vivo has launched its latest vivo V-Series smartphone in India, the vivo V29e is the newest mid-range smartphone from the brand in the sub-₹25K budget. About the highlights, we can see its stunning 7.57 mm slim and curved design with color-changing glass back (Artistic Red variant), 50 MP AF selfie camera, 64 MP OIS camera, Snapdragon 695 5G octa-core SoC, 44W fast charging, and more. Here’s what we have to say about the smartphone in our vivo V29e review.
vivo V29e Specifications & Features
- Display & Design: 6.78-inch AMOLED display, 10-bit color depth (1.07B colors), Full HD+ resolution (2800 x 1260 pixels), 120 Hz refresh rate, 1,300 nits brightness, 2,160 Hz ultra-high frequency PWM dimming, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, HDR10+, glass back, 7.57 mm slim, 180.5 grams weight
- Operating System: FunTouch OS 13 interface, Android 13 operating system
- CPU: 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G octa-core SoC clocked up to 2.2 GHz
- GPU: Adreno 619 Graphics
- Memory: 8 GB RAM, +8 GB extended RAM feature
- Storage: 128 GB OR 256 GB UFS 2.2 internal storage, microSD card support
- Main Camera: Triple cameras (64 MP f/1.79 OIS primary + 8 MP f/2.2 ultra-wide), 1080p@60fps video recording, LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 50 MP f/2.45, autofocus, 1080p@30fps video recording
- Connectivity: USB Type-C, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (dual-band), Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, GPS, BEIDOU, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, NavIC
- Others: In-display fingerprint scanner (optical), Face Unlock, Stereo Speakers
- Cellular: 5G network, dual SIM, VoLTE support
- Battery & Charging: 5,000 mAh battery, 44W FlashCharge fast charging
- Colors: Artistic Red, Artistic Blue
- Price: ₹26,999 (8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage), ₹28,999 (8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage)
- Availability: 28th August 2023 (pre-order) i.e. today, 7th September 2023 (sale) on vivo.com/in, Flipkart, and offline stores
- Offers: Flat ₹2,500 instant discount with HDFC and SBI bank cards, ₹2,000 additional exchange bonus
Design, Display, & Build Quality
In terms of design, the vivo V29e looks promising, it’s light-weight (180.5 grams), it’s slim (7.57 mm) and curved, and feels highly premium due to its glass back. We liked the color variants, especially the Artistic Red which looks quite different. There are a total of two color variants – Artistic Red and Artistic Blue which you can see in the images below.
You can see its impressive 3D curve design and ergonomics which gives you a solid grip and it also offers a color-changing glass back (Artistic Red variant). The design appears to be premium with a matte finish surface. The vivo V29e is also slimmer than most smartphones in this segment, even just by looking at it.
The Artistic Red color has a photochromic technology that changes the colors from light to dark i.e. Red to Black in this case. Whenever you keep it under sunlight or come in any light exposure for a few seconds, you can see the color change effect. The area where the light is exposed turns dark and slowly recovers its original state.
The vivo V29e flaunts a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a 10-bit depth (1B colors), Full HD+ resolution (2400 x 1080 pixels), a 120 Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, and a 20:9 aspect ratio. The screen offers stunning quality, it’s bright, and crisp, and is also one of the great AMOLED displays in its segment. The AMOLED display has high brightness and a fast refresh rate (120 Hz) for extra smoothness.
Moving to the bottom of the phone, there’s a USB Type-C port, a microphone, and a loudspeaker (mono), and a 5G SIM tray that also holds a microSD card slot. No 3.5 mm audio jack for earphones/headphones is available due to its slim design, you have to use a Type-C to 3.5 mm converter. The top side has another microphone while the right side has volume keys and a power button.
Software, User Interface, & Features
The vivo V29e runs on the Android 13 operating system with vivo’s FunTouch OS 13 interface on top with an Android security patch dated 1st July 2023. We assume that the vivo V29e will receive at least 2 generations of Android OS upgrades and 3 years of Android security as per the vivo’s update track record.
The FunTouch OS 13 is currently the latest version of the vivo’s homegrown OS, we have seen it running on recent vivo smartphones as well as smartphones launched this year. About the performance, the UI feels smooth and light in weight, thanks to the 120 Hz refresh rate, fast processor, and optimized software.
The FunTouch OS 13 is much more improved compared to its predecessors and packs a bunch of customizations, personalizations, features, and perks. You can tweak the lockscreen, UI color, a series of dynamic effects, and always-on display, as well as use the gestures, ultra game mode, and several other stuff built-in. Aside from these, you get a host of camera features as well, gaming features in the Ultra Game mode, and Privacy and Security features.
