Vivo V50 Review: Fancy Design Backed by Big Battery Life

Vivo, a model identified primarily for its mid-premium section smartphones, is seeing growing competitors with each passing 12 months. Whereas it was tough to seek out options akin to a very good digital camera and battery life on this section just a few years in the past, the competitors has now caught up. Xiaomi’s Redmi Be aware 14 Professional+ (which was earlier part of its funds sequence of units) is now delivering good worth priced from Rs. 30,999. And the identical applies to manufacturers like Poco and Realme, which have gotten more and more aggressive with pricing. With Vivo now totally conscious of the competitors, inching nearer with each passing 12 months, it has now provide you with what we imagine is a tolerable successor for its mid-range V40 sequence. The Vivo V50 has loads of upgrades over the earlier fashions, and for as soon as, a few of these truly make sense.

Vivo V50 Design: Quad-curved show performed proper

• Dimensions – 163.29 x 76.72 x 7.57mm
• Weight – 199g
• Sturdiness – IP68 + IP69

In contrast to its predecessors, the Vivo V50 has a slim, rounded design that appears and feels premium. The telephone is available in three finishes—Titanium Gray, Starry Night time and Rose Crimson. The glass rear panel of the Rose Crimson unit we obtained has a easy matte end. It is good to see that the odd keyhole-shaped digital camera module doesn’t stand out as a lot as a result of it, too, has been given the matte-finish remedy. Vivo’s Aura ring gentle has grown greater in diameter, offering higher protection than the earlier implementation.

The Vivo V50 has a easy, satin-like end for its rear panel however packs a strong IP69 ranking for mud and water resistance

 

The rounded pebble-like design could be very comfy to carry, and the chrome-finished polycarbonate body (additionally the chassis), aside from serving to scale back weight, additionally makes the telephone simpler to grip. The telephone nonetheless has a heft to it at 199 grams, however you’ll want to needless to say it packs in a 6,000mAh battery.

In contrast to most smartphones we’ve seen within the premium section, Vivo certainly obtained the micro quad-curved show proper with its V50. With most micro-quad-curved show panels, the deal is to make the content material seem a bit immersive with out the content material sliding too far into the curved sides and therefore showing distorted. The upside of utilizing this tech is that even the show border seems thinner if performed proper. On most premium smartphones (normally by Chinese language producers), micro-quad-curved panels are usually accompanied by mid-frames with flat sides, which breaks the stream of the design by pairing rounded and flat surfaces.

The Vivo V50 has well-rounded, quad-curved panels and a curved mid-frame, which lend it a really comfy grip and hand really feel.

 

Vivo managed to drag this off nicely. Due to its distinctive mixture of a quad-curved rear panel, a curved mid-frame, and a quad-curved show, it has a seamless feel and appear. It jogs my memory of the older all-metal iPhone fashions, such because the iPhone 6, which additionally had a flat back and front however rounded sides.

My solely nitpick concerning the Vivo V50’s design can be the marginally sharp cutout for the USB port and speaker grilles on the backside.

 

This splendid design is backed up by a strong IP68 and IP69 ranking for mud and water resistance, which means you might take this telephone for a swim in freshwater. Nevertheless, do needless to say Vivo’s guarantee (similar to most producers) doesn’t cowl injury brought on by liquid ingress.

Vivo V50 Show: Seems nice, and works nice!

• Show measurement – 6.77-inch, 2,392 × 1,080 pixels, FHD+ (387 PPI)
• Show sort – AMOLED, 60-90-120Hz
• Show safety – Schott

Seems apart, the show has skinny borders throughout, and the curved edges additionally imply extra reflections when viewing the show outdoor, which might get distracting. Out of doors legibility, because of the claimed 4,500 nits of peak brightness, was not an issue, and the identical might be mentioned concerning the show’s colors, which appeared pure in all varieties of lighting situations. The show additionally helps HDR10 content material, and it appeared as anticipated.

Apparent downgrades apart, I additionally seen that the quad-curved panel launched this 12 months does lose just a few pixels. The Vivo V40’s curved-edge show had a decision of two,800 × 1,260 pixels, whereas the brand new mannequin presents a barely decrease 2,392 × 1,080 pixels. The variations in sharpness can be minor, so will probably be laborious to inform the distinction.

