Verdict
The Vivo V29 is one of those interesting smartphones that makes a big sport on a single feature - selfie quality . That it then is hugely successful as a ecumenical television camera phone , with mostly proficient looks , dependable bombardment life and a promising , elaborate screen is a testament to its overall quality . But for a better speaker setup , a chip more power or long software documentation , it would be an instant recommendation .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The quest for the perfect selfie has visualize many challengers come and go – using innovative sensors , flashes and more as their tools of choice , though arguably none have ever truly succeeded .
With its new incoming , the V29 , BBK subsidiary Vivo is stake a title for the prize . It has a super - mellow resolution 50MP snapper on the front , an innovational Ring - LED split second on the rear , a suite of differentiate photo processing options and more , this is a twist that on the airfoil is designed around a single habit case .
There ’s of course more to a good selfie than specification , and more to a good smartphone than a odd focus on one area . By specialise too much there come the danger of losing out to more generally skilled gadget from the challenger , but by not particularize enough the orca feature might just turn out to be a dud .
At the same price point of around £ 430/€450 ( no confirmed UK price just yet ) there ’s theSamsung Galaxy A54 5 gravitational constant , theGoogle Pixel 7aand theRedmi Note 12 Pro Plus 5 M , all of which are coldcock out with spec and quick to rumble .
So does the Vivo V29 make the case for the return of the selfie phone and contend to be a decent smartphone too in the operation ? Read on for our full revue .
Design
For a while , any smartphone that was design to feel ‘ premium ’ featured a waterfall display . trend the screen around the sides to various extremes , it endure for a yr or so , but for the most part , manufacturer have moved on . With the V29 Vivo looks like trying to buck the decline .
Whatever your views on curved display might be , the V29 has a marked one . It pull in the equipment a footling easy to carry , but comes with some tradeoffs .
Combined with a glass sandwich design and a prominent tv camera island ( continent ? ) This is a very pretty but extremely tricky smartphone . A generic TPU case comes in the boxful , it is highly recommended that you utilise it immediately .
Regardless of this , even with the casing fitted , the V29 feels very pleasant to hold and is thin enough to use one - handed . At 186 g it is not so heavy as to be awkward , but enough to provide a little heft , and at 7.5 millimeter it is n’t the thinnest but feels easy . With a 90 % screen - to - body proportion , it does a convincing mental picture of only being a display .
I would n’t recommend depart this with a toddler or a clumsy person however – though it feel tough enough and does n’t bend , a hardwood floor would be its end . This is the braggart tradeoff of any curving display , that even with a showcase fitted the concealment will still be highly exposed to anything that might excise it , and just that bit slippier in general .
Two colour options are available , Noble Black and Peak Blue , with my review building block appearing in the former . Peak Blue is appealing in somebody , providing a second more personality than your bog stock black smartphone .
merrily , there ’s also waterproof which is a curiosity in smartphones that have their origins in China . The V29 isIP68 rated , which gives theoretical security at up to 1.5 m for 30 minutes , which is an unusual potentiality for the damage .
In all , the V29 feel more expensive than it is – there ’s no hollowness or sharp edge and it has a surefooted overall finish . It calculate less Fisher Leontyne Price than the Google Pixel 7a and less boring than the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus .
However , there ’s no Logos on what ’s recycle and what is n’t , which does n’t bode well for sustainability efforts .
Screen
A circle has been said in this review about curved screens and how they affect design and durability , but not serviceableness . So what ’s it wish to use a screen with such a dramatic curve on the sides as the Vivo V29 ?
For the most part , fine , you wo n’t have any issues when scrolling through the user interface or reading . thing become a little eldritch when watching video , where screen quad is lost to the curved face and brightness level is n’t uniform . If you are watching from an angle , it can become a little distracting , though this is nitpicking .
At over 1080p but shy of 1440p the V29 has a high - resolution display which has welfare for the viewing experience , make photos , video and text edition appear precipitous . There are some drawback in damage of power consumption , but more on that later .
The120Hz refresh ratekeeps the machine feeling unruffled in general consumption , even if the like of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus offer 144Hz , the difference in use is negligible . It is an advance over the90Hzoffered on the Pixel 7a however .
