Vivo has been stepping it up lately. They’ve been making their phones look amazing, which is why the V15 Pro is so mesmerizing. It’s a device we’re fond of - let’s talk about it below.
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You’re probably looking for a device that’s well built. The Vivo V15 Pro doesn’t disappoint. Its plastic rear feels good in your hands.
The Pro is good-looking, to say the least. It comes in 3 different colours, our favourite is the Ruby Red. It has a gorgeous black-to-red gradient. There’s a crisscross pattern too – we’re total fans.
The Vivo device is big. How does 6.39 inches sound to you? Although large, it fits comfortably in your hands.
If you take a look at its back, you’ll notice that its plastic rear is curved towards the sides. Not only does this make it look more expensive, but makes it more comfortable too.
Overall, its buttons are easy to reach.
Even though you’re purchasing a costly device, we’re disappointed to say, you’re stuck with an archaic micro-USB port. In other news, you’ll be getting a MicroSD slot as well as a headphone jack.
More expensive phones these days have optical fingerprint sensors. The V15 Pro is no exception. Unfortunately, its fingerprint sensor isn’t that snappy. It comes with face-unlock too. Thankfully, it’s smooth like butter.
The V15 Pro has a Super AMOLED display. This means colours are extremely vivid. It has a great screen-to-body ratio too. It’s almost 85%.
If you’re a notch hater, you’ll love to hear that the phone doesn’t come with one.
The V15 Pro’s display is pin-sharp. It’s an impressive 1080 x 2340-pixels.
Let’s not forget that its large size helps it offer a more immersive viewing experience.
We think the Vivo device has great viewing angles. Its screen is also very adjustable. There is a range of temperatures and tones to play with.
The V15 Pro has a 3700 mAh battery. Although small, it can last a solid day.
Its charging capabilities are impressive. The phone’s 18 W fast charger takes it from 0-80% in about an hour. The Pro utilizes Vivo’s Dual Engine Fast Charging technology to achieve such a feat.
You might be wondering if it comes with wireless charging. Unfortunately, no. It doesn’t offer reverse charging either.
Out of the box, you’re met with Android 9.
While an OS update is usually something to be excited about, the Android 10 update for this device seems to have had mixed results, with several users complaining of issues such as battery drain, network drops and lag.
Are you a fan of Snapdragon chips? The Pro comes with the Snapdragon 675. As the phone isn’t cheap, we aren’t sure why a Snapdragon 700 series chip wasn’t placed instead.
The 675 is decent, sailing through everyday tasks. Gaming is fine. However, when things get extensive, the device heats up rapidly. Extensive gaming takes a toll on its battery too.
If it came with the 710 processor as it should’ve, the more powerful Adreno 616 would’ve avoided such things.
The phone’s memory variants are appreciated. You can choose from 128 GBs of space along with 6 or 8 GBs of RAM. In case you forgot, you can expand its storage.
The V15 Pro runs Funtouch 9. The Funtouch OS is as far from Stock Android as possible. It’s heavily skinned but has great customizability. The OS has a major bloatware problem, though.
Remember how we said it doesn’t have a notch? That’s because its front camera is motorized. The front sensor is a massive 32 MP shooter. It performs well, the colours are very vibrant. If you’re someone who wants more colour accurate shots, this might be a problem.
There’s a ton of filters to play with. Its beauty mode is neat, but we found it brightening our skin. If you’re a darker-skinned Lankan, you’ll look washed out.
Rear camera-wise, there’s a triple set-up. The primary sensor is a 48 MP wide lens, the secondary sensor is an 8 MP ultrawide lens and the tertiary sensor is a 5 MP depth sensor.
Like any good phone, the V15 Pro takes bright, detailed shots. Similar to its front camera, colours aren’t the most accurate. They’re enhanced. This is more than true with HDR on.
Of course, there is a range of camera modes at your disposal.
In terms of low-light shots, they’re not bad at all. There’s just some softening in play.
So, what did you think about the V15 Pro? Let’s compare with a couple of alternatives below.
The A71 has a much better display. To begin with, it has a Super AMOLED Plus screen. It’s sharper and brighter than a regular Super AMOLED.
The phone is 6.7 inches. Its size lets it offer a more immersive viewing experience.
It doesn’t come with a notch either, but there’s a punch hole instead. As it has a punch-hole, you’d think its screen-to-body ratio wouldn’t be as good as the V15 Pro’s. It’s quite the opposite. The A71 has an 87.2% ratio.
The phone’s display is sharper too. It rocks a 1080 x 2400-pixel screen.
