Vivo V15 Pro is the company’s most expensive V series smartphone yet, not making a negative introduction but we’re actually impressed with our initial experience. Once a power contender in the mid-range segment seems that Vivo is now venturing into a more premium price point with better offerings.
Design
The V15 Pro has a very beautiful gradient body with micro-finished lines to give it a glass-like finish. It’s not slippery to the touch and just enough for an average person to hold, but perhaps a bit challenging for small handed people.
The overall finish is just right for its price point, but we do wish they switch to a glass body as its a “Pro” for a reason. While the triple camera set up at the back is protruding, it helps the overall body not to get scratched when laying flat.
With their 32MP Pop-up camera now hidden, it allows for the AMOLED display to shine out without any notched. Great for content viewing and overall navigation and even playing is enjoyable. No more annoying menus are blocked such as menu in Mobile Legends, Instagram Stories, and even simple menu in Google Chrome.
Sides are curved for a smoother touch overall, plus the weight is pretty much welcomed as its lighter than most midrange smartphones we used before.
The Smart Camera also retracts when it detects sudden falls to protect it from possible damage. A nice touch for Vivo as a mechanism such as this is given careful thought.
Performance
The Snapdragon 675 along with the 8GB RAM lets the Vivo V15 Pro run smoothly as expected. All UI runs smooth, the transition from apps are great and even games run to the highest settings with ease.
Mobile Legends is, of course, smooth like butter, while games like PUBG are also very enjoyable. Moreover, the overall performance encounters very minimal lag, mostly only when loading heavy games or applications, overall in UI such as popping chat heads when using intensive apps.
User Interface
The V15 Pro might be using the latest Android Pie 9.0, but we see it lagging behind in user-friendly features. Even the simple keyboard is still using Vivo’s own keyboard with a very unfriendly layout when using in the landscape.
We do like the revamped quick-menu that you need to slide up as compared to the drop-down menu style. While this is still an old-apple style, the minimalist approach is a welcome feature but acquired my taste perhaps.
Multimedia
Content viewing is great with its smooth processor, navigation is fluid once you get used to the UI. Colors are bouncy, sharp and have good outdoor visibility.
Fair warning to gamers though that plays AFK or leaving their devices on for a long period such as Ragnarok Online, the AMOLED screen might cause a burn-in mark if it gets too hot.
This is a frequent problem to AMOLED devices and the V15 Pro is no exemption. So we suggest to always keep the brightness low to avoid this from happening.
While there is a bottom firing speaker that is quite loud but lacks clarity in our taste. It would have been nice if Vivo could have produced a stereo speaker for this device, especially with a full screen can now cover the bottom speaker easily since you need to avoid touching the screen.
Gaming Space
A feature included in the V15 Pro is the multi-turbo with options to prioritize the games over notifications, calls, and even an “ESports Mode” to prioritize touch for the game, system speed, and even smart temperature.
While we think that some features aren’t necessary, but welcomed. Some notifications such as Messenger Call and even chat heads can’t really be blocked so do be warned if you’re using it frequently.
Camera
Overall the camera shots of the V15 Pro is above decent, just make sure you have stable hands when using the night feature or even the ultra-wide angle mode.
Colors are bouncy and details are decent, though night shots get to be noisy if there are too many elements going on. But overall, you’ll get the hand of using the V15 Pro’s interface soon enough to avoid these small mistakes.
Selfies with AI are not overwashed and looks just a person with a makeup-no-makeup look. We actually liked the fair sharpness in the background without going overboard in the personalization.
One funny and amusing feature we liked with the V15 Pro is the AI Body, it allows you to modify the body in terms of shape, slenderness and even make someone taller.
Here you can see a picture of Adam of Noypigeeks with and without the AI Body feature, it’s a noble thing to have but something obvious if the settings are cranked too high.
Security
Vivo surely perfected the in-display fingerprint scanner technology as the V15 Pro’s scanner is the best one for sub 30k. Surely its a lot better than the clunky Samsung A50’s in-display scanner and even much faster than their first generation scanner.
While there is still the option to use the face unlock, opening the mechanism over and over can take a toll on the device. So we advise you to stick to the in-display scanner if possible.
Battery
Inside the V15 Pro is a 3,700mAh battery which is quite acceptable but can still increase. Overall with the power efficiency of the processor, AMOLED display and software optimization can lead you to a full day of charge easily. It’s just a matter of using it properly around 4 PM onwards if you’re staying up late or have the luxury to charge.
The V15 Pro comes with a 9V / 2A (18W) charger included which they call a dual-engine charger. Perhaps it’s only a fancy way to call the Qualcomm Quick C0arge 3.0. In our test, the unit can fully charge in 1 hour and 30 minutes with no activity and around 2 hours while playing games. Seems that the V15 Pro is temperature sensitive to activate the rapid charging. Especially with the hot summer weather we have lately, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Yes, it’s still Micro USB for its price point, while others like the Huawei P30 Lite and even the Samsung A50, A70 moved on to USB Type-C. But we are honestly not bothered as long as there is a rapid charging feature included in the package.
Summary
The Vivo V15 Pro enters a new price category at Php23,999, but it’s backed up with up-premium specifications such as the Snapdragon 675 processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB Internal storage, In-display scanner, Pop-Up Camera, Triple Camera Setup and even an AMOLED display.
Pros
- Impressive triple camera setup with an intuitive and feature-packed interface.
- Worthy performance of Snapdragon 675 for its price
- Great AMOLED display with an in-display scanner that is now accurate
Cons
- FunTouch UI is still not friendly as compared to competitor UI
- Plastic Body for its price point
- Jovi Button, fortunately, can be changed to Google Assistant but placement is easy to tap
- Single firing speaker for its price
The V15 Pro has a lot of competition especially for 3-6k price difference, but the V15 Pro has a lot of fighting power especially with its triple camera package.
Just in case your budget is not that enough, you can also consider the smaller brother V15 with a downgraded MediaTek Helio P70 and just the removed in-display fingerprint scanner + AMOLED for Php17,999.
