Doogee’s V Max Plus smartphone. Photo: Doogee
So, you plan to be out in the wild for days with no additional power sources. You want a phone that can back you up for several days at a time without having to get somewhere where you can recharge. Enter the Doogee V Max Plus smartphone with its big, no, let’s say gigantic, 22,000 mAh battery. If you are looking for a phone that lasts extended periods on a single charge over any other quality, the Doogee V Max Plus may be the phone for you.
Besides its massive 22,000 mAh battery, the Doogee V Max Plus is a ruggedized smartphone (MIL-STD 810H) offering a slew of features with good performance. It also packs plenty of features, some of which are useful while others are of the “fluff” type variety. For an MSRP of $599, you get decent cameras and sound quality, lots of storage for apps and media, and quick wireless connections. If you can deal with its outsize dimensions, the V Max Plus could be a good choice for demanding environments where you may not have the ability to recharge for several days.
First, let’s get the technical stuff out of the way. Here are the Doogee V Max Plus’s specs:
Let’s face it: with a 2,200 mAh battery, the Doogee V Max Plus (5G) is not going to be a slim and trim phone. The phone weighs more than 19 ounces (1 pound, 3.2 ounces), which is not an inconsiderable weight to keep in your pocket. It also has a large and thick profile with outside dimensions of approximately 7 X 3.25 X 1 inches (height/width/depth).
But the plus side tradeoff is a lot of long-lasting power. Doogee claims the V Max Plus offers 1,540 standby hours or roughly 64 days of standby power. They also state the phone can individually last 156 calling hours, 142 music playing hours, 45 video watching hours, or 18 web browsing hours on a single charge.
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- Doogee’s V Max Plus smartphone. Photo: Doogee
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- Photo: Doogee
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- Photo: Doogee
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- Photo: Doogee
I didn’t test each of their statistics, but my unscientific results didn’t mirror these claims. That said, the Doogee V Max Plus is the longest-lasting phone I have ever tried. For example, after fully charging the phone, I left it on for 5 days straight. At the end of the fifth day, the battery still showed that it had 81 percent of its charge remaining. So, all things being the same, I would have gotten about 25 days of powered-on standby time. I also tried playing continuous music. After more than six hours of continuous play at moderate volume, the phone still read 100 percent charge. I then played two hours of a processor-intensive online game, and after those two hours and the six hours of continuous music, the battery still read 97 percent power. Ultimately, the V Max Plus provides plenty of power.
Ergonomics
If you can deal with its heft, the phone has some nice ergonomic features. On the right side of the phone is a large and easy-to-press power button, which also acts as a fingerprint sensor if you desire. Just above it is a large rocker button that makes changing the volume of the phone’s two front speakers easy. On the left side of the phone, you’ll find a customizable function button and a SIM/microSD card tray. It can support two nano SIMs, or one nano SIM and one microSD card. At the bottom of the phone is a USB-C connector covered by a plastic door.
Ruggedization And Durability
The Doogee V Max Plus is built to the MIL-STD-810H specification and carries IP68/IP69K ingress ratings. That means the phone can handle harsh environments and treatment. Its IP69K rating means that it can handle intense cleaning with high-pressure jets, or more importantly, it should be just fine if you are riding all day long in steady rain.
The V Max Plus has a Corning Gorilla Glass Victus front panel with a pre-installed screen protector for additional protection to keep the screen in good shape. The phone’s top and bottom edges have a rubber-like material that should help with drops, etc. If you are concerned about secure attachment, the top of the phone has a slot for a lanyard.
The screen brightness is fine for indoor use, but viewability is reduced in bright direct sunlight. The V Max Plus’ peak display brightness is 480 nits, which is not extremely bright. For comparison, you can turn a Samsung S22 Ultra’s screen up to 1,750 nits.
Day To Day Performance
As stated earlier, the Doogee V Max Plus is a big, heavy phone. If you carry it daily, it will take some getting used to. But it did handle daily tasks easily and quickly. The phone was easy to use to check and send emails and texts, browse the web, or watch a few videos. And, of course, there always seemed to be plenty of available power for a single day.
The Doogee’s twin front speakers produce decent volume with a somewhat “tinny” quality. Compared to Samsung’s S22 Ultra smartphone, the Doogee wins on volume but loses in sound quality. All in all, the sound quality was acceptable and loud enough to hear in noisy environments through its internal or external speakers.
The phone comes with a 33W wired fast charger that works well. With that amount of power, it took about four hours and 15 minutes to charge its hefty 22,000 mAh battery from 0 to 100 percent charge. With so much power available, you can also charge other devices using a USB-C cable. Unfortunately, wireless charging and reverse wireless charging are not possible.
Photos can be a little muddy with some washout. Photo: Mike Botan
Cameras
Photos can be a little muddy with some washout. Photo: Mike Botan
The Doogee V Max 5 Plus has three front cameras. Its 200MP f/1.95 primary camera has an 85-degree field of view and phase detection autofocus (PDAF). It also hosts an 8MP f/2.2 camera and can handle wide-angle and macro scenarios using 125-degree field of view. The third rear camera is a 20MP f/1.8 night vision camera with a 79-degree field of view. At the front of the phone, you will find a 32MP f/1.8 camera for selfies.
While the camera’s specs seem promising, the pictures it produces are not of the highest quality. The colors seemed somewhat washed out and muddy, but overall, they are OK. Selfies were OK in both 8MP and 32MP, but once again, nothing spectacular. The camera’s 8MP wide-angle camera suffered similar issues with somewhat overexposed and muddy pictures.
The wide-angle lens setting yielded a somewhat washed-out look. Photo: Mike Botan
The wide-angle lens setting yielded a somewhat washed-out look. Photo: Mike Botan
One good feature is the phone’s night vision capability. Although the photos turn into black-and-white mode, they are of good quality for the conditions. The feature is so good that you could use the camera to find your way around in the dark.
Summary
If your main desire is to take great pictures or you want something small that fits easily into your pocket, there are other alternatives. But the Doogee V Max Plus was built to deliver long-lasting power, and it does it very, very well. It also handles daily chores without complication. The phone’s rugged design is a plus, making it suitable for more demanding environments. While you might not get as much run time as Doogee claims, getting a few days without charging in regular use, you should be just fine.