Vivo V25 Pro: Competitive Edge!

If you think about it, there’s never been a better time to invest in a mid-range smartphone. With newer phones, a lot of people don’t really need a premium flagship device to get good performance and camera quality. On the other hand though, there are a ton of mid-range devices to choose from, and manufacturers have gone to great lengths to make sure that their devices stand out.

Today we’re checking out the Vivo V25 Pro, one of Vivo’s hottest phones to hit the market this year. It comes with a slick-looking design and some pretty impressive hardware, but is it worth getting compared to the rest of the Android competition? 

It’s built to take on other mid-range devices like the Samsung Galaxy A53 and Pixel 6a, both of which offer a nice price-to-spec ratio. With that said, Vivo has packed some interesting surprises with the V25 Pro, and today we’re going to see if it’s the right smartphone for you. Let’s take a look.

Vivo V25 Pro Specs:

• Display: 6.56-inch AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate
• Resolution: 1080×2376 pixels
• Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 1300
• RAM: 8GB/12GB
• Storage: 128/256GB Storage
• Battery: 4830 mAh with 66W Charging Support
• Cameras: 64MP main sensor, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro, 32MP front
• Software: Android 12 with Funtouch OS

Design and Display

Unboxing the phone, you get a rather generous amount of accessories from Vivo, which include a TPU case, charging brick, wired earphones, as well as a USB-C cable. Going over how the phone looks, it’s pretty obvious that Vivo didn’t hold back from giving the V25 Pro a design worthy of going head to head with more expensive smartphones.

The V25 Pro comes with a 6.56 inch AMOLED screen with a 120 Hertz refresh rate, and a 1080 by 2376 pixel resolution, with a peak brightness of 1300 nits. It’s a bright and vibrant display, although it does feature a curved design which might be a deal-breaker for some people. But as far as display quality goes, I’m impressed with what Vivo has managed to do with the V25 Pro. It’ll definitely be ideal for media consumption like streaming your favorite Netflix shows, playing games, and such.

There’s also an in-display fingerprint scanner which is nice and responsive, as well as facial recognition for added biometrics. There’s also a pre-installed screen protector, but the display does come with reinforced glass.

The phone features a large camera bump at the back, which itself is made out of a frosted glass panel with a grippy feel to it. The finish does look nice, and I’m a big fan of the textured surface on the phone. The edges of the phone are made of plastic instead of metal, and this is where you’ll find the volume and power buttons, as well as the charging port, SIM tray, and a single bottom-firing speaker on the phone, which produces a nice and clear sound.

Overall, the phone has a pretty solid design, and I think that Vivo has managed to craft a beautiful-looking smartphone here. While I do wish that the sides were made of metal, it’s still solid overall.

Internal Specs, Software and Usage

Powering the phone is a MediaTek Dimensity 1300 chipset, partnered with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, although there’s also an option for a 12GB RAM version alongside 256GB of internal storage.

In terms of performance, the V25 Pro will be able to keep up with everyday tasks thanks to the powerful processor. MediaTek’s Dimensity series SoCs are rather impressive, and are a great improvement over the older Helio-branded chipsets from the company. As far as benchmarks go, the 1300 is a very capable chip, and in actual performance it isn’t so bad either, which is something that you always want in a smartphone.

The phone will be quite suitable for most games. As a matter of fact, I was able to play GRID Autosport on the V25 Pro, and it was a very smooth gaming experience without any freezing, lag, or frame drops. The large display also makes it ideal for graphics-intensive titles, which makes for more immersive gaming sessions. 

Additionally, casual smartphone usage like web browsing, video and music streaming, as well as social media apps will be a breeze for the V25 Pro. Moderate users should have no problem using the phone for a wide variety of apps, and navigating and switching between different apps was fast and fluid on the V25 Pro.

As for software, the V25 Pro comes with Android 12, although this features Vivo’s Funtouch OS, which is its proprietary Android skin. This is the same kind of UI that’s present on other Vivo phones, and it does come with a suite of different options for customizability and personalization. If you’re after a clean version of Android, then this might not be to your liking, but for people who are into changing the look on their smartphone, Funtouch OS is as customizable as it gets.

With that said however, the phone comes with a lot of pre-installed apps, a lot of which I didn’t really need or use. Thankfully, there is an option to remove most of the apps, although I could’ve done without them to be honest.

Camera and Battery

As for camera hardware, the V25 Pro comes with a 64MP main camera, 8MP ultrawide lens, a 2MP macro sensor, and a 32MP front-facing camera, a set-up that you’ll see on a lot of other mid-range smartphones. The main and front cameras use Samsung-made sensors, while the macro and ultra-wide lens both use Omnivision sensors.

With that said, I do think that the V25 Pro’s camera performance can get you generally good-looking photographs, and folks looking for a device that they can use for a lot of social media posts will be satisfied with the general performance of the C25 Pro’s camera hardware. Photos are nice and vibrant, and there’s a decent amount of dynamic range in most pictures.

Photo quality is similar to what you’d get on a lot of other Android mid-rangers, although Vivo’s computational photography does place it a step above the run-of-the-mill photo quality on cheaper devices. Low-light photos are pretty decent though, although there’s a definite presence of grain in darker night-time situations. 

The phone can record a maximum of 4K resolution videos at 60 frames per second, with some rather clear video quality. With that said, I did find video stabilization a bit lacking, especially when you switch over to 4K resolution at 60 fps – I was able to get more stable-looking video using a lower frame rate.

As for battery, the phone comes with a 4830 mAh battery, which is a decent size and should last most users about a day. While most mid-range smartphones come with 5,000 mAh units, the V25 Pro isn’t a push-over and you can get enough usage from morning until night. On one hand, if you use your phone a lot for gaming, data usage, GPS and a high brightness display, you’ll have to reach for your charger a lot more often.

This shouldn’t be too much of a problem though, as the V25 Pro comes with 66W fast-charging support, which is a much-welcome feature. Vivo says that you can charge up to 71 percent of your phone’s battery in half an hour, which isn’t too bad and should be enough for most users to replenish their battery.

Fortunately, there’s also support for wireless charging, and while it isn’t as fast as the 66W charging speed, it’s a nice addition to the V25 Pro’s list of hardware features, and it’s something that you don’t get on a lot of other mid-range phones out there.

Final Thoughts

In terms of pricing, you can pick up the base model of the V25 Pro for around 450 bucks in the US, or around 450 Euros. At this price range, it’s got its sights set on phones like the Nothing Phone 1, Samsung Galaxy A53, and Pixel 6a to name a few. Considering everything that you get like the solid build quality, attractive design, capable chipset and good camera performance, it does make for a tempting choice, and Vivo fans looking for an upgrade will definitely love this one.

There are some factors to consider though, like a heavily-skinned version of Android, which may or may not be to your liking, and folks after a more stock Android version of sorts might want to reconsider. But if that isn’t an issue at all for you, then the V25 Pro is a solid choice for a mid-range smartphone.