The first notched Android smartphone of the year is here. The Vivo V9 is now replacing the Vivo V7+ as the flagship of the company. We were fortunate enough to get a unit to test it for ourselves. Our time with the V9, however, is still bit short. So in lieu of a review, we’ll be giving an unboxing and first our first impressions of the latest smartphone of Vivo. Don’t fret though, a full review will be coming sometime soon.
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 |
| Screen | 6.3-inch IPS, notched 19:9 display, 2280 x 1080, 2.5D Glass |
| RAM | 4GB |
| OS | Android 8.1 Oreo with FunTouch 4.0 |
| Rear Camera | 16MP f/2.0 primary, 5MP secondary, LED Flash |
| Front Camera | 24MP f/2.0, screen flash |
| Storage | 64GB expandable via dedicated microSD slot |
| Network | Dual-SIM, 4G LTE |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, A-GPS, OTG, Fingerprint Scanner, Face Unlock, FM, USB 2.0 |
| Battery | 3,260mAh |
Vivo delivers a fairly complete accessories list with the V9. Inside the box is a silicone case that comes with a flap to protect the microUSB connector, a microUSB cable, a SIM tray ejector pin.
The largest departure from past Vivo V-series smartphones is the V9’s notched display, which follows the footsteps of the Apple iPhone X. The V9 has a notched IPS display with a resolution of 2280 x 1080.
There are many similarities in terms of design between the V7+ and the V9. Bezels are display’s bezels are kept to a minimum with navigation keys being integrated with the screen itself although there’s still a relatively sizeable bottom lip.
Moving up from the screen is the Vivo V9’s speaker grilles, light sensor, and its 24MP front-facing display. The front-facing camera has now been implemented with what Vivo calls AI Face Beauty, which works just like a certain competitor’s AI Beautification. This allows the V9 to personalize the beautification settings of the selfie depending on the face of the user. It can even detect the gender of the person to take a more natural-looking selfie. Like the V7 series before it, the Vivo V9 supports Face Unlock although from our experience its performance is a bit hit or miss. We’re going to have to test it for a longer amount of time to make an informed decision.
Located at the bottom of the Vivo V9 are its speaker and microphone grilles, a 3.5mm audio jack, as well as microUSB connection. It would have been nice if the Vivo V9 sported a Type-C connection instead of a microUSB especially at its price point.
At the left-hand side of the V9 is its Triple SIM slot tray that can house two SIM cards and a microSD card all at the same time. This is especially helpful if you want to use two SIM cards and still want to expand the 64GB internal storage of the smartphone. Moving over to the other side are the volume rocker and the power button.
The Vivo V9 retains the plastic rear from the V7 and V7+. The rear has a clean and minimalist design that’s only broken up by the fingerprint scanner above the Vivo logo, and dual rear cameras.
Speaking of dual rear cameras, the V9 comes with a 16MP primary camera and a 5MP secondary shooter with a dedicated LED flash. The 5MP secondary shooter helps with the portrait mode available within the camera app of the V9 to better take bokeh shots. Of course, features such as HDR, Ultra HD, Time-Lapse, slow motion, manual mode, and different kinds of filters comes standard in the camera app.
Inside the Vivo V9 is Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 paired with 4GB of RAM running on Android 8.1 Oreo with FunTouch OS 4.0. All of these are powered by a non-removable 3,260mAh battery. The V9 will come in Pearl Black and Gold color options at PhP 17,990.
This is it for our unboxing and first impressions of the Vivo V9. Stay tuned for our full review of Vivo’s latest smartphone soon.