Some pre-installed apps are found on the phone and they can be removed if not required. Apps that you get on the phone are Amazon, Facebook, Spotify, Moj, Josh, PhonePe, Flipkart, Netflix, ShareChat, SnapChat, TrueCaller, and some more. You might also encounter some app recommendations to install when tapping on the Hot Apps and Hot Games on the homescreen, as well as while installing from the Google Play Store.
Hardware, Performance, & Gaming
The vivo V29e is powered by the same fast midrange octa-core CPU we saw on the vivo T2 5G as well as a host of smartphones in the sub-₹20,000 budget. There’s a 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G octa-core SoC clocked at 2.2 GHz with Adreno 619 GPU for gaming and graphics-intensive tasks, 8 GB LPDDR4x RAM, and up to 256 GB UFS 2.2 storage.
The user gets to choose from either 128 GB UFS 2.2 storage or 256 GB UFS 2.2 storage with the same 8 GB LPDDR4x RAM option. The storage can be expanded via a microSD card while the RAM can be extended virtually up to 8 GB making a total of 16 GB via its Turbo Extended RAM 3.0 feature.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G is a midrange SoC manufactured in 6nm and consists of a total of eight cores (Kryo 660) clocked up to 2.2 GHz. There are two Kryo 660 cores for performance with 2.2 GHz clock speed whereas the rest of the six Kryo 660 cores are power-efficient cores clocked at 1.8 GHz.
The CPU can score as much as 4,00,000+ points in the AnTuTu and offers a decent performance in gaming. You can expect the performance to be highly suitable for daily use and good for gaming. The Adreno 619 GPU can play games smoothly with graphics set to Medium/High.
Cameras
On the camera’s front, the vivo V29e equips a dual camera setup with 64 MP f/1.79 as the primary camera and 8 MP f/2.2 as the ultra-wide-angle camera. The front side has a 50 MP autofocus selfie camera with f/2.45 aperture for selfie and video calling needs and it takes mind-boggling selfies. The main camera is aided by OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) which is a plus.
The camera app offers a bunch of modes and features that you can use – Portrait, Photo, Video, Micro Movie, Night, Live Photo, Double exposure, High Resolution, Pano, Live Photo, Slo-mo, Time-lapse, Pro, Documents, Dual View, Supermoon, Style, Filter, Light effect, and more.
About the cameras, vivo V29e captures some amazing shots and portraits and the overall image quality is surprisingly good. Take a look at the camera samples we took from the vivo V29e. We tried to capture some shots to see how the cameras perform and it turns out.
The 50 MP selfie camera takes great portraits, the wide-angle camera is also good, and we are satisfied with the camera results. The images captured are bright and crisp in the daylight and are also pretty much well in the low light. The only thing we are concerned that it doesn’t offer 4K video recording, you are limited to 1080p at 60 fps which is still not bad.
vivo V29e Camera Samples
Battery Runtime & Charging
The vivo V29e packs a 5,000 mAh battery, however, this is surprising since it has a compact design, vivo has managed to pack a 5,000 mAh battery in a 7.57 mm slim form factor and also in a 180.5 grams lightweight design. As for the battery life, the vivo V29e can deliver fairly good battery runtimes, expect it to last more than a day easily and up to 1.5 days to 2 days depending on your usage. You get a 44W Flash Charge fast charging support that allows the phone to be quickly charged. The vivo V29e offers good fast charging capabilities, you can expect the smartphone to be charged in less than an hour from 0% to 100%.
Verdict – vivo V29e Review
The vivo V29e is surprisingly slim (7.57) and lightweight and it looks promising in terms of design. Its curved design and glass back feel highly premium and the color-changing glass back (Artistic Red variant) is another design trait to see. It has a solid camera package in this segment, both the front and the back which takes stunning portraits. There are a host of things on the smartphone which makes it an all-rounder midranger – slim and curved design, impressive display and cameras, and smooth performance in the midrange segment. Overall, the vivo V29e is a recommended buy for those carrying a budget between ₹25,000 to ₹30,000.
vivo V29e – Where To Buy
The price for the vivo V29e starts at ₹26,999 for its 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant and ₹28,999 for its 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage variant. The smartphone is available for pre-order starting today i.e. 28th August 2023 and will be available from 7th September 2023 on vivo.com/in, Flipkart, and other offline stores. Launch offers include a flat ₹2,500 instant discount with HDFC and SBI bank cards, ₹2,000 additional exchange bonus.
