Vivo V5 Lite Review: Good Looking Selfies in a More Affordable Package

The Vivo V5 was a capable device which was built for selfies, and it did so very well. Unfortunately, it was not everyone’s cup of tea due to its price tag. So the company decided to launch a more affordable version of it in the form of the V5 Lite.

As the word Lite implies, this device is a softer, slightly toned down version of the V5: Less RAM, no dedicated Hi-FI chip, and a slightly less powerful front camera. So now the question is, did these cuts affect the overall experience? How does this device stack up? And most importantly, can it still deliver good quality selfies? Let’s find out in this full review.

Premium Design 

There really isn’t a lot of bad things to point out with Vivo’s design. And it’s the same case for the V5 Lite. You get a sturdy and premium looking device with a 2.5D glass front and a metal back with the familiar lines and branding.

One noticeable change is the Home button, which is now back to a capacitive form, similar to the V3 and V3 Max. The V5 Lite doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor, which is a little disappointing.

As usual, all the buttons are placed on the right side. And while they complement the design very well, they do feel a little wobbly.

The hybrid SIM tray is placed on the left side. Personally, I don’t have a problem with that but, I think it would’ve been better if they opted for a triple slot tray.

The bottom houses the speaker, microphone, headphone jack, and a standard MicroUSB port.

Decent Display

The V5 Lite has the same 5.5-inch HD display as its older brother. And i’m glad they didn’t compromise in this area. It’s just as bright, vivid, and crisp.

A Decent All-Rounder

Vivo V5 Lite Specs:

• 5GHz MT6750 Octa-Core Processor
• 3GB of RAM, 32 GB of Internal Storage Expandable up to 256GB via MicroSD Card
• 5.5-inch HD Display
• Rear Camera: 13MP
• Front Camera: 16MP
• Selfie Softlight Flash
• LTE, Dual SIM
• Funtouch OS 3.0 on top of Android Marshmallow
• 3,000mAh Battery
• USB OTG
• Sensors:
  • Accelerometer
  • Proximity
  • Compass

Being powered by the same chip as its older brother, I didn’t encounter any issues when using the V5 for daily tasks. And despite having less RAM, it’s still quite capable in terms of multi-tasking.

Gaming performance was better than expected. Asphalt 8 was actually smooth even on the highest setting, despite this phone not being positioned for such games.

Camera

The 13MP rear camera does a decent job at stills in good lighting: The details are there, and colors are accurate. Sharpness could use a bit of work though.

As for selfies, shots had accurate colors, but looked a little overprocessed, which took out some of the details. A closer look, and you’ll find that some are a little grainy, even with adequate lighting.

In low light, both front and rear cameras were surprisingly able to take better photos than I expected. Detailed with minimal noise.

The default camera app doesn’t have a lot of shooting modes for you to play with, but it does have a Pro mode if you want to do in-depth tweaking for your shots.

Optimized Software

The V5 Lite runs on v3.0 of the OS on top of Android Marshmallow, and like i’ve always said, Funtouch OS is a very interesting and refreshing take on Android. It’s smooth, fun to use, and offers some really nifty extras to make things easier for you.

It does quite take some time to get used to, especially if you’ve never used a Vivo Smartphone before. But when you’re able to get a good grasp of it, you’ll find that it isn’t really that complex, and most of the features they added actually made sense, like the double tap to wake feature, which is very useful considering the absence of a fingerprint sensor.

Great Battery Life

With light to moderate use, the V5 Lite’s battery should be able to get you through a whole day without having to recharge. Charging the device from 0% to full takes around 2.5 hours, which isn’t bad.

Verdict

The V5 Lite still takes decent selfies, even with the toned down camera. It’s also just as capable as the V5 in daily use, probably a bit less on multi-tasking. The build quality is excellent, the software is well optimized, plus the great battery life.

On the downside, the lack of a fingerprint sensor is questionable, considering that even cheaper devices have it. Then there’s the price (PhP9,990), which places it with other devices that offer better specs. Would I recommend this device? If performance is your priority, then no, if selfies are, then yes.

The Good

• Design and Build Quality
• Display
• General and Gaming Performance
• Battery Life
• Well Optimized Software
• Decent Low-light Camera Performance (Front and Back)
• Decent Rear Camera Performance

The Not So Good

• No Fingerprint Sensor
• Day Selfies look a bit overprocessed

Emman Tortoza

Website

Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.