The vivo V series continues its bi-annual refresh with the release of the latest vivo V50 5G. Prominent for offering an all-around experience, the vivo V50 takes it further by having better cameras, a bigger battery, and faster charging.
While the rest of the specs remain identical, it’s also nice to see that the starting price is lower. In our full review of the vivo V50, we’ll see if it’s the one for you, or are you better off with the now cheaper V40? Let’s start.
vivo V50 Specs
- Android 15, FuntouchOS 15
- Dual SIM, Dual Standby
- 6.77-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, 2392 x 1080, ~388ppi
- 120Hz refresh rate, 4500-nit peak brightness, HDR10+
- 2.63GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 octa-core processor
- Adreno 720 GPU
- 12GB RAM
- 256GB/512GB UFS 2.2 internal storage, non-expandable
- 50-megapixel front camera, AF
- 50-megapixel (f/1.9, PDAF, OIS) + 50-megapixel (ultra-wide, AF) rear cameras, Ring-LED flash
- ZEISS Optics
- Stereo speakers
- Under-display fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
- HSPA+, 4G, LTE
- WiFi 6, dual-band
- Bluetooth 5.4
- GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, NavIC, BDS
- USB-C
- Dimensions: 163.3 x 76.7 x 7.4 / 7.6 / 7.7mm
- Weight: 189/199g
- Colors: Starry Night, Titanium Grey, Rose Red
- 6,000mAh non-removable battery, 90W fast charging
Design and Build Quality
The vivo V40 is the first in the series to be IP68/69 dust and water resistant, so it’s already expected that the newer vivo V50 5G have the same durability features. vivo claims it is protected from water, rain, as well as wet or greasy hands, so there’s to worry about when taking care of your smartphone.
Underwater photography is also possible thanks to its speaker drain mechanism. Meanwhile, the tougher Diamond Shield Glass is said to be 50% more drop resistant and has received an SGS 5-star rating.
While it should survive accidents, it’s still best to use the free clear case in the box. The case barely adds bulk to the device, with thick and reinforced corners to protect the screen and the camera island from drops.
The clear case doesn’t hide the device’s sleek design. The Mist Purple colorway we have has a light finish with eye-catching reflections. A more striking Ancora Red option is also available, while the Satin Black is for those who want a more subtle look.
While the camera island is now cleaner, the overall look is still identical to the V40. We still like the glossy frame, the curved front and back, and its ultra-thin design that makes it incredibly smooth in the hands. It’s about 9 grams heavier now due to the bigger battery, but that’s easily negligible.
Despite its thin frame, the V50 feels very sturdy. The frame stays really solid even after a couple of light bend tests.
The vivo V series, with the vivo V50 5G, remains one of the sleekest — if not the sleekest — smartphones we’ve ever held in our hands. That’s enough to forgive the lack of a major redesign. Maybe it’s okay since customers who bought the previous generation are not really
A 6.77-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen is on the front, with a punch-hole on top for the 50-megapixel selfie camera and an under-display fingerprint scanner. We got subtle curves all around the screen and ultra-thin bezels.
The top has the noise-isolating microphone and speaker holes. We have the primary speaker at the bottom, a microphone, a USB-C port, and a SIM tray for two nano SIMs.
There’s a substantial camera bump on the back, but forgivable considering how elegant the camera island looks. Both 50-megapixel sensors are now on a single lens, with the ZEISS branding with them. The large Aura Light ring flash is below them.
Display and Audio
The vivo V50 5G has a 6.77-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 2392 x 1080 pixel resolution, ~388ppi , adaptive refresh rate, 4,500 nits local peak brightness, 1,300 nits at high brightness mode, 8,000,000:1 contrast ratio, P3 color coverage, and HDR10+ support.
Display quality is impressive, as expected. All the vibrant colors and deep contrast you come to expect from an AMOLED panel are here. The smoothness of the high refresh rate is felt, also thanks to the beefy processor. Brightness is also not a problem when using the device outdoors.
It’s got Widevine L1 support for Full HD streaming on Netflix. HDR10 is also supported on streaming apps.
