The vivo V30 and V30 Pro 5G are known for their ultra-thin design, long battery life, clever camera features, and a few more. But can we expect the same from the cheapest member of the series, the vivo V30e 5G?
We’ll see how much was stripped off to accommodate its more affordable price tag. And, ultimately, learn if it’s the device for you. Let’s all find out in our vivo V30e review.
vivo V30e 5G Specs
- Android 14, FuntouchOS 14
- Dual SIM, Dual standby, Hybrid
- 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, 2400 x 1080 pixel resolution, ~388ppi
- 120Hz refresh rate, 1300-nits peak brightness
- 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 octa-core processor
- Adreno 710 GPU
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB internal storage, expandable via microSD
- 32-megapixel front camera
- 50-megapixel (f/1.8, PDAF) + 8-megapixel (ultra-wide) rear cameras, ring LED flash
- Under-display fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
- Single loudspeaker
- HSPA+, 4G LTE, 5G
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
- Bluetooth 5.1
- GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, NavIC, BDS
- NFC
- USB-C
- Dimensions: 164.4 x 74.8 x 7.7mm (Brown) | 164.36 × 74.75 × 7.65mm
- Weight: 188g (Brown) | 179g (White)
- Colors: Coco Brown, Cloud White
- 5,500mAh non-removable battery, 33W FlashCharge
Design and Build Quality

I’ve always liked the sleek feel of the vivo V series, and it stays the same with the vivo V30e. The review unit I have is the White variant, which is lighter than the Brown model at only 179g (vs 188g) and marginally thinner at 7.65mm (vs 7.75mm).
It has curved sides in the front and back, which makes it feel great in the hands during day-to-day use. However, it can get slippery and hard to grip when used in landscape mode — primarily when taking pictures, playing games, or watching content. So if you can, you might want to use the free clear case for a more comfortable grip.

In addition, using the case will keep the shiny frame clean from fingerprint marks, smudges, and possibly hairline scratches over time.

This Cloud White model I have also sports a texture that vivo says resembles “sunshine breaking through clouds,” and it definitely looks like it. The light pattern changes with reflections and has glitter-like accents that shimmers with light.

On the front, it has a huge 6.78-inch AMOLED screen, with the said curved sides and ultra-thin bezels for a 93.3% screen-to-body ratio. A punch-hole cutout holds the selfie camera.

The left side is clean. On the right, there are the volume controls and the lock/power button.

At the bottom, there’s the single loudspeaker, USB-C port, primary microphone, and the hybrid SIM tray that can house a nano SIM card on top or another nano SIM or microSD card at the back. Only the noise-isolating microphone is on top.

The vivo V30e 5G is definitely a well-designed phone. It looks elegant and decently built. I tried a couple of bend tests and I heard a few squeaks, possibly coming from the adhesive used to put everything together — not surprising considering how thin the device is. Nothing too concerning, though.
Display and Audio
The vivo V30e has a 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 2400 x 1080 pixel resolution, ~388ppi, 120Hz refresh rate, 1300-nits peak brightness, P3 color gamut, and 8,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It also has SGS Low Blue Light, Low Motion Blur, and Low Flicker certifications.




vivo lets you customize the color temperature, pick color modes, adjust and schedule eye protection, and schedule the dark mode. You can also pick between three refresh rate modes: Standard (60Hz), High (120Hz), or let the system decide by going Smart Switch.

Display quality was good. As expected from an AMOLED panel, it offers nice and vibrant colors, deep contrast, and the right amount of brightness for outdoor use.
HD streaming is also available on platforms like Disney+ and Netflix. Although, I was a little bummed out by the lack of Dolby Vision.

What’s really disappointing is vivo’s insistence on depriving the V series with stereo speakers. It does offer 150% and 200% volume boosters for louder sound, though. The sound quality has audible bass, but the treble can be harsh.
Hardware and Performance
The vivo V30e 5G is powered by a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 4nm processor with Adreno 710 GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of expandable storage.
vivo V30e Benchmark Scores




It provided decent performance in day-to-day tasks. I was able to make video calls, edit photos, browse the web, and more without a problem, but it’s definitely not the snappiest experience for the price.

The gaming experience was also decent, as long as you’re okay with settling with low to medium settings.
After doing some quests on Genshin Impact, I found that it was playable under Low graphics settings, which was set by default. PUBG Mobile was also playable under Balanced/High, but not smooth. Still enough for the games to be enjoyable.






Unlike the first two games, Call of Duty Mobile was incredibly smooth under Medium/High, as well as Farlight84 under HD/High. Mobile Legends and Asphalt 9 also had no issues running under their highest settings.
Game | Graphics Settings |
Call of Duty: Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Medium • Frame Rate: Max |
Farlight84 | • Graphics Quality: Balanced • Frame Rate: High |
PUBG Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Low (Default) |
Genshin Impact | • Graphics Quality: Low (Defailt) |
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | • Graphics Quality: Ultra • Frame Rate: Super • HD Mode: On |
Asphalt 9: Legends | • Graphics Quality: High Quality • Frame Rate: 60 |
Software and User Interface
The vivo V30e 5G ships with Android 14-based FuntouchOS 14. The interface looks polished and well thought out. Home screen looks neat but I wish the control center utilized the screen real estate better.


