Smartphones are now an integral aspect of our lives and rightfully that’s the case. In the end, from connecting users and interacting with one another as well as running full-time businesses smartphones can handle it all. It goes without saying that there isn’t one size fits all as depending on your preferences and use you may prefer one over the others. Consider Vivo’s latest Smartphone called the V23 Pro 5G for instance it was specifically created with “online influencers” in the back of their minds. The device has a dual-front-facing camera, a stunning color-changing back, and more. Do you want to take the phone out to create your online portfolio or should you consider a different option? Let’s find out in this article.
Verdict
The Vivo V23 Pro 5G brings numerous appealing options to its table. Unfortunately, the device’s expensive price and numerous more well-rounded alternatives cast a large shadow over the phone.
Design
Vivo is no stranger to eccentrically-designed phones, but the company has outdone itself with the V23 Pro 5G. From an equidistant distance, the phone appears to be the typical Android phone. It has an elegant frame that supports the phone’s sleek display while moving back and forth. But, closer you’ll see that the back of the phone changes color when sunlight hits the surface. To illustrate, Vivo has employed Fluorite AG glass in the design of the V23 Pro which reacts to UV rays and alters the exposed parts of the phone’s gold-colored back to the blue-ish teal shade. The effect of changing color is as amazing as it is unique and it’s hard to find another Smartphone that features a similar look available. Simply put, this V23 Pro adds an original twist to a regular phone design and I would be all for it.
There’s no doubt that you likely have lots of questions regarding the phone’s color-changing back I’ll provide some answers below.
1 – Is the color-changing effect accessible for this Stardust Black colorway of the V23 Pro as well?
Unfortunately, no. It’s not possible. The Stardust Black variant of the phone isn’t equipped with a color-changing back.
- Does the effect lose its effectiveness later on?
As per the company according to the brand, the effect should last between 18 and 24 months, at which point users will either upgrade or switch to a better phone.
- Will the effect be apparent when viewed through the case?
If the case is transparent the back of the V23 Pro’s case will remain in color in all weathers.
4 How long will this effect last?
The color-changing effect lasts only a few minutes as the rear of your phone is expected to be restored to its gold-colored state after five-seven minutes.
You can be sure that the V23 Pro’s back-lit color changes are an absolute showpiece, and anyone who purchases the device will have plenty of options to customize it according to their preferences. Furthermore, the phone is extremely light as well and weighs only 171g. In conjunction with its slim dimensions of 7.36mm, the V23 Pro’s chassis opens the way for a remarkably ergonomic grip. It is also important to note that both the volume rocker and the power button provide excellent flexibility. In addition, the phone’s polycarbonate frame did not flex even when applying pressure. Vivo also kept the camera bump of the phone within a reasonable range and the square-shaped model looks very elegant. The phone, however, is prone to shaking when placed on a straight surface therefore you’ll win some, and you lose some.
The Vivo V23 Pro ships with an in-display fingerprint scanner, which performed well in my tests. The sensor is placed quite ergonomically and I was able to comfortably reach it using my thumb. The phone also comes with facial recognition technology that was just as effective as the fingerprint sensor, so there’s no reason to complain here also.
Although it looks, the V23 Pro is, the phone’s design has its flaws. For instance, the device doesn’t have a headphone port and does not come with a dual-speaker system as well. Additionally, the phone’s AG transparent back panel is very slippery, and it can slide across every surface, regardless of the slight angle of the slope. It is also worth noting that the phone’s tactile feedback leaves much to be desired. If you are prone to write long emails or texts on the phone then you may prefer a different device.
Display
The Vivo V23 Pro ships with the 6.56-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen that has a curved design. The display has the ability to refresh at 90 Hz that’s not the most responsive even by the last year’s standards however it’s still quite a step above phones equipped with a 60Hz display. If you’ve never been a fan of phones that have curved screens or curved screens, this V23 Pro isn’t really going to alter your views regarding the issue. In that regard, the display on the phone although stunning has a poor rejection of palms. The display comes with a rather large top-notch that requires some time to get used to.
Fortunately, the display has plenty of brightness and tops out at 800 nits, which means you can use the device anywhere, anytime, without having to strain your eyes. Additionally, the phone provides excellent viewing angles. I didn’t see any odd backlit bleeding on the edges of the display. I’d also like to mention that the phone does, indeed allow HD playback via OTT services such as Prime Video. For some bizarre reason, I could not get the phone to download the Netflix app on the Play Store. I tried installing an app from Netflix’s official support website, but the phone was unable to run the application. I’ve asked Netflix for a response on this issue and will revise this review when I’ve got any additional information. Now, let’s continue and discuss the camera abilities of the phone.
Cameras
This Vivo V23 Pro features a triple camera array to the back. It includes the 8MP Samsung sensor and the 8MP Omni vision UW sensor, and a 2MP macro sensor. To take selfies, the phone comes with a 50MP main camera for selfies, which is aided by an additional 8MP lens for wide-angle selfies and group selfies.