The vivo V50 5G has good stereo speakers. Clarity is nice, bass is present, and treble is clean. Stereo separation is audible, which is great for shooter games. However, the volume is a little lacking.
Hardware and Performance
The vivo V50 is powered by a 2.63GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 octa-core processor — a decent but not the best choice for its segment. It is joined by an Adreno 720 GPU, large 12GB of RAM, and an option between 256GB and 512GB of storage. The chipset is attached to a vapor chamber cooling system with a large cooling area of 25,489mm².
vivo V50 Benchmark Scores
Performance has been smooth for basic and day-to-day tasks. Definitely not as smooth as other phones in this tier with a beefier processor, but still reliable. From scrolling through social media feeds, calls, and taking pictures, I had no complaints.
For gaming, we’re starting with the most demanding one: Genshin Impact. The game ran smoothly under Medium settings with smooth 60fps. No overheating issues either.
PUBG Mobile was very smooth under Ultra HDR graphics and Ultra frames, Call of Duty Mobile under Very High graphics and Max frames, and Farlight84 at H graphics and Very High frame rates. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Asphalt Legends Unite was seamless under the highest available settings.
The vivo V50 5G handles games really well, so there’s no problems in case you plan to game occasionally on this handset.
| Game | Graphics Settings |
| Call of Duty: Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Very High • Frame Rate: Max |
| Farlight84 | • Graphics Quality: HD • Frame Rate: Very High |
| PUBG Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Ultra HDR • Frame Rate: Ultra |
| Genshin Impact | • Render Resolution: Medium • Visual Effects: Medium • FPS: 60 |
| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | • Graphics Quality: Super • Frame Rate: Ultra • HD Mode: On |
| Asphalt Legends Unite | • Visual Quality: High Quality • Frame Rate: 90 |
Software and User Interface
The vivo V50 5G runs on the latest Android 15-based FuntouchOS 15. It’s been confirmed to receive three major OS upgrades in the future — not the longest support by today’s standards, but decent for the price.
As with most phones, AI is a big feature here. When you long-press the power button, Google Gemini will now pop out instead of the old Google Assistant. Gemini is now more conversational, and you can ask it to write emails for you, captions, search for stuff much easier, and more.
AI is also used for the V50’s Live Call Translation, Transcript Assist for voice recording, and Screen Translation for foreign websites and emails. Circle to Search with Google is also here.
Of course, there are a lot of AI features found within the camera app and gallery. AI Erase 2.0 works incredibly well. Live Cutout and AI Photo Enhance are also here.
vivo also highlights its AI SuperLink feature that works with the 360-degree Omnidirectional Antenna 2.0 to ensure you stay connected even in weak signals.
The overall look of the interface stays identical to older FuntouchOS versions. The control center has a straightforward layout; the app drawer is clean and well-organized and sits next to the Widgets section.
We also spotted a lot of customizability features: from the AOD wallpapers to the edge lighting when you receive notifications.
Virtual RAM Expansion is also here. You can’t adjust the allocation, though, as it’s only set at 12GB. All you can do is enable or disable the feature and a device restart is required for the new setting to apply.
We see app suggestions already on the home screen, but other than that, bloatware is not an issue. There’s also a built-in storage cleaner that scans the system for junk and unnecessary cached files.
We’re still getting an optical instead of an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. Still, it worked quickly and accurately. There are also 12 animation styles you can choose from in the settings.
Face recognition unlocks the device faster, especially if you have Raise to Wake feature enabled. Screen Fill Light can be enabled to use display brightness to light up your face in dark scenarios. There are five animation styles to choose from, but the default is good enough for me.
vivo’s in-game window shows real-time CPU and GPU usage, battery life, and how long you’ve been playing. From here, you can also adjust the performance modes (Balanced, Battery Saver, BOOST), refresh rate, network, touch sampling, and more.
Emoji Keyboard is used by default. It’s easy to use and very customizable, but we still prefer the familiarity of Google Keyboard.
