Vivo has introduced the V25 series in India comprising the vanilla V25 and the Vivo V25 Pro. These smartphones remain true to the essence of the V-series and provide cutting-edge hardware and a color-changing back panel in V25 Pro. Selfies are another feature that has been a constant improvement in the V Series.
Vivo has made incremental upgrades to its selfie cameras every year, particularly with its V series. The Vivo V25 Pro offers a curved-edge display, an enhanced chipset, and a good camera. At first glance, Vivo appears to have done well enough to support its pricing point.
So, how does the V25 Pro stack up? Is the phone a good purchase? We have been using the phone for a short while and here is what we think about the phone.
What’s Inside The Box?
- Vivo V25 Pro handset (main unit)
- USB Type C to Type A Charging cable
- 66W Charging Brick
- SIM eject tool
- Quick start guide
- Warranty card
- Phone case
Design
Vivo has done a great job of providing a soft-touch matte finish on the V25 Pro. The handset’s polycarbonate frame has a lustrous, chrome-like finish. Color-changing anti-glare glass, used for the back panel, appears to be effective in preventing fingerprints enhancing the appeal simultaneously. One thing to keep in mind is that only the Sailing Blue finish is capable of changing the color which we are using right now. Additionally, the color-changing feature isn’t as impressive as it was with the V23 Pro from the previous year because it merely shifts from a brighter shade of blue to a darker one under UV radiation.
The Vivo V25 Pro has a curved screen, but even the back is curved, giving the device a slim and sleek design while holding. The phone’s back panel has a rectangular bump for the cameras. It has the three sensors aligned vertically, which is nice. The device looks and feels truly premium.
The volume rocker and power button are located on the right side of the handset, whereas the left panel is kept empty. The speaker grille, USB Type-C charging connector, and SIM card slot are all located on the bottom.
Well, the color option of Sailing Blue that we have is what has us most impressed. With curved edges on the side and decent weight distribution, holding the V25 Pro is a delightful experience in itself.
Display
The 6.56-inch, curved-edge display of the Vivo V23 Pro has thin bezels all around it. These days, curved displays are a feature reserved for mostly high-end smartphones and is yet to become a norm with affordable and budget phones. It is an AMOLED panel with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and a touch sampling of up to 300Hz. This is an improvement over the 90Hz display found on the V23 Pro and should be used for playing video games.
The AMOLED display has good brightness levels and is risk-free for outdoor use. When compared directly to other products in this price range, color reproduction is also passable but can fall short.
With a 100 percent DCI-P3 wide color gamut, the display is also color accurate. Additionally, there are certifications for HDR 10+, Netflix HDR, and low blue light from SGS.
Processor
The Vivo V25 Pro gets the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 SoC under its hood. Our review unit came with an 8GB / 128GB configuration but the RAM 3.0 tech increased the available RAM by an extra 8GB from the ROM.
The smartphone comes with a ‘Game Boost Mode’ with optimization features. Also, it features a linear vibration motor for haptic feedback. The company has also worked on thermals, with the new Bionic Cooling System, featuring liquid cooling.
Since it has the Dimensity 1300 SoC, our gaming experience was quite decent. Apex Legends ran without any stutters at HD graphics and a High frame rate. It has been smooth and fast to navigate the FunTouch OS while doing a bit of gaming, processing images, and other tasks.
As for software, the phone runs Vivo’s Funtouch OS 12 which is based on Android 12. During our initial usage, we did notice plenty of preinstalled third-party apps. There is a ton of bloatware, some of which can be removed and some of which can be disabled.
Camera
Given that it’s a Vivo V series smartphone, the imaging system is quite advanced. The Vivo V25 Pro sports a triple camera system. It features a 64MP main sensor, an 8MP wide-angle sensor, and a 2MP macro sensor. Meanwhile, the selfie shooter is a 32MP unit. It’s interesting to note that the front camera enables tracking eye autofocus and should be able to provide clear photos and videos of the user.
In daylight, the camera clicks nice, detailed photos. Both the rear and selfie cameras effectively use HDR. We also observed some level of consistency in the color tuning of the ultrawide and primary cameras when clicking photos in the daytime.
In low light situations, the processing algorithm has the tendency to smoothen out photos to reduce noise. However, there are some visible grains, which makes the images appear less sharp. Thanks to OIS, the primary camera takes far better nighttime photos than the ultrawide.
The V25 Pro really shines when it comes to selfies. The 32MP camera front snapper captures a good amount of facial details. The images that we clicked from its front camera were crisp and beautiful.
Coming to the videos, the phone can record optically stabilized videos up to 4K resolution at 60fps. However, stabilized ‘Super Night’ films can only be recorded at 1080p at 30fps, while super stable recordings with hybrid stabilization are limited to 1080p at 60fps. Additionally, you cannot use HDR and Super Night settings at the same time.
Battery
The Vivo V25 Pro packs a 4,830mAh battery. We were able to squeeze out about seven and a half hours worth of screen on time during our usage, and in a real-world scenario, it can last an entire day without charging. It also has good standby time, and it only loses about a percent of its battery overnight when it’s not being used.
The battery can be charged with the bundled 66W FlashCharger. This seems slightly lower than the competition. We would have liked to see 80W charging at this price point.
Final Verdict
With features catered specifically to their requirements, the V25 Pro is a selfie enthusiast’s dream. A whole smartphone experience, on the other hand, revolves around striking the ideal balance between cameras, performance, and battery. While the smartphone leaves a little something to be desired when it comes to performance and battery life, it does scores high on design and selfie capabilities.
