Packing a large 6,000mAh battery for under PhP 8,000, the vivo Y28 is seemingly built to last you throughout the day. Having this much battery capacity might be good for most, but is it the only thing that the smartphone is going for?

vivo Y28

Design and Aesthetics

The vivo Y28 comes in two color options: Gleaming Orange and Agate Green. We got the latter for this review. The Agate Green variant sticks to a minimalist design and comes off with a slightly dark blue-green color under most conditions.

At 199g, the smartphone is pretty light despite having a large battery. It sides are straight with curved edges that feel great in the hand. The rear is matte and doesn’t feel slippery, but it does attract fingerprint sweat that might show if you don’t have a case.

All its keys are located at the right-hand side with the power button having an integrated fingerprint scanner. Its SIM card tray can be popped off from the left side and is a Hybrid slot so you can either fit 2 nano SIM cards or a nano SIM card with a microSD card.

At the bottom is its USB-C port that supports 44W Flash Charge, a 3.5mm audio jack, and grilles for its bottom-firing speaker and microphones.

Despite being considered as an entry-level device, the Y28 comes with rated IP64 for dust and water resistance. You shouldn’t encounter any problems with dust or accidental splashes. We wouldn’t recommend dunking in water though.

Screen and Audio

vivo packs a 6.68-inch 1608 x 720 display on the Y28. Due to its size and resolution, the pixel density isn’t the best, which means that some details look dull. This isn’t a particularly egregious issue if you look at your smartphone a reasonable distance, but it will be noticeable up close. The 90Hz refresh rate is a nice addition making browsing and gaming a lot smoother compared to a regular 60Hz screen.

Colors look decent even if they are not particularly accurate though this shouldn’t be a problem for most people. Brightness is pretty good and can brute force itself against the sun, which is helpful if you are outside a lot.

Audio from the Y28 is serviceable. It comes out from its bottom-firing speaker and can be quite loud. If that’s not enough, you can use 300% mode by pressing the volume up button even more. This does increase the volume, but overall quality is compromised as it sounds a bit tinny for our liking.

vivo Y28 Review – Cameras

The optic system on the vivo Y28 is pretty simple given that it’s an entry-level smartphone. You get a 50MP f/1.8 main camera and a 2MP f/2.4 secondary at the back, and an 8MP f/2.05 front-facing shooter. Its rear lenses are backed by vivo’s Dynamic Light that not only acts as an LED Flash, but can be used for notifications and shutter countdowns.

Image quality is pretty much what you would expect from an entry-level device. You can get some good shots during sunlight, but they lack saturation leading them to be on the dull side. It’s even worse at low-light conditions as it capture snaps with grain. You should be able to get better photos at night if you have a steady hand if you mess around with lower shutter speeds.

vivo Y28 Review – Benchmarks

The vivo Y28 runs on the MediaTek Helio G85 platform with 4G connectivity complemented by 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. While it’s not the most powerful chipset in this price category, general performance is smooth with very few hiccups outside of heavy multitasking workloads.

AnTuTu places the Y28 at around the 272,000 mark – pretty decent for a budget-oriented device. Gaming performance is okay and it can run mainstream games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang at a steady pace. More triple A titles such as Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail will be fairly choppy even at their lowest settings.

vivo Y28 Review – Battery Life

A 6,000mAh battery powers the vivo Y28 – larger than the average 5,000mAh unit that we usually find in smartphones. This makes battery life the bread and butter of the device. We were able to easily get more than a day and a half of usage with the smartphone consisting of work, replying to emails, watching YouTube, and occasional bout of gaming.

PCMark Work 3.0 Battery test puts the smartphone at about 22 hours of straight usage with medium brightness and volume – an impressive score to get for any smartphone.

As mentioned, vivo equips it with 44W Flash Charge through its USB-C port. Due to its speed, even its large battery can be topped up from 0% to 100% an hour and 20 minutes.

vivo Y28 Review – Conclusion

Overall, the vivo Y28 is a decent enough entry-level device. It has one of the best battery lives in the category plus its design throws in IP64 dust and water resistance, both of which are handy if you’re outside the whole day.

Performance is average and is on par with most smartphones in its range. Cameras don’t work well out-of-the-box and you will need to fidget around with the settings if you want truly get decent shorts. Its pixel density shouldn’t be a problem to most people but HD+ is lacking for a 6.68-inch screen, though you do get 90Hz refresh rate is pretty nice.

If you don’t mind its cameras and screen, then the vivo Y28 is one of the better picks in the entry-level market for a long-lasting smartphone thanks to its big battery and fast charging. If you’re constantly outside and need a workhorse, the Y28 might be worth a look.

Price and Availability

The vivo Y28 starts at PhP 7,999 in the Philippines. It’s available in 8GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB variants priced at PhP 7,999 and PhP 9,999, respectively. You can now get it via vivo’s official website, Shopee, and Lazada stores.