Vivo’s V25 Pro 5G is a functional improvement to the stylish V23 Pro.
The Vivo V23 Pro 5G was a mid-range smartphone with an emphasis only on design. Apart from being very thin and light, it also offered the series’ first color-changing back panel as a distinctive selling factor. It also came with it a significant price increase, which was much greater than the Vivo V20 Pro 5G that it followed. The Vivo V23 Pro 5G has mid-range hardware but was priced closer to smartphones with considerably superior features at Rs. 38,990.
Vivo has made some slight tweaks to the look of the V25 Pro, but has incorporated some much-needed upgrades in terms of battery life and cameras. So, are these upgrades worth the price, and does the Vivo V25 Pro succeed in giving something unique?
Price of the Vivo V25 Pro 5G in India
The Vivo V25 Pro 5G comes in two models. The basic model has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and costs Rs. 35,999, while the second variant has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage and costs Rs. 39,999. I got the 12GB RAM model in the color-changing Sailing Blue coating. The phone is also available in Pure Black, a matte-black coating that does not alter color.
Design of the Vivo V25 Pro 5G
The Vivo V25 Pro 5G looks similar to its predecessor, the V23 Pro 5G. The new phone, however, is not as thin and is a little fat at 8.62mm in thickness. The chrome-finished mid-frame is comprised of polycarbonate with a glossy texture that quickly collects fingerprints. It does, however, give some traction to the usually slippery glass rear panel. The sides of the mid-frame are curved to match the curved edge display, and the back panel flows smoothly into the mid-frame, giving the phone a very premium feel.
The color-changing back panel of last year’s model certainly drew notice, but the concept did not take off. The only other phone I evaluated that has this capability was the Realme 9 Pro+ 5G, but I didn’t like the color options. The color-changing trick is difficult to see on the Vivo V25 Pro 5G, mostly because the transition is more gradual, moving from a brighter shade of blue to a darker one. Because it isn’t as noticeable as the gold to green transition on the Vivo V23 Pro 5G, most users could overlook the functionality.
Aside from party tricks, the V25 Pro 5G lacks an IP certification and wireless charging. The back camera module maintains the V23 Pro’s metal frame, but has been rebuilt with a glass insert to accommodate the significantly modified imaging technology. The 6.56-inch full-HD+ pOLED display is surrounded by a thin and consistent bezel that bends on the left and right edges, giving the phone a luxury appearance.
Specifications and software for the Vivo V25 Pro 5G
The Dimensity 1300 SoC from MediaTek powers the Vivo V25 Pro 5G. The processor is often featured in mid-range smartphones, like the OnePlus Nord 2T 5G and the Oppo Reno 8 5G. The phone has LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 3.1 storage, however no storage expansion is available. Support for multiple 5G bands, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and the normal satellite navigation systems are among the communication protocols.
The phone is powered by a 4,830mAh battery and has an 80W charger. A Type-C to Type-A USB cord and a clear TPU case are also included in the package. The phone does not support NFC and has a charging speed of 66W.
Vivo’s Funtouch OS 12, which is based on Android 12, powers the Vivo V25 Pro 5G. Everything feels very Vivo, including the improved customizing possibilities provided by the running system. Vivo has implemented a new color palette picker that allows users to choose between a simple preset color and a multi-color theme depending on the wallpaper. While the UI color of the Settings app and the keyboard changed, the color of the widgets did not change and required a system restart to take effect.
Given the smartphone’s high price, I was shocked to find so many pre-installed applications. Fortunately, the most of these could be removed. Spammy notifications are also an issue. While I received alerts from the usual suspects, it was surprising to get so many notifications (news, promotions, etc.) from the native browser app, despite the fact that I had not used it since unpacking the smartphone.
I believe Vivo should improve the software experience, especially considering the price of this smartphone. An update to Android 13 should presumably put an end to these vexing alerts.
Performance of the Vivo V25 Pro 5G
The software performance of the Vivo V25 Pro 5G was excellent. When multitasking, I saw no latency or stuttering, and everything ran buttery-smooth owing to the 120Hz refresh rate display. The pOLED display is bright outside, yet the default ‘Standard’ screen color option generates highly saturated colors. The curves on the edges of the display are not too pronounced, so they are not bothersome while watching movies or playing games in full screen mode.
