vivo V50 Review | Geek Lifestyle

Is the vivo V50 a major upgrade?

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Following its launch last month, we got to test out the vivo V50, vivo’s latest premium mid-range smartphone that retains the ZEISS camera setup of the previous model.

We’re going to be talking about the V40 quite a bit in this review, not only because the V50 is the successor, but also because these two phones share lots of features. Aside from having the same dual 50MP ZEISS rear camera setup, both phones also pack the same processor, not to mention that they look quite similar (though the V50 has a bigger Aura Light Portrait module).

So, what exactly are the differences between the two? Well, the V50 promises improved night portrait capabilities, along with longer battery life. Plus, it has the newest version of vivo’s Funtouch OS, along with an eye-catching new color.

With these improvements, is the vivo V50 a strong contender in the premium mid-range segment? Here’s what we think!

Geek-sthetic

In the various promotions for the V50, vivo mostly highlighted the phone’s Ancora Red colorway, though the phone is also available in the lighter Mist Purple and sleeker Satin Black. The unit that we tested was the Ancora Red version, and upon seeing the phone in person, we understood why it was such a big part of the phone’s marketing.

If you’re into fashion, chances are that you’re already familiar with the Ancora courtesy of Gucci’s Rosso Ancora collection. While this color for the latest vivo phone wasn’t made in collaboration with Gucci, it is very much inspired by it as it features a deep red hue which looks excellent in person. Sure, it might not be as loud as other phones design-wise, but we really dig how elegant the vivo V50 looks in this color. In fact, we even prefer it enough that we didn’t bother putting the phone inside a case.

Thankfully, this shouldn’t be an issue as the V50 has an SGS Five-Star drop resistance certification, meaning it should easily handle accidental drops. It also has IP69 dust and water resistance, meaning you can use this underwater with no issues.

What we also like in terms of design is the matte finish. Thanks to this, the phone is easy to grip, even when wet, meaning it won’t be easy for this phone to accidentally slip off your hands in regular use or while gaming.

At the front, we have the phone’s 6.77 inch screen that packs Diamond Shield Glass for extra protection. Note that like other V-series models, the V50’s display is AMOLED, meaning it’s a vibrant-looking screen for daily use. Coupled with its slim bezels, the vivo V50 looks closer to a flagship than a mid-ranger.

Binge-Watching Factor

As the phone packs an AMOLED display, we had high hopes for the phone when it comes to binge-watching. After trying it out, we were not disappointed as the vivo V50 worked well for movie and series watching. This is thanks to the AMOLED screen’s vibrant colors, not to mention that the slim bezels make for a great experience when watching widescreen content. Even if what you’re watching doesn’t fill the screen, it won’t be distracting given the deep blacks.

While the display’s quality is great, the phone’s onboard audio is just okay. At max volume, the phone gets decently loud, plus it has stereo speakers. The issue here is that is volume level isn’t as high as other phones, not to mention that audio quality sounds a bit tinny and lacking in bass. Given this, we highly recommend using headphones or external speakers for a better experience. As you may have expected though, this phone does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack, meaning you’ll need to reach for a wireless audio device for your movie-watching or music-listening needs. At the very least, we encountered no issues with the phone when it comes to Bluetooth connectivity with headphones and speakers.

Gaming Performance

As we mentioned above, the vivo V50 is powered by a Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset – the same as the one that powered the vivo V40. It even comes with 12GB of RAM, again, the same as the previous model. As such, we expected the V50 to have a similar level of performance with the V40. In our tests, this turned out to be the case.

Much like the V40, the vivo V50 can run popular multiplayer titles with no issues. For reference, League of Legends: Wild Rift and Call of Duty Mobile both recommended the High graphics setting, and this resulted in fast framerates. You can set the graphics setting on Call of Duty to Very High, though we would still go with High, especially for longer play sessions.

While its quite capable when it comes to MOBAs and FPS titles, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 isn’t the best match for more demanding games. We tried playing Genshin Impact on the V50, and while it ran fairly well, we recommend sticking with the Low Graphics Quality preset as going any higher can lead to a choppy framerate. This isn’t unexpected though as the V40 performed similarly with Genshin Impact.

The takeaway here is that, while the vivo V50 may not be the best gaming smartphone at its price range, it should still be a good gaming partner for more casual gamers, as well as for users who mostly play MOBAs and FPS titles. What also helps is that cooling isn’t an issue as the V50 did not get uncomfortably hot to the touch when playing games. Plus, the phone’s large battery means you can play for quite a while without running out of juice (we’ll get to battery life later).

Geek Photoshoot Capabilities

Now, let’s talk about the phone’s cameras. The vivo V50 packs the same setup as the V40: a 50MP main and a 50MP ultrawide dual rear camera setup at the back, along with a 50MP selfie camera at the front. For the most part, we expected the V50 to have similar image quality results as the V40 given that they share the same cameras and chipset, though vivo does promise that the V50 has improved processing for night portraits.

Before we get into portraits though, let’s first take a look at the daytime and indoor samples with the 50MP main shooter. With this camera, you won’t be disappointed when it comes to photography. That’s because the main shooter captures quality images when there’s plenty of light. Colors are also quite natural, though do note that these sample shots were taken using the ZEISS Natural Color mode. If you want, you can select the Vivid color mode, though we preferred the look of the ZEISS filter.

For night photography, the vivo V50 is also quite good when using the dedicated Night Mode. As you can see in the samples above, the V50 takes detailed low light photos, even in more extreme low light scenarios like in the rightmost shot. The only thing we didn’t love is that the colors can be a bit too vibrant, as is the case in the leftmost image.

When it comes to Night Portraits though, we found that the V50 excels thanks to its Aura Light Portrait feature. As with previous V-series models, the V50 has the Aura Light feature where you can adjust how warm or cool the light is. This gives you some more creative options when it comes to how you want your portrait to be lit. Combining this with the ZEISS filters, you get a pretty good portrait shooter.

As for actual portrait photo quality, the V50 doesn’t disappoint as the results we got were quite good for the most part. Portraits have a fairly natural look to them, plus the beautification isn’t too harsh. And yes, the portrait mode also works with objects, which isn’t the case for all phones.

Another thing to note with the V50 is that it has a Polaroid-inspired “film mode” which adds a filter to your photo and a border. To be honest, this is a bit gimmicky, but we can see the appeal for users who want to take Polaroid-style shots, albeit digitally (you also won’t have to spend thousands of Pesos on something like an Instax).

Moving to the 50MP ultrawide, the results are quite good. Of course, the quality isn’t the same as the main camera, though the 50MP ultrawide does take better photos compared to wide-angle cameras of other mid-range phones. This is especially apparent in night photos given the level of detail retained.

Finally, selfies are good overall with the V50. Even low-light selfies have a good level of detail, not to mention that the AI beautification isn’t super aggressive at the default setting (we still prefer to turn it off though).

Everyday Reliability

As we used the phone for some time, we can say that the vivo V50 should be a reliable daily driver for most users. While there are more pre-installed apps than we would’ve liked the V50’s Funtouch OS is easy to navigate, all while being fast and snappy. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 also brings enough performance to the table not only for everyday tasks, but also for content creation like editing photos and videos.

What also piqued our interest is that the V50 will get up to 3 major Android upgrades. This is great news for its longevity, especially for those who prefer sticking with a phone for 3 years or more.

A problem that some phones have is that battery life gets shorter as it ages. In this regard, vivo promises that the V50 won’t suffer as much when it comes to battery degradation.

We can’t test out how well the battery will hold up in four-years time, but what we can confirm is that, out of the box, this phone can easily last for a day of heavy use on a single charge. This is thanks to the large 6,000mAh battery. In fact, we routinely got around a day and a half of use with this phone before we reached for a charger (which is usually around 50% for us). When charging, this phone is also incredibly fast as it fills up to 100% in well under an hour thanks to its 90W wired fast charge support. This is not only faster than the previous V-series model, but also other premium mid-ranger smartphones.

Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict

The vivo V50’s elegant design (at least in the Ancora Red color option) is what stands out the most at first glance, but that’s not the only great thing about the phone. This latest V-series device also has a good display, great cameras, and a long battery life, all while having pretty good performance for daily use.

Perhaps the only thing worth considering here is that the V50’s gaming performance is not the best at this price range, though it should still be fine for less demanding games.

So, if you prioritize cameras and design, the vivo V50 is worth a look. And while it’s priced at PHP 27,999, it’s still a compelling option if you’re the right kind of user.

vivo V50 specs:

  • 6.77-inch (1080 x 2392) AMOLED display, 120Hz refresh rate
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor
  • Adreno 720 GPU
  • 12GB RAM
  • 256GB storage
  • Rear cameras: 50MP main w/PDAF, OIS + 50MP ultrawide dual rear camera setup
  • Front camera: 50MP
  • 5G, LTE
  • Under Display Fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 5.4
  • 6000mAh battery with 90W wired Fast charging
  • Android 15 with Funtouch 15
  • Price: PHP 27, 999