Can the recently released Doogee X6 Pro stand up to its hugely popular little brother the X5 Pro?
It’s unlikely that you will have heard of Doogee before but they are working hard to change that. Recently that hard work has paid off with the Doogee X5 making it into Amazon’s top 100 best-selling smartphones.
Doogee (a subsidiary of the KVD International Group in China) have been manufacturing budget smartphones since 2013 with a focus on creating affordable yet well spec’d mobile devices, so I’m excited to see 2 more phones in their ‘X’ range.
After the success of the X5 & the X5 Pro, Doogee’s latest offering is, you guessed it, the X6 & the X6 Pro. In this review, I take an in-depth look at how the X6 Pro performs when it comes to Design, Screen, Battery, Software, Hardware & Connectivity.
As the Doogee X6 (Non-Pro) is selling for around two-thirds the price of the X6 Pro I’ve put together a quick Doogee X6 Pro Vs Doogee X6 comparison so you can decide what features you need and which version is right for you.
Doogee X6 Pro starts at… UK : £71 | EU : €95 | US : $99
Has the Doogee X6 Pro got what it takes to rise above the crowd in the ever-growing Chinese smartphone market? We’re about to find out, but first, let’s take a look at the Pro’s & Con’s.
Positives
- Low Price
- Full UK 4G Support
- Solid build
- Creative button design
- Notification LED
- Crisp 720p Screen
- 2GB RAM
- Future upgrade to Android 6.0
Negatives
- Okay Camera performance
- No good for high-end gaming
- Slightly on the heavy side
- Buttons not backlit
- Micro-USB at the top
Screen & Design
The design of the Doogee X6 Pro looks is slightly generic but don’t let this put you off. The phone feels well-built and the metal band that incorporates the buttons is a nice touch. The screen is bright & crisp with vibrant colours and features a 1280×720 pixel resolution screen which is pretty standard for a phone at this price point.
It’s slightly on the heavy side at around 190 grams but it does have a 5.5-inch screen. The thickness of the X6 Pro is around 10mm’s, so think more ‘smooth pebble’ than ‘razor thin’ when it comes to the dimensions. Doogee have also decided to place the USB port at the top which I find slightly odd having to dock the phone upside down.
One drawback is that the X6 Pro doesn’t feature backlit buttons but on a plus note, it does have a blue notification light for incoming alerts which is sometimes left off budget phones.
Colours Available: Black & White
Screen Tech Specs: 5.5 inch, IPS, 1280×720, 267PPI, Capacitive
Software & Hardware
Out of the box, the X6 Pro comes with Android 5.1 but Doogee have stated in a press release that the X6 Pro will receive an update to Android 6 Marshmallow. This will be one area where the Pro version with the newer chipset inside pulls away from the non-pro version.
I’ve listed the technical specs below for anyone who’s as into the geeky stuff as much as me. During my time testing the X6 Pro I found the Android 5.1 OS to be fast and responsive. Before testing, I always switch to the Google Now Launcher (available for free in the Google Play Store) when using a new phone and I found no problems with the Doogee X6 Pro.
The phone supports both a normal size SIM and a Micro SIM with a dedicated SD slot for expanding upon the 16GB of memory that comes as standard.
A nice surprise was the quality of the external speakers on the X6 Pro, the single speaker is loud with a good range through the mids and highs. You won’t be playing your favourite music at a party but for the odd trailer and gaming, it sounds okay. The internal speaker also sounded clear when call testing the phone.
Tech Specs: Android 5.1, MediaTek MT6735P Quad-core 1Ghz (64bit), Mali-T720 GPU, 2GB RAM, 16GB Storage, expandable SD card
Battery
The 3000mAh battery that you’ll find inside the X6 & X6 Pro is a respectable size for any smartphone and during testing the phone lasted a full day with heavy use. A light user will probably get around 2 days full use from the X6 Pro. The plastic back cover of the device is removable which is good news as this gives easy access to the battery when needed and opens up the option of carrying a spare.
Looking for a budget phone with insane battery life? Check out the Cubot H1.
Camera
I found photos on the Doogee X6 Pro to be a little washed and lacking in vibrancy. In good outdoor lighting you can get an okay shot but generally, you won’t be wowing anyone with this camera. Given the price-point, I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular from the X6 Pro so it’s fair to say it met my expectations. Both the front and back cameras use interpolation so I’ve added the real pixel values to the right.
Camera Features: Autofocus, Digital image stabilization, Digital zoom, Face detection, HDR, Panorama, Scene mode, Self-timer, Touch focus
Back Camera:
- 8MP (IP 5)
- f/2.0
- CMOS
- LED flash
Selfie Camera:
- 5MP (IP 2)
- Wide Angle
Connectivity
For a budget phone, the X6 Pro shines in the connectivity department with full UK 4G coverage. It’s a little light on the sensors, only packing the most essential with notably the compass sensor missing. Bare this in mind if you are planning to use your phone as a navigation device.
