In the hunt for bigger batteries, smartphone manufacturers are making devices even more bulkier and heavier than earlier. Whereas some folks might be okay with it, but a lot of people are not happy about it. But Vivo made sure to keep everyone happy and announced 2 new devices in their popular V series – the Vivo V20 and V20 Pro 5G.

The Vivo V20 was welcomed by many for its slim and light-weight form factor and triple cameras but it came with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G SoC. And the latest Android 11 had various apps compatibility issues at that time on the V20. But in no time, Vivo launched the Vivo V20 Pro 5G, a device with the same form factor; but with a more powerful chipset and software experience with the future-proofing of 5G capabilities.

This is our Unbiased Review of the Vivo V20 Pro 5G after using it for almost a month as our primary device. Before we start our review,Here is a look at the specifications:-

DESIGN & DISPLAY

• 6.44 inches AMOLED Display
• 408 PPI and 20:9 aspect ratio
• 7.39mm* thick and weigh 170grams 

The Vivo V20 Pro is identical to its sibling V20. And that’s a good thing as the Vivo V20 was hailed for its light-weight and slimness. Upfront is a 6.44 inches AMOLED Display with Full HD resolution along with HDR10 certification. So, cheers to your binge watch sessions. During our binge watch sessions, the Notch was noticeable and did annoy us which is not the case with other smartphones with Punch Hole notches; which are easier to ignore. The colours are vibrant and the panel is bright which offers a great viewing experience and it also excels at outdoor visibility with 408 PPI and 20:9 aspect ratio.

It has an in-display fingerprint sensor that is accurate but not particularly fast. With that, there is no 90hz refresh rate in this device which can be a deal-breaker for some users. The competition offers higher refresh rates – OnePlus Nord. Meanwhile, this 60Hz AMOLED display won’t disappoint you.It is possible to switch colours to professional and bright mode.

It sports a bigger notch on the front to accommodate dual selfie cameras instead of a water drop or punch hole notch which holds its merits and demerits as well. But due to the dual cameras, there is no headphone port whereas the Vivo V20 offers that. Vivo gave this statement that the removal of the 3.5mm audio jack was necessary to maintain the sleekness and to board a bigger sensor on the front camera.

Talking about physical appearance; Power Button (has a textured finish which differentiates it from volume rocker) and the volume rockers are located on the right and are easy to reach and the left side is bare. On the bottom, there is a USB Type C Port in the centre with a single speaker grille on the right; Stereo Speakers would have been a great addition. On the right side of the Charging Port; you get a Dual SIM Tray Slot and a noise cancellation mic. The dual-SIM tray is not Hybrid and doesn’t offer Memory Card expansion. On the top, it has a secondary microphone.

Flipping towards the back, this Glossy Sunset Melody colour with the tint of sky blue and pink looks beautiful when light strikes on it. The back panel has a matte finish with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 which ensures that there are no fingerprint smudges as well as offers great protection against scratches and accidental drops. The camera module resembles the same look as the V20 which has been inspired from the Vivo X50 Pro Camera Module.

The Vivo V20 Pro comes in two colours – The Sunset Melody colour and the Midnight Jazz colour. Surprisingly, the Sunset Melody colour is 7.49mm thick but the Midnight Jazz colour, it’s a tiny bit slimmer at 7.39mm. The device weighs just 170grams and is lightweight because the frames are made up of sturdy plastic. We recommend using it with a TPU Case for a better grip and drop protection. Overall, the Vivo V20 Pro 5G is slimmer and lighter than OnePlus Nord, making it easier to hold for longer durations. 

PERFORMANCE

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G
• 8GB LPDDR4x RAM and 128GB ROM
• Adreno 620 GPU

The ‘PRO’ title is justified as the V20 Pro 5G did not cut corners in terms of performance. It comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G Chipset coupled with 8GB LPDDR4x RAM and 128GB of Storage. If you are someone who wants to play games on a slim and powerful device; then you should opt for Vivo V20 Pro 5G over Vivo V20. The graphics are handled by ADRENO 620 GPU; we had no issues multitasking and jumping between multiple apps.

In the CPU throttling test, the CPU throttled to 94% in a time bracket of 15 minutes. For Gamers out there, we Tried Asphalt 9, Genshin Impact, and Call Of Duty Mobile. There were no hiccups or stutters during our testing in the gameplay.

Here are the Antutu Benchmark and GeekBench Scores:-

Software

• FunTouch OS 11 (Based on Android 11)

In terms of software experience, it shipped with Android 10 based FunTouch OS 11 out of the Box. On 5th Dec 2020, it received an Android 11 update as the company promises and delivered it in under week.The Vivo V20 Pro 5G runs the same software stack as the Vivo V20 does. But, on this one, there are no software crashes reported in our user experience which the consumers faced with Vivo V20 Android 11 Update (it is now fixed with an OTA update). Funtouch OS 11 has really improved from its previous iterations. 