The Vivo V50’s quad-curved show produces some pointless reflections when seen outdoor

 

The show is of the adaptive selection and switches between 60, 90, and 120Hz relying on the appliance or content material being seen. Throughout the testing interval, I seen random situations the place the refresh fee of the show would drop to one thing nicely under 30Hz, resulting in some supremely slowed-down, sluggish animations when utilizing the telephone. These have been fairly random, and the telephone would type itself out in about 5-10 seconds. Nevertheless, after a current bug repair and safety replace, I didn’t face the abovementioned concern.

Vivo V50 Software program: AI add-ons

• Software program model – Android 15
• Software program – Funtouch OS 15
• Software program dedication – 3 years of software program, 4 years of safety updates

Funtouch OS has now moved on to Android 15, making it Funtouch OS 15. The cellular working system stays usually Vivo, with a deal with customising the minutest of particulars that different producers normally do not hassle with. The OS with Android 15 is now much more steady and smoother (apart from the random hiccups I skilled) and comes with some minor visible enhancements like icon and theme customisation.

The primary chunk of Funtouch OS 15’s add-ons comes with new AI instruments. On the V50, I experimented with the AI Erase software within the picture editor however discovered the outcomes unsatisfactory, because the software struggled to carry out even probably the most fundamental picture edits efficiently (or as much as expectations). Subsequent, I attempted out the AI Name Translator software, and it surprisingly labored nicely each for Hindi and Marathi callers, offered the caller spoke fluently.

Vivo’s Funtouch OS 15 has some new AI-infused options however these do not work as anticipated. Customisation options (pictured) are a giant plus.

 

Vivo V50 Efficiency: Will get the job performed

• Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3
• RAM – 12GB (LPDDR4X)
• Storage – 256GB (UFS 2.2)

Fast product refresh cycles are a factor with most Chinese language smartphone manufacturers, particularly within the funds and mid-range smartphone segments. Vivo isn’t any stranger to such product launch cycles, and so we noticed the Vivo V30 and the Vivo V40 getting launched simply 5 months aside! With such fast launch cycles, it is common for manufacturers to retain design parts together with digital camera {hardware} whereas upgrading the processor and battery/charging efficiency.

And so we find yourself with Vivo’s processor of alternative, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, which has been used up to now two generations of the V sequence. Whereas I might count on it to be tried and examined and dependable, I did discover its efficiency a bit lacklustre whereas enjoying FPS video games like Name of Obligation Cell, the place the telephone simply couldn’t preserve a easy or regular body fee. Even on the highest settings, Asphalt Legends: Unite carried out easily. The show was nearly tolerable when it comes to sensitivity, so if you’re into cellular gaming, this is not the telephone for you.

The Vivo V50 will get two rear-facing cameras accompanied by a bigger ring gentle than the V40

 

By way of benchmarks, the Vivo V50 doesn’t fare nicely when stacked towards the competitors, as better-performing smartphones with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoCs can be found at and round this worth level.

The stereo audio system can get very loud at full quantity, however the sound lacks any bass in any respect. The ensuing audio is evident despite the fact that it doesn’t sound full and wealthy. Haptic vibrations are removed from crisp. Given the smartphone’s price ticket, I anticipated higher.

Vivo V50 Cameras: A combined bag

• Main digital camera – 50-megapixel, f/1.8, AF, OIS
• Ultrawide digital camera – 50-megapixel, f/2.0, AF
• Selfie digital camera – 50-megapixel, f/2.0, AF

Vivo V50 ultrawide digital camera samples (faucet photographs to develop)

 

The ultrawide digital camera snaps 12-megapixel binned photographs, and the outcomes are common at finest. There’s noticeable lens barrel distortion across the edges of the picture and loads of purple fringing within the brighter areas. The colors are alright, however there’s some oversharpening and aggressive noise discount, which produces flat, oil-painting-like textures even in daylight. In low gentle, there’s lowered dynamic vary, which means there are little to no particulars seen within the shadows. Noise is underneath management, however similar to the daylight captures, it comes at the price of horribly lowered resolved element.