Frequencies Supported: – 2G: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900MHz | 3G: WCDMA 900 / 2100MHz | 4G: FDD-LTE 800 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600MHz
3G: YES
4G: YES
Bluetooth: 4.0
GPS: GPS, A-GPS
Sensors: Accelerometer, Light sensor, Proximity Sensor
USB OTG: NO
USB Type: Micro-USB
SIM support: Micro SIM + Standard SIM
WiFi: 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n
Will the Doogee X6 Pro work in the UK?
3G – YES
4G – YES
The Doogee X6 Pro has 4G support for LTE Bands 1 (2100MHz), 3 (1800MHz), 7 (2600MHz) & 20 (800MHz). The active 4G LTE bands in the UK are 20 (800MHz), 3 (1800MHz) & 7 (2600MHz).
What’s in the box?
Inside the Doogee X6 Pro box, you get some basic accessories including: 1 Regional Wall Charger, USB Cable, Quick Start Guide, & Battery.
Final thoughts on the Doogee X6 Pro?
The Doogee X6 Pro performed all basic tasks easily for a low-end phone and the added 4G capability is nice to have. The extra battery capacity in the X6 range, when compared against the X5 range, is good and the 2GB RAM in the X6 Pro is worth paying a little extra for as this will keep the Android OS running smoothly. Another benefit of the Doogee X6 Pro over the X6 and X5 is the future upgrade to Android 6 Marshmallow.
If you’re looking for a budget phone that gets the job done then the Doogee X6 Pro is a good option. If you’ve got a little more to spend then definitely check out the Ulefone Paris full review.
Grab the Doogee X6 Pro now for… UK : £71 | EU : €95 | US : $99
Let me know your thoughts on the Doogee X6 Pro in the comment below. Feel free to share.
I purchased this X6 Pro a few weeks ago and Your review was spot on with a none biased opinion what a great budget phone and value for money other than camera quality being grainy it’s great
Hi Trevor,
Glad you’re enjoying the X6 Pro. You can get a fairly decent phone for next to nothing which is exciting!
Check out the Cubot Note S – https://review-hub.co.uk/cubot-note-s-phone-full-review/ &
The BluBoo Xfire 2 – https://review-hub.co.uk/bluboo-xfire-2-phone-review/
Both amazing value for the price!
Hi, I am looking for a cheap phone that can run Pokemon GO, could someone tell me if this phone is any good for Pokemon GO?
Hey,
Yeah, Pokemon Go is an unwieldy beast at the moment so it will crash and slow down most phones. Once they iron out the bugs and improve the app any new smartphone should play it easily.
If you phone is struggling try turning off the VR mode : )
Just got one of these and seems fine touch screen is a little sensitive I would say. But I can’t get any mobile signal on O2 checked all the specs only thing is I already had a micro sim so I have popped that in slot 2 the phone knows it’s there but said no signal, do I need a car in slot 1 for slot 2 to work?
Hi Lucent,
Usually if you aren’t getting any data or connection after you’ve inserted the SIM card it’s because the phone needs restarting.
If after a restart you’re still not getting signal then remove the cards, re-insert, and restart.
Make sure mobile data is turned on in the settings. Check you settings are correct as well. Usually they will be automatically in the UK.
If none of these steps work. Try a friends SIM card. If that fails then contact the store you purchased the phone from and they should replace it for you.
Hope this helps : )
I have purchased 2 of the Doogoo x6 pro phones recently and the latest has an improved camera pixels
the problem I have is loading my btinternet email server. its very happy to load gmail but says can not connect with server on btinternet. can you help. ?
Hi Alan,
Yes I’ve had problems trying to get BT Internet emails to work in the past on various phones. Best to contact BT and ask for the exact settings to use then to input the emails settings manually.
Hi. I bought my X6 Pro about 3 mths ago. I was satisfied, very good phone for less money. But I am not impressed by the battery. It lasts 3/4 of a day. Now it is not charging while it’s on, I have to shut it off for charging. It can be something wrong with the phone of course, but I’m a little bit disappointed. Also it’s not possible to use any micro usb plug. It has to be a “long plug”because the female is deep in the phone.
Best from Åge. Norway.
Hey,
Sounds like a faulty unit to me. Try a completely new Plug & USB cable and if it doesn’t resolve the problem you should be able get the device repaired / replaced for free under the 12 months manufacturing warranty : )
Hey Peter,
Sometimes the batteries now come a small tab covering the connectors that you need to remove first.
If the battery is sealed inside the device and it won’t turn on after 30 minutes charging then first try another charger / charging cable. If that fails then it looks like it either faulty or damaged during transit. Either way you’ve covered under the years manufacturing warranty.
Just let the shop you bought it from that it was dead on arrival and they should cover return shipping and by law have to send out a replacement.
Hope this helps : )