WithHDR10 + compliance , supported cognitive content on YouTube or otherwise look smart and detailed , and in general purpose , the display is colour - precise . At 6.78 inch the display is as gravid as it sounds , which means that watch video is generally a treat , though play games is impacted a trivial again by the curved sides . As it is OLED , it has plenty of dividing line and color that pop without run overboard .
I retrieve in day - to - day role that the covert could get bright enough to withstand the ( confessedly weak ) Lord’s Day this very British summer , and there ’s an ‘ Extra Dim ’ setting that makes reading in seam a pleasant experience .
Cameras
Typically in 2023 , when a smartphone is establish around a camera feature , that ‘ feature ’ tends to be the size of the main sensing element on the rear , or the horizontal surface of soar it can achieve . To focus a telephone on a high - resolution selfie detector and a blink of an eye therefore takes us right back to 2014 and the days of the HTC Eye .
There ’s plentitude of reason to do this , of course . Smartphones are the chief agency by which we immortalise our precious memories , and many of those may be selfies . rather of using a diminutive fixed focal point sensing element that sense like an reconsideration , it ’s nice to use something with a petty pizazz .
To begin with specification , the front sensor boast a 50MP resolution , a significantly higher figure than most of the competition , and binning to 12.5MP . Importantly , the front detector has autofocus , which is a manna from heaven for both photo and video . On the rear , there ’s a 50MP 1/1.56 snapper with optical image stabilization , flank by an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP profundity sensor for portrait fashion .
come to simulacrum quality , I only have irrefutable thing to say – Vivo has work up a pedigree for camera performance in its gimmick and it shows . particular in any give image is abundant , with no trace of oversharpening , the processing is clear and natural in its glide path . color are saturated by default , but the ‘ innate Colours ’ toggle tolerate this to be toned down . Dynamic compass as a whole is very full , but retaining contrast , and images are mostly noise - costless .
miserable - lighting is likewise a success . Either with the stock long - shutter or the establish - in Nox modality , images produced are full of item , short , colour and direct contrast . The built - in tripod mode can illuminate even the sour scenes . Just as importantly , capture times are quick , making this one of the best mid - range camera phones on the grocery at the moment . There is n’t a zoom camera , but this is expected for the price point .
I would n’t unremarkably dedicate much time to talk about the flash on a smartphone , but the one on the V29 is limited . It is a Ring LED instant dubbed the Aura Light , which means it is significantly larger and has dependable coverage than the standard two - stage smartphone flash . It allows for better clarification when work out in very low light , and is superior to stock flash .
Performance by the ultrawide is standardized to the master sensor for the most part , with the provision it is n’t stabilised , is low-toned resolution and is a diminished sensing element , with everything that entails .
Now for the star of the show , the selfie sensor . Well , there is n’t much to say as it showcases all of the same qualities as the main detector , aside from stablisation . No matter the conditions , you ’ll be secure a great selfie for your photobook . That is providing you sour off some of the beautification boast – it is far too easy to give yourself a peanut mind .
picture is a rather mixed cup of tea . Though footage is mostly elaborate and noise - free , the stabilization is n’t gravid , bring on a slenderly disgust jello result when walk . Video from the selfie camera is more of a win , benefitting from a mostly static depicted object ( i.e. the face ) . Audio is similarly a short choppy . transcription is usable at up to 4 K 30fps on the front and on the keister .
compare to the competition , the Pixel 7a showcases similar epitome tone but with poor selfies , while the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus makes a practiced screening but move around anything fleeceable into a wraith of thermonuclear astroturf . The Vivo is better than both all round .
Performance
As might be expected from a BBK smartphone in 2023 , the Vivo V29 is no slouch when it come to stipulation , though with an leftover exception .
That is theSnapdragon 778 G 5Gthat keep it chugging along . This slightly older chipset has been used in the likes of the Pixel 5 and Pixel 6A – not exactly the latest and neat . It is backed up by a minimum of 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of computer storage , however , both of which are more than enough to handle Android . The twist is liquid and powerful in daily use , scarce skipping a beat .
For the price , the Pixel 7a has aTensor G2 chipset , which is more powerful but has issues with thermal performance and major power efficiency . The Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus has aMediaTek Dimensity 1080 , which performs similarly when scrolling through the user interface but intimately in general when play .
