Vivo Y66 – Review – The selfie sibling

The Vivo Y66 is a toned down version of the Vivo V5. V5 and Y66 have similar design and specification. They both run on the same processor, but the Y66 has only 3 GB of RAM and a 16 MP front camera module, compared to the 4 GB RAM and 20 MP selfie camera on V5. It is priced Rs 2000 lesser than the V5 and in this review, let us find if it would make sense to buy the Vivo Y66 over V5 for these subtle changes in specification.

In the Box

• Vivo Y66
• Sim ejector pin
• Wall charger
• USB to micro USB cable
• Soft TPU back case
• Quick guide
• Warranty card

Design

The Y66 is made of a plastic body which looks and feels like metal. The mobile has a solid construction like any other Vivo mobile. The design is uninspiring and it looks a lot like Y55L, V5 or to an extend some of the Asus phones and oppo mobiles. The power and volume buttons are on the right. The dual sim tray is on the left. The bottom has the usb port, speaker grills and a mic. The top has the 3.5 mm audio jack and a dedicated SD card slot.

The display is 5.5 inch and the bezels are thin. Above the display is the 16 MP camera with moonlight selfie flash. The proximity and ambient light sensors are also on the top, while the bottom has the navigation keys. The mobile does not have a fingerprint sensor. The back has the 13 MP camera with a single LED flash. The mobile is quite handy to hold and operate. The design is ergonomic and it feels quite comfortable in the hand. It does not have a unique design identity, and I think Vivo must come out of the comfort zone, get innovative with the design and create something new.

Display

The Y66 has a 720p display on a 5.5 inch screen. The brightness and contrast levels are good. The text is crisp and the colors are vivid but the white balance is a bit cold. Eye protection mode makes the display yellowish and it is good for reading, but not for media consumption. With what we have, the display does not excite, but it does the job.

Hardware and Performance

Y66 does not have impressive hardware specifications under the hood. The MediaTek 6750 processor with 3 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage specifcation is getting cliched now. But the mobile can push you through your daily task. I have loaded a bunch of apps on the mobile and it shows no signs of lag so far. The UI is fast, smooth and responsive. The hardware does not score high on the benchmark tests, but the UI is a light weight interface.

With respect to game play, the heavy games when pushed to max limits, starts dropping frames. Keeping the graphics at medium, ensures a smooth game play. It does not heat up easily even after 30 min of continuous game play. Considering that it is a mid-range mobile, the performance is satisfying.

Camera

The Y66 has a 13 MP primary camera it is a decent shooter. The images shot from it have the right amount of exposure, contrast and saturation. The images have a tint of pink shades in them. The camera struggles to focus at times, especially when the light is really high or low. Also under low light the images have a lot of noise and is not bright enough. The mobile can shoot videos at 1080p 30fps. Adjusting the exposure based on the scene brightness is really fast. The footage is smooth and pleasant to watch. But it lack OIS or EIS, which can be forgiven, given that it is an entry level mobile.

The front 16 MP camera with moonlight flash and can take decent selfies with good skin details and color tones. But again, as the light drops, the quality also drops. The expsoure values are also not perfect. It can give you good selfies sometimes and its performance is not consistant. It is an software issue, which Vivo has solved in the V5s mobile. I hope they will also solve it in Y66.

Check out the camera samples below

Music

Vivo Y66 promises high-quality audio like any of its other mobiles. The phone’s mono speaker has an average output quality. But when connected with a headphone, the sound delivered is decent. The included headphones are of very poor quality and I suggest investing in a better pair of headphones, for a better experience. The mids and lows are separated. There is not enough bass to give you that thump, but the voice clarity and treble is distinct and rich. Vivo has re-branded themselves as “Vivo: Camera and Sound”. True to the new brand identity, y66 has noteworthy sound clarity, considering the fact that this is a entry level mobile.

Software

Y66 runs on Android 6.0 with a proprietary shell Funtouch OS 2.6. I am not impressed about the visual design and text alignment of the Funtouch OS. The user experience and feature bouquet is good. It has a host of gesture controlled features. It supports one hand operation, dual screen, scrolling screenshot, screen recording and much more special features, that add to the user experience. The UI is also light weight. It demands less resource and it keep the memory free for other app. It is fast and responsive. I can overlook the lack of visual finesse for this reason.

Battery

It is powered by a 3000 mAh battery and does not support fast charging. It charges from 0 to 100% in about 2 hours. The UI does not have option to check battery usage. I ran the PC Mark battery test and the device lasted for 5 hours and 48 min from 95 to 10 %. That is impressive. On my regular usage, it lasts for more than a day and it has about 20-25% when I hit the bed.

Verdict

It is priced at Rs 14,990 and the best price you can get in the market is around Rs 13000. It has a rock solid construction but a boring design. The display is decent and the UI is fast, sensible and snappy. The Y66 is built on the popularity of V5 and it is suited for people who want a V5, but on a tight budget. They would go for the Y66. It is actually a little brother for V5. Again, this is a mobile for people who are comfortable on buying mobile in stores exclusively. If you can buy mobiles onlines, Redmi Note 4, Honor 6X and Moto G5 are a few mobiles that will fit the bill and offer a better smartphone experience. If you want to pick up a decent mobile from a brick and mortar store, then the Y66 is a decent choice for about Rs 13k.