Vivo V29 Review: Perfect Portraits At A Bargain Price
I first tested the Vivo V27 and V27 Pro back in March, but now I'm back with the Vivo V29. You may be wondering what happened to V28? Vivo skips the number in the V series for some reason, so the V25 will precede the V27, and we'll probably see the V31 soon.
Confusion aside, the V29 is a phone that looks a lot like its predecessor, with the new model sporting bright colors and a halo LED flash.
Likewise, with the short time between iterations, I was initially concerned that not much had changed, but luckily there's more to the V29 than meets the eye. There's a stunning new screen, innovative lighting equipment and the camera performance we've come to expect from the V-series makes it worth the price. Let's take a closer look.
Live Q29
Vivo V29 is one of the best selfie shooters in the market today. These photo capabilities extend to the rear camera and are aided by a new dual-tone saturation lighting solution. The biggest problem, depending on where you live, is the likelihood of finding one.
- One of the best selfie cameras
- Bright main camera
- Two tone hearing
- Good battery and fast charging
- Special color finish
- Old mid-level processors
- Not available in all regions
- 8MP ultra wide is hardly surprising.
Price, features and availability
The Vivo V29 was launched in August 2023 and is now available for purchase in over 39 markets including India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Turkey, Mexico and select European countries.
It is not currently sold through official channels in the UK or the US, although imports are widely available. Vivo V29 prices start around €450/€480, although prices vary by region.
Live Q29
- Soc
- Snapdragon 778G
- Screen
- AMOLED 2800x1260 120 Hz
- Random Access Memory
- 8GB/12GB
- Storage
- 128GB/256GB/512GB
- Drums
- 4600 m.a.s
- Port
- USB-C only
- Procedure
- FunTouchOS 13
- Front camera
- 50MP with automatic
- Rear camera
- 50MP main + 8MP ultra-wide + 2MP monochrome
- Measure
- 164.18×74.37×7.46 mm
- Weight
- 186 grams
- Loading speed
- 80 W cable
- IP protection level
- IP68
Project
Vivo V29, like its predecessors, has a significant curve on the screen and back panel. This means the phone feels very thin in the hand and pocket and is light at 186g, which is impressive considering it has a 6.78-inch screen. Vivo
V-series phones often have unique and eye-catching colors, some of which are UV reactive in previous generations. That trend continues here, with four unique finishes to choose from. I have the Peak Blue and Star Purple variations in my hands, both of which have a timeless sheen that changes when the light hits them. Peak Blue is a more uniform color throughout, while the Star Violet variant goes from a light purple to a soft off-white gradient.
Velvet Red and Noble Black are both available with the same Vivo Fluorite AG glass we saw on the V27 Pro and iQOO 11. The velvet red model reacts to UV rays and changes between purple and red, the black model is always black. All models include a clear TPU case, but if you want a case without a case, I would definitely go for the blue or purple options. Vivo's sharp glass backs are good, but too soft, and the glossy options are harsher. You have to be fine with the flash, and I imagine not everyone will be that happy.
Despite being affordable, nothing about the Vivo V29 looks or feels cheap. It is long lasting and has a very attractive appearance. It has an IP68 dust and water resistance level, so it can handle threats without any problems. Vivo has also been tested for durability in over 60 lab conditions, including drop, temperature and humidity tests.
Display and speakers
This time the screen has been updated nicely and has a sharp resolution of 2800x1260 with a pixel density of 452 ppi. It has a very smooth refresh rate of 120Hz and has 2160Hz PWM dimming to reduce eye strain.
It's super bright and puts out a maximum of 1,300 nits. It's one of the brightest panels I've seen on a mid-range device, meaning you won't struggle to see the screen on a bright, sunny day. Thanks to HDR10+ support, content from providers like Netflix also looks great.
There are a large number of settings for color placement. You can choose between Standard, Pro and Vivid presets and change the color temperature of each. If you're concerned about eye health, there's an eye protection mode, as well as low blue light, low flicker and low smoke SGS certification.
