In addition to the spectacular appearance, the new vivo V23 features good performance and an excellent self-portrait camera. It has a thin body, moderate weight and a large screen – the usual combination of performance with an emphasis on design and own style.
Equipment
In the box with a smartphone, you can find a powerful charger, a silicone case, a cable, a wired headset, an adapter for connecting headphones from USB-C to a 3.5 mm mini-jack, a clip for a SIM card – quite rich by modern minimalist standards.
Appearance
When you constantly use the latest devices, then all the same, the sensations are blurred. At least because there are a lot of devices with the same size and similar design. Bang – and here comes the vivo V23 with its chopped forms. You don’t have to look far for a source of inspiration: an analogy with the iPhone 12 or 13 is immediately traced.
However, if the latest generation iPhones do not have such sharp edges, then the vivo V23 has sharp cuts on the aluminum frame. It is not noticeable in the photographs, but when you hold the phones in your hands, the difference is felt. However, if you use a cover, then this feature will disappear by itself.
When I used vivo V21, I remember it with a thin body. It would seem that thinner is not necessary, but vivo V23 was made even a little thinner. A difference of one tenth of a millimeter is hard to feel, but can be estimated by comparing the specifications of the phones on paper.
The block with cameras is located on a large plate: three holes are located one above the other. It turned out minimalistic and neat, except that the modules stick out above the surface, but this is such a general trend.
The smartphone impressed with modulations: the back part changes color depending on the light. Green, blue, turquoise, orange – under the sun, the colors change, and indoors, the smartphone turns golden again.
The photochromic coating on the frosted glass is also practical: there are no prints or marks left on the case. This is a feature of the “Solar Spectrum” color. If you want something more traditional, then there is Stardust with an emphasis on the usual black color without such creativity.
The under-display optical fingerprint scanner is responsible for data security. The sensor does not always work quickly, but I did not notice any errors. Unless it does not respond to wet fingers, but this is a common feature of such scanners. When you take the phone in your hand, the scanner area is highlighted – you can’t go wrong when to press. As usual, you can also use face unlock, but the method is less reliable, albeit faster.
Screen
Regarding the vivo V21, which was replaced by the V23, the display has not changed significantly. There is still AMOLED with a 6.44-inch diagonal and a resolution of 1080 × 2400 pixels. The screen is bright and contrasting, you can manually change the color temperature and choose between three ready-made profiles.
With the backlight turned on, a “monobrow” is noticeable: now there is a dual front camera in front. A display with thin bezels, except that the margin at the bottom could have been made smaller.
You can always use a refresh rate of 90 Hz or choose to automatically switch between 60 and 90 Hz in the settings to save power.
If desired, you can use the Always On mode, then in standby mode you can see the date and time, as well as notifications of missed calls and messages.
Filling
The eight-core MediaTek Dimensity 920, made using a 6nm process technology, is a decent performance option for a mid-range smartphone. You can play at medium or even high graphics settings, while the phone does not overheat, and performance does not drop under load both in games and in stress tests.
I had the most powerful vivo V23 with 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage. There is also a simpler version: there is 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory. The smartphone does not support memory cards, although in the previous generation there was a compartment for microSD. But there is a practical function: you can programmatically increase the amount of RAM by 4 GB due to the internal drive.
Regarding communications, everything is worthy: fresh Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, two physical SIM cards and 5G support.
Interface
The smartphone received Android 12, but it is not recognizable under Funtouch OS, vivo’s own shell. First of all, I advise you to go into the settings and experiment with turning off the animation, otherwise you use the phone with the feeling that it is somehow not fast enough. But when the effects are minimized, the situation changes for the better: vivo v23 works noticeably faster. And I would also like to feel a more pleasant vibration feedback – after all, the phone is not from the budget.
You can customize anything: icons, themes, wallpapers, animation effects of various functions from unlocking to charging, change the backlight for notifications. In general, it is curious whether someone changes these parameters or never gets to the bowels of the phone menu at all.
