vivo has recently introduced the V30 series in the Philippines, the latest upgrade to its V line of smartphones.

The Pro model carries a lot of similarities with the vanilla vivo V30 5G model. If you want something more affordable, you can read our review of the regular V30 here. But if you need something more powerful and has better cameras, then check out if the vivo V30 Pro is the one for you here in our full review.

vivo V30 Pro 5G Specs

  • Android 14, FuntouchOS 14
  • Dual SIM, Dual standby
  • 6.78-inch 2.8K AMOLED display, 2800 x 1260 pixel resolution, 453ppi
  • 120Hz refresh rate
  • HDR10+, 2800-nits peak brightness
  • 3.1GHz MediaTek Dimensity 8200 octa-core processor
  • 12GB RAM
  • Mali-G610 MC6 GPU
  • 512GB UFS 3.1 internal storage, non-expandable
  • 50-megapixel front camera
  • 50-megapixel (IMX920, OIS, f/1.9) + 50-megapixel (JN1, 2x zoom) + 50-megapixel (ultra-wide) rear cameras, Ring-LED flash
  • Under-display fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
  • Loudspeaker
  • HSPA+, 4G LTE, 5G
  • WiFi 6, dual-band
  • Bluetooth 5.3
  • dual-band GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, NavIC, BDS
  • NFC
  • USB-C
  • Dimensions: 164.4 x 75.1 x 7.5mm
  • Weight: 188g
  • Colors: Bloom White, Waving Aqua, Lush Green, Noble Green
  • 5,000mAh non-removable battery, 80W wired charging

Design and Build Quality

The vivo V30 5G series share the same design and build quality. In fact, it has a similar Petals White colorway on the back that looks like actual flower petals. Plus, it has subtle glitters, so it shines for extra flare. The only way you can tell them apart is by the third camera and the ZEISS branding that the Pro model has.

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Like the standard model, the vivo V30 Pro feels incredibly thin and light in the hands. It’s also 7.45mm thin and just 2g heavier at 188g. But since the device feels lightweight and slim, it’s really slippery.

To protect the device and improve grip, you might want to use the free clear case.

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Despite its thinness, the frame feels really sturdy. The device is also IP54 rated for being dust and splash resistant.

Bottom line is, if a thin, light, elegant-looking smartphone is what you’re after, read further because the vivo V30 Pro already meets one of your key requirements.

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Taking a tour on the front, we have the 6.78-inch AMOLED screen with curved sides, a pre-applied screen protector, and a punch-hole for the selfie camera.

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Left side is clean, while the right has the volume controls and lock/power switch. It’s clicky and tactile, albeit it wobbles a little, which makes it feel a little cheap.

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The top has the “Professional Portrait” branding and the noise-isolating microphone.

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At the bottom, it has the SIM tray for two nano SIMs. Sadly, no microSD card slot. There’s also the primary microphone here, the USB-C port, and the loudspeaker.

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READ: Mastering low-light photography with the vivo V30 5G’s Aura Light 3.0

Display and Sound Quality

The vivo V30 Pro 5G has a flagship-level display. It’s a 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED panel with a 2800 x 1260 resolution, high 120Hz refresh rate, 300Hz touch sampling, P3 color gamut, and 2800 nits peak brightness with HDR10+.

vivo has given users an option to pick between three color modes and fine-tune color temperature. There’s also a Smart Switch feature for the refresh rate and a Visual Enhancement feature that works on select video streaming apps.

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The display quality is great. It projects vibrant colors, deep contrast, and the screen brightness can get comfortably high. HD and HDR10 streaming is also supported in platforms like Netflix.

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What really disappointed us is the continued lack of stereo speakers on the recent V series devices, especially since this is the high-end model.

For the vivo V30 Pro 5G, you’re still getting a single bottom-firing speaker, which offers loud volume and decent clarity. Still, for the price, a stereo speaker should already be included.

Hardware and Performance

The vivo V30 Pro 5G has a 3.1GHz MediaTek Dimensity 8200 octa-core processor, a 4nm chip with a Mali-G610 MC6 GPU, 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and generous 512GB UFS 3.1 storage.

vivo V30 Pro 5G Benchmark Scores

While it did provide snappy and reliable performance during our tests, it fails to impress as it’s the same chip found on two older devices before it: the V29 Pro and the V27 Pro.

But then again, while the chip is outdated, we didn’t experience any major issues during our time with it. It’s still fast enough and responsive.

All of the popular games we tested ran fine under their default settings, which were usually automatically set to High. We tried cracking it up to their Highest/Ultra settings, and surprisingly, they are still playable — even Genshin Impact — just expect sudden dips in frame rates and heating over time.

GameGraphics Settings
Call of Duty: Mobile• Graphics Quality: Very High
• Frame Rate: Max
Farlight84• Graphics Quality: HD
• Frame Rate: Very High
• Resolution: Medium
PUBG Mobile• Graphics Quality: Ultra HDR
• Frame Rate: Ultra
Genshin Impact• Graphics Quality: Medium (Default)
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang• Graphics Quality: Super
• Frame Rate: Ultra
• HD Mode: On
Asphalt 9: Legends• Visual Quality: High Quality
• Frame Rate: 60

Software and User Interface

The vivo V30 Pro 5G runs on the latest Android 14-based FuntouchOS 14. It’s nice, it’s clean, but definitely not the easiest in the eyes. The app drawer is well-organized and sits next to a dedicated page for widgets.