Vivo has finally removed the dated-looking display notch that was present on last year’s V23 Pro 5G. The selfie camera now has a hole-punch chamber that does not interfere with the viewing experience. There are no stereo speakers, and at high levels, the single bottom-firing speaker sounds tinny and distorted. The display on the phone is HDR10+ certified, and the material displayed as anticipated.
In terms of benchmarks, the Vivo V25 Pro fared similarly to the OnePlus Nord 2T 5G but fell short of handsets like as the Xiaomi 11T Pro 5G and the iQoo Neo 6, both of which have superior hardware. The phone received a score of 7,04,304 in AnTuTu and 678 and 2,770 in Geekbench’s single and multi-score tests, respectively.
The gaming performance of the Vivo V25 Pro 5G was fairly decent. Most games played nicely with the default settings and did not overheat the phone. I played Call of Duty: Mobile, and the phone ran the game flawlessly at the ‘Very High’ frame rate and graphical settings. The phone’s frame rate priority option makes games look smoother, but it comes at the expense of resolution, which is reduced to maintain that consistent frame rate.
When it comes to battery life, the Vivo V25 Pro 5G outperformed the smaller V23 Pro 5G. It was my main complaint about the prior model, and I am pleased to report that the V25 Pro performs considerably better, easily surviving a whole day with intensive usage. Apart from work-related texting and surfing through social media applications, this included an hour of gaming, some shooting, and a couple of hours of streaming. The phone also lasted 19 hours and 32 minutes in our normal video loop test.
Despite included an 80W charger in the package, Vivo restricts charging to 66W, which was sufficient to charge the phone from empty to 100 percent in an hour.
Cameras for the Vivo V25 Pro 5G
There are three back cameras on the Vivo V25 Pro 5G. A 64-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS), an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 2-megapixel fixed-focus macro camera are included. A 32-megapixel front-facing camera with autofocus handles selfies.
Photos in daylight were crisp yet with considerable detail and dramatic range. Colors were oversaturated, almost as if a filter had been put to them. The photos taken with the ultra-wide-angle camera were soft, with a lot of barrel distortion and purple fringing. These were similarly lacking in depth.
Portrait images shot with the back camera outside seemed crisp, but soft when recorded inside. Selfies seemed somewhat overexposed, while selfie portraits had blown-out backgrounds in brighter shooting conditions. The macro camera produced oversharpened images at best, and it was difficult to concentrate on an item.
Photos taken in auto mode in low-light situations have acceptable detail in settings with excellent lighting. The Night mode produced cleaner photos with less noise and a somewhat higher dynamic range, but it also seemed softer. Overall, low-light shots were inconsistent, and this varied greatly from scene to scene depending on the available light. The photos taken with the ultra-wide-angle camera lacked detail and had blotchy textures.
The V25 Pro 5G shot videos of medium quality but with a strong dynamic range in daytime. Simultaneously, recorded movies, like pictures, seemed oversaturated. The 1080p footage had a substantially trimmed frame, which translated to improved stability. Videos shot in 4K 30fps had the greatest quality with a bigger frame, but had a dreamy look. The phone can also record HDR video at different resolutions, but only at 30 frames per second. The results were mediocre, with some flashing and noise added. The low-light footage was acceptable at best, and the Night video mode made no difference in poorly lit areas.
Verdict
Why is Vivo still charging a premium for the V25 Pro 5G is the big question. If it’s for features like the color-changing rear panel or the curved display, I’m not sure how many people are prepared to pay a premium for them. I believe Vivo should reconsider its price and approach for its V-series, which was quite tempting until the V20 Pro. Surprisingly, OnePlus managed to make superior hardware choices and achieve consistent camera performance with the Nord 2T 5G, which starts at Rs. 28,999. In fact, apart from the curved edge-display that makes the Vivo V25 Pro 5G stand out, there’s nothing really noteworthy. There’s also the competition.
In terms of raw performance, smartphones like the Xiaomi 11T Pro 5G (Review) and the iQoo Neo 6 5G (Review) outperform the V25 Pro. There’s also the Realme 9 Pro+ 5G (Review) (from Rs. 24,999), which provides outstanding value, and the Nothing Phone 1 (Review) (from Rs. 32,999), which has premium features like wireless charging and a certified IP52 certification.
Despite some significant upgrades over its predecessor, the Vivo V25 Pro 5G is difficult to recommend in this sector given the outstanding alternatives.
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pic by – Vivo