Customization features are plenty like different AOD styles and wallpapers to choose from. You can also pick between different light effects that lights up the edges of the screen, even if the screen is off, to let you know you’ve received a notification.


Virtual RAM expansion is also here, which lets you borrow up to 8GB of space from the storage and use it as memory. The difference in performance is barely noticeable, so you can use it or disable it altogether.
The system ate up about 24GB for the system. With 6 heavy games installed and a bunch of photos taken, I was still left with around 157GB of storage space. There’s a Manage Storage function that scans the system with junk files you might want to delete in order to free up space.


vivo’s iManager app is here, which can optimize the overall system with a press of a button. The app also has features like app encryption, payment safe, network management, and battery management.


vivo’s Jovi Home assistant is also available. It works fine if you spend the time using it, but I prefer other, more globally used alternatives like Google Assistant.
There’s also a special gaming window you can access while playing a game. It shows your current CPU and GPU usage, picks between three performance modes (Balanced, Battery Saver, Boost), sees how long have you been playing games, and your battery left, blocks notifications, and makes other adjustments.


I also tested the in-display fingerprint scanner and face unlock, both of which worked fast and accurately with no issues.


The app drawer is well organized, which I really liked. You can quickly search for apps via the search tab on top. The first row shows recommended apps, which is based on the user’s usage. Speaking of apps, there are little to no bloatware taking up unnecessary space.


The keyboard used by default, as usual, is Google Keyboard, which is the one I prefer as it has access to a ton of customizations, emojis, and even gifs.
I also liked how clean the camera app is so you can easily access the features you want to use.


Cameras
The vivo V30e sports a 50-megapixel main camera with an f/1.8 aperture, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide, and 32-megapixel sensor on the front. I appreciate that vivo spared us from nonsense depth sensor or macro lens this time around. It also has the series’ signature Aura Light 3.0 ring flash in here.

One minor issue I found is the watermark. As you can see below, there are shots where it’s in the wrong orientation. It’s like the camera app is confused if I’m shooting in portrait or landscape mode.
Daylight shots from the main camera look IG-worthy. The saturation appears to be dialed up a little, resulting in less realistic colors. It’s great if you want an appealing photo for social media without having to edit, but those who like more real life colors may take offense. Dynamic Range is really good and the details are nice.








Low-light shots are passable, but noise and grains could’ve been processed better. The contrast is also slightly off.








To improve your low-light shots, especially portraits of people, you can try using the Aura Light, which provides an even illumination and doesn’t overexpose the image unlike the traditional flash. The light’s temperature can be adjusted to match the subject.
Under Auto, it can intelligently analyze the subject’s skin tones to apply the right temperature. You can also adjust the tone manually depending on your taste.




Shots from the 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, as expected, look softer than the main camera. Good thing the color rendition is similar to the main shooter. Barrel distortion is also not an issue. Low-light shots passed our expectations.





The 32-megapixel selfie camera takes noticeably blurry photos with the face beauty modes enabled. So unless you deliberately want to use it, it’s best to turn it off.
Actual image quality looks nice with a lot of details and accurate skin tone, but the dynamic range could be better.




Battery and Charging
The vivo V30e comes with a relatively large 5,500mAh battery with vivo’s 44W FlashCharge feature.

It lasted about 13 hours and 13 minutes of looping a 1080p YouTube video. That’s below the average score of 14 hours that I usually get on this test. Still, light to moderate users should be able get an entire day of usage out of this, with a few percent left for the next morning.

The charging speed was decent with full charge taking about 1 hour and 25 minutes. See our full test below:
- 30mins: 0-38%
- 45mins: 56%
- 1hr: 75%
- 1hr 15mins: 84%
- 1hr 25mins: FULL
Verdict
Performance junkies and enthusiasts are not big fans of the vivo V series, and if you thought that will change with the V30e, you thought wrong. The company still went with a chipset that was inferior to most of its competition. So if gaming is top priority, it’s better to look somewhere else.

The lack of stereo speakers continues to be a big downer. Also, while they do help make photos pop, image processing could be more subtle.
It’s obviously not as good as the regular V30 and V30 Pro, but it still has plenty to offer. If you’re enticed by the V30e’s sleek build, vibrant display, fast charging, decent cameras, and polished user experience, I won’t blame you for getting it.

vivo V30e 5G pricing and availability
The vivo V30e 5G has an SRP of Php17,999 in the Philippines and is available in a bunch of physical vivo stores and retailers nationwide. You can also get it online through vivo’s official stores on Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok.
Pros
- Incredibly sleek, curved design
- Decent cameras
- Aura Light 3.0
- Polished software
Cons
- Poor chipset choice for the price
- No stereo speakers