Bloatware is here, which is expected from an custom interface. There are also redundant apps as native Google and vivo apps clash with each other: i.e Google Photos and vivo Gallery, Google Chrome and vivo browser, and few more.

I like the level of customization FuntouchOS offers. For one, there are a bunch of AOD wallpapers pre-installed. If those are not enough, you can add more via the built-in online store.

There are also a bunch of fingerprint animations to choose from. Speaking of, both the under-display fingerprint scanner and face unlock worked fast and accurately.

Of the 512GB of non-expandable storage, only 24GB is saved for the system, giving you a lot of space for media, games, and apps. If you still run out, you can tap “Manage Storage” to delete junk or unnecessary files.

You can also see used memory with the 12GB Extended RAM enabled by default. Meanwhile, the iManager app works like the Phone Manager found on ColorOS. It lets you optimize the system with a press of a button and it will clean the RAM, perform a security scan, and more.

Cameras

One of the key differences between the vivo V30 and V30 Pro 5G are the cameras. To be specific, this one has a 50-megapixel portrait camera that has 2x zoom with 50mm equivalent. And more importantly, it has ZEISS technology within.

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The Pro model also has a 50-megapixel IMX920 main shooter that’s 1/1.49-inch in size and has optical image stabilization. It is joined by a sharp 50-megapixel ultra-wide lens and a 50-megapixel selfie snapper on the front.

Oh, and before you snap those pics, make sure you enable the watermark to show off your camera. vivo has prepared a couple of designs to choose from, some with ZEISS branding for some extra flare.

First, let’s see the daylight shots of the 50-megapixel main camera. As you can see, the shots look very detailed, the colors are vibrant but not over-saturated, the contrast is fair, and the dynamic range is handled well. We also like the natural shallow depth of field.

Low-light shots from the 50-megapixel main camera looks equally impressive. Noises and grains are almost unnoticeable, colors are still nice, and contrast is handled well. Blurriness is also not a problem.

Next stop, we have the 50-megapixel portrait camera that has a 2x zoom or 50mm equivalent. Shots in good lighting looks similar to the main camera, only this time, the magnification can highlight a subject better.

If you want to get creative, you can play with the different portrait modes that mimics actual ZEISS lenses. There’s the ZEISS Biotar Style Bokeh that’s based on the ZEISS Biotar lens, which creates a blurry background.

There’s also the ZEISS Distagon Style with a hexagonal background, ZEISS Planar style with a sharp background blur, ZEISS Sonnar with a creamy blur; ZEISS Cinematic with a tall 2.39:1 aspect ratio, oval flares, and blur trail effect; and finally, the ZEISS Cine-flare that’s great for a bright background and creates a movie-like flare.

The filters worked well, as long as you have the right lighting and background.

vivo is also highlighting the vivo V30 Pro’s low-light portrait capabilities, which is made possible by the Aura Light 3.0 system.

The said system uses a bigger soft flash on the back to evenly light up a subject. It worked fine in our tests and is definitely better than the traditional flash. However, there are times when a low-light image looks so much better without it.

Next stop, we have the sharp 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera. Like the other two, it renders nice colors and contrast. Low-light performance is also stellar. Barrel distortion is there, but barely noticeable.

Finally, a 50-megapixel selfie camera is in front. As expected, selfies look incredibly well-detailed and skin tones look realistic. Unfortunately, the dynamic range does struggle under tricky lighting scenarios.

Low-light performance is also good and you can use the on-screen flash if you want better and even lighting.

Well, it goes without saying that the vivo V30 Pro 5G has a flexible set of cameras. All of its sensors get a passing mark for both its daylight and low-light capabilities.

Battery and Charging

Despite its ultra-thin build, the vivo V30 Pro 5G still managed to get a large 5,000mAh battery, charged by vivo’s 80W FlashCharge adapter.

One underrated feature of vivo phones is their robust battery life. The V30 Pro lasted 18 hours and 43 minutes in PCMark’s battery test. That’s a loop of numerous tasks until the battery drops to 20%. We ran it with the WiFi and Bluetooth turned off and the volume and brightness at half. To give you an idea, the average score we get from other phones is about 14 hours.

I also looped a 1080p YouTube video over WiFi and the battery lasted for 18 hours and 14 minutes before dropping to 1%.

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A 0 to 100% full charge only took about 55 minutes with its 80W charger. See our full charging test results below:

  • 15mins: 0-29%
  • 30mins: 58%
  • 45mins: 88%
  • 55mins: FULL

Verdict

vivo combinied a compelling set of hardware with the vivo V30 Pro 5G. It boasts a decent processor, great display, dependable battery life and charging, and of course, a killer set of cameras that can perform day or night.

On its own, the V30 Pro is a good smartphone. However, we expected to get more when we heard about the price. At its price point, a better chipset and stereo speakers should already be included.

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Still, there’s no denying that the vivo V30 Pro 5G is a great device. If you really want it, just wait for deals to get the most out of your money.

vivo V30 Pro pricing and availability in the Philippines

The vivo V30 Pro 5G is available in a single 12GB/512GB configuration in the Philippines for a price of Php34,990. On the other hand, the V30 5G comes in two variants with a starting price of Php24,999.

Both models are available in vivo kiosks, physical stores, and resellers nationwide. Online, you can get them at Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop.

Pros

  • Sleek, light, elegant design
  • Large, vibrant, smooth display
  • Reliable performance
  • Great, flexible ZEISS cameras with Aura Light 3.0
  • Long battery life with fast charging

Cons

  • Can be slippery without a case
  • No stereo speakers
  • Chipset used is starting to age

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