As always, Vivo has done a great job in adding some cool nifty features like Always-On-Display, Custom Animations for Fingerprint, Facial Recognition, Charging and Screen On/Off, Ultra Game Mode, Smart Split, and Smart Motion, Face Beauty for Video Calls, etc.

In our review of the Vivo X50, we mentioned that global search that can be accessed by swiping down on the Home screen can’t be disabled. It continues to be the same on the V20 Pro too. We feel that Vivo should give users the option to disable this global search. The Theme store now has some free themes to access which is good but they are handful and mostly are still paid. Some bloatware apps still cannot be removed from the device but the overall experience of the UI feels very similar to Stock Android due to which now we can easily recommend it for its software too.

BATTERY

• 4000 mAh Battery
• 33Watt Fast Charging

The Vivo V20 Pro 5G packs a 4000mAh battery that supports 33 Watt Fast Charging and bundles a 33Watt Fast Charger in the box. The supplied charger can juice up the device from 0-100 in an hour or so. In our case, the screen on-time was 6-7 hours straight which includes Social Media, watching videos on Youtube and Netflix, voice calls, and playing games with moderate camera usage. If you are a moderate user, the battery will last long for a day quite easily.

CAMERA

• 64-megapixel (f/1.89) + 8-megapixel (f/2.2) + 2-megapixel (f/2.4) Rear Camera
• 44-megapixel (f/2.0) + 8-megapixel (f/2.28) Front Camera

The Vivo V20 Pro is equipped with an interesting set of cameras. On the rear, It houses 3 cameras; a 64MP Samsung Primary sensor, 8MP Ultrawide which doubles as a macro lens, and a 2MP Monochrome sensor which is only used in a graded B/W filter. It comes with several modes i.e; Portrait, Night, High-Resolution Photo, Panorama, Live Photos, Slo-Mo, Time-Lapse,  Professional mode, Double Exposure Photography, AR Stickers, etc.

Photos shot from the rear camera capture a bunch of details and increase the colours from the original which looks pleasant. Portrait shots offer excellent detail with proper edge detection and colours.If sometimes AI didn’t recognise the object properly in the portrait mode then you can adjust the aperture value of the photo in the gallery even after clicking that picture which is a nifty add-on and can save a lot of portrait shots which goes wrong due to this. The AI Scene Recognition works 9/10 accurately in my case and recognises the scenes very cleverly and if you’ve been shooting from the primary sensor; It’ll suggest you switch to Ultrawide/Macro Sensor according to the scenario. In Low Light Scenario; Night Mode works well in preserving details and conserving good exposure with both primary and ultrawide sensors. The Monochrome sensor is pretty useless; The Indoor samples hold a lot of grains and if you want to click B/W photos then I’ll recommend clicking it through the Primary Camera and then use the B/W filter in post-processing.

In the Front, the 44 MP Primary and 8MP Ultrawide lens do the job. It accomplishes with Eye Tracking Autofocus for the primary rear selfie camera for photos and videos as well. In this mode, the camera sets the focus on the eye of the human and tracks it accurately as the human moves which makes the human portraits sharp and generate depth in the background.

The colour scheme of photos is not too natural and inclined towards warm tones, but you’ll find them appealing. HDR and portrait modes also work well. The ultra-wide lens is useful for capturing extra scenes or capturing more people into selfies but as you zoom into the picture, the details are slightly poorer than the primary camera.

This results in the Vivo V20 Pro is a very capable device in terms of the camera department and can capture slightly better selfies with sharpness and a lot of interesting video shooting modes as compared to OnePlus Nord and Pixel 4A.

VIVO V20 PRO 5G UNBIASED VERDICT

The Vivo V20 Pro 5G is available for Rs.29,990 for 8GB RAM and 128GB ROM on both online and offline Stores in two colours; Sunset Melody and Midnight Jazz. We recommend Vivo V20 Pro 5G to anyone who needs a good set of cameras; and great selfies, lightweight, and gorgeous looks with a capable processor. Along with it, it offers a battery which lasts a long day. 

And the fact that Vivo has kept this device price very competitive and it clashes with its competitions like OnePlus Nord and Pixel 4A. The only reason where most people didn’t like Vivo devices was its Software which is now polished to deliver a clean experience. If you want a device; as powerful as the OnePlus Nord but with sleeker and lightweight factor along with a better front camera;Go for the Vivo V20 Pro.

Disclaimer: We tested the Vivo V20 Pro 5G smartphone (8GB/128GB) as our primary device on Jio 4G VoLTE network for more than a month. All our reviews are unbiased and are published without the brand getting to read it before you guys. We don’t change our reviews on pressure from brands and that’s the reason we are not sent review units from companies like Samsung, OnePlus, and a few more.