VIVO V20: Designed to make people turn away from pricier devices

Competition is intense in the mid-range market but the market is also big and so are the opportunities,” remarked Nipun Marya, director of brand strategy at vivo India, in a brief chat with this reviewer sometime back. With a strong focus on camera photography and general usability, this handset maker has firmly established itself as a leading smartphone brand. “Innovation has been our key differentiator,” said Marya. “We are at the forefront of innovation such as pop-up selfie camera, in-display fingerprint sensor, etc.”

The all-new V20 is yet another effort from the company to provide a strong, well-rounded smartphone. I have been using this ultra-sleek phone (it measures only 7.38mm) for over a fortnight now and trust me, it impresses with its performance. It looks like the V20 is purely designed to make people turn away from pricier flagship devices by including the latest technologies and functionalities. It comes equipped with a 6.44-inch AMOLED FHD+ Halo Full View display. Thanks to its large capacity 4,000mAh (TYP) battery, you’ll have ample juice to keep up with all day-to-day tasks. There is a strong focus on camera photography and general usability. Let’s find out more about this mid-ranger.

The V20 comes in three colour options— Midnight Jazz, Sunset Melody and Moonlight Sonata, priced at Rs 24,990 for the 8+128GB and Rs 27,990 for the 8+256GB variant. Our trial unit was the Sunset Melody (8+256GB), a beautiful device that has very good cameras for a mid-range phone. Its 44MP Eye Autofocus front camera allows users to unlock a new world of selfie capabilities. The front camera features a unique Eye Autofocus (AF) advanced algorithm to track and focus on the eye of the subject irrespective of movement. Thanks to the unique Eye-Detection algorithm, the front camera of the V20 keeps the subject in sharp focus by automatically locking onto your eyes, giving pretty good clarity to your videos and stills.

The V20 front camera is also packed with a host of additional features—Art Portrait videos, Slo-Mo Selfie Video, 4K Selfie Video, and Super Night Selfie 2.0 with Aura Screen light—that enhance selfie quality and empower users to record crystal clear selfie videos and images. I must highlight its Dual View Video feature. Basically, you can double your creative prowess by recording with the front and rear camera at the same time. There are also two modes to view your creations: Picture-in-Picture and Dual View. Pairing options include: front + rear main camera; front camera + rear wide-angle camera; or main rear camera + wide-angle rear camera.

The V20 is equipped with a triple rear camera setup that houses a 64MP primary camera, coupled with a versatile 8MP triple-purpose lens delivering Super Wide-Angle, Super macro and Bokeh. The 2MP Mono lens provides fairly good contrast and sharpness to all your images. The primary rear camera— with a staggering 64MP—reveals vibrant details that remain clear even after zooming. The V20’s macro lens lets you take extreme close shots, letting you get as close as 2.5cm from the subject. The same lens also can provide a 120-degree wide angle for a wider field of view making sure nothing is left out of frame.

V20 is the first phone in its category to launch with the latest Android 11 out of the box. Its 8nm octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G Mobile Platform ensures an impressive performance, with low energy consumption. Thanks to the 8GB RAM, users can run multiple apps efficiently at the same time, while the 128 and 256GB of ROM options (expandable till 1TB) provide ample storage for your games, files, photos and videos.

My takeaways: The V20 is a well-rounded mid-range phone that takes good photos, offers a good screen and has excellent battery life; it runs nearly two full days with normal use. The phone is sturdily built, looks fresh and performs like a quality product and hence finds a strong recommendation.

SPECIFICATIONS
Display: 6.44 inch AMOLED <FHD+ Halo Full View display
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G
Operating system: Android 11 (Funtouch OS 11)
Memory & storage: 8GB RAM, 128/256GB ROM
Camera: 64MP + 8MP + 2MP (rear), 44MP front camera
Battery: 4000mAh (TYP) battery, 33W FlashCharge
Estimated street price: Rs 24,990 (8+128GB), Rs 27,990 (8+256GB)