I’ve used the X-series of phones by the company I was expecting high expectations of V23 Pro. V23 Pro in the camera department as well. However, the photos taken with the camera’s primary sensor leave a little to be unsatisfactory. In actual fact, if you browse through the gallery below and you’ll see that photographs were taken during the day lack quality. It’s the same if you compare the image with the blue grid. In this image, the trees on the left-hand part of the image look straight from a watercolor painting. The leaves, specifically aren’t textured while the flowers to the right-bottom appear as if they are mushy. Fortunately, the sensor’s color science isn’t over the extreme and the scene is generally rendered accurately. For low light, the sensor on the back of the phone can do a decent job conserving the details of the scene. However, the images are quite grainy even when night mode is disabled.
It’s interesting to note that the V23 Pro snaps excellent closeups with lots of detail and natural colors too. There’s also an obvious difference in the color temperature that exists between standard lenses and macro lenses. The photos taken using the macro lens appear to be a bit washed-out. The images from the ultra-wide sensor of the camera aren’t the best as well, with the sensor trying to expose the image properly. Additionally, the details of the photo are very few.
The bright side is that the camera on the phone’s 50MP resolution takes stunning selfies. In my experience, I typically switch all of the personalization options off, however, should you want to share stunning selfies to social networks, there are a plethora of features for beautification on the phone, which could help. Furthermore is that the phone comes with the only dual-flash array that is available above the selfie camera that dramatically enhances the quality of low-light selfies.
It’s not the only thing it can do, you can alter the appearance of the flashlight’s beam to a more warm or cooler tone that best suits your preferences. There are a variety of different styles of portraits such as the portrait style for parties that you can apply to help spice your selfies more. The company has also included an excellent teleprompter feature that will be useful occasions when you need to make branding calls or discuss the finer points of an idea in front of the camera.
Performance, Battery Life and Software
Devices powered with MediaTek’s Dimensity 9000 SoC are just close to being available, however, Vivo sticks with its tried-and-tested Dimensity 1200 processor to power its latest competitor. In fact, the Dimensity 1200 was among the most VFM SoCs in 2021 and it continues to amaze by racking up impressive scores on artificial benchmarking applications. For a clearer view, the phone scored 6,57,442 points on Antutu as well as 553 and 2,506 points on GeekBench’s multi-core and single-core tests.
In addition, it was able to multitask quickly that can be attributed to its fast UFS 3.1 storage as well as LPDDR4x memory that dramatically reduced the loading times while I was switching between applications. This isn’t all. The phone could run games with graphically demanding graphics at levels that are competitive to go over graphic and FPS settings of The PUBG Game: New State. Additionally, BGMI ran at the HDR graphics and Ultra FPS settings without any glitches. You will need to lower the settings to the smooth preset to achieve 60fps when playing the game. But I didn’t see any dramatic frame drops during the heated gun battles. But, as with others Dimensity 1200 SoC phones and models, V23 Pro is also prone to heat. V23 Pro also heats up when you are under a lot of pressure. In actual fact, the phone was throttled to 77% of its performance during the CPU Throttle test and is one of the lowest that I’ve ever seen.
In terms of software, V23 Pro is a bit more sophisticated software-wise. V23 Pro ships with the company’s FunTouch OS v12 which works with Android 12. In the past, the company has been able to streamline its user interface. While the skin that they created is packed with bloatware, I’ll admit that the UX is much more user-friendly and welcoming. Furthermore, the brand has also integrated a lot of customizable features. Users can select from a range of animated options for the lock screen, finger sensor, and much more. The default launcher does not support third-party icon packs at the moment, so you’ll need to install your own launcher or use icons that are available from the built-in theme store. In addition, the phone also has various useful software features such as apps lockers, built-in screen and call recording, as well as support for Always-On display as well as an exclusive dark mode.
The V23 Pro is fuelled by a mAh of 4,300mAh, which, unfortunately, was not enough to see me through an intense workday. I actually had to connect the phone at around the 6 pm mark, my use consisted of viewing YouTube videos, sending the audio signal to Bluetooth headphones, and remaining in touch with colleagues and acquaintances by making use of a variety of different social and networking applications. Fortunately, the phone comes with a quick 44W power source that can charge the phone in less than one hour (55 minutes to be exact)also. In fact, I was able.
Final Verdict
The Vivo V23 Pro starts at 38,990 for the variant with 8GB of RAM with the model with 12GB will need to pay the equivalent of Rs 43,990. In terms of cost, the Smartphone offers many new features such as a back that can change color and a set of capable selfie cameras. The Smartphone’s price is in comparison to larger and more feature-rich Smartphones powered with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 processor. For instance, the iQOO 7 Legend, for example, is priced at around the same price, and also comes with higher performance, superior rear cameras, and quicker wireless charging. Therefore, I’d suggest using the V23 Pro for ardent selfie lovers. For the rest of us, there’s a market with more comprehensive options.
Editor’s rating: 3.5 / 5
Pros:
- Stylish design
- Innovative color-changing back
- Fantastic selfie cameras
- Gorgeous display
Cons:
- Expensive
- No 3.5mm headphone jack
- No stereo speakers
- Average battery life
- Key Specs
Vivo V23 Pro 5G
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Processor | MediaTek Dimensity 1200 MT6893 |
| Rear Camera | 108 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP |
| Front Camera | 50 MP + 8 MP |
| Battery | 4300 mAh |
| Display | 6.56 inches |
See Full Specifications And Price in Bangladesh [Click here]