Vivo V50 tremendous macro digital camera pattern (faucet picture to develop)

 

The identical digital camera can also be in command of macro photographs and might be accessed by means of the Tremendous Macro mode. And that is the place the ultrawide digital camera makes itself a bit extra helpful. It does a good job of snapping macro photographs, letting you get actually near your topic, however the photographs lack resolved particulars. Briefly, they seem positive till you zoom in and examine for element, the place you’re greeted by an oversharpened mess. The first digital camera helps you to get about 10-15cm away from the topic, however its shallow depth of area means the fall-off is a bit extreme, leaving a really small patch to deal with.

Vivo V50 daylight digital camera samples. Prime: 1X (main digital camera), Center: 2X (digital zoom), Backside: 2X (digital zoom) (faucet photographs to develop)

 

The first digital camera, too, does a mean job when snapping photographs underneath daylight. The dynamic vary and colors are positive, however the captures are low on resolved element and sharpness. Taking pictures at 2X digital zoom sees higher and sharper output, leading to usable photographs when snapped in daylight. Nevertheless, in low gentle or underneath synthetic gentle, the resolved element is slightly decrease, resulting in photographs that seem flat. This additionally applies to the Portrait mode.

Vivo V50 low-light digital camera samples (faucet photographs to develop)

 

The primary digital camera’s low-light photographs are surprisingly good. They arrive out sharp and clear, packing good element and dynamic vary. That is in all probability right down to the digital camera’s Night time mode imaging algorithms, which additionally take a little bit of time to course of as soon as a picture has been captured, making you watch for just a few seconds till you possibly can seize the following shot.

Selfies in low gentle (pictured) come out rather well, because of the Aura ring gentle. Daylight selfies are additionally sharp and pack in good element with good edge-detection (faucet picture to develop)

 

Movies recorded at 1080p at 30fps come out a bit delicate however have good color and stabilisation. 4K 30fps movies are additionally nicely stabilised however solely handle a marginal enchancment when it comes to element. Movies captured from the selfie digital camera have blown-out backgrounds when capturing in vivid out of doors environments, so it is best averted.

In low gentle, 1080p video recordings seem a bit too delicate and lack each element and dynamic vary. 4K footage manages higher element together with good stabilisation. Issues are removed from best, as there’s seen noise, and dynamic vary is not dealt with nicely, with blown-out highlights in vivid areas and lacking particulars within the darker patches when capturing street-lit scenes.

Vivo V50 Battery: Downright spectacular!

• Battery capability – 6,000mAh
• Wired charging – 90W
• Wi-fi charging – NA

The Vivo V50’s battery simply lasted me nicely over a day with informal use and combined connectivity, which incorporates staying related to 5G and Wi-Fi networks. Certainly, battery life isn’t a problem with this telephone, whether or not you’re a informal consumer who simply scrolls by means of social media apps or an influence consumer who is consistently on calls, switching between a number of apps, together with digital camera utilization and gaming.

The Vivo V50 measures simply 7.5mm at its thinnest level however someway has a 6,000mAh battery stuffed inside.

 

In our commonplace battery video loop take a look at, the telephone managed a strong rating of 29 hours and 12 minutes, which is spectacular even for a mid-ranger. Charging can also be surprisingly quick (for a tool with a 6,000mAh battery), with the Vivo V50 managing a 56 p.c cost in half-hour and 81 p.c in a single hour, finishing the charging simply 5 minutes later.

Vivo V50 Verdict

Vivo’s abnormally fast product launch cycle for its V sequence makes it apparent that many could maintain off on upgrading to the brand new V50 regardless of its developments over the V40 launched final 12 months. Given final 12 months’s launch schedule, we will count on a Vivo V60 to be launched within the subsequent 5 months, nicely earlier than the 12 months ends. Even when the upgrades are minor, they may nonetheless matter as a result of we count on the pricing to remain the identical.

Now we have no one however Vivo responsible for this conundrum. Those that personal a Vivo V20 can now lastly improve to the V50, which presents a giant bounce in total efficiency. Vivo V30 upgrades additionally profit from improved battery life and a greater set of cameras.

If a glossy design and battery life matter most to you, then the Vivo V50 is an efficient alternative for the typical client. But when efficiency issues, then you’re higher off with units like Realme’s GT 6 (Evaluate), which is priced a wee bit larger, and even the Poco F6 (Evaluate) that is priced loads decrease than the V50. Xiaomi’s Redmi Be aware 14 Professional+ (Evaluate) can also be a strong contender (at a a lot cheaper price), because it presents higher battery life than the Vivo V50.