Vivo V50 review: Stylish phone with really good camera

It retains core design elements of the predecessor, but inside, it comes with a bigger battery capacity and a faster charging capability in addition to cool photograhy tools.

Last week, Vivo launched the new mid-range phone V50 in India. It comes in three variants-- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 256GB storage and 12GB RAM + 512GB storage--with prices starting at Rs 34,999.

It retains the core design elements of the predecessor, but inside, it comes with a bigger battery capacity and a faster charging capability.

Here are my thoughts on the latest Android phone from the house of Vivo.

Design, build quality and display

Like the previous V-series phone, Vivo continues to impress us with the design language of the V50. Our review unit is a 'rose-red' model. It looks gorgeous in the sunlight. It flaunts a beautiful sparkling maroon-hued back panel. It has a matte finish, and when light hits on the surface, it sparkles.

The matte finish has a couple of advantages, one it does a superb job with repelling sweaty fingernail smudges and two, it offers a nice grip for the fingers to hold on to the device.

Vivo V50 series.

Besides the red rose variant, Vivo also offers the device in two other colours--titanium grey and starry night. The latter is the most good-looking not just among the three models, but also best among mid-range phones in the market. The Vivo V50 starry night variant is touted to be India’s first phone with 3D–Star Technology. It has a special colour-coordinated case, which transforms dynamically under different lighting, mimicking a starry sky under spotlights or a meteor shower under a long lamp. The effect of a stereoscopic holographic display depends on the light source.

Also, it was hard to wrap my head around to believe that this device, which measures 163.3 (height) x 76.7 (width) x 7.4 (thickness) mm in dimension has such big a 6,000mAh battery cell (more on battery life later).

The super slim phone weighs just 199g and is easy to carry around. It should be noted that titanium grey weighs 189g, 10g less than the other two models. It is barely noticeable when kept in the pocket

Vivo V50 series.

Design-wise, it has the familiar capsule-like camera module, which houses two sensors with ZEISS branding, and a circular aura LED flash below.

On the front, the Vivo 50 flaunts a 6.77-inch quad-curved display with full HD+ (2392x1080p) resolution. The company has incorporated an AMOLED-based panel. It comes with a 20:9 aspect ratio, a pixel density of 388 ppi (pixels per inch), supports 120Hz refresh rate, and offers up to 4,500 nits peak brightness. the colour tones appear near natural. It is good for watching movies and TV series for hours without any issues of strain on the eyes.

Also, there are features to control the blue light emission, which comes in handy to protect the eyes to reading long-form articles or e-books at night.

The screen is protected by Diamond Shield Glass and the device comes with an IP68/69 rating water-and-dust resistant rating. It can survive accidental drops in a water body such as a swimming pool with fresh water or pond/river for up to a depth of 1.5 metres (approx. five feet) for close to 30 minutes.

Not only that, it can even withstand close-range high water jet pressure ranges between 80 to 100 bar.

Vivo V50 series.

Also, the Display is protected by a Diamond Glass shield, which is said to be 150 per cent more durable in terms of preventing the display from cracking during accidental drop compared to the V40 series.

Also, the device can operate normally under extreme temperatures between -20-degree Celsius and 50-degree Celsius.

Further, the company offers a free translucent silicone-based soft cover case with extra thick corners so that the device survives accidental drops on the hard surface. Additionally, the Vivo pre-fits a screen guard on top of the display for protection against daily wear and tear. The company has covered all bases to ensure the device is well protected against physical damage and is able to serve the customer for several years.

The device also features a USB type-c audio, stereo speakers, dual SIM slots and an optical fingerprint sensor. The latter does a fine job of recognising the finger impression and instantly unlocking the home screen.

Also, the dual stereo speakers are really good too. They can easily up the room and the audio doesn't get distorted even when the volume is put to the max.

Performance

Vivo V50 comes with a 64-bit 4nm class Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 octa-core processor with Adreno 720 GPU, Android 15-based Funtouch OS 15, 8GB / 12GB LPDDR4X RAM with 128GB / 256GB / 512GB UFS 2.2 storage.

