Remember when the vivo V7 came into Malaysia and it was using a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 for the price of RM1299? It was kind of awkward for them, but they quickly made a turn around with the vivo V9, this time with a Snapdragon 626 chipset for RM1399. However, it's still using the same 24MP front camera, so how different is this compared to the predecessor? Read below to find out.
Design - Almost perfect
So yes, the V9 looks pretty much the same as every other Android smartphone that is adopting the notch design, even more so with the dual rear camera that has the same position as the Apple iPhone X. If it's not for the fingerprint sensor on the back, it would be quite difficult for normal consumers to distinguish between the V9 and the iPhone X.
The 6.3-inch Fullview display with an 19:9 screen-to-body aspect ratio
That's the con, but if you look from another perspective - this also means that the V9 is a very well designed selfie smartphone that doesn't need a large sum of money. The overall design looks like full metal but the back is actually plastic material with a glass spray paint to make it look cool, so that's actually pretty smart for a low-cost sleek design.
On the front, the screen panel is of IPS LCD display so that's another low-cost material. But our writer, Jim feels that the phone would have been better if it has a curved screen around the frame, then it would have been 'perfect'. On that note, he also wants you to know that the V9 backlight screen is quite strong, so best to set up the Night Mode for your reading pleasure.
The bottom with the usual headphone jack, microUSB port and speaker grill, there are also some screws there too which might not look pleasing
Power and volume rockers on the right side, SIM card tray is on the left
Tech-Specs and features - Welcome your new AI-powered features
Here are the specifications for the vivo V9:
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 processor
- 4GB of RAM
- 64GB ROM (expandable memory up to 256GB)
- Measures 154.81 x 75.03 x 7.89 mm, weighs 150g
- 6.3-inch Fullview FHD+ display (19:9 aspect ratio)
- 16MP + 5MP dual rear camera, 24MP front camera (f/2.0)
- Features Fingerprint Sensor, Face Access 2.0, smart split, picture-in-picture, AR stickers, A.I. Face Beauty, Game Mode, triple card slot (dual SIM + microSD card), microUSB 2.0
- Supports 4G, VoLTE, 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity
- FunTouch OS 4.0 based on Android 8.1 Oreo
- 3260mAh battery
In the tech-specs corner, there's nothing really much to look at since it requires the basic needs for a selfie user. The Snapdragon 626 is clocking in at 2.2GHz, there's 4GB of RAM and 64GB internal storage which is sufficient enough. Users can look forward to having a triple SIM card slot that's quite popular nowadays, and also, the phone offers two kinds of navigation - the standard virtual keys and analog slide gestures (like the iPhone X).
Asides from that, the 24MP front camera comes with a new AR Stickers feature and a dual rear 16MP + 5MP configuration with a new upgraded AI Face Beauty function. According to the company, the phone's selfie database can utilizes up to 1 million selfie samples so that it can analyse your face and produce the best facial features (because you deserve it). From our experience comparing with the V7, the V9 is more refined without the soft glowing effect which makes you look a bit too digitized.
In addition to the new AI Face Beauty, there are two more AI functions that are quite cool - the AI HDR and AI Game Mode. The Game Mode, as most of you should already know by now, is a feature that lets you game in peace without being disturbed by your friends and family via calls or messages. On the other hand, the AI HDR is quite an innovative one, helping the user to get rid of the strong backlight when taking a selfie. We have written a more in-depth article on a how-to utilize them over here, so check it out.
Macam yes
Camera user interface
You can customized your desired navigation tool
Some convenient features for the Floating Window
Actually this is Driving Mode, translation went wrong lol
Performance - Great camera and battery, but gaming performance is subpar
Generally, Qualcomm has a better reputation when it comes to processing power. So it's only natural that consumers would think the V9 can perform better, which it does to a certain extent. But for our tastes and after some performance evaluation... we think the V9 is not reaching its maximum power. It is enough to play most games but the AnTuTu score didn't even exceed 100000 points which is kind of a head-scratching moment for a phone in this price range.
From our PUBG Mobile play time, we weren't allowed to set the graphics setting to the highest which pretty much says everything. Of course, this does not translate to other graphics intense games like Asphalt 8: Airborne or Arena of Valor. Overall, the gaming experience is still satisfactory and the volume quality is well-balanced. This also means the call network is good, as well as the network connection since we have never experienced any disconnection from gaming (unless if you're underground lol).
Almost passed the 100k mark in AnTuTu score
3DMark bench score
PUBG Mobile testing
Asphalt 8 testing
In terms of endurance, the V9's battery can last quite long, up to 12 to 16 hours of average usage so a big thumb's up for vivo on that. However, since it's still using a microUSB 2.0 configuration, this means the charging time is slow and we usually have to wait for 2 hours or more for it to get back up to a full charge.
Enough of the technical aspects, I believe most of you are keen to know if the camera quality is good or not. Well, of course it is! Both the front and dual rear camera produce well-balanced photos in terms of colour contrast and bokeh effect. Thanks to the aforementioned AI HDR and AI Face Beauty, most of the photos we took look natural enough without much distortion. Below are some of the photo samples.
Outdoor shot, not a single exposure problem here
Another sample, no problem with outdoor shots
Even with the strong backlight without AI HDR mode on, the selfie is still pretty good
Normal selfie
AI Face Beauty mode on
Before and after AI HDR mode
Before and after AI HDR mode sample no.2
Close-up shot with bokeh mode, very nice
Inter-switching the focus without the Bokeh Mode
Who's the good boy?
Low light shots are surprisingly good
Conclusion – A great improvement from its predecessor
Much like how the rakyat have let their voices be heard, vivo has certainly taken note of the customers' dissatisfaction on the V7. We think the V9 is an improvement, most particularly for its AI Face Beauty, AI HDR, respectable performance from the battery and processor and other said-features in this reviews. Moreover, if you got used to the sliding navigation gestures from the settings, this is probably the closest Android phone with an 'iPhone X' experience.
So did the V9 get your seal of approval? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more future reviews at TechNave.com
COMMENTS