Vivo V15 Pro review: Mid-range phone with top-notch camera, high-tech security features

Popular Chinese smartphone-maker Vivo is slowly and steadily making strides not only in a highly competitive Indian market but also credited for pushing the envelope in terms of innovation in mobile technology on the global stage. What has impressed me about Vivo is that it is fearlessly experimenting in developing unique design language with full view display and yet not compromising in any critical aspects of the phone.

For instance, the X20 Plus UD is the world's first tier-1 branded smartphone to boast in-screen display and the company followed up with Vivo Nex with the pop-up camera. Now, the company is bringing the aforementioned two high-tech features to a mid-range phone Vivo V15 Pro.

Does the new Vivo V15 Pro live up to the hype? Well, read my experience.

Design, display and build quality:

Full points to the Vivo V15 Pro for its eye-catching design both the front and the back. Thanks to the pop-up camera and in-screen fingerprint, there is no physical button or space for obstruction on the display. The v15 Pro offers true full-view screen and you will have a good time watching videos on the big 6.4-inch full HD+ (1080 x 2340p) screen with 403 ppi (pixels per inch) display density and 19.5:9 aspect ratio. With Vivo IPL 2019 going on, you can catch the live action and have immersive experience while commuting home from the office or vice versa.

On the back, it flaunts glossy shell and my blue review model looks lovely and even offer a premium feel when held in the hand. Though the back cover is made of polycarbonate, it is very sturdy and adds to that, the company is offering a transparent TPU case with opaque and hard edges around the corner. I have buttery fingers and dropped a few times during the review period, surprisingly, the protection cover case saved the phone every time and happy to say that I sent the review unit without any scratch or damage to the device back to the company.

On the left side, Vivo V15 Pro comes with special dedicated custom Voice Assistant button, which you can assign either Google Assistant or Vivo's own Jovi assistant.

However, I am a bit sceptical about the one aspect –the retractable front camera, as it leaves the phone vulnerable to damage if the consumer drops the phone top-end facing the ground while taking a selfie.

Performance:

My Vivo V15 Pro device came with Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 octa-core with sumptuous 6GB RAM and 128GB storage backed by Android Pie OS. It showed no sign of lagging while app loading, video recording, switching between multiple apps, internet browsing and gaming.

I have to confess that I am not a big fan of mobile gaming, but the sake of testing, I did play popular Asphalt 9 series and PUBG Mobile, Vivo V15 Pro functioned buttery smooth.

Camera:

Vivo V15 Pro houses feature-rich photography hardware. It comes with a triple camera module (48MP + 8MP +5MP) on the back. During the testing phase, it captured some gorgeous photos in natural sunny conditions, portrait with Bokeh effect and also in the night, as well. Even the wide-angle images too, are impressive. Check out the photo slide show below.

On the front, it houses a pop-up 32MP camera and what impressed me is that opens up so fast and most importantly recognised my face most of the time to unlock the screen.

As far as the selfie picture quality is concerned, it is really good, better than most rival brands in the under Rs 40,000 price-bracket.

Battery:

It comes packed with a 3,700mAh battery. Though it is a bit low compared to rival brands, Vivo V15 Pro was able to consistently be able to offer full-day under mixed usage. I usually start off the day's phone usage during my commute from home to the office via the bus, usually browse Google news and jump to social media channels. Once in the office, I only use it messaging and voice calls for the next 8-9 hours and for testing sake, I do play mobile games after my lunch, but not for more than 20 minutes. Then, while returning to my home, which usually takes 90 minutes, I do try to catch up with the latest movie trailers and funny videos on YouTube. Having said that I personally make it a point not to indulge on binge-watching videos more than 40 minutes and retire to a short nap in the bus.

So, by now, you probably get the gist of my routine with the phone. And, for more than a week, as said before the V15 Pro consistently lasted a day with up to 20-25 per cent juice left before I could plug the phone for charging and retire to the bed.

But, the V15 Pro or any phone for that matter, will lose battery life faster if you continuously play games for more than an hour or do video recording.

Final thoughts:

Having used the V15 Pro for close to two weeks and I have to say, Vivo has done a pretty good job. The new phone really lives to the hype. I love the design, the fast pop-up camera, on-screen fingerprint sensor is quick and accurately recognised my finger impression most of the time, decent performance and a full day's battery. Vivo V15 Pro ticks all the major points, which we look while purchasing an upper mid-range phone.

Vivo V15 Pro is available on Amazon India and also on official Vivo store for Rs 28,990 with special offers.

Pros:

• Gorgeous design language and also the protective TPU cover case doesn't take away the charm
• Reliable in-screen fingerprint sensor and quick too
• Top-notch pop-up camera
• A full day's battery life

Cons:

• Though the pop-up camera is fast and takes fantastic photos, the retractable mechanism makes the phone vulnerable to damage if the consumer drops the phone top-end facing the ground while taking a selfie
• The skinned interface of FunTouch OS makes a tad difficult to traverse through settings to enable/disable the feature. But this aspect is subjective, as some people who already owned a Vivo phone, will not find it difficult. On the other hand, users new to Vivo phone will take a few days more to fully understand the complex intricacies of the mobile interface