Vivo V5 – with 20 MP selfie camera – My first impressions

Vivo, one of the fastest growing mobile brand in India, has launched the Vivo V5 in India. Vivo has a very strong retail presence and they have managed to setup a very strong Infrastructure within a short span of 2 years. The newly launched V5 is a aimed at the selfie crowd. It has a whooping 20 MP sensor for its front camera along with a single LED flash. The single LED flash is what Vivo calls “Moonlight flash”. The V5 is is a mobile that is centered around photography and music. It has a dedicated DAC chip for music. Here are the key specifications of the Vivo V5.

• Powered by MediaTek MT6750 processor
• 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of Internal Storage
• Expandable storage by upto 128 GB
• 4G VoLTE support
• 5.5 inch HD screen
• 13 MP primary camera
• 20 MP front camera with f/2.0 lens and LED flash
• 3000 mAh battery

In the Box, you would find

• Vivo V5, with tempered glass pre-applied
• 2A Charger
• micro USB to USB cable
• Soft TPU silicone back case
• Headset
• Manual and Warranty details

We have compiled a few guides for Vivo V5. Head to this page to see the full list of guides.

My First impressions

The Vivo V5 has got a very familiar design. The metal body and the 2.5D curved glass gives it a premium look. It has solid construction and is very comfortable to hold. The matte finish on the back gives it a good grip. The design is not new to us, but it is a tried and tested design. Vivo has played it safe and it wants to make an impression.

The mobile comes with a tempered glass applied on the screen already. It also has a silicone back case as well. From day one, the mobile is protected from accidental damages. I like this move by Vivo V5 and trust me, this will make a huge difference to the buyers.

The display is 5.5 inch, but it is still a 720 HD screen. I would have loved to see a full HD display on the V5. But nevertheless, it has good color reproduction, brightness and contrast. It is an IPS LCD screen and has good direct sunlight visibility. Though it is a HD screen, the text is crisp and the images are sharp. I would need to spend a little more time with it to assess its graphical display capability on games.

The mobile is powered by an octa-core MediaTek processor. It has 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB internal storage. I have been playing with this mobile for the past 48 hours and I haven’t installed any games or resource intensive applications. I am yet to take this for a full test drive, before coming to a conclusion on its performance. But the UI was smooth and had a lag free experience, out of the box. Hopefully it will remain the same, after loading the memory to the brim.

Camera is the highlight of this device. The 20 MP front facing camera with moonlight LED selfie is the highest pixel count on a front facing camera, in a device of this price range. The camera sensor hardware is really good, but the software need a little tweaking. The exposure is sometimes a bit inconsistent. The exposure lock keeps jumping and it does not give the same exposure values every-time. This is a very minor software problem and Vivo will fix it with an update. When I used third party camera applications, I got some stunning selfies. Vivo has nailed the sweet spot with this selfie camera. The single LED moonlight flash works like a charm. It does not fill your face with harsh light, but it give a nice “fill light” to eliminate shadows under harsh sunlight. Under low light as well, the LED ensures that you get a perfect selfie.

The rear camera is 13 MP and it offers to take some nice shots. The colors are balanced, the saturation levels are perfect and I like the overall output. Check out the sample photos on our Facebook page.

The mobile has a finger print sensor on the front and it is blazing fast. It is conveniently placed on the front and it it always on. It wakes the screen from both wake and lock screens. I asked my twitter friends about their preference about fingerprint sensor placement and the majority preferred it on the front.

The Vivo V5 is powered by a 3000 mah battery. I am yet to put the mobile to my usual rounds of battery, performance and camera tests. I will soon be posting a detailed review of this mobile. On my initial impression, I am definitely impressed by the mobile. I like the mobile for its powerful front camera and premium design quality. It is priced at Rs 17980. The mobile will be available across all retail stores, starting November 26th. That gives me enough time to spend with the mobile and come back to you with a detailed review.