Vivo V23 Review: Middling Mid-Ranger

The Vivo V23 is the inexpensive of a couple of telephones within the V23 collection, the newest within the corporate’s line of smartphones focussed on selfies and elegance.

With that during thoughts, the V23 stocks the very same twin selfie digicam because the extra tough V23 Pro, along side its strange colour-changing design, regardless that this time it’s wrapped in an iPhone-esque sq. body.

Design and construct

• Colour-changing end
• iPhone-style sq. edges
• Glass rear

The Vivo V23’s design stands proud in a few evident tactics.

The first is the color. Yes, you’ll be able to purchase it in black, however extra fascinating is the ‘Sunshine Gold’ end, which seems gold more often than not however shifts to a placing deep turquoise when the glass catches the sunshine due to a UV-reactive end. It’s a novelty, however an overly artful one, and more likely to seem in additional telephones this 12 months – Realme has already appropriated the tech for the Realme 9 Pro telephones.

Even the truth that the phone’s rear is encased in glass in a spotlight, as a result of at this value you are a lot more more likely to in finding plastic-bodied telephones in other places. Yes, glass is extra fragile – so you may even see it as a drawback – however it is helping make the V23 feel and appear way more dear than it’s.

Look past that and also you’ll most certainly realize simply how a lot this looks as if an iPhone. There’s the broad notch at the display screen – due to the twin selfie cameras – however extra vital is the selection to make use of totally squared off aspects to the frame. It leaves the V23 feeling undeniably unoriginal, however in case you’re going to ape any person’s design language then Apple isn’t a nasty selection. Still, in case you’re now not a fan, the V23 Pro opts for curved edges as a substitute, and so seems a lot much less Apple-y.

It doesn’t harm that due to the taller and thinner side ratio of this phone in comparison to Apple gadgets, that is in fact extra relaxed to carry than maximum iPhones, with the corners much less more likely to dig into your arms. It additionally weighs simply 179g, which is mild for a contemporary phone.

While you’ll in finding Schott Xensation Up (a Gorilla Glass rival) protective the show, there’s no such safety at the rear glass, neither is there an IP ranking for mud and water-resistance. That’s a slightly irritating, as it implies that as lovely because the phone’s design is, you’ll indubitably wish to quilt it up with a case ASAP.

Display and audio

• Mid-sized AMOLED show
• 90Hz refresh charge
• Disappointing speaker

The V23 packs a 6.44in display screen – a gorgeous common dimension for a contemporary Android – with a 90Hz refresh charge. That may sound disappointing with 120Hz handsets now not unusual, however Vivo has as a substitute prioritised becoming an AMOLED panel, because of this you get nice color replica and deep blacks, along with the graceful animations introduced by way of the 90Hz refresh.

Using AMOLED additionally has the benefit of permitting an in-display fingerprint scanner. This one is slightly rapid and dependable, and I don’t have any actual court cases about it. Face unencumber could also be an choice due to the front-facing cameras.

It’s a disgrace that having two selfie cameras necessitates a big notch. It would possibly upload to the iPhone-y enchantment, however it does glance somewhat glaring, particularly now that many equivalent telephones use a lot much less glaring punch-hole digicam preparations.

As for audio, you received’t get stereo sound unfortunately. There’s a unmarried downward-firing loudspeaker, however to be fair it’s now not nice. It will get slightly loud, however even at decrease volumes there’s a muddiness to the sound, and little bass even by way of smartphone requirements. As is now conventional, there’s no devoted headphone jack.

Specs and function

• Mid-range Dimensity 920 chipset
• Smooth functionality
• 5G

The V23 is powered by way of MediaTek’s Dimensity 920 chipset – a slight downgrade at the Dimensity 1200 present in its Pro sibling. It’s blended right here with both 8 or 12GB of RAM, and 128 or 256GB garage – which isn’t expandable, as there’s no microSD slot.

I’ve been checking out the upper spec 12+256GB style, however due to the mid-range chipset functionality remains to be restricted with regards to benchmarks. This is a minor improve on its predecessor, the V21, however lags at the back of some extra performance-focussed telephones round the similar value.

Still, that’s simplest in benchmarks, and most commonly simply displays the truth that this isn’t a phone designed for high-end cell gaming or productiveness. If you most commonly use your phone for social media, the digicam, and extra informal gameplay, there’s in reality little to fret about right here – the V23 runs easily and has confirmed no indicators of lag or stuttering within the time I’ve been checking out it out.

Despite the inexpensive chip there may be nonetheless enhance for 5G connections. While there’s no enhance for the newest Wi-Fi 6 speeds that is not likely to topic a lot to maximum, and the inclusion of Bluetooth 5.2 is most certainly extra vital, bettering functionality for wi-fi headphones. There is NFC too, for contactless bills, however this does range by way of area – so double-check if it’s integrated the place you are living.

Battery and charging

• All-day battery lifestyles
• 44W stressed charging
• No wi-fi charging

The 4200mAh battery integrated here’s in all probability somewhat below-average for Android, however in follow it holds up. Thanks to the power-efficient chipset, the V23 stretches that cellular to conveniently final a complete day of conventional use, and a few much less widespread customers will most certainly even in finding it’s a two-day instrument.

44W stressed charging is rapid sufficient to best the phone up by way of 71% in part an hour, which will have to be enough to get the phone to the tip of the day.

There’s no enhance for wi-fi charging, however that’s conventional of this value – it might be a larger marvel if it was once integrated.

Camera

• Great selfies in sunlight
• Limited low mild functionality
• Disappointing secondary lenses

The digicam setup within the V23 is a slightly strange, if simplest within the sense that the front-facing cameras are most certainly extra thrilling than the rear ones.

