DOOGEE packs a laser rangefinder into its latest Android 11 rugged phone

The OEM DOOGEE seems to pride itself on selling phones that might appeal most to those heavily into their construction, DIY or general tooled-up outdoorsy-ness. It did so to great effect in its recent release, the S96 Pro, as this rugged-type phone counted a 20MP Sony night vision sensor among its rear camera array. Its successor has a different trick, however: a 40m laser rangefinder.

DOOGEE claims that this new kind of emitter will help the user determine the surface area or capacity of the room a user finds themselves in, not to mention the distance between them and objects within a 40 meter range.

Besides this interesting and possibly professionally useful new spec, the S97 Pro is also rated to improve on its predecessor in terms of SoC (to some extent), battery life and charging speed.

Its larger 6.39-inch HD display is driven by the MediaTek Helio G95 SoC, rather than the G90 found in the S96 Pro, powered by an upgrade to 8500mAh rather than 6350mAh in the older DOOGEE phone.

The enhanced power pack will also charge a bit faster, with a 33W power brick rather than the standard 10W adapter thrown in with the S96 Pro. Finally, its immediate MIL-STD-810G-rated upgrade will run Android 11 rather than 10 out of the box.

DOOGEE has released this new toughphone via AliExpress, where it currently retails at US$219.99 rather than its normal $349 price-point during its launch phase. It is available in 1 8GB RAM/128GB internal storage configuration, in "Orange Tiger", "Silver Black" or "Red Lava" colorways, from now.