG works, fingerprint scanner works but not that fast, gyroscope sensor is present.

Related: Doogee Mix: First Camera Samples

As of the moment

Good Antutu benchmark score

The Doogee Mix has the potential to be great! It has one of the most premium build and highest specs in its class. The software may need some refinement, but we are loving the overall experience so far.

For our review: Doogee Mix Review - Style, Power, Value For Money?