Vivo V50's CPU and GPU performance on Geekbench performance testing app.

The device works smoothly without any issues and even supports most of the top-end graphics-heavy games available on Google Play Store and also generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI) features such as Gemini AI bot, Circle to Search, AI audio transcription assistant, photography tools such as object eraser, photo quality enhancer and more.

The device remains stable and doesn't get warmed up easily unless the device is put to the extreme test for extended duration such as playing gaming for hours or doing 4K video recording. However, the temperature remains under control.

Vivo V50 series supports several gen AI apps.

It boasts of 25489 mm2 vapour cooling chamber and has nine sensors that lower the core temperature by up to 14 degrees C.

It runs Android 15-based familiar Funtouch OS. It houses several pre-loaded third-party apps, but it's not a big concern, as the device comes with a base storage of 128GB, which is more than sufficient to install hundreds of more apps without any anxiety of running out of space anytime soon.

Also, the company has confirmed that the device will get three years of Android OS updates and four years of software security support for protection against emerging cyber threats and malware.

Vivo V50 series runs Android 15-based FuntouchOS.

Another notable aspect of the new Vivo V50 is the 360-degree Omnidirectional Antenna 2.0 with AI-powered network selection and Signal Bridge Technology. These technologies can boost the low-frequency strength to improve the connectivity in areas with weak signals.

As far as the battery life, it can easily last two days under normal usage with Wi-Fi connectivity at home and the office. However, if you are outside your city and fully reliant on the 5G cellular network for multimedia consumption, using Google Maps for navigation, the device will still be able to deliver a full day's battery life.

The device supports a 90W charger. It can charge the device from zero to 50 per cent in under 25 minutes and hit the 100 per cent mark in under an hour.

Photography

Vivo V50's camera sample.

It also boasts of a ZEISS dual-camera module-- main 50MP (with 1/1.55-inch Omnivision OV50E sensor, f/1.88 aperture, OIS: Optica Image Stabilisation, ZEISS optics,) with 50MP ultra-wide camera (with Samsung JN1 sensor, f/2.0) with LED flash.

Vivo V50's camera sample.

The Aura LED light is backed by an enhanced AI 3D Studio Lighting 2.0, which ensures the pictures of the human face are captured with near-natural colour tone and crisp.

Vivo V50's camera sample.

With the AI Photo Enhance feature, users can make the picture sharper and clearer.

Vivo V50's camera sample.

A notable aspect of the Vivo V50's photography feature is the wedding portrait mode exclusive to the Indian market. The Wedding Portrait Studio modes-- Pastel, Neo-Retro, Prosecco and a Film Camera mode which incorporates colourful frames around pictures.

Vivo V50 supports several gen AI-powered editing tools.

The Vivo V50 also has several ZEISS-tuned portrait modes including Cine-Flare Style, Biotar Style, Cinematic Style, Sonnar Style, Distagon Style, Planar Style, and B-Speed Style

Vivo V50's camera sample.

It also boasts of AI Image Studio to help users remove objects or edit photos with ease. Users can even pull a person's face or pet from the frame to create a sticker out of it, to be shared on social media platforms or messenger apps.

Vivo V50's camera sample.

Also, it comes with a special Underwater Photography mode. It can allow users to take sharp photos in the aquarium or in the swimming pool. However, ensure to fully dry the phone before plugging it for charging.

Vivo V50's camera sample.

On the front, it comes with a 50MP autofocus camera (with Samsung JN1 sensor, f/2.0).

Both the primary and front cameras can record high-quality 4K videos.

Vivo V50's camera sample.

Final thoughts

Vivo V50 is a moderate upgrade over the predecessor. However, good camera hardware and reliable Qualcomm chipset that powers gen AI features, the device maintains edge over rival brands in its price range.

Vivo V50 series.

The Vivo V50 is available in three configurations-- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 256GB storage and 12GB RAM + 512GB storage-- for Rs 34,999, Rs 36,999 and Rs 40,999.

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