The smartphone industry has been pushing for better durability, camera quality, and performance for a while now. This time around, they’re finally putting much needed innovation into battery life, which has been overlooked for years.
Thanks to silicon-carbon technology, we’re starting to see high-density batteries packed in sleek, well-designed smartphones. Take our latest review subject, the vivo V50 Lite 5G, for example.
This thin and light smartphone boasts a 6,500mAh battery — a feat that would’ve made it thick and bulky without the latest innovations in battery technology. In our full review of the vivo V50 Lite 5G, we’ll see how long it can last on a single charge and if its features are worth the asking price. Let’s start.
vivo V50 Lite 5G Specs
- Android 15, FuntouchOS 15
- Dual SIM, Dual Standby
- 6.77-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, 2392 x 1080 pixel resolution, ~387ppi
- 120Hz adaptive refresh rate
- 1800-nit peak brightness, 1300-nit High Brightness Mode, DCI-P3
- 2.4GHz MediaTek Dimensity 6300 octa-core processor
- Mali-G57 MC2
- 8GB/12GB LPDDR4X RAM
- 256GB/512GB UFS 2.2 internal storage, non-expandable
- 32-megapixel front camera
- 50-megapixel (IMX882) + 8-megapixel (ultra-wide) rear cameras, Aura Light ring LED flash
- IP65 dust and water resistant
- Optical in-display fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
- HSPA+, 4G LTE, 5G
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
- Bluetooth 5.4
- GPS, A-GPS
- USB-C
- Dimensions: 163.77 x 76.28 x 7.79mm
- Weight: 197g
- Colors: Gold, Purple, Black
- 6,500mAh non-removable battery, 90W fast charging
Design and Build Quality
The vivo V50 Lite 5G has that same sleek and elegant feel that the V-series is known for. It’s as thin and light as other more expensive vivo phones, but with a much bigger battery.
vivo‘s current design language is still seen on the vivo V50 Lite 5G. This device looks a lot like other vivo phones I’ve already seen this year. The lack of innovation in design might offend some, but personally, I’m fine with it. It looks clean, elegant, and nice to the eyes, which might be the reason why vivo recycled the design.
What we have here is the Titanium Gold color with a matte glass-like rear surface. It does attract fingerprint marks and smudges, but the paint job makes them barely noticeable.
Other color options include the classic Phantom Black, a distinct Fantasy Purple, and Silk Green.
Like with most phones, vivo is making a big deal about its durability features. It is IP65 dust and splash resistant, so you can use it outdoors even if it’s raining. This feature is great for delivery riders, runners, and adrenaline junkies.
It also passed the Military-Grade certification (MIL-STD-810H) and received an SGS rating for surviving simulated drop tests 42,000 times, 600 pressure tests, and more. While I didn’t have the heart to drop test it, a couple of light bend tests assured us that it is indeed a fairly sturdy device.
Using the free, clear protective case wouldn’t hurt, and vivo has pre-applied a screen protector for extra peace of mind.
Taking a tour, the V50 Lite 5G has a 6.77-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen, with a punch-hole for the 32-megapixel selfie camera. Bezels are decently thin.
There’s the noise-isolating microphone on top, together with the grills for the stereo speaker.
Down below is the USB-C port, primary microphone, nano SIM card slots, and the main loudspeaker.
Left side is clean, while the right has the physical buttons with good amount of tactility and firmness.
On the back, we have the dual rear cameras and the ring LED flash in a vertical orientation.
Overall, I’m impressed with the design and build of the vivo V50 Lite 5G. It’s a testament to how big a battery phone can come in a thin and light package. Hopefully, more phones will follow suit.
Display and Audio
The vivo V50 Lite 5G has a 6.77-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 2392 x 1080 pixel resolution, ~387ppi, 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, 1800-nit peak brightness, and 1300 nits under High Brightness Mode.
Display quality is decent for the price. The lack of HDR and Dolby Vision support is a little disappointing, but I do appreciate the good colors and contrast of the OLED panel and the reliable screen brightness.
The stereo speakers are above average. They have crisp treble and audible bass. The 100% volume is loud enough, but there’s a 400% volume boost mode if you really need it, albeit expect distorted and almost clipped sound.
Hardware and Performance
The vivo V50 Lite 5G is powered by a 2.4GHz MediaTek Dimensity 6300 octa-core processor, with a Mali-G57 MC2 GPU, with 8GB/256GB (our review unit) and 12GB/512GB RAM storage configurations. If you’re curious, the 4G-only model uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 chip with a single 8GB/256GB configuration.
vivo V50 Lite 5G Benchmark Scores
Performance is usable for the 8GB/256GB model that I’m testing, but it should be faster for the price. I’m noticing a lot of lags when opening apps, reading long articles, or browsing through social media. I’m thinking of two possible solutions: go with the 12GB model or vivo needs a software update that optimizes performance (since upgrading the processor is not possible).
If you’re curious, I ran our tests with 134GB of 256GB storage used to give you a better idea on how it actually performs in normal use. Now, let’s see how it handles games.
Genshin Impact, a fairly demanding game, ran with no issues at 60 frames, albeit only at low graphics settings. PUBG Mobile ran fine under Balanced graphics at Ultra frames, but not the smoothest for its segment. Call of Duty Mobile was smooth using Medium graphics and High frames, which are the highest available settings for it.
Farlight84 had no problems under Balanced graphics at Very High frame rate. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang ran great with the highest settings available, as well as Asphalt Legends Unite.
