vivo Philippines has introduced a new midrange smartphone in the market, the vivo Y100 4G, equipped with ultra-fast charging, a smooth display, unique design, and more.
But in the saturated sub-Php15,000 smartphone market, does it have what it takes to survive in this competitive segment? Let’s find out in our vivo Y100 review.
vivo Y100 4G Specs
- Android 14, Funtouch 14
- Dual SIM, Dual standby
- 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, 2400 x 1080 pixel resolution, 395ppi
- 120Hz refresh rate
- 1200 nits peak brightness
- 2.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 octa-core processor
- 8GB RAM
- Adreno 610 GPU
- 256GB internal storage, expandable via microSD up to 1TB
- 8-megapixel front camera
- 50-megapixel + 2-megapixel (depth sensor) + Flicker sensor rear cameras, LED flash
- IP54 dust and splash resistant
- In-display fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
- Stereo speakers, 300% volume booster
- Hi-Res audio
- HSPA+, 4G LTE
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
- Bluetooth 5.0
- GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS
- USB-C
- Dimensions: 163.17 x 75.81 x 7.79mm
- Weight: 188g
- Colors: Crystal Black, Breeze Green
- 5,000mAh non-removable battery, 80W fast charger
Design and Build Quality
The layout of the rear panel of the vivo Y100 4G is identical to other vivo Y-series devices that I’ve seen before. But this time, they’ve introduced a new design pattern for a refreshing look.
The unique pattern of the Breeze Green colorway that I’m reviewing comes with vivo’s signature color-changing flourite AG glass — a feature I haven’t seen in a vivo phone in a while. From its lime green color, it transitions to a dark green tone when hit by sunlight or UV light.
If you want a more subtle color, there’s a Crystal Black option that has a more elegant pattern matched with gold accents in the camera bezels.
The rear panel stays clean from any fingerprint marks and smudges. vivo also said that their Flourite AG rear panel is scratch and wear-resistant.
However, I can’t say the same with the shiny metallic frame. It can easily get dirty. Although, I do like that it’s flat, which makes this impressively thin smartphone comfortable and easy to hold.
Like on most budget phones, I heard minor creaks when I did a couple of light bend tests. But it shouldn’t break easily unless you’re really trying.
For extra durability, the vivo Y100 has been IP54 certified for being dust and splash-resistant. There’s also a screen protector applied in the factory and a free clear case, which does a decent job of protecting the smartphone.
Taking a tour, we have a decent 6.67-inch AMOLED screen on the front, with a punch-hole for the 8-megapixel selfie camera. The bezels are not the thinnest but good enough.
Left side is clean, while the right has the lock/power and volume buttons.
The top only has the noise-isolating microphone. At the bottom, it has the USB-C port, loudspeaker, and the SIM tray, which is oddly a hybrid setup. You can house two nano SIM cards, or only have one and save the other for a microSD card.
vivo always comes up with clean and elegant designs on every release, and we’re seeing that commitment on the vivo Y100.
Display and Audio
The vivo Y100 4G has a 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen with a 2400 x 1080 resolution, 395ppi, 120Hz refresh rate, and 1200-nits peak brightness.
You can adjust the color temperature in the settings, even the color modes. The refresh rate can also be toggled to stick to 60Hz, 120Hz, or the Smart Switch option for better efficiency.
The display quality was good for the price. The colors are nice and the contrast is deep. Screen brightness, while not the best, still makes it usable outdoors. HD streaming is also supported on Netflix.
The stereo speaker is nice for spatial awareness in shooter games. The bass is audible and you can definitely feel the fullness of the sound. However, the clarity is a bit off. There’s also the 200% and 300% volume boost feature, which did improve the volume, but inevitably made audio sound a bit distorted.
Hardware and Performance
The vivo Y100 4G is equipped with a 2.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 processor, which sadly lacks 5G connectivity — a disappointing omission for its price point. It is joined by an Adreno 610 GPU, 8GB of RAM, and a large 256GB of expandable storage.
vivo Y100 4G Benchmark Scores
For the price, the performance on day-to-day tasks feels sluggish. Opening and closing apps feels like in slow motion and scrolling through social media feeds is choppy. Still, different tasks can be done, just don’t expect a smooth experience.
Now, let’s talk about gaming. Genshin Impact, under the default setting of Low, ran fairly smooth. PUBG Mobile ran fine under the lowest graphics with high frame rates. Call of Duty Mobile had no issues under medium. Mobile Legends and Lol Wild Rift looked good under High settings.
Asphalt 9 also ran with no problems under the highest possible settings. But, I can’t say the same with Farlight84. Even with the lowest graphics, I was still experiencing frame drops here and there.
| Game | Graphics Settings |
| Call of Duty: Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Medium • Frame Rate: Medium |
| Farlight84 | • Graphics Quality: Minimal • Frame Rate: Medium • Resolution: Low |
| PUBG Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Smooth • Frame Rate: High |
| Genshin Impact | • Graphics Quality: Low (Default) |
| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | • Graphics Quality: High • Frame Rate: Super • HD Mode: On |
| Asphalt 9: Legends | • Visual Quality: High Quality • Frame Rate: 60 |
Cameras
The vivo Y100 has a 50-megapixel main camera and an 8-megapixel sensor for selfies. Disappointingly, it lacks a more usable ultra-wide or macro lens. Instead, we just got a 2-megapixel depth sensor and a flicker sensor.
Daylight shots look pleasant with realistic colors and contrast and a noticeable depth of field even without the portrait mode enabled. Dynamic range was also handled decently. However, sharpness and details are lacking compared to other 50-megapixel cameras that I’ve tested.
There’s an accessible 2x button on the camera app that’s great for taking portraits or getting close to subjects. The quality is similar to the 1x, but as expected, we’re seeing further drop in details.
Low-light shots looked surprisingly good. While noises and grains are now more present, colors are still decent and the depth of field is noticeable.
Finally, we have the 8-megapixel selfie camera, which takes nice selfies with natural colors and contrast. But unlike competing devices with 50-megapixel sensors, the shots on this one, unsurprisingly, lacks sharpness. Still good enough for social media, though.
Software and User Interface
The vivo Y100 4G runs on the company’s latest Funtouch OS 14 interface that’s based on Android 14. Like we’ve seen on other vivo phones, the UI feels complete, and while it can be overwhelming for some, users can eventually get used to it.
Swiping up from the home screen reveals the app drawer, which is neatly organized alphabetically, with a search bar on top and recommended apps on the first row. Swipe left and you have a list of all the home screen widgets you can use.
vivo share is here if you want to use it, but I prefer Google’s native Quick Share feature as it’s more universal and works across different Android smartphone manufacturers.
Android Auto support is also available. It worked fine, but due to the underwhelming processor