Vivo V25 Pro Review: A style-focused camera phone

Vivo loves to experiment with its smartphones, especially with its V-Series. It has played with several tech gimmicks – from dual selfie lenses, and pop-up cameras to even its hybrid solution of dual pop-up selfie cameras – there’s always something special going on in Vivo’s V-series. Every release has something new to offer but this time, with the new V25 Pro, it took the bold decision to offer a 32MP single Selfie Camera stepping down from the 50 MP led dual-selfie cameras by its ancestor, the V23 Pro. The other changes are minor compared to its previous avatar, but with a Rs. 3000 lower starting price than Vivo V23 Pro, it makes for a mid-range smartphone that has a better chipset complemented with a large battery.

While taking a U-turn in its own best offerings of cameras, the Vivo V25 Pro still impresses with the camera performance. But does it make an overall deal to consider? Keep reading to explore.

Vivo V25 Pro Design

The rear of the Vivo V25 Pro does magic with its color shade — it relies highly on UV lights! It is pure fun as long as the phone is under the sunlight – it changes color just like a ‘chameleon’.

However, the trick remains active only with its Sailing Blue color. In the absence of UV lights, it looks minimalist with a large camera module. But thanks to its curved edges, sleek design, and matte finish at the back, it makes it comfortable to hold. Smudges and fingerprint stains are definitely not an issue to worry about. Plus, its built quality seems good enough, imparting a confidence that it can handle accidental drops!

Vivo V25 Pro Display

No complaints here! With a 6.56-inch AMOLED display, V25 Pro offers a rich viewing experience; the screen is bright, colors are healthy and maintains contrast nicely. It is the thin bezels and curved display which enhance the viewing angles. The display is good for all sorts of tasks – from daily social media browsing to binge watching shows. The maximum refresh rate of 120Hz is another baby step from the previous 90Hz display; it keeps the transitions and animations smooth. And its in-fingerprint sensor is quick and reliable to unlock the device.

Vivo V25 Pro Performance

The Vivo V25 Pro uses the Mediatek Dimensity 1300 chipset which is a mild step up from the Dimensity 1200 used in the Vivo V23 Pro. In daily use, the phone doesn’t get tired out of long usage or heavy tasks. I ran graphic demanding games such as Call of Duty: Mobile and Asphalt 9 at maxed settings for an hour, and it handled them pretty well. No stutters or no lags, although minor heating towards the camera module shows up after a long gaming session, nothing to worry about, as it doesn’t last its impact on the performance.

But its FunTouch OS 12 is not fun at all! It runs on Android 12 but that clumsy OS skin just makes the experience sour. It offers animations, and customization features to personalize your experience, still, it seems not enough to have the same kind of impact as Oppo’s ColorOS. Wallpapers are limited and so does the option to remove some bloatware! As usual, Vivo ships some pre-installed applications such as Josh, Moj, and its Browser app (sad part, you can’t even uninstall it). And constant ads will fill the notification tray until you turn off those annoying notifications.

Despite having a strong performance, another weak link is the absence of stereo speakers at this price point. It packs a single speaker which is loud enough to enjoy music sessions or video calling but lacks clarity and bass. Sadly, wired earphone fans will miss the headphone jack too.

Vivo V25 Pro Cameras

Move over to the camera app of Vivo V25 Pro and here lies a package of versatile camera modes. Amongst all, V25 Pro shows its best results in low-light conditions (I mean almost dark!) Thanks to the 64 MP OIS primary camera, it helps to capture brighter and clearer pictures at night. But be ready for the pop-up colors along with that! Don’t expect the same from Portraits in the dark, which lacked clarity and so did the selfies.

In the daylight, V25 Pro’s primary camera takes brighter, high-in-contrast pictures with a minor saturation boost. Having said that, the overall performance with the main 64MP is impressive. Another winning shot here is the 10x magnification option, and it does a great job until 4X as long as you have an ample amount of light. The 8MP wide-angle lens is decent as well. Selfies with portrait mode look lively, clear, true to the skin tone and detect the edges sharply. Vivo delivers umpteen customizable and live editing options such as beautification mode, filters, bokeh flare effects, double exposure mode, long exposure to play with light and a lot more.

Check the camera samples here..

For video bloggers and enthusiasts, it has OIS support for videos too! It can record up to 4K videos in 30 and 60fps, and yes, besides those slo-mo and time-lapse modes, you get a Vlog Movie mode to make social-media-ready videos quickly, sans editing!

Vivo V25 Pro Battery

The Vivo V25 Pro packs a 4830mAh battery – better than before – during my experience, it lasted only a day with daily typical usage. With social media scrolling, texting, having a couple of calls, and listening to music, it usually asks for the charge at the end of the day. And while adding a little spice of gaming or video shooting, it will reach the single-digit battery level soon. With 66W FlashCharging support, it takes around 50-60 minutes to get a full refill from 1 percent of the battery.

Verdict

The Vivo V25 Pro is a typical camera smartphone that targets the shutterbugs along with a fun design. The main camera is here to rule the photography sessions – especially to overcome the dark light situations. Despite losing a front camera sensor, I haven’t faced any major quality drop in the daylight selfies. The finer Mediatek Dimensity 1300 chipset plays a great role in taking care of all basic as well as gaming needs. And that curved display is Vivo’s trump card here! A rare offering to find at this price. Still, there is always room for improvement.

The selfie camera could be better at night. I would have also liked to see a stereo speaker setup on the phone. The color-changing trick is fun to watch but it is kind of old-fashioned now, especially after the magic the transparent Nothing Phone (1) does with its Glyph Lights! Moreover, FunTouch OS 12 still has a long way to go to make the experience on par with modern Android skins.

Keeping the tough competition in mind, the Nothing Phone (1) is a better offering with a bold design, clean UI, decent cameras, wireless charging and overall performance in this range. Oppo’s Reno 8 with the same Dimensity 1300 chipset and more-or-less the same specs is another alternative at a much cheaper price. That’s not to say the V25 Pro is bad — if all you want is a good camera performance with an eye-catching design, a curved display experience, and fast performance, then the Vivo V25 Pro priced at Rs. 35,999 is a great recommendation.