Vivo continues to establish itself as one of the prominent premium mid-range smartphone brands in the Philippines. With its latest Vivo V15 Pro 2019 packing flagship features at its very reasonable price, it’s pretty hard to ignore what the company has achieved when it comes to innovation.
As the Vivo V15 Pro launched for Php 23,999 price, could this finally be the perfect mid-range smartphone that every smartphone user is looking for?
Read: Vivo V15, Vivo V15 Pro launched for P18k starting price
Specifications
Vivo V15 Pro | |
Display | 6.39-inch Full HD Super AMOLED |
Chipset | Snapdragon 675 octa-core processor (11nm) |
GPU | Adreno 612 |
Memory | 128 GB ROM, 6/8 GB RAM |
Main Camera | 48 MP, f/1.8, 1/2″, 0.8µm, PDAF 8 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide) 5 MP, f/2.4, depth sensor |
Front Camera | Motorized pop-up 32 MP, f/2.0 capable of 1080p @30/60fps videos, HDR |
Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.0, 4G LTE, WiFi, GPS, micro USB port |
Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 3700 mAh battery; Fast battery charging 18W (24% in 15 min) |
OS | FunTouch 09 OS based on Android 9.0 Pie |
Design & Display
One of the strong points of Vivo V15 Pro is found in front. With no visible notch, it provides a true full-screen aka FullView display for its FHD+ AMOLED panel. The screen makes use of Super AMOLED for that saturated look and great contrast ratio. However, it does lack brightness a bit but still readable under broad daylight.
Only a few midrange phones feature AMOLED screen for this price aside from Samsung which makes their displays. And for Vivo V15 Pro, the display is surely one of the key features you should consider when buying especially it has a crazy screen-to-body ratio by removing the notch.
While the design remains to be top-notch, we wished they could’ve gone with a glass backing. Instead, you are going to be dealing with polycarbonate material featuring glass-like finish. Although looks can be deceiving, it doesn’t work that way once it’s in your hands.
As for the rest of the design, there’s a huge camera bump on the back together with the mechanical selfie camera and an audio jack up top. On the right side, locates the power button and the volume rocker that needs a bit of reaching. While the left side houses a dedicated AI button for Google Assistant or Vivo’s Jovi AI.
Down at the bottom are the speaker grille, a micro USB port, and a dual-SIM slot with dedicated microSD expansion of up to 256GB.
Wrapping up the design, the Vivo V15 Pro is a beautiful device on both front and back despite its one drawback which is the use of plastic at the back to accentuate the design.
Camera
Vivo has also joined the 48MP camera smartphone revolution alongside with Redmi Note 7 and Honor View 20. Unlike the two, Vivo V15 Pro has triple-rear cameras accompanied by AI that have the combination of primary, ultrawide, and depth sensor cameras. The primary sensor is able to capture detailed images and is capable of high-dynamic (HDR) photos. When taking videos, this device is able to capture 4K videos, 1080p and 720p resolutions @30 or 60fps.
What makes Vivo V15 Pro interesting is its 32MP f/2.0 selfie shooter capable of HDR that pops up when selfie camera is opened.
Check these photos below captured during daytime:
In terms of camera quality, the main camera takes really great shots with sharp details and bright low light output. It’s comparable to a flagship device you can find on a much higher price. Also thanks to the smarter software feature like AI auto detection both in the selfie and rear shooters.
While the elevating or motorized selfie camera takes a fraction of second to open, its portrait photos are convincingly more natural looking than the previous midrange cameraphones of Vivo. It is also a reliable shooter even when taking selfies indoor and night time as the sensor is equipped with a wider aperture and larger pixel size similar to the back cameras.
For video recording, the Snapdragon 675 boost its max resolution up to 60fps.
Performance & Benchmark
Despite missing the Snapdragon 710 memo, the SD 675 is no slouch either. It’s still a respectable and good mobile chipset including gaming like PUBG Mobile. When it comes to normal day-to-day tasks, the Funtouch OS 9 breezes through everything as it’s paired with 6GB of RAM with an 8GB option for the higher model. But when it comes to UI familiarity, Vivo’s OS is almost a perfect mimic of iOS with a slide down for notification and slide up for quick toggles.
Geekbench Test shows that Vivo V15 Pro was able to top some of the high-end devices when it comes to performance:
Device | Single-core | Multi-core |
Vivo V15 Pro | 2386 | 6643 |
Google Pixel 2 | 1870 | 6373 |
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 | 2460 | 6972 |
Meanwhile, when compared Vivo V15 Pro against Pocophone F1:
Device | AnTuTu Scores |
Vivo V15 Pro | 170102 |
Pocophone F1 | 295215 |
Overall, the performance is exceptional considering that this is not a flagship device.
Battery Life
In terms of its battery endurance, Vivo V15 Pro has confidently met our expectations thanks to its generous 3700 mAh battery and powered by Snapdragon 675 processor that is proven to be power-efficient. During our tests, at maximum brightness and when the Wi-Fi connectivity was on, it just lost 5% of battery in 30 minutes even if apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are being used in the background. Video streaming also lasted for more than what we expected.
However, Vivo V15 Pro still uses micro-USB to charge its battery. A bit of a downer but thanks to its Dual-Engine Fast Charging Technology, it is able to charge up above most of the average smartphones with micro-USB supported ports.
Manila Shaker Battery Test
Endurance rating | 30 hours |
Charging | 18 W |
Charging time | 25% in 20 minutes |
Audio
The audio test was not too exceptional but a bit above the average. Since it has only a single firing speaker at the bottom, the loudspeaker doesn’t really impress well.
When used its earphones out of the box, it managed to give an average sound performance. But when we tried other branded-earphones, the sound quality was impressive.
PROS
- Great Super AMOLED screen and screen to body ratio
- Snapdragon 675 is a performer
- Battery life is solid
- Fast Charging 18W
CONS
- Not consistent lowlight camera performance
- Plastic back
- Sunlight readability
- Use of old-generation micro-USB port
Conclusion
Unlike other midrange smartphones in the market today under the same price point, Vivo V15 Pro really stands out.
The camera technology makes it different having able to capture more details and HDR photos, thanks to its 48MP primary camera.
However, Vivo needs to consider the use of the USB Type-C port that could have placed this device on top even better. At the back, even under the midrange category, Vivo should have considered using the back-glass design to make it look more stunning.
Overall, Vivo V15 Pro will truly give you a flagship-like smartphone experience. So far, Vivo has able to amaze us considering its generous price that is affordable yet very reliable.