Reviews

itel Vision 3 review: Great value, huge battery, and fast charging

Looking for a good budget smartphone is one of the hardest to navigate. Those shopping in this range are often looking for the best value their money can buy.

Enter the Vision 3, the latest smartphone from itel. For Php 3,999, it looks like a capable device that fits the budget tag.

What are you getting for the price? Well, for starters, a large 5000mAh battery with 18W fast charging. It doesn’t end there, though. You also get a spacious 6.6-inch display, a Unisoc chipset, and an 8MP camera. On paper, it all looks good. But can it deliver? Let’s find out.

Accessories

I’m actually surprised that the Vision 3 comes with earphones. As you know, most phones have taken it out of their list of bundled accessories.

itel Vision 3 review

Everything else looks to be in order. Apart from the earphones, the retail package has the unit with a pre-installed screen protector, a plastic hardshell case, the cable and charger, the SIM eject tool, and the usual documentation.

In the box

  • itel Vision 3
  • Pre-installed Screen Protector
  • Plastic Hardshell Case
  • Micro USB Cable
  • Charger
  • SIM Eject Tool
  • Earphones
  • Documentation

Design and Display

Our review unit is the 2GB + 32GB model in Mint Green colorway. It looks good with a light ray design which looks like it’s emanating from the camera island. While the color, a gradient from blue-green to light blue, gives it a relaxed feeling that reminds me of the ocean.

Design-wise, it’s a typical bar smartphone layout with curved corners. Despite the size, it’s comfortable to hold and not unwieldy. It has a good build, which feels solid throughout.

itel Vision 3 review

At the front, it has a 6.6-inch display with a waterdrop notch for the selfie camera. The bezels on the sides are narrow, and there’s a chin at the bottom. The screen looks great for the price. It’s bright with good colors, and the resolution, while in HD, looks sharp.

At the back, there’s the rectangular camera island that houses the dual cameras. The third “lens” you see here is just a cutout. It also has a fingerprint scanner, which I found to be accurate and reliable.

Both the volume rocker and power button are on the right side, which I prefer, because it makes for easier handling, especially when watching videos in landscape. And at the bottom side, we have the headphone jack, microphone, a micro USB port, and the mono speaker.

Performance

Performance is where many budget phones falter, which is understandable in most cases, given the price. But the Unisoc SC9863A that powers the itel Vision 3 is actually decent.

itel Vision 3 review

The chip has eight cores and a clock speed of up to 1.6GHz. Our review unit has 2GB RAM and 32GB storage. It runs on itel OS 7.2 based on Android 11.

After initial setup, you will be left with some 21.7GB, give or take a few MBs. We recommend getting a microSD card with the phone. The 32GB storage will fill up quickly, especially when you start piling on the apps and photos.

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Overall performance is good. Basic navigation and handling are responsive. There are some lags and stutters from time to time, but it’s not bothersome nor distracting.

Here are the itel Vision 3’s benchmark scores:

  • AnTuTu – 100,734
    CPU – 30,627
    GPU – 14,972
    MEM – 27,678
    UX – 27,457
  • Geekbench – 132 (Single-core); 479 (Multi-core)
  • 3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme – 448

The Unisoc SC9863A’s scores are actually higher, if not on par, with other popular entry-level processors such as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 and the MediaTek Helio P22. It speaks volumes of what it is capable of.

Battery

The itel Vision 3’s 5000mAh battery is one of the phone’s strongest features. It’s backed by an 18W fast charger, a huge addition considering its large battery.

itel said its battery offers up to 559 hours in standby, up to 158 hours of music playback, up to 28 hours for calls, and up to 18 hours on video. Meanwhile, a quick 10-minute charge will give up to 16 hours of music playback, 3 hours of calls, up to 2 hours of videos, and up to 2 hours of Facebook viewing.

Also Read: Moto G31 review: Entry-level winner

Moreover, the phone is equipped with an AI Power Master feature, which saves battery by automatically freezing inactive apps and reducing excess caching.

In most cases, you won’t need to worry about battery life. The phone can last a whole day with moderate usage during our testing. A quick 30-minute will top up the battery up to 25%, while an hour will give you around 50%. A full charge from empty takes 2 hours and 45 minutes to reach full.

Cameras

The itel Vision 3 comes with an AI dual-camera system with an 8MP main and a VGA secondary camera. It also has a 5MP selfie shooter.

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The camera app is straightforward. It has the usual layout you often find on other phones. It comes with different modes, such as Short Video for stuff like TikTok, Video, Portrait, HDR, Panoramic, Pro, Time Lapse, Low Light, and Smart Recognize. There’s also an AI Mode, which you can turn off, and an AR sticker option.

Photo quality is surprisingly decent in bright light. The colors look good. Dynamic range and detail quality is limited, which is expected. Images have average sharpness. Quality drops in low light.

itel Vision 3 Camera Sample

It’s safe to assume that most photos taken from this phone will go to social media. And if that’s the case, then these are more than enough. Overall, the photos are much better than what their price suggests. 

Selfies, meanwhile, are decent. There are times when you’d get a slight magenta hue, but it’s nothing serious. The 5MP front camera offers a reasonable amount of detail, albeit with some softness.

Final Thoughts

It’s difficult to find a good phone on a limited budget because you want the best value you can find for your money. And for that, the itel Vision 3 is a good match.

itel Vision 3 Review

As budget phones go, the Vision 3 is a huge surprise. For just Php 3,999, the device punches above its price range with long battery life, fast charging, an eye-catching design, decent performance, and reasonable cameras. 

Also Read: vivo Y73 review

It does have its negatives such as the limited storage space, but that is easily remedied with a microSD card. But other than that, there is really nothing much to complain about.

The phone is a “good buy” for the price. And for those with a tight budget, the Vision 3 is an affordable all-rounder that should be on your list.

Price and Availability

The itel Vision 3 is priced at Php 3,999 for the 2GB + 32GB model and Php 4,699 for the 3GB + 64GB model. It is available on the official Itel store in Shopee (link).

The itel Vision 3 Plus (link) with a 6.82-inch display, Unisoc T606, 64GB storage, and 6000mAh battery with 18W fast charging is also available for Php 5,499.

itel Vision 3 specs

Display6.6-inch HD+ IPS Display, 1612 x 720
ProcessorUnisoc SC9863A, 1.6GHz Octa-core
RAM2GB/ 3GB RAM
Storage32GB/ 64GB Storage
Rear Cameras8MP Main
VGA Camera
Front Camera5MP Selfie Camera
Network4G, Dual SIM
ConnectivityWi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
OthersRear Fingerprint Scanner, Face Unlock, Micro USB
OSitel OS 7.2, Android 11
Battery5000mAh Battery, 18W Fast Charge

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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