Vivo V5 Lite Review - A more simple mid-range phone | Hungry Geeks

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When Vivo started their own #Selfie lineup with the V5 series (V5 and V5 Plus), we expected already that a lite version will soon be released. True enough the lite is priced at Php9,990 which is a more affordable variant of the Php12,990 Vivo V5.

But what has changed and does it still take the Vivo #PerfectSelfie signature?

Vivo V5 Lite specs:

5.5-inch HD IPS display @ 1280 x 720 resolution, 267ppi
1.5GHz MediaTek MT6750 octa-core CPU
Mali-T860 GPU
3GB RAM
32GB storage expandable via microSD card
13MP f/2.2 rear camera w/ LED flash
16MP f/2.0 front camera w/ Selfie Softlight
Dual-SIM Hybrid (Micro + Nano / MicroSD)
3G, 4G LTE
WiFi g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, A-GPS
USB OTG via MicroSD Card
FunTouch OS 3.0 User Interface
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
3,000mAh non-removable battery
153.8 x 75.5 x 7.6 mm
155 g
Colors: Crown Gold, Rose Gold

Design

The V5 Lite takes the same design philosophy of the V5 series, soft round edges at the back with a flat glass on the front. No 2.5D glass here as it’s one of the ways to cut cost with the V5 Lite, the body is now made of a whole plastic back as well.

Despite the downgrade of materials, the paint finish of the V5 lite is cold to touch imitating a metal plate. But of course, you will hear and feel how light the V5 lite as compared to the standard V5.

But the HD resolution screen still delivers bright and decent details for a mid-range smartphone, ultimately colors are good too.

At the chin are the touch sensor buttons for the multi-tasking, home and back button. Unfortunately, it doesn’t illuminate…we really don’t get why a simple design could be so expensive for manufacturers.

No special tri-slot tray here, just the usual hybrid (Micro + Nano/MicroSD) slot for your Sim and storage. It would have been nice if a mid-range phone to have the tri-slot as this is the price range where most people are torn in half if they want two or just one phone.

Performance

The V5 Lite is using a lower 3GB RAM count and same MediaTek MT6750 processor as compared to the V5. This gives a slightly lower performance ratio but still acceptable for a sub-10k smartphone.

Both AnTuTu and PC Mark Benchmark 2.0 results to fair results, perhaps the only complaint to this is that the MediaTek MT6750 processor is a bit old now and can be easily outperformed within the next 6 months.

Camera

The Vivo V5 Lite is more an intuitive-based camera, geared more for the less-techy user. As with the V5, the camera performs the same with a bit of lag in the viewfinder.

The interface is straight front with the same offering like using an ahem “iPhone”. It has HDR, beautification, panorama and other settings you usually find in a mid-range phone.

The rear camera is good in decent lighting conditions, but having a hard time in dark conditions resulting to noisy photos and hard time focusing.

For selfies, the 16 Megapixel front camera shows detail as long as there is sufficient lighting (Good thing a front LED light is still present). The beautification software isn’t really that “Outrageous” even at maximum settings, it does minimal lag in the viewfinder which is ideally good.

Overall the camera of the V5 Lite is great for decent lighting conditions, it can do night shots but make sure its stable to get the best results.

User Interface

Vivo is using an interface called Vivo FunTouch OS, it also has its own ecosystem of apps like Vivo backup for your Vivo phone…Similar how Samsung and Apple have their own backup system.

FunTouch OS 3.0 revolves around the similarities of iOS 10.1 but with more flexibility, Vivo has a grag up quick access tools and a drop down notification page. At the same time, everything is also colorfully segmented with additional touches due to Android’s flexibility.

For instance you can insert your telco’s logo instead of the name at the notifications bar, or setup the network speed at the top bar for live updates. You can even limit your internet usage by deactivating individual apps for internet access, something a plain Android skin is harder to do.

Wireless AC

It might be a small matter but we love the Wireless AC 5Ghz band support of the V5 Lite, it’s something you won’t see on a sub-10k smartphone but we are glad to see this.

Transfers wirelessly are more stable and faster, plus you won’t mind the better signal management with a good router.

Battery life

PC Mark benchmarks clocks at 9 hours and 30 minutes for the V5 Lite, that’s 30 minutes more than the Vivo V5. Given the almost similar specs, it’s not a weird experience to see this.

Conclusion

More or less the Vivo V5 Lite is similar to its older brother V5 but with a plastic body, no fingerprint, and slightly decreased RAM. It performs well and has a complete accessory package such as screen protector and jelly case.

Due to the weak low-light camera performance and lack fingerprint scanner, the V5 Lite isn’t that attractive to techie users. But if you can settle without having a fingerprint scanner, then the V5 lite can be part of your nominees.

The V5 Lite goes for Php9,995 and it goes head to head with other mid-range smartphones such as the Lenovo K6 Note, ASUS ZenFone 3 Max, Huawei GR3 and more.