vivo Y20s [G] Review: The New Budget Gaming Benchmark?

The vivo Y20s [G] is just the latest entry on vivo’s long-running budget-friendly Y series. In this refresh, the brand is focusing their efforts on the ever-growing mobile gaming industry. Will the vivo Y20g [G] give the performance needed for wallet-conscious players to shine?

vivo Y20s [G]

Unboxing

The Y20s [G] is encased in a traditional Blue and White box from vivo. Inside are the essentials like documentation, SIM pin ejector, silicone case, 18W Fast Charging adaptor, and a MicroUSB cable. Not too much out of the ordinary, but we would have preferred if the smartphone was bundled with a pair of basic earphones.

Screen and Audio

Greeting users immediately on the vivo Y20s [G] is a 6.51-inch 1600 x 720 display. Its bezels and notch for the front-facing camera are small thus reducing any kind of wasted space on the front portion of the smartphone. The bottom chin, however, is a bit larger than average but not enough to detract from its design.

The screen might be sub-FullHD+ but it can provide a satisfactory amount of detail while playing or watching videos. Meanwhile, colors are fairly acceptable as well thanks to the IPS panel. Coloration is well-defined with gradient colors still identifiable from one another. Its saturation is pretty on the spot but may be a bit harsh at times.

Brightness produced by the smartphone’s display is strong allowing for easy usage in even the sunniest of places. In our experience, we can get away with around 60% of brightness to reduce any kind of reflection produced by the screen from light sources.

Those who want to adjust the display can only do so from a color temperature slider. It’s set in the middle by default but can be finely tuned to be colder or warmer depending on your preference.

At the base are the grilles for its single bottom-firing speaker. It can deliver a loud listening experience but it does lose out on the finger details of songs. Sounds at the higher ranges can also sound a bit tinny at times. Fortunately, the bass is punchy but not too overpowering.

Design and Aesthetics

The Obsidian Black variant of the vivo Y20s [G] sports a deep black color on all sides with a shiny and reflective finish. It is pretty and astound to look at when freshly opened as with most black-themed smartphones, but dust and fingerprints will quickly invade the rear if a case is not used.

The sides of the smartphone are not as uniform as others. The rear portion is slightly larger than the display arrangement, which leads to a double curvature. It’s surprisingly comfortable and sturdy to hold despite its uneven nature.

Located at the left-hand side is its SIM tray, which can house two 4G SIM cards as well as a MicroSD card at the same time. The volume rocker and power button are placed at the right-hand side of the device. All of its buttons come with decent resistance and tactility. The power button does have an integrated fingerprint scanner that offers a quick response time when unlocking the smartphone.

At the bottom are its 3.5mm audio jack, the aforementioned speaker grill, and MicroUSB port. Frankly, we would have preferred if the Y20s [G] came with a USB Type-C port for easier use as most smartphones – even budget-friendly ones – are beginning to adopt the USB standard.

Software

The Y20s [G] is running Android 11 with vivo’s FunTouch 11 OS. Not much has changed from its predecessor as its sticks to running a nearly-stock Android experience. Pulling down from the top reveals its command center while swiping up from the bottom pulls the app drawer.

It does come with several enhancements like Jovi Home, which compresses information, suggestions, and news into one page. You can also get additional apps via the V-Appstore, which is vivo’s own app store.

Those who like a bit of software control while playing may appreciate Game Assistant which optimizes the smartphone for gaming and the Game Side bar that can easily toggle smartphone options by swiping from the left-hand side. Those who like to share clips can also easily record the screen via the command center.

Cameras

The vivo Y20s [G] keeps its simple in the camera department. Choices on the camera app are straightforward. Options include the usual Auto, Portrait, Video, Pro, and Manual modes. Those who like creative options may also be happy that the device includes Live Photo, Slow Motion, and Time-Lapse.

The camera department is kept fairly simple by vivo. At the rear are three cameras: a 13MP f/2.2 main camera, and two 2MP f/2.4 lenses for macro and depth sensing. Its primary camera is fairly decent when it comes to taking snaps in good lighting. Colors are vivid and details are apparent.

HDR and low-light performance, however, leave something to be desired. Lighting on HDR photos are okay but details and colors are lackluster. Pictures taken while dark or in low-light settings have noise that take away from their overall quality.

Its 2MP f/2.4 macro lens is easily one of the weaker aspects of the vivo Y20s [G]. While it does take incredibly close photos, the colors are weak and unappealing. The low mega pixel count doesn’t help since some details – which are supposed to be the stronger aspects of a macro lens – are a bit smudged.

The 8MP f/1.8 front camera fairs a bit better than the macro lens allowing for decent selfies to be taken. There is, however, a significant amount of beautification when left on auto. We suggest turning down the beautification option if you want to look as natural as possible for your selfies.

Performance and Benchmarks

Powering the vivo Y20s [G] is a MediaTek Helio G80 complemented by 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. While its chipset isn’t particularly high-end, it is nothing to scoff at either. We experienced minimal slowdown of any kind while regularly using the device. Running a few synthetic benchmarks put the smartphone in a decent score at around the 200,000 mark in AnTuTu.

Running a few popular games today proved that the Y20s [G] does have the gaming chops needed for competitive gaming. A fairly steady 60fps can be achieved and only dips to the 40fps range in the most intense moments. Triple A games like Genshin Impact, however, do need for other graphical settings to be turned down to get a smoother framerate.

Battery Life

Keeping the smartphone running through the day is a 5,000mAh. While it loses out on sheer battery capacity compared to other devices in the market, the vivo Y20s [G] can last just 2 hours shy of a complete day while running PCMark 2.0 Work 2.0 battery test.

While under normal daily usage consisting of work, watching videos, and occasional gaming, the smartphone lasted more than a day of use with plenty more of juice to carry over the next day.

Charging supports 18W Fast Charging through the device’s MicroUSB port at the bottom. While it is not particularly fast given today’s charging standards, it is able to fill the 5,000mAh battery from 0% to 100% in an hour and a half.

Conclusion

With an asking price of PhP 9,999 in the Philippines, the vivo Y20s [G] does have its strong points like decent gaming performance and long battery life. There a couple of downsides in its focus in gaming like a sub-FullHD screen and the questionable use of a MicroUSB port.

Despite a few drawbacks, the vivo Y20s [G] does deliver a decent showing most of the time. If you would like to get a great gaming experience with an incredibly long battery life without breaking the bank, you can rest easy that the Y20s [G] would be a great fit for you.