While day-to-day performance could be faster, the vivo V50 Lite 5G offers a decent gaming experience. It’s certainly not the fastest as there are competitors that offer better performance, but it’s not the main focus of this device anyway.
| Game | Graphics Settings |
| Call of Duty: Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Medium • Frame Rate: High |
| Farlight84 | • Graphics Quality: Balanced • Frame Rate: Very High |
| PUBG Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Balanced • Frame Rate: Ultra |
| Genshin Impact | • Render Resolution: Low • Visual Effects: Low • FPS: 60 |
| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | • Graphics Quality: Ultra • Frame Rate: High • HD Mode: On |
| Asphalt Legends Unite | • Visual Quality: High Quality • Frame Rate: 60 |
Software and User Interface
The vivo V50 Lite 5G ships with Android 15-based FuntouchOS 15. It is expected to receive 3 years of major Android upgrades and 4 years of security patches — more than good enough for a midrange handset.
I’m a big fan of how FuntouchOS has improved over the years. Apart from the annoying V-Appstore pestering the notifications tab (which you can turn off easily), I had no complaints with the interface.
As you can see, the home screen and the control panel are clean and highly customizable.
Customization is aplenty here. You can even choose between different animations for charging, edge lighting for notifications, home screen transition, and even USB insertion.
Virtual RAM Expansion is also here and is enabled by default. The built-in storage cleaner lets you free up space easily, in case you managed to fill up the storage with junk.
The in-display fingerprint scanner worked fine, but not the fastest. The facial ID worked faster in our testing. I suggest turning on both security features and use whichever is more convenient depending on the situation.
vivo’s window is accessible while in-game. It lets you switch between gaming modes (Battery Saver, Balanced Mode, and BOOST), see real-time CPU and GPU usage, battery remaining, adjust network settings, and more. You can also see how long you’ve been playing so you can manage your time better.
Cameras
The vivo V50 Lite 5G has a 50-megapixel Sony IMX882 main camera with an f/1.8 aperture. There’s also an 8-megapixel ultra-wide and a 32-megapixel selfie camera.
vivo’s signature AuraLight ring flash is also here, which sadly only has the white color temperature. It’s also the only flash here, unlike the more expensive models that have a dedicated flash apart from the AuraLight.
Unfortunately, there’s no 4K video recording available. The best you can get is 1080p@60fps.
Daylight shots from the main camera look pleasant with lively colors. The dynamic range feels a bit much, so the shots would appear a little unrealistic at times. Details are good, but I’m noticing excessive over sharpening in some of the shots.
There’s also a bit of delay in the shutter at times, resulting in blurry photos of moving subjects.
Low-light performance was really great. Sharpness is on point, colors are vibrant, dynamic range is top notch, while noises and grains were kept at bay.
The vivo V50 Lite uses the same ring LED light for the AuraLight and standard flash feature. While the AuraLight provides a nice fill light when you’re framing the shot, I find that going with the standard flash mode produces better results.
I managed to take good 2x zoom portrait shots from the main camera. There’s a noticeable drop in the sharpness due to the digital crop, but it’s still acceptable.
Portrait Mode provides a believable background blur, but suffers from the usual overblown exposure from time to time.
We also got sharp details, vibrant but realistic colors, and a wide dynamic range from the 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens. It would’ve been better if it was a sharper sensor, though.
Finally, we have the 32-megapixel selfie camera. It takes well-detailed selfies, nice skin tones, and good low-light performance.
The vivo V50 Lite 5G has capable cameras that could really use improved image processing. But as it is, it’s pretty good.
Battery and Charging
The highlight of the vivo V50 Lite 5G is its large 6,500mAh battery, which garnered some of the best scores in our tests. It is paired with 90W fast charging.
In our PCMark synthetic battery test, it lasted for 20 hours and 58 minutes — much higher than the average score of 14 hours and 52 minutes that competing devices in its segment got.
In our 1080p YouTube video loop test, it lasted for 23 hours and 47 minutes, which closely follows the HONOR X9C that got the best score of 24 hours and 10 minutes. Other devices in this segment got an average score of 17 hours and 15 minutes.
Charging speeds from the 90W adapter is excellent for the price. Despite its large battery, a full charge only took about 57 minutes. See our full test results below:
- 15 mins: 0-30%
- 30 mins: 55%
- 45 mins: 79%
- 57 mins: FULL
Verdict
The vivo V50 Lite 5G caters to a specific group of people: those who want an extra-long battery life, good cameras, and durability without the bulk. Whether you’re a rider who relies on all-day GPS navigation while braving the sun and rains, or a heavy TV watcher who completes a whole season in one sitting, or a heavy gamer that don’t stop for hours until you rank up (or down).
All these big-battery benefits come from a phone that’s the same size as your old one, or probably even thinner. What’s more, the V50 Lite is paired with a fast charger that surely reduces downtime.
But then again, it’s far from perfect. I honestly think the day-to-day performance should feel smoother for the price, having HDR streaming would be nice, and the image processing is a bit disappointing for a vivo smartphone.
Bottom line is, the vivo V50 Lite 5G has that great battery life that’s hard to find in its segment. That alone should be enough to justify its price for most people. But for people who really value performance and camera quality, there are other options out there. Perhaps you might even want to consider its bigger brother, the vivo V50 5G.
vivo V50 Lite pricing and availability
The vivo V50 Lite 5G has a price of Php16,999 for the 8GB/256GB model and Php19,999 for the 12GB/512GB. There’s also a 4G-only model with 8GB/256GB configuration for Php13,999.
You can get them at vivo physical and online stores, retailers, and through Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok Shop.
Pros
- Thin and sleek for a big-battery phone
- Good stereo speakers
- Polished user interface, full of customization options
- Excellent battery life with speedy charging
Cons
- No HDR, Dolby Vision
- Day-to-day performance could be faster
- Image processing needs work
- No 4K video recording