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The Vivo V20 wants to shine bright in the minds of camera enthusiasts.
The Vivo V20 wants to shine bright in the minds of camera enthusiasts.

REVIEW: Vivo V20

Manila - New smartphone has an 'eye' for detail

By Alvin R. Cabral

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Published: Mon 15 Feb 2021, 8:43 PM

Last updated: Wed 17 Feb 2021, 6:53 AM

Smartphone brands' push to be recognised has somewhat largely hinged on its camera offerings. Vivo's right there, upping its game not just on the main snappers, but — most importantly for the selfie crowd — also up front.

The Vivo V20 is the company's latest offering to just do that — and it's positioned as a very competitive mid-ranger.


TALE OF THE TAPE

Okay... on paper, there seem to be some 'downgrades', depending from where you're coming from. But as we've learned from previous devices — coming from major brands even — more isn't necessarily better. Of note too is that only the 8GB/128GB combo is available in the UAE. And kudos to that price drop, too.


FORM

Standard fare here: The V20 has a nice sleek look, with curved corners and a metallic-looking frame; we're saying that because it's actually made of plastic, but it gives a good feel. Ditto for its rear; we have the Sunset Melody shade that has a 3D-colour effect. It isn't light nor heavy, something resulting from the decision to use said material for it.

You got the volume rocker and a ribbed power button on the right, USB-C and headphone ports below, and a card tray on the left that holds two nano-SIMs and an SD card.

It has a 6.44-inch screen that's bright, but we personally find it too bright: At maximum level, it could be more than certain sets of eyes can handle, not to mention its role to eat up more battery life. We also found its bezels to be very acceptable, and the way they roll down to the edges is also good.

PERFORMANCE

The V20 is, thankfully, Android 11-powered out of the box, which obviously means you've got the latest OS in your hands. Of course, Vivo's own Funtouch 11 is also sharing the show, but thankfully again there isn't any annoying bloatware.

Navigating through it is clean and fast, with the only noticeable lags being split-second delays when apps load. Otherwise, transitioning between processes wasn't an issue at all. Below is your standard three-button virtual controls, which can, as usual, be swapped out for button-less controls ala-iPhone.

You've also got iManager, which, among other things, manages the device's health, tracks for viruses and keeps an eye on optimising the phone overall.

One odd thing Vivo has is its mini-screen feature, which basically shrinks the entire screen to a smaller size so one-handed use is easier. Sure, it's easier to reach the 'entire' display in this mode (which is adjustable too), but we'd view this more as a novelty. Oh well.

There's also an in-screen fingerprint sensor, which automatically shows itself up when you lift the phone or touch its screen. Face unlock is also available.

Meanwhile, the V20 is also a shoo-in for gaming, with its improved Ultra Game Mode being able optimise important sectors for optimum performance. Associated with that, the phone doesn't heat up, even in the heat of performance-demanding tasks.

CAMERA

We've got a professional-looking snapper block adorning the V20, and by no means is it a push-over on paper.

The V20's camera setup isn't actually headlined by that block; instead, it's led by the 44MP selfie camera powered by what it calls Eye Autofocus. But sticking to tradition, we'll keep that for later.

As such, the main camera has 64MP wide-angle, 8MP macro and 2MP mono lenses, which we'll put to work.

These indoor shots give an actual view of the subjects, with lighting kept natural. Close-ups are both here and there: While the sunflower close-up is good, it did seem to struggle a bit in focusing on the rose petals.

Meanwhile, out in my garden (I'm on vacation!), the top photo is a great shot, while the bottom one, taken under the sun's glory, seems to veer a little bit towards overexposure. We still give it a passing grade.

Portrait shots' bokeh effect can also be adjusted, and we're good on the detail on my purple chilis.

Meanwhile, night shots are also good; top one used normal mode, while the bottom one was on night mode. Natural feels continue.

We like the way the flowers up there are detailed, blending well with the scene that isn't overexposed. Be warned, though, that you're required to wait for several seconds before a night mode shot is processed; those up there took about five to six seconds, and the darker the scene, the longer it'll take.

Now, onwards to that 44MP selfie star — and by that we mean the camera, not the one in the shots.

I'll say this: It's a good selfie camera, with very good detail. And for those who adore themselves with that smoother look, you can opt to switch on beauty mode if you're obsessed with it.

Same goes at night; there aren't any obvious smudges that normally come with low-light shots.

The only thing is that you'd have to keep still for a couple of seconds for the camera to process shots taken on night mode. Not a bad deal if the quality is more than acceptable, isn't it?

BATTERY

One of Vivo's strengths is its battery, especially when it comes to filling it up. But before that, we're happy to tell you that in our standard one-hour YouTube-at-full-brightness test, the V20 lost just nine per cent, pretty much in line with a number of flagships.

That said, it's also good enough to last you an entire day; if you try to wear it down with multiple tasks and apps all day long, you should still get about 20 per cent by nightfall; conserving it a bit would require you to plug it in by noon the following day.

Which leads us to arguably its best asset: Charging time.

Vivo's FlashCharge 2.0, spewing out of the 33W charger included in the box, is a key selling point — and any smartphone that can fully refill itself within an hour is good in our books. The company's recent devices have impressed in this category: The V20 follows in the footsteps of the X50 Pro, which in our run maxed out at 59 minutes, while the V19 wasn't so far behind at an hour and nine minutes.

AND SO...

The Vivo V20 is a surprisingly very good phone, despite those 'downgrades'. As we've said, specs can sometimes be deceiving. The cameras are its top selling point and it's good in our books. Everything else — from looks to performance — gets our nod for it to be a mid-ranger to be seriously considered.

We're a bit disappointed, however, on the smaller battery, which Vivo could've improved. That's cancelled out, however, with the quick-service charging it provides — so as long as you always have its charging brick with you. In theory, the misses merit a higher price, but if you're on a budget, go right ahead.

GOODIES: Fast charging, good cameras, good price, clean look

GOOFIES: Limited storage (in areas where only 128GB is on offer), battery could've been bigger, close-up shots inconsistent

EDITOR RATING: Better if it had the higher storage option available everywhere and a battery that is at least at par with the V19. 4.0/5

alvin@khaleejtimes.com


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