You don’t have to worry about the Android 10 update, the A71 comes with it out of the box. You’re also getting a superior chip. Its Snapdragon 730eats the V15 Pro’s 675 processor up.
Just so you know, there’s a variant with the Snapdragon 730G inside of it. It’s the 730 but more fit for gaming.
If you’re wondering about storage variants, know that both devices offer the same storage capacities. You can get the A71 with 128 GBs of space along with 6 or 8 GBs of RAM. Yes, you can expand its storage.
Battery-wise, the Samsung phone mops its Vivo counterpart up. Its battery is 800 mAhs larger. It easily lasts over 2 days.
Being a mid-ranger on the higher-end of the price spectrum, it’s no surprise that you get fast charging. The A71’s 25 W fast charger takes it from 0-100% in a little over an hour.
Triple cameras are great, but quad set-ups are even better. The device has 4 sensors on its rear. Its primary sensor is a 64 MP wide lens, its secondary sensor is a 12 MP ultrawide lens, its tertiary sensor is a 5 MP macro lens, and its final sensor is a 5 MP depth sensor.
What about its selfie camera? You get to play with a 32 MP shooter.
Like the V15 Pro, the Nova 3 comes with a good-looking back. You probably know that Huawei’s a huge fan of gradients.
The phone rocks a glass body and aluminum frame, so it feels premium in your hands.
If size matters, know that the Nova 3 is about the same size as the Pro.
It comes with a huge notch. That being said, both phones have about the same screen-to-body ratios.
What else is the same? Their screen resolutions too.
The Nova device isn’t as vibrant as its counterpart. You’re met with an IPS LCD screen.
The Nova comes with the Kirin 970 inside of it. It outdoes the Snapdragon 675 chip any day of the week.
Out of the box, you’re met with Android 8.1. We got some bad news – the phone won’t be getting the Android 10 update.
Compared to the V15 Pro, there’s a wider range of memory variants. You can choose from 64 and 128 GBs of space along with 4 or 6 GBs of RAM. The device’s memory can be expanded.
Its battery is a bit larger than the Pro. Although true, it lasts much longer. You can expect it to last more than a day.
The two phones come with 18 W fast chargers. However, they don’t take the same time to charge. The Nova 3 goes from 0-100% in a little over 2 hours.
If it’s any consolation, know that you’ll be using a USB-C instead of micro USB to charge.
There isn’t a triple set-up on its back. There’s a dual-camera instead. Its primary sensor is a 64 MP wide lens, while its secondary sensor is another wide lens, but it’s 24 MPs. Front camera wise, a dual set-up is present again. You’re met with a 24 MP wide lens and a 2 MP depth sensor.
The S9 used to cost an arm and a leg. It used to be the most expensive phone on our list, which is why it feels the most premium. It comes with a Gorilla Glass 5 back, making it very sturdy.
The phone has a Super AMOLED display. And as it’s an HDR10 device, it can produce more colour. The V15 Pro doesn’t offer this luxury.
It has a much sharper screen too. The S9 rocks a 1440 x 2960-pixel display.
So far so good, but know that its screen-to-body ratio is a bit smaller. That being said, the sides of its screen are curved, so your viewing experience is way more immersive.
Before we move on, we have to talk about how small it is. Know that you’re purchasing a 5.8-inch device.
Being a Samsung phone, it’s not surprising to see an Exynos chip inside it. It out beats the Snapdragon 675 easily.
Like the A71, you can get the S9 with another chip variant. You can find it with the Snapdragon 845 instead.
What version of Android does it run? Android 8. Of course, the phone can be upgraded to Android 10.
It offers a wider range of memory variants. You can choose from 64, 128 and 256 gigs of space. RAM wise, you only get 4 gigs, which is kind of disappointing.
Although 256 GB is a lot of space, you’ll be glad to hear that you can expand it.
You won’t be glad to hear how small its battery is. A 3000 mAh unit is by your side. If you’re wondering how long it lasts, barely expect a day.
There’s a 15 W fast charger that comes out of the box. It takes the phone around 2 hours to go from 0-100%.
Unlike the V15 Pro, the S9 supports wireless charging.
There’s a single camera on its rear. It’s a 12 MP wide lens. Even though there’s a double set-up on its front, its primary sensor is an 8 MP wide lens, while its 2 MP secondary sensor is used for its face-unlock.
The Vivo V15 Pro is stunning, to say the least, but does it perform as good as it looks? Not really. As you saw from its alternatives, they ate it up. This is especially true for the A71.
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