The vivo V30 series introduced the ZEISS branding into the brand’s midrange offerings. The vivo V40 is also aiming to bring the same photography chops to the vivo V40, alongside a few additions to make the upgrade worthwhile.
| Chipset | Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 |
| Screen | 6.78-inch AMOLED, 2800 x 1260, 120Hz |
| RAM | 8GB, 12GB |
| OS | Android 14, FunTouch OS 14 |
| Rear Camera | 50MP f/1.88 OIS Main, 50MP f/2.0 Ultrawide |
| Front Camera | 50MP f/2.0 |
| Storage | 256GB, 512GB |
| Network | Dual-SIM, 5G |
| Connectivity | WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C |
| Battery | 5,500mAh, 80W FlashCharge |
| Others | In-Display Fingerprint Scanner, Smart Aura Light, IP68 and IP69 Dust and Water Resistance |
| Dimensions | 164.16 x 74.93 x 7.58mm |
| Weight | 190g |
| Colors | Lotus Purple, Ganges Blue, Titanium Gray |
The vivo V40 is packed a dark blue box as is tradition for the series. It comes bundled with a TPU case, an 80W Flash Charge adapter, a white USB-C to USB-C cable, a SIM ejector pin, and documentation.
vivo has always been proud of themselves with developing slim smartphones, and that doesn’t change on the vivo V40. At just 7.58mm, it’s one of the thinner smartphones in the Philippines. It’s relatively light for the amount of hardware it packs at just 190g.
The unit we have on review is the Titanium Gray colorway. It’s minimalist by design with a matte finish, but its appearance is a fingerprint magnet especially if you have sweaty fingers. At the back is a large camera housing that holds its lenses, light sensor, and its Aura Light module
All of its buttons are clustered at the right-hand side and offer decent tactility. Its USB-C port supports 80W FlashCharge. It does support dual SIM cards, but doesn’t come with a microSD card slot to expand its storage.
The V40 retains they same 6.78-inch 2800 x 1260 120Hz OLED display found on its predecessor. They have increased the local peak brightness to 4,500nits even though it’s roughly the same screen, which is helpful when viewing the display outside.
Colors look vibrant on the V40 even though it’s not accurate if you’re very particular about color reproduction. Its resolution is just right for a 6.78-inch screen to make everything look sharp. Of course, the blacks are deep as expected from an OLED display.
They have upgraded its audio system to a dual stereo speaker setup. There are two speakers now: its bottom-firing speaker and there’s also a speaker at the top of the display. Volume is decent and there is a bit of soundstage if you really listen for it. Vocals remain clear though bass is a bit lacking, but that’s to be expected for most smartphones.
vivo has focused more on the camera department with their past releases to take advantage of their partnership with ZEISS, and that doesn’t change with the V40. The smartphone packs 50MP ZEISS cameras: a 50MP f/1.88 OIS main, a 50MP f/2.0 ultrawide, and a 50MP f/2.0 front-facing camera.
Its performance is further backed by Aura Light and AI. Aura Light brings on an improved LED flash for darker scenarios and it can even match the temperature of the ambient light for a more natural look.
The V40 has plenty of AI features in its repertoire. The most helpful is AI Erase that lets you remove unwanted objects on the frame. You will need to be connected to the Internet to use it as it uses cloud processing.
While its main camera can be used for anything, it focuses more on portrait photography. Using portrait mode, it can simulate several focal lengths including 24mm, 35mm, and 50mm. This gives you a more flexible photography experience. You can also choose from different iconic ZEISS styles such as Biotar, Sonnar, and Planar to make your photos standout on social media.
Though you can get pretty good shots on the V40’s main camera, the portrait mode does have aggressive smoothing of the skin. Turning it down or using a more natural filter will make for a more beautiful portrait. Colors, on the other hand, look vibrant even if you are shooting in low-light.
Its ultrawide camera is decent as expected from a ZEISS-branded smartphone. Colors look great, but there is some softness at the edges. The higher pixel count brings in more details, but performance dips when it comes to low-light shooting environments.
Don’t expect any significant performance improvements on the vivo V40 as it still comes with the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset like that of the V30 5G. General use is smooth even when multitasking. Performance is better polished thanks to its 120Hz processor.
Benchmark scores are largely the same compared to its last generation counterpart. GeekBench still palces the smartphone at the 3,500 mark and at around 10,700 in PCMark Work 3.0.
Its battery does get a significant upsize at 5,500mAh – 500mAh more than your average smartphone. It should be able to last for more than a day with average use. Running PCMark Work 3.0’s battery test places the V40 puts it around 18 – 19 hours of straight use with medium brightness and volume.
As for charging, it supports 80W Flash Charge like the previous generation. It fills up its 5,500mAh tank in around an hour of charging.
The vivo V40 doesn’t do anything new by today’s standard, but instead refines the experience. The portrait mode offered by its ZEISS-powered imaging system is definitely the highlight. Portrait photos come out looking artistic especially if you use one of ZEISS’ iconic styles.
Its battery also another highlight. The addition of an extra 500mAh to the device extends the device’s longevity – a helpful feature if you’re outside for extended periods. The display and chipset are decent, but we’ve seen them before.
While there’s no real downsides to the V40, its performance and display are something we’ve seen before since vivo has already used them.
If you already have any of the vivo V30 series, then there’s nothing new for you here. Those upgrading for an older platform and want to focus on portrait photography, then the vivo V40 is worth a look.
The vivo V40 is priced at PhP 26,999 and PhP 29,999 for its 12GB/256GB and 12GB/512GB variants in the Philippines, respectively. You’ll be able to get it Lotus Purple, Ganges Blue, and Titanium Gray colorways.
You can now get the device through vivo’s official Shopee, Lazada, and website, as well as authorized retailers, concept stores, and kiosks nationwide.
