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vivo V20 Pro review: Beauty and 5G for the price

This is our review of the vivo V20 Pro 5G.

The vivo V20 Pro 5G is the latest midrange phone to grace the Philippine market. Launching last October 2020, the smartphone features an impressive spec sheet, including a 6.55-inch AMOLED display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor, a 64MP main camera, and 5G connectivity.

These all look good on paper, but how does it all come together in real life? Lets find out.

Vivo V20 Pro Price Philippines

Price

The vivo V20 Pro 5G is priced at Php 24,999. The midrange phone is available in vivo stores and online on Shopee and Lazada. It is also available via Home Credit.

Design and Display

My first impressions of the vivo V20 Pro 5G are very positive. And this review, my sentiments have not changed.

The V20 Pro is one of the most beautiful phones in the midrange segment. Our review unit is the Sunset Melody colorway which features a gorgeous gradient that shifts between blue, pink, purple, and orange, reminiscent of a breathtaking sunset. It also has a matte coating that makes it resistant to scratches and fingerprints. This makes marks barely noticeable and easy to clean.

vivo V20 Pro review

The back has the main cameras on a rectangular housing with a slightly raised bump. It has an industrial aesthetic, combining black and silver. I like how they highlighted the 64MP main camera by separating it from the secondary cameras.

The device lives up to its branding of thinnest 5G smartphone, measuring in at 158.82 x 74.20 mm with a thickness of just 7.38 mm and weight of 170 g. Build quality is solid, despite the plastic frame. It is easy to hold as well thanks to its curved edges and flat design.

Control buttons are on the right side. The power button has a textured surface, allowing users to easily tell it apart from the volume keys. I like how these are easily within reach of my fingers for a quick one handed operation.

At the bottom, you have the SIM tray, the primary microphone, the USB-C port, and the mono speaker. Unfortunately, there’s no headphone jack. You also get a secondary mic at top.

vivo V20 Pro review
vivo V20 Pro review

At the front, you have a 6.44-inch full HD+ AMOLED display with a standard 60Hz refresh rate, a 2400 x 1080 resolution, and an in-display fingerprint scanner, which I found to be fast and accurate. The display panel is bright and vivid with deep blacks. There’s a notch for the dual selfie cameras, which is a disappointment considering its 2020. Still, it doesn’t take too much space and I find that it doesn’t distract while watching videos.

In the box

  • vivo V20 Pro
  • Protective case
  • Pre-installed screen protector
  • Earphones
  • USB-C to 3.5mm jack adapter
  • USB-C to USB-A cable
  • Charger
  • SIM ejector
  • Documentation
vivo V20 Pro Review - Unboxing and First Impressions

Performance and Benchmarks

The vivo V20 Pro 5G is powered by a 2.4GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, a 7nm chip with an integrated Snapdragon X52 5G modem. It has one prime core at 2.3GHz, one performance core at 2.2GHz, and six efficiency cores clocked at 1.8GHz. It also partnered with an Adreno 620 GPU, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, and Funtouch 11 Android 10.

In terms of performance, the phone easily handles day-to-day tasks, apps and games (even graphics intensive ones) just fine. General experience is great overall with a smooth and responsive UI.

vivo V20 Pro Review - Unboxing and First Impressions

Funtouch has improved over the years. The latest iteration, 11, is cleaner, smoother and looks much closer to stock Android. It has some interesting features such as Dark Mode (which I recommend you switch on) and Focus Mode that pauses notifications.

For gamers, the phone offers an Ultra Game Mode which has additional functions to make your gaming experience better. And if you need more, there’s Esports Mode which boosts performance and optimizes the display, along with minimizing notifications.

Here are the synthetic benchmark scores for your reference.

vivo V20 Pro benchmark scores

Cameras

The V20 Pro has three cameras at the back with a 64MP main, an 8MP ultra-wide/macro/bokeh, and 2MP mono sensor. While in front, the notch houses the dual selfie setup of 44MP and 8MP.

Vivo V20 Pro Price Philippines

vivo has a good history of performing well in the camera department. And the vivo V20 Pro 5G is no exception.

In good lighting, the main camera does a good job of creating pleasant photos with good color and detail. Even in low light conditions, it does an admirable job of preserving color but there is some loss of detail.

The phone also has night mode, which you can use in ultra-wide and up to 2x optical zoom. Photos are good and quite useable but do expect image noise.

When it comes to selfies, the V20 Pro does good as well with its 44MP front snapper. Selfies are pleasant with accurate skin tones and sharpness. It also has an 8MP ultra-wide, which allows you to include more of your background (or more people) in a frame.

Battery Life

So, how long does the battery last on the vivo V20 Pro? Better than expected. The V20 Pro’s 4,000mAh battery can give you a full work day. I wasn’t able to test battery life with 5G, but expect battery life to decrease with it on. 5G is known to consume a lot of power.

The vivo V20 Pro comes with a 33-watt FlashCharge charger. It can fill the battery to 100 percent in less than an hour.

Wrap Up

The vivo V20 Pro 5G is a great option if you want 5G for just Php 25k. But it offers a whole lot more than just the fast network.

For a midrange phone, the V20 Pro does a lot of things right. It boasts a sleek design with great cameras for its class, good performance from the Snapdragon 765G, and bright and colorful AMOLED display.

vivo did miss out on what I see as an opportunity with the 60Hz refresh rate. But the fast and smooth performance of the phone more than makes up for that.

The vivo V20 Pro 5G comes highly recommended for those who are high on design, camera quality and 5G.

vivo V20 Pro Review - Unboxing and First Impressions

vivo V20 Pro 5G specs

  • Display: 6.44-inch FHD+ AMOLED Display
  • Processor: 2.4GHz Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G 5G, 7nm
  • GPU: Adreno 620
  • RAM: 8GB RAM
  • Storage: 128GB Storage
  • Rear Cameras: 64MP Main + 8MP Ultra-wide + 2MP Mono, Triple Cameras, Dual LED Flash
  • Front Camera: 44MP Main + 8MP Ultra-wide, Selfie Cameras
  • Network: 5G, 4G LTE
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Dual Band, Bluetooth 5, GPS
  • Others: In-display Fingerprint Scanner, USB-C
  • OS: Funtouch 11, Android 10
  • Colors: Sunset Melody, Midnight Jazz, Moonlight Sonata
  • Battery: 4,000mAh Battery, 33W Fast Charging

Bryan is a geek at heart and a tech enthusiast by choice. He has a strong background in corporate communications, marketing services, and customer relations having worked in the telecommunications and banking sectors for over two decades. In his spare time, he enjoys watching clips on YouTube and binge watching shows on Netflix.

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