vivo V30 5G review: Strong portrait camera phone

vivo recently launched its latest vivo V30 Series. Historically, the V-series has always had impressive cameras, especially in portrait photography. The new vivo V30 5G is no different

With a starting price of P24,999, the V30 continues the trend with three 50MP cameras and powerful features. But how does it fare in real life? And is it worth our money? Let’s find out.

Design and Display

The vivo V30 5G boasts a sleek, modern, and ergonomic design. As it stands, it is the slimmest phone with a large 5000mAh battery. It has a thickness of only 7.45mm and weighs just 186g.

The phone’s slim profile and lightweight build make it comfortable to hold, even for extended periods. It also has an IP54 dust and water resistance rating, meaning it can survive splashes of water with protection from dust ingress. We don’t recommend that you take it in the shower or immerse it in water.

Our review unit is the Petals White variant. It has a beautiful design that features a 3D petal pattern that’s both unique and mesmerizing. Its surface has a silk-like feel, thanks to the fluorite AG glass.

The cameras sit on a square-shaped island with the redesigned Aura Light soft light adjacent to it, which is now on its 3rd iteration.

The display measures 6.78 inches. It has a 3D curved AMOLED screen with narrow bezels. The top and bottom bezels have the same thickness, giving it a more uniform look. The display quality is good, offering crisp visuals and deep blacks, enhancing the viewing experience. It also has great legibility under direct sunlight.

The phone has an in-display fingerprint scanner. It’s at the lower part of the display, making it a stretch to reach. It is common for phones within the same price range. However, the fingerprint scanner is fast and responsive.

The volume and power buttons are on the right side. At the bottom, we have the SIM tray, a microphone, the USB-C port, and the mono speaker. There’s another microphone at the top side, while the left side is bare.

It’s unfortunate that the V30 only has one speaker. The sound quality is good though and it is loud with ample volume.

Cameras

The vivo V30 5G has a triple rear camera setup led by a 50MP main camera with a 1/1.55” OmniVision OV50E sensor with OIS. It is joined by another 50MP camera, this time with an ultra-wide lens, and a 2MP depth sensor. At the front is another 50MP camera for selfies and video calls.

As expected, the image quality is quite good, especially in good lighting conditions. The colors look natural with a slight warmth to them and the details are sharp. It also has a wide dynamic range. Indoor and low-light shots are also good. However, streetlights and other bright light sources tend to flare up. Selfies are good as well with warm skin tones and pleasant details.

Portrait photography is where the V30 shines. The bokeh effect looks creamy with above-average edge detection. Moreover, the Aura Light 3.0 and Smart Color Temperature Adjustment help produce even and natural lighting.

Camera Samples

Portrait Samples

Performance

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 under the hood is a mid-range processor built in a 4nm process that offers up to 15% performance improvement and 20% better power efficiency compared to the previous generation chipset.

Our review unit came with 12GB of RAM, up to 12GB more extended RAM, and 256GB of storage. It runs on Funtouch OS 14, based on Android 14. Also available is a 512GB storage option.

The OS does come with its share of bloatware, including third-party apps that you may not want and the Hot Apps and Hot Games folders. You can just uninstall or disable them as usual.

The phone doesn’t disappoint. The vivo V30 5G is speedy and responsive with no lags or stutters. Most apps load quickly and games run without issues.

It can also hold its own in gaming. Genshin Impact is playable at high graphics settings at 60 fps. But if you want the best possible performance, dial down the graphics to medium. Call of Duty Mobile, on the other hand, is also playable at high graphics and max fps. The phone did become warm, despite its vapor chamber cooling. Just keep this in mind when you plan to play for long hours.

Here are the benchmark scores.

Battery Life

The V30 has a large 5000mAh battery which supports 80W fast charging. It can last a day with moderate usage. You’ll have some power left at the end of the day, but we recommend charging the phone before you end the day.

And speaking of charging, a 30-minute charge from 20% battery gave us almost 60%. Meanwhile, 20% to 100% charge took around 50 minutes.

Final Remarks

If you’re in the market for a capable phone with good portrait capabilities, look no further than the vivo V30 5G. The smartphone offers powerful performance with a slim profile, a beautiful design, good cameras, and long battery life. Moreover, it truly shines in portrait photography, especially with the Aura Light 3.0 soft light.

However, it’s not a perfect phone. The mono speaker is a sore spot for me. And while it does perform well in gaming, the phone becomes noticeably warm.

The V30 has quite the competition in the mid-range segment, such as the realme 12 Pro+ 5G, the OPPO Reno11 5G, and the new Samsung Galaxy A55 5G, among others. But I do believe it deserves your attention, especially if you love taking portrait photos.

The vivo V30 5G is priced at P24,999 for the 12GB+256GB variant and P27,999 for the 12GB+512GB variant. It is now available in vivo concept stores and kiosks, or online platforms like vivo website, Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok.

vivo V30 5G specs