Vivo V19 Review

Vivo is back with a duo of brand new mid-range phones. One of them is the new Vivo V19.

This device arrived alongside the Php19,999 V19 Neo. But unlike the former, the official price of the more premium V19 is yet to be announced. Although, its interesting features is just hard to miss so we’re pulling the trigger and checking out this device in-depth.

So, without further ado, we’ll see in our Vivo V19 review what this smartphone has in store for us.

Vivo V19 Specs

• Android 10, FunTouch OS 10
• Dual SIM, Dual Standby
• 6.44-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display, 2400 x 1080 pixel resolution, ~408ppi
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 octa-core processor
• Liquid cooling
• 8GB RAM
• Adreno 616 GPU
• 128GB/256GB internal storage, expandable via microSD
• 32-megapixel (f/2.0) + 8-megapixel (ultra-wide, f/2.28) front cameras
• 48-megapixel (f/1.8) + 8-megapixel (ultra-wide, f/2.2) + 2-megapixel (depth sensor) + 2-megapixel (macro, f/2.4) rear cameras, PDAF, LED flash
• In-display fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
• HSPA+, 4G LTE
• WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
• Bluetooth 5.0
• GPS, BDS, Galileo, GLONASS
• USB Type-C
• Dimensions: 159.64 x 75.04 x 8.5mm
• Weight: 186.5g
• Colors: Gleam Black, Sleek Silver
• 4,500mAh non-removable battery, 33W fast charging

Design and Build Quality

The Vivo V19 is moving on from the novelty pop-up camera design of the V15 Pro. This time, the V19 achieves its bezel-less look using a punch-hole on the top right of the camera. Despite having two front cameras, the cutout is still relatively inconspicuous and less distracting.

We have a metal chassis and a premium glass back panel on the back, but the actual brand of glass was not mentioned. Still, it looks really clean and elegant — from the camera glass design on the top left to the paint job. The unit we have here is the Sleek Silver model, while a more subtle Gleam Black option is also available.

The curved corners and edges makes it feel light and compact despite its weight of 186g and thickness of 8.5mm.

Taking a tour, we have the noise-cancelling microphone on the top, while on the bottom we have the USB Type-C port, loudspeaker, USB Type-C, primary mic, and thankfully, a headphone jack.

We then have the volume controls and lock/power button on the right side. They are tactile enough and easily reachable.

On the left side, we only have the SIM tray that can house two nano SIM cards and a dedicated microSD card slot that can expand the storage by up to 512GB.

Display and Sound Quality

The Vivo V19 has a 6.44-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED screen, with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels, and 100% DCI-P3 coverage. It also has TÜV Rheinland certification that assures your eyes are safe from any blue light. Vivo claims that it has a peak brightness of 800-nits.

With its OLED panel, it’s no surprise the V19 display projects colorful and vibrant images with deep contrast. Great for watching movies or viewing any data. The punch-hole might be thin, but it still can be distracting at times, especially in gaming.

Moreover, it would be nice to see a stereo speaker on a device this premium. Instead, we’re getting a mediocre bottom-firing loudspeaker. It offers decent quality and volume for private listening. But for a more immersive experience, you can plug in an external audio device via the headphone jack. A pair of earphones are included in the box.

Hardware and Performance

The Vivo V19 uses a one-year-old Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 octa-core processor, with 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and Adreno 616 GPU. Bear in mind that the review unit we got is an engineering sample, so the performance might improve once the retail unit arrives. Still, the chipset Vivo used is enough for us to be disappointed.

The V19 Neo is priced at Php17,990 and only came with a Snapdragon 675 processor, which means that the V19 will costs more, possibly at around Php20K. At that price, we should already be getting a Snapdragon 765G processor or higher.

Albeit, the actual performance we got was satisfactory. Doing basic tasks like social media browsing, messaging, video calls, and whatnot, are doable seamlessly. Playing games like Call of Duty Mobile and Mobile Legends are fine, but definitely not the smoothest.

Vivo V19 Benchmark scores

As you can see, the benchmark scores are a little low. But then again, it’s an engineering unit, so the final scores might be higher on the retail unit.

Software and User Interface

Just like a lot of 2020 Vivo smartphones, the Vivo V19 runs on the latest Android 10 operating system with the brand’s FuntouchOS 10. But just like its predecessors, Funtouch is still one of the most overloaded interface in the industry.