And it is gage that might be considered the Achilles blackguard of the Vivo V29 . While it has enough oomph to handle the the likes of of PUBG at a high-pitched frame rate with decent detail levels , it has a tendency to become hot after extended catamenia of play . For those who need a good selfie , this might not matter , but our roundup of thebest gambling phonesmay serve budding mobile gamers a little better .
When it comes to audio , the single bottom - firing speaker does n’t do the best job , getting loud enough but showcasing no stereo front . There ’s no 3.5 millimetre earphone jack either , so pumped audio enthusiasts will need to search elsewhere .
On the Bluetooth side , there ’s support foraptX HDand aptX Adaptive which means that substantiate Bluetooth earbuds will sound a small clearer and full . Audio performance is not a focus of this gimmick , however .
Software
As is to be expected with any machine that has an origin in the East , the V29 comes flow Vivo ’s particular flavour of Android , the somewhat creepily named ‘ FunTouch ’ .
In the past , this , as with many other of these skins , had a reputation for being overbearing , confusing and buggy . Time has changed a mickle of that for the better .
gratefully the Vivo comes with the latestAndroid 13 , with all of its bells and whistles , and the ship’s company has entrust to a comely ( but far from leading ) promise of two bone upgrades and three eld of security patch .
Battery life
Despite its slim dimension , the Vivo V29 come with a fairly substantial 4,600mAh battery clique , and with a relatively weak and mogul - sipping processor , the ingredients are there for good battery life .
And for the most part that is what the Vivo exhibits . Waking at 7 am and using it unceasingly across a ‘ standard ’ day of calls , message , societal media , photographic camera recording and GPS , I see it reach 30 % by 8 necropsy . This means it , as most any smartphone can easily do now , will last a full day of use for most people .
The game changer here is of course fast charging . At 80W , what the V29 can offer is quick . More specifically , the V29 can buck from monotonic to 100 in just under 40 minutes . That ’s enough to top up rapidly before a dark out , if not as fast as the 120W extend by the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus .
If you frequently have only ten minutes in a solar day to charge your smartphone , that will be a better option , but for most the Vivo will well suffice . Happily , a charger comes in the boxwood but it is European so an adapter will be required .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
- : The Vivo V29 is one of the most capable midrange camera - focalize smartphones available on the market place .
While it is full enough for quotidian use , the Vivo V29 is n’t the mostpowerful midrange smartphone .
Final Thoughts
The humble selfie is arguably below the belt maligned – it is how we place ourselves in a scenery , often with friend , to record our best retentivity . A smartphone focusing on great front photographic camera tone is therefore a no - brainer , and the V29 get to a bang-up case for reintroducing the ‘ selfie - first ’ smartphone .
As might be expect , its selfies and indeed photograph across the board are exceptionally impressive , showcasing something stuffy to flagship caliber . That it has sound looks , a decent filmdom , strong battery life and enough world power is therefore test copy that it is closely the complete packet , with a few caveats .
Sporting only a bottom - dismissal speaker , it is n’t the best for multimedia , its video recording transcription chop are n’t the good and the comparative lack of top executive have in mind it is n’t the best for hardcore gamers . The lack of stated foresightful - terminus software package support is a further disappointment , which will pip any future resale value .
TheGoogle Pixel 7ahas right TV , more powerfulness and longer computer software support , while theXiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro Plushas quicker charge , a ripe screen and more power . The V29 is the good choice for people looking for acamera - first phoneat a price that does n’t break the banking concern . If that is you , then this will be your ideal gimmick .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every mobile headphone we review soundly . We habituate industry - stock trial to compare features properly and we use the phone as our main machine over the follow-up period . We ’ll always say you what we come up and we never , ever , accept money to review a mathematical product .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics insurance .
FAQs
It ’s not presently useable to buy in the UK , but you may spell the Vivo V29 from parts of Europe where it ’s pronto available to corrupt .
Despite its mid - range focus , the Vivo V29 offers flagship - level IP68 dust and water resistivity .
Yes , and an 80W courser at that – though there is no UK form , so you ’ll have to use an arranger .
Test Data
Full Specs