The camera app is still as intuitive as before. What’s new is the built-in vivo Film Camera that you can access from the bottom of the camera app.
vivo’s interface is one of the most user-friendly around, so we have no issues here. The 3-year support guarantee is a big plus, too.
Cameras
The vivo V50 5G has a 50-megapixel main camera that uses a 1/1.55-inch OV50E sensor from the V30. It has optical image stabilization and an f/1.9 aperture. We also have a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera and another 50-megapixel sensor for selfies.
Like its predecessor, all cameras have ZEISS optics. Plus, ZEISS Style Bokeh effects are present in the camera app. vivo’s Aura Light ring flash is still here that changes in color temperature to match the subject’s skin tones.
We’re impressed with the shots we got from the V40, and the same can be said with the V50. Daylight photos from the main camera have striking yet realistic colors, the dynamic range is impressive, and the details are excellent.
50-megapixel main camera | Daylight
We’re equally impressed with the low-light shots of the main camera. Details remain relatively sharp, noises and grains were kept at bay, and colors and contrast are the same.
Exposure is enough, but if you need more, you can use the Aura Light flash, which is reliable in lighting up any subject (human, food, etc.) with even lighting, matching color hues, and no overblown exposure, unlike traditional flashes.
50-megapixel main camera | Low-light
Since it lacks a dedicated telephoto camera, the main shooter can be used for 2x shots with a 46mm equivalent and on portrait mode shots at 50mm. There’s an inevitable drop in sharpness, but the details are still good.
50-megapixel main camera | Digital Zoom
We’re seeing the same attractive colors with the 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera. The dynamic range is also fine, low-light shots are good, and barrel distortion is not an issue.
50-megapixel ultra-wide camera
The 50-megapixel main camera takes really impressive photos for a selfie camera. We’re getting a lot of details even in low-light; skin tones are accurate, and dynamic range is clean.
50-megapixel front camera
Photography is and always will be the series’ best feature, and I’m glad it continued the trend with the latest vivo V50.
Battery and Charging
The vivo V50 now has a 6,000mAh battery — 500mAh more than its predecessor. It was also upgraded to 90W fast charging from 80W.
It got stellar scores in our battery tests. In the PCMark Synthetic Battery Test, it lasted for 17 hours and 35 minutes, which is slightly higher than the average score of 17 hours and 13 minutes that other phones in this segment got.
In the 1080p YouTube Video Loop Test, it lasted for 19 hours and 31 minutes, which is much higher than the average score of 16 hours and 45 minutes. You can easily get a day to a day and a half of heavy use out of this device.
The 90W fast charging is impressive, too. A 15-minute charge already takes you from 0 to 26%, with a full charge taking only around 56 minutes. See the full test results below:
- 15mins: 0-26%
- 30mins: 55%
- 45mins: 82%
- 56mins: FULL
Verdict
Instead of coming up with a completely new device, what vivo did is take an already good smartphone and improve to make it better. While the pricing is a bit disappointing, there’s no denying that the vivo V50 is a great all-around smartphone.
The vivo V50 has the right combination of everything. There’s the incredibly sleek design that you’d really appreciate carrying around every day, a great display and speakers for watching content, good cameras for day and night shooting, and long battery life with speedy charging.
However, while it provides a smooth and seamless performance for both basic tasks and gaming, the chipset used here lags behind what other devices have in this segment.
Overall, the vivo V50 is a great device that ticks all the right boxes. We won’t blame you if you get it now, but if you can wait for a sale, it might be best to wait for the price to go down. Alternatively, you can check out the V40, which has a lot of the same features, but now in a much lower price tag.
vivo V50 pricing and availability in the Philippines
The vivo V50 has a price of Php27,999 and Php30,999 for the 12GB/256GB and 12GB/512GB models, respectively. They are now available in Lazada, Shopee, TikTok Shop, vivo’s online store, and in a lot of physical stores, kiosks, and retailers nationwide.
Pros
- Incredibly sleek design, durable build
- Good-sounding speakers
- Reliable performance in basic tasks, gaming
- Great cameras
- Stellar battery life, fast charging
Cons
- Not the best chipset for the price
- No dedicated telephoto lens