Vivo has moved the control center on the top of the notifications tab, just like what most interfaces have. All your apps are laid out on the home screen, with an option to use an app drawer in the settings.

On the far left of the home screen, we have the search tab and the Jovi smart scene.

Ultra Game Mode is a special app that consolidates all your games, lets you block any notifications while in-game, and more.

There’s a dedicated Vivo app store that lets you download apps that is no longer in the Google Play Store like AnTuTu benchmark. We also have the camera app, which still needs a little more work.

Vivo’s easy-share feature is also present. Plus, the Vivo V19 uses the standard Google Keyboard that’s easy to get used to, customizable, and comfortable to type on.

Those who are heavy in customization can configure the home screen, lock screen, and even the always-on display settings.

Related articles

Camera Quality

The main highlight of the Vivo V19 is its cameras. It has a quad-camera setup on the back, starting with a 48-megapixel main camera, 8-megapixel ultra-wide, and two 2-megapixel sensors for macro and depth sensing. We also have dual cameras on the front, consisting of the 32-megapixel sensor for selfies and 8-megapixel ultra-wide for group shots.

With the 48-megapixel f/1.8 main sensor, you’re getting images with vibrant and contrasty images, decent dynamic range, and acceptable HDR. Low-light images looks decent, too.

48-megapixel | Outdoors48-megapixel | Indoors48-megapixel | Low-light

The colors and details on the 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera are obviously not as good as the first one. Although, the wide field-of-view it gives can be very useful in a lot of shooting scenarios — pictures of buildings, computer setups, dining tables, group pictures, and more.

8-megapixel ultra-wide8-megapixel ultra-wide

The 2-megapixel macro and depth sensors do their jobs respectfully well, but nothing too mind-blowing.

2-megapixel macro

The 32-megapixel f/2.0 selfie camera, to nobody’s surprise, takes really sharp images. You can take raw selfies, or use the Vivo V19’s face beauty features.

32-megapixel front

Lastly, we have the 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera. It lets you take group pictures with friends, family, or have a selfie with a cool background, without having to use a tripod.

8-megapixel front

Security

Just like a lot of premium phones, the Vivo V19 brags an in-display fingerprint scanner. It worked really fast and snappy in our testing, for as long as your fingers are clean.

The V19 uses a 32-megapixel front-facing camera for the face unlock, which worked really well. Since it lacks an IR sensor, it does struggle in low-light scenarios, especially in pitch-black rooms. Thankfully, there’s a ‘Screen Fill Light’ option in the face unlock settings, which increases the screen’s brightness to light up your face in the dark.

Connectivity

The Vivo V19 has 4G LTE, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, and USB Type-C. All of which worked well during our testing.

Call quality is also good. The earpiece outputs sufficient volume, while the dual-microphone setup captures your voice with less background noise.

Battery

Based on our experience, Vivo phones offers some of the best battery performance in the industry. With the Vivo V19, we’re getting a 4,500mAh battery, and it delivered.

This phone can easily last you for an entire day of moderate to heavy usage. You can stretch it for two days if you only don’t do a lot of video streaming and gaming, or shorten it to a day or half if you do.

Complimenting its battery is the 33W fast charger. Still not the fastest, but does the job well. It can provide a full charge on the Vivo V19 in around an hour to an hour and a half.

Verdict

The Vivo V19 has some of the fancy features that make up for a premium device. It has a glass-on-glass design, AMOLED screen with UD fingerprint scanner, flexible cameras, and a long battery life with fast charging.

However, its biggest shortcoming is one of the most important components on a smartphone — the processor. Sure, it delivers smooth performance in daily tasks, but we’ve seen other competing device that has a more powerful and capable processor.

Bottom line is, the Vivo V19 is an all-rounder smartphone. But if you want the best possible performance for the price, you’re better off looking somewhere else.

Vivo V19 pricing and availability in the Philippines

Although they have teased it a lot and it’s already listed in their local website, Vivo Philippines is still mum about the official price and when the Vivo V19 will arrive in the country. And with a next batch of Vivo smartphones already expected to launch in the country, we’re losing hope that this smartphone will ever make it to the Philippines.

But just in case it does, we expect it to retail for around Php20,000 to Php23,000. We’ll update this article as soon as we hear something from Vivo.

Pros

• Premium design
• Vibrant and contrasty AMOLED screen
• Flexible cameras
• Long battery life with fast charging

Cons

• Underwhelming processor choice for its caliber