Vivo V23 Pro 5G Review: Great camera performance; a decent colour changing phone

Vivo V23 Pro 5G review: With the rising competition in the mobile phone market, many smartphone brands are trying unique ways to build smartphones that can attract the attention of buyers. In such an attempt, the global technology Vivo recently launched a unique smartphone in India -- Vivo V23 Pro 5G, a phone which comes with a color-changing back panel and a 50MP Eye AF Dual Selfie camera.

Vivo V23 Pro is priced at Rs 38,990 (8GB+128GB), Rs 43,990 (12GB+256GB) and is available in two stunning colours – Sunshine Gold (Unique colour changing back panel) and Stardust Black. The smartphone is backed by the India's first fluorite AG glass design that has a colour-changing glass on the rear, which interacts with sunlight and other sources of artificial UV rays and transforms into different colours. I used the Sunshine Gold colour variant for more than 10 days and here's my view on Vivo's colour-changing mobile phone.

WATCH | Click on Zee Business Live TV Streaming Below:

In terms of design and outlook, all I can say is, the moment you take out this mobile phone from the box, you will fall in love with it. The design, build and looks are too good. The device looks premium at first glance. I really liked the build of this smartphone from Vivo and I can say that this smartphone is not just about color changing back panel. This device is packed with too many good features and can be the best option for those looking to buy a sleek camera smartphone under Rs 40,000. Vivo V23 Pro is elegantly shaped with a 3D Curved Screen that curves at 57 degrees and is as thin as 7.36mm. The curved edges, no doubt, added extra charm to the Vivo V23 Pro. It is sleek, slim and light at 171 grams, which makes this device easy to hold and carry for long durations. Also, the smartphone offers a comfortable grip and didn't have fingerprint marks during our testing period. It is soft to touch with its matte texture and diffused surface coating, making it comfortable to hold, Overall, in terms of design and looks, this smartphone ticked all the right boxes.

Vivo’s colour-changing #vivoV23Series  pic.twitter.com/e2dxZAh39s

— Bharat Upadhyay (@bharatupadhya11) December 30, 2021

#vivoV23Series pic.twitter.com/4N1tyJfO1N

— Bharat Upadhyay (@bharatupadhya11) December 30, 2021

The back of the phone has a large camera module that houses three camera sensors along with a LED flash and Vivo branding at the rear left bottom. On the right side of the smartphone, there is a dedicated space for volume rockers and a power button. At bottom of the device, you will find see Type-C USB charging port, Nano-SIM Card Slot, and a single-speaker setup. The audio output was actually quite good. For the connectivity, the Vivo V23 Pro 5G includes Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth v5.20, USB OTG, USB Type-C, 3G, and 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India). Sensors on the phone include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, proximity sensor, and in-display fingerprint sensor.

Vivo V23 Pro 5g Display: The 6.56-inch Vivo V23 Pro with AMOLED display that supports a 90Hz refresh rate and 3D-curved screen comes with a resolution of 1,080x2,376 pixels.  The display is curved around the edges and has a wide notch cutout for the two front-facing cameras. During our testing period, the display offers good colours and sharpness The fingerprint sensor worked pretty well. Our multimedia experience was decent, the colors came out good on the screen in the various light conditions. The overall experience while using the screen was smooth and lag-free. The display on the Vivo V23 Pro has good brightness levels.

Let's talk about the major highlight of this smartphone - the camera. In terms of camera performance, the Vivo V23 Pro has two front-facing cameras for video calls and selfies; a 50-megapixel primary camera with an f/2.0 aperture and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with an f/2.28 aperture. The rear module includes a 108-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.88 aperture lens, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with an f/2.2 aperture, and a 2-megapixel camera with an f/2.4 aperture. The smartphone is packed with various camera modes on both front and back. At the front, the smartphone has modes including, Autofocus, AI Extreme Night, Steadiface Selfie Video, Multi-Style Portrait, Double Exposure, Video Face Beauty, Dual-View Video, Slo-Mo, High Resolution, Live Photo, AR Stickers, Natural Portrait and Sports Mode Selfie. On the rear side -- Eye Autofocus, Night, Ultra-Wide Night, Super Macro, Bokeh Portrait,  Portrait Style, Bokeh Flare Portrait, High Resolution, Live Photo, AR Stickers, Slo-Mo, Time-Lapse, Dual-View Video, Double Exposure, Documents, Pano, Pro, Ultra Stabilization, Super Night Video, and Sports Mode.

While reviewing the Vivo V23 Pro, we used most of the modes to check the camera performance and the image came out pretty decent in Night, Ultra-Wide Night, Live Photo, Pro and Bokeh Portrait modes. While taking multiple shots with different modes, the smartphone took stunning and sharp pictures. The videos also came out good on this mobile phone. If we compare the images captured with Vivo V23 Pro in various light conditions in normal settings with other smartphones in this price range including OnePlus Nord 2, this Vivo smartphone has no competition. In terms of front camera performance, with Vivo’s exclusively customized 50MP sensor, complemented by pixel isolation technology, the front camera captures abundant light and boosts color authenticity. It took stunning selfies full of details with well-balanced colors. Overall, the camera performance was excellent.

In terms of overall performance, the smartphone is backed by the powerful MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset. Dimensity 1200 adopts the advanced 6nm process, that offers great gaming and multimedia experience. The smartphone comes with Extended RAM 2.0 that allows 4GB of internal memory to be used as RAM when needed, boosting performance by up to 50 per cent. You can enjoy the freedom of running multiple apps at higher speeds. The Vivo V23 Pro 5G runs Funtouch OS 12 is based on Android 12. The good thing is the UI is very easy to use and users might not face any issues. 

While playing heavy and light games, the smartphone provided lag-free gaming here. The graphic quality didn't disappoint. It was good in normal settings. Overall, the Vivo V23 Pro 5G was fast, smooth, switching between the apps, including WhatsApp, Instagram, and more, was easy and the performance was flawless. In terms of battery performance, the Vivo V23 Pro 5G is backed by a 4,300mAh battery and supports 44W fast charging and  can be charged from 1 per cent to 63 per cent with 44W FlashCharge in 30 minutes. Once fully charged, the Vivo V23 Pro 5G lasted for over a day in medium to heavy usage. Also, the device did not heat up during gaming and video streaming for long hours.

Vivo V23 Pro 5G verdict: Available at a starting price of Rs 38,990, Vivo V23 Pro 5G has a lot to offer in under Rs 40,000 segment.  With colour-changing back panel, 50MP eye AF dual selfie camera, 108MP rear camera and sleek design, the smartphone has all the right elements to give tough competition to the rival in Rs 40K segment. The smartphone can be a good option for those looking for a good camera and stylish phone