Camera
The smartphone has five cameras: two on the front and three on the back. The main module is 64 megapixels (f / 1.9) and without optical stabilization – strange, because vivo V21 had it. Next comes the 8MP wide-angle and 2MP macro.
By default, frames from the main camera are obtained at a resolution of 16 megapixels, if necessary, then manually switch to the maximum size mode. In other cases, the software combines four pixels into one to improve image quality. The lack of optical stabilization is compensated by the night mode, which works for all three cameras.
There is no separate module for shooting portraits, but with the help of software, the phone carefully separates the figure of a person from the background, blurring the area behind him. During shooting, you can activate a double zoom, the software is also responsible for this. Detailing in this case suffers, but something can be immortalized as a keepsake.
A 2-megapixel macro module is ridiculous, but someone probably finds a point in it, since smartphones with such cameras continue to be released.
In principle, the main camera shoots small objects near so much better that the macro camera can not be started at all.
The main front camera is 50 MP and is complemented by an 8 MP wide-angle one. Moreover, the camera is also supplemented with a double flash to the delight of lovers of self-portraits. By choosing between two colors of LEDs, you can change the hue in pictures or videos without using software processing. There is no optical stabilization here either, but the quality is excellent.
The quality of video recording in 4K and 30 frames per second is good, electronic stabilization well compensates for hand shake to the best of its ability. If you switch to 1080p recording, we already get a frequency of 60 frames per second and the ability to run the “Super Stabilization” mode for a very smooth picture. In general, everything would be fine with the video, but the microphone failed: the sound is mediocre.
Audio
There are no stereo speakers in the smartphone, which is strange for a device of this class. But the only speaker is loud, albeit not very high quality. It plays loudly, there is enough power both for a ringtone and for accompanying while watching movies or games.
A bonus from the manufacturer is complete headphones that are connected not to USB-C, but to a 3.5 mm jack. Therefore, an adapter was added to the kit.
Autonomy
The declared capacity of the vivo V23 battery is 4200 mAh, the battery is fully charged in an hour from the supplied 44 W power adapter. Half the battery is charged in twenty-odd minutes, also very quickly. I note that the smartphone is charged only by wire, wireless charging is not provided.
With vigorous use of the device, we get a day of work with six hours of active screen, a good result. For an hour of playing, the smartphone sits down by 18-20%, and if you watch a video, it takes about 3-5% per hour.
Results
vivo V23 with 8/128 GB of memory is sold for $550. Moreover, at the start of sales, the smartphone cost ten thousand rubles cheaper, but due to the current economic situation, the course was revised.
Given the abundance of competitors, ranging from not the freshest, but still relevant Galaxy S20 FE for 43,990 rubles or Xiaomi 11T for $320, it is unlikely that a queue will line up for the V23.
Opinion
The vivo V23 will not impress with its surprisingly low price, but it captivates with its individuality. The original idea with changing body colors deserves respect – at least it’s spectacular and beautiful. Unfortunately, the sound let us down: a mono speaker is somehow not modern.
The smartphone has a good camera and excellent selfie capabilities. In addition, he has a decent margin of performance by the standards of the middle class, and the batteries are stable enough for a day to the extent of active use.
If the price is revised, well, or competitors massively rise in price, then the vivo V23 has a chance. However, in the current situation, when it costs much more than analogues, you can pay attention to it only out of curiosity.
Specifications vivo V23
- OS: Android 12, Funtouch OS 12.
- Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 920.
- Memory: 12 GB RAM, 256 GB built-in UFS 2.2, microSD slot.
- Screen: 6.44″, 2400 × 1080, AMOLED, 90Hz, HDR10+.
- Cameras: dual front 50 MP (f / 2.0), wide-angle 8 MP (f / 2.28), autofocus; main 64 MP (f / 1.89), wide-angle 8 MP (f / 2.2), macro 2 MP (f / 2.4).
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.2, USB Type-C, NFC.
- Battery: 4200 mAh, fast charging 44 W.
- Dimensions: 157.2 × 72.42 × 7.39 mm.
- Weight: 179 g.
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