Vivo V23 Pro Review: Great Design, Camera Is Even Better

Vivo has been aggressively upgrading its mid-budget smartphone lineup. Just before introducing its all-new Vivo T-smartphone series with Vivo Vivo T1 5G earlier this month, the company launched Vivo V23 5G and V23 Pro 5G in India – both designed for users who enjoy smartphone photography. The two smartphones are also identical in terms of design, but of course, the Pro model is more feature-packed. We’d reviewed the Vivo V23 Pro recently and found the device to be quite impressive, but some may find the pricing a bit unjustified. Here’s when Vivo V23 comes into play.

Vivo V23 Pro Review: Color Changing Phone That Performs

The regular model features a beautiful design and dual selfie cameras along with fast charging support. Now, these features are more than enough to convince a buyer who’s looking for a smartphone under Rs 30,000. So, should you consider buying Vivo V23 5G that carries a price tag of Rs 29,990 (8GB + 128GB storage) and Rs 34,990 (12GB + 256GB storage)? Here’s our breakdown.

Vivo V23 5G Design

Before we start talking about the design, a quick glance at the content inside the box. Apart from the smartphone, the packaging includes a 44W chunky charging brick, USB-A to USB-C cable, and a transparent silicone case. Interestingly, the Vivo V23 5G is one of the rarest mid-budget Android phones that still includes wired earphones along with USB-C to 3.5mm dongle.

We received the Stardust Black edition for our review, and the back panel has a smooth finish that also shines under the sunlight. There’s also a Sunshine Gold edition that changes color to blue under UV light. There is no doubt that the Vivo V23 5G is a looker from first glance. The smartphone does resemble the iPhone 12 with a flat edge design, but that doesn’t look bad by any metric.

At the front, we have a 6.4-inch AMOLED with Full HD+ resolution (2400×1080 pixels) and “protective film” on top. The screen on the Vivo V23 5G is bright enough even under direct sunlight. We also get an under- screen fingerprint scanner and Face ID – both are fast and reliable. The selling point of the device is the dual-selfie camera setup with two LED lights next to the notch for better photos and videos under low light settings. At the bottom, there’s a USB-C port but no headphone jack.

Customers must also note that the Vivo V23 5G does not officially have an IP rating for protection against dust and water. Therefore, be careful using the smartphone outdoors on a rainy day.

Vivo V23 5G Display

The Vivo V23 5G carries an AMOLED display that delivers good performance if not the best. As mentioned, the screen provides decent brightness under direct sunlight; however, it is not the most color accurate display available in the market. When you compare this smartphone against rivals like Galaxy M52 5G (roughly Rs 25,000), the display’s saturation levels are a bit high – but again, some users may prefer that. I also noticed a strange haze in some videos with vivid colours.

Thanks to the HDR10+ support, the black spots are deep in supported videos. However, the refresh on the Vivo V23 5G maxes out at 90Hz, when many rival smartphones are offering a 120Hz refresh rate. If a high refresh rate smartphone is what you’re looking for, there are loads of options by Samsung, Xiaomi, and Realme.

Vivo V23 5G Performance

The Vivo V23 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 920 chipset, which is still not present on mainstream smartphones. This chipset competes directly against Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 778G chipset. On the Geekbench benchmark, the Dimensity 920 falls a little short against the Snapdragon 778G chipset. In the single-core test, the Vivo V23 scored 738 and 2111 in the multicore test. In the graphics department, the chipset paired with Arm Mali-G68 GPU delivered good stability during the intense 3D Mark GPU test, but it did heat up by 6 degrees under high pressure.

However, readers must keep in mind that such intense testing in a real-life scenario is rare, so if we keep the number aside, the average users will get a smooth performance. Thanks to the 12GB RAM variant that we received, switching back and forth between apps was seamless.

Gaming, on the other hand, wasn’t as smooth as I’d hoped for. I did notice some stutters while playing heavy titles like Asphalt 9.

Vivo V23 5G Camera

The Vivo V23 5G is heavily banking on its camera system. There are a total of five cameras on board, two at the front and three at the back. We’ll start with the selfie camera setup that includes a 50-megapixel primary camera with autofocus and an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera. Both cameras deliver good performance, but again there are some caveats.

The 50-megapixel primary selfie on the Vivo V23 5G captures great details with high levels of sharpness, though it lacks some colours. When you compare the main front camera on the Vivo V23 5G against an iPhone 12’s 12-megapixel selfie camera, you can see the difference. In the two photos below, you’ll notice iPhone 12 offers a warmer, more color accurate selfie against the Vivo V23 5G. The latter did take a sharp image, but that is not my natural skin tone.

The 8-megapixel secondary camera on the Vivo V23 5G delivers a decent performance, but this time, it sadly loses both sharpness and colors in photos. We get clear images; however, you will see the lacking details once you zoom in. The addition of the spotlight feature is also thoughtful, yet it doesn’t help much in capturing facial details. The Spotlight can be changed to natural, warmer, and cool colors manually.

When it comes to the 64-megapixel rear camera, it performs similarly to the 50-megapixel front camera. We get high levels of sharpness, but again the lack of color details is a bit of an issue. The good part is that the 8-megapixel wide-angle camera and the 2-megapixel super macro camera perform far better than most rivals. The Vivo V23 5G supports 4K video shooting with the front and main rear snappers.

Vivo V23 5G Battery

The battery performance on the Vivo V23 5G bags mixed reviews. The phone packs a 4,200mAh unit, while the Pro model gets a relatively bigger 4,300mAh battery. Both phones support 44W fast charging and no wireless charging. We managed to get roughly a full day battery with gaming, refresh rate enabled, and other background apps running – which isn’t bad at all. It is also not the best when compared to Android rivals that assure a full-day battery backup.

Fortunately, the bundled 44W charger can fully charge the device in less than 1.5 hours. So, you can attain at least 60 percent battery in 30 minutes.

Vivo V23 5G Verdict

So far, it’s obvious that the Vivo V23 is a good performer, though it has its drawbacks. Let’s start with the obvious ones:

• The phone lacks an IP rating for dust and water resistance that many rivals at range offer
• There’s only one audio output channel that does deliver loud audio but the clarity isn’t great
• The Android 12-based Funtouch OS still needs some work in terms of bloatware and spammy notifications

The good part is that we get great selfie cameras even if they lack colours. The photos and videos are crisp and with attention to other details. This is by far the most reliable camera system that I’ve seen on a mid-budget smartphone. The charging speed is also good and the almost all-day battery life is acceptable.

Overall, if your priority is the cameras – the Vivo V23 is a good option to consider. If you’re more productivity-focused and enjoy gaming, a Snapdragon 778G-powered Galaxy M52 5G or even a MediaTek Dimensity 1200-powered Vivo V23 Pro are good options, but the latter is, of course, more expensive.