There are two selfie cameras right here: a 50Mp primary lens and an 8Mp ultrawide. The primary digicam is excellent when the sunshine is excellent, with detailed and crisp seize helped by way of an aperture of f/2.0 – surprisingly huge for a selfie digicam on a phone. Results are in most cases shiny and punchy, and are particularly excellent whilst you imagine how inexpensive the phone is – some telephones two times the cost do not take selfies this smartly.

Where it struggles is in low-light, with disappointing effects whether or not you utilize Night Mode or now not. The earlier phone within the collection, the V21 (no, there wasn’t a V22 – we’re now not in reality positive why), solved this downside by way of including optical symbol stabilisation (OIS) to the selfie digicam, which helped vastly with keeping up element all over the lengthy exposures vital in decrease mild.

This time round Vivo added the ultrawide as a substitute of OIS, because of this the V23’s selfie digicam is in reality no higher than every other at nighttime – and likewise doesn’t boast stabilised video for vlogging.

The upside is that you simply do get the choice of an ultrawide digicam, however because the 8Mp sensor here’s a sharp drop in high quality from the principle lens – and abysmal in low mild – this doesn’t really feel like the proper trade-off to me.

While the front-facing digicam setup is in fact the similar because the V23 Pro, the rear cameras fluctuate – a minimum of in the principle lens. The 64Mp, f/1.9 digicam here’s indubitably a downgrade from the 108Mp shooter at the Pro, however it’s now not unhealthy.

Like its front-facing sibling it fares perfect in excellent lighting fixtures, regardless that regardless of additionally missing OIS it handles darkish prerequisites a lot better, most probably thank you to a much wider aperture and bigger sensor. Night mode footage in reality aren’t unhealthy in any respect, even managing to accurately reveal shiny lighting inside darkish environments.

If I’ve an issue with the rear digicam right here it’s most commonly all the way down to the autofocus. On a couple of events this has in reality ignored the proper center of attention level, particularly in close-up photographs. It’s additionally sluggish sufficient that I discovered it near-impossible to take footage of a cat, which has were given to be a significant level in opposition to any phone.

The different two rear lenses are some other 8Mp ultrawide, which is set as excellent as the only at the entrance, and a 2Mp macro lens that in reality isn’t as much as a lot – however you’ll in finding equivalent high quality secondary lenses on almost about any phone round this value.

Software

• Ships with Android 12
• No assured updates
• Vivo’s Funtouch OS pores and skin frustrates

The V23 ships with Android 12, which is welcome, and runs Vivo’s Funtouch OS 12 on best, which is in all probability much less welcome.

Funtouch is a ways from my favorite Android pores and skin, and right here comes pre-loaded with more than a few Vivo apps you received’t need, along side a couple of intrusive commercials.

While necessary Android 12 options are integrated, like the brand new privateness dashboard and signals when the digicam or microphone are in use, you received’t get the entire beauty adjustments Google offered. Most significantly, the Material You function, which customises the colors of your consumer interface in response to the palette of your wallpaper, is nowhere to be present in Vivo’s model of Android 12.

While Vivo has promised that its X-series flagships (together with the new X70 Pro and X70 Pro+) will obtain 3 years of main Android model and safety updates, there may be been no such promise for the V23. So whilst it launches with Android 12, I have no idea which long term Android variations the phone will ever be up to date to, regardless that this 12 months’s Android 13 is a minimum of most probably.

Price and availability

The V23 is to be had now in India and a few different Asian markets, however for now that’s it. Vivo has promised that it’ll unencumber the phone in different markets in APAC, the Middle East, and Europe “over the following few months,” however don’t be expecting it to ever succeed in the USA or Canada.

Here’s how a lot the phone prices at the moment in India, the place it is to be had from Flipkart, with tough value conversions to provide you with an concept of what to anticipate in different markets.

• 8GB+128GB – ₹29,990 (round £300/€350/$400)
• 12GB+256GB – ₹34,990 (round £350/€410/$470)

That places the phone on the inexpensive finish of what we imagine a mid-range phone, up in opposition to the likes of the Redmi Note 10 Pro, Realme 9 Pro+, OnePlus Nord CE 2, and Poco F3. If you’ll somewhat have a look at different choices from the similar logo, take a look at our score of the most efficient Vivo telephones at the moment.

Verdict

The Vivo V23 is a tight all-rounder, however in lately’s mid-range marketplace that steadily isn’t sufficient. A phone like this must excel someplace, and sadly the selfie digicam right here isn’t somewhat excellent sufficient to ship because the phone’s USP – particularly given the atypical option to strip the OIS present in its predecessor.

The design would possibly lend a hand this phone enchantment to extra other people, due to the combination of a colour-changing end and iPhone-inspired form, regardless that greater than maximum portions of the phone that is in fact a question of style.

The V23 undoubtedly isn’t a nasty phone, however it simply doesn’t do sufficient to outpace some spectacular pageant, and falls quick precisely the place it will have to be most powerful.

Specs

Vivo V23: Specs

• Android 12 with Funtouch OS 12
• 6.44in FHD+ AMOLED show, 90Hz, HDR10+
• MediaTek Dimensity 920
• 8/12GB RAM
• 128/256GB inner garage
• 64Mp, f/1.9 primary digicam
• 8Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide digicam
• 2Mp, f/2.4 macro digicam
• 50Mp, f/2.0 primary selfie digicam
• 8Mp, f/2.3 ultrawide selfie digicam
• Fingerprint scanner (in-display)
• Bluetooth 5.2
• GPS
• NFC
• 5G
• Dual-SIM
• Schott Xensation Up show coating
• 4200mAh non-removable battery
• 44W charging
• Stardust Black or Sunshine Gold
• 157.2 x 72.4 x 7.4mm
• 179g