MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH A VIVO V15 PRO
By: Daniel B Tan
1st April 2019
I have always wanted to try a Vivo phone, it being heavily advertised in Malaysia with very good features, beautiful designs and also decent pricing. Successful marketing perhaps?
And now, thanks to Digi, I am able to spend some time with the lovely Vivo V15 Pro, recently launched in February 2019. My review unit comes in Topaz Blue colour. Another equally stunning colour that was launched together is the Ruby Red.
An interesting point on the exterior of the phone, is the motorised pop-up camera on top of the phone, which is what Vivo phones are all about! It functions as the front camera for selfies, and also for unlocking the phone with a 32MP sensor. I liked how it pops out subtly and goes back in once you’re done with either taking selfies or unlocking the phone.
Let’s run through a summary of the specs:
Screen: 6.39” Super AMOLED ; 19.5:9 aspect ratio
Resolution: 1080 x 2316 pixels
Camera: Front: Motorised Pop-Up 32MP, f/2.0 ; Rear: 48MP, f/1.8 + Ultrawide 8MP f/2.2 + Depth Sensor 5MP f/2.4
Processor: Snapdragon 675
Memory: 128GB, 6GB RAM
Battery: 3700 mAh; capable of fast charging 18W
Sensor: Under Display Optical Fingerprint sensor
Moving on, I will cover a few aspects of the phone which I think most people will be interested in.
CAMERA
The rear facing camera takes very decent photos, with all the details intact.
The ultra wide angle camera works as it should. Being able to squeeze in more details than on the standard setup. For a phone at this price range, it will a very welcomed feature indeed.
I wasn’t very impressed with the portrait mode for bokeh effect. Perhaps a software upgrade might fix it?
As for the front facing camera, I am still very fascinated when I switched the camera mode to front facing camera, and the camera pops out. I think it will take a while for the novelty to wear off for me. I particularly liked the sound it makes when it pops up, like a mechanical sound for movement.
The pictures taken with the front camera is pretty good. I do however think that they might have overdone a bit on the beautification effect using Ai, whereby my face turned out way smoother than it is in real life. Not a bad thing, but I would sometimes prefer it to looks closer to its actual condition.
ON SCREEN FINGERPRINT SCANNER
As with all phones with a finger print scanner, setting it up takes a while to recognise your finer print. Thereafter, unlocking the phone is a breeze by just placing your finger on the scanner and it unlocks very quickly. I am fairly surprised that it worked so well. An image of the fingerprint will appear for you to place your thumb onto. Within a split second you’ll be able to access your home screen and menus.
PERFORMANCE
I manage to load many apps altogether without much issues. There are noticeable lags though when I wanted to open some bigger image or PDF files (I handle a lot of these files at work). For most basic functions of the phone, I will say the specs are more than adequate.
BATTERY LIFE
I consider myself to be a heavy phone user, especially during working hours. Based on my heavy usage, the 3700 mAh battery enables me to make it through the whole day with the it only running low at about 10pm. It was unplugged from the charger on the same day at about 7am. Just a background, my WhatsApp, WeChat, camera, phone calls, Bluetooth to headset, SMSs and multiple emails are constantly being in use throughout the day, with it slowing down after 6pm. On this aspect, I am fairly surprised and satisfied at the battery life.
Despite it being a pretty good phone, it does have its cons, which hopefully can be solved in future generations of the phone?
CONS
- No water or dust proof
- Doesn’t support wireless charging
- Lifespan of the motorised camera is unknown
- Micro USB port instead of USB Type C port (Hello, this is 2019 and still using micro USB?)
EPILOGUE
Is the Vivo V15 Pro for everyone? If you have a budget of less than RM 2,000, you can consider this phone. But then there are other options with similar specs going at lower prices. If you really like the pop-up front facing camera setup, then this is for you. Or if you like the superb colours it comes in, then do head on to the various shops to get your hands on one!
The Vivo V15 Pro is available at Digi from RM 22 / month, with a 24 months contract on a RM 190 / month Digi Postpaid plan. Lower tiered plans are available as well. Otherwise, it is selling for a RRP of RM 1,799 for those of you who are interested to purchase it outright.
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