This rugged Android phone can handle the ruff stuff

When we remember the best phones of the past, we don't tend to talk about their processors or their display specs – in many cases, we remember their toughness. That's why we still talk in awed tones about old Nokias rather than their rivals.

Today, one of the key brands making rugged phones is the excellently named Doogee, which reminds me of a UK kids' TV show and its talking dog protagonist Duggee. Doogee's latest two models are built specifically to handle the, ahem, ruff stuff with rugged construction and esports-inspired designs.

The phones are currently only available directly from the company's own website and AliExpress, but they'll be hitting Amazon soon. And, if you need a tough Android phone the price may well be right, as both devices offer a decent spec for a price that won't break the bank. At the time of writing they're also being discounted by 10% for new customers who buy direct.

Hey Dooggee: two new phones made tough

The two new phones are the Doogee V40 and Doogee V40 Pro. They have the same chipset, the octa-core Dimensity 7300, and the higher spec Pro has an ARM Mali-G615 GPU, up to 36GB of RAM (16GB of physical RAM and 20GB virtual) and 512GB of storage, which you can expand to 2TB via SD.

The V40 can have up to 14GB of RAM and again comes with 512GB of storage. It has a 108-megapixel camera, while the Pro has 200-megapixels with up to 3x optical and 30x digital zoom.

Both phones have an extra display, a 1.47-inch display on the rear that provides glanceable information such as notifications and battery levels. It's also customisable.

Both devices run Doogee OS 4.0, an overlay for Android 14, and are available now from the manufacturer and from Amazon shortly.

The RRP is £381.89 / $499 (about AU$765) for the V40 and £458.42 / $599 (about AU$919) for the Pro. You can see the full specs and more images on the Doogee website.