This model only has one speaker, so you won't get a stereo effect when watching content or playing games with built-in audio. However, it can still be very loud and the sound is not very small. It might not surprise you, but watching YouTube at home is enough.
Performance and software
The Vivo V29 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G, a mid-range chip that's been around for a few years now, so it goes without saying that this phone won't beat the benchmarks. However, it's the same chip you'll find in the No Phone (1) and the Honor 70, so we already know it's pretty powerful.
It also comes with a good amount of RAM 8GB or 12GB and is highly expandable to add another 8GB which is good for multitasking. In use, the phone was always fast and responsive, apps opened quickly, and I easily forgot I was using a non-flagship device.
You really only see a difference in games and you need to load something graphically rich like my current favorite Honkai Star Train to see the effects. I had to set the graphics setting to "low" to get a playable frame rate, which is obviously too fun, but it ran fine in that mode and the phone only started warming up after 45 minutes or so and never warmed up. .
The Vivo V29 has a 4,600 mAh battery, and this combined with an efficient chipset means long battery life. You can easily get through a day of heavy use on a single charge, and when it's time to recharge, the included 80W wall adapter will do so instantly. You can expect to go from flat to full in 40 minutes; Charging to 50% takes only 20 minutes. It doesn't have wireless charging, but that's still rare to find in devices of this price.
The V29 runs FunTouch OS 13, which I'm familiar with after using the X90 Pro for a long time. It's not too far from the stock Android experience and adds some pretty deep customization options, but it also has some downsides. Best of all, the default power saving measures are so strict that you'll have to stretch a bit to make sure you get all the notifications. Another thing that hasn't changed from previous V-series devices I've tried is the amount of software. Fortunately, most of them are easy to avoid.
Camera
In the previous V-series models, the performance of the camera really set them apart and the same is true for the V29. The selfie camera seems to have the same specs as its predecessor, but it was the best selfie camera I've tested, same goes for this model.
The front camera has a resolution of 50 MP and above all it has fast and accurate autofocus. This is something that most flagships still lack (except for the new Pixel 8 Pro), which means you can hold the phone up close or at arm's length and it still looks sharp.
The rear camera array is largely unchanged from the Vivo V27; It's still the 50MP main sensor and 8MP ultra-wide, but there are a few subtle changes. Gone is the original useless 2MP macro camera, now replaced by a 2MP depth sensor, presumably to help with portrait mode capture. Another main sensor is now Samsung GN5 instead of Sony IMX766.
The photos taken by the main camera look amazing especially in daylight. Vivo's color processing delivers vivid, natural images with crisp detail and a wide dynamic range. Low-light photos are also good, thanks to the night mode, details can be revealed even in dark scenes. As usual, the portrait mode frame is also one of the best in the business.
Ultrawide is less impressive. It has a fixed focus, so you can't take it close, and the level of detail cannot be compared to the original lens. It's useful from time to time, but it's best to use it carefully as you get better results with the other two cameras.
Image test
The camera system of this phone has another trick. The large round flash next to the main lens is not actually a flash but a continuous two-color light source. This smart lamp can automatically adjust to the ambient light, creating a diffused fill light that adapts to your environment. It's a great idea and as far as I know it's completely unique to this phone.
Of course, this smart lighting solution may not be very useful in the real world if Night Mode has good quality, but it's nice to have the option. In my tests it did a good job of detecting ambient light temperature, but you can adjust it yourself if you want. There is a separate traditional LED flash to be used when necessary.
sentence
The Vivo V29 is one of the best selfie phones you can buy, but beyond that it has an excellent front camera, a great display and good value for money. If you're looking for a mid-range camera-focused smartphone in this price range, it's easy to recommend the Pixel 7a as its photography performance beats it in many cases, especially selfies.
Not Ideal: Poor super wide, single speaker and midrange playability will definitely be a deal breaker for some. But the biggest problem is its availability; I'm in the UK and most of our readers are in the US. Vivo V29 has not been officially released in any regions and probably never will be. This means that it will be very difficult to find a good price.
However, if you are in a supported region, the Vivo V29 is worth considering. It's stylish, takes great photos and costs half the price of most flagship phones.
