Vivo’s first major launch of 2019, the V15 Pro is a device that offers more than what its price justifies.
While a lot of Chinese companies launched their products in the Indian smartphone market in 2018, it was Vivo, in particular, that stood out with its head-turning designs and innovative hardware. For instance, the Vivo V9 was one the first Android devices to have a notch, then there was the Vivo Nex, which packed a motorised front-facing camera that popped up from the top of the phone. And now, in 2019, we have the Vivo V15 Pro – a new smartphone that has an excellent spec sheet, pop-up camera mechanism from Vivo Nex and a very competitive price of Rs 28,990. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. So, let’s look at the device.
Design
The V15 Pro comes with a notch-less, 6.4-inch OLED display, thanks to the pop-up selfie camera. And while the working mechanism is the same as the Nex, the front camera of the V15 Pro has a better resolution at 32MP as compared to the 8MP camera of the Nex.
We’ll talk more about its performance later. At 185 grams, the V15 Pro is slightly lighter than the Vivo Nex that weighs 199 grams, however, it still is heavier than its competition.
The V15 Pro has a triple camera setup at the back – a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP wide-angle camera and a 5MP depth sensor. The three rear cameras are stacked vertically in a slot that also houses the motorised front camera, causing a big, noticeable camera bump at the back.
A micro-stepping motor housed within the phone's body performs as advertised, fully elevating the camera in just 0.46 seconds. The company claims that the camera can be elevated 300,000 times without a glitch. The pop-up mechanism is sturdy and is unlikely to break. I tested it in various scenarios to check its durability, and I must add that it's not fragile or flimsy by any means. The eject mechanism is strong enough to push away a finger – believe me, I checked.
The 6.39-inch screen has a 19.5:9 Super AMOLED display that looks seamless from end to end. The earpiece, light and proximity sensors are all concealed from the view, resulting in a staggering screen-to-body ratio of 91.64 per cent.
Performance
The 2340×1080, full-HD+ Super AMOLED screen produces genuine colours with great contrast ratios. You can also adjust the colour temperature to different settings – cool, warm and default. There’s also an always-on display to view notifications for missed calls and messages.
The Vivo V15 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor clubbed with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The performance of the smartphone is fast and doesn’t fall short on any aspect. From everyday tasks and high-graphics gaming to scrolling through Instagram and opening multiple tabs at the same time, the V15 Pro offers a fluid experience.
The phone’s hardware is great – both on paper and in real-world usage. But you can’t miss the fact that its software is inspired by the iOS. The smartphone runs Funtouch OS 9, based on Android 9.0. From the display of icons to the quick settings menu – which, by the way, appears with a swipe of a finger from the bottom – it has the look and feel of an iPhone.
The in-display fingerprint scanner is placed slightly above the chin of the device and offers four different animations to choose from for registering your fingerprint. The fifth-generation sensor works faster than before and is more convenient as compared to a physical scanner at the back. You can also use the face unlock feature, which sees the front camera pop up and down quickly.
The 3,700mAh battery is more than enough for a day’s use. There’s also a low power mode that reduces the screen brightness and disables the always-on display. There’s a dual-engine fast charger included in the box, but the port used is micro-USB.
The Vivo V15 Pro's main camera features a 1/2.25-inch sensor, a large f/1.8 aperture and 48 million physical pixels, which of which measures 0.8μm. The V15 Pro uses the four-in-one pixel technology to combine four adjacent pixels into a single 1.6μm large pixel, resulting in great shots in both daylight and in night. The 48MP primary camera shoots 12MP photos by default. Images captured in HDR mode look more natural, without overexposing the bright and dark areas.
It’s also the mode that we recommend for great results. The 5MP depth camera clearly identifies the subject and background and creates great bokeh images with sharp edges.
White balance is good in most of the portrait shots and skin tones look natural.
The ultrawide angle lens is ideal for squeezing more of landscapes or people in the frame. The camera app includes modes such as night, wide-angle camera, AI beauty and AI body shaping, which offers various options for customising waistline, shoulders, legs, heads and more.
The camera is also capable of recognising plants, beach, blue sky, etc. to help you compose better shots. In terms of videos, the camera can capture 720p, 1080p and 4K videos. While a minute of recording a 4K video will eat up to approximately 320MB of space, it really has great quality. The 32MP front camera captures clean images with decent details but beautifies them to look overly bright.
Conclusion
With 6GB of RAM and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor, the V15 Pro is a solid smartphone at its price that not only performs fast but also capture great images.
Price Rs 28,990
Pros
Price, wide-angle lens, vibrant display
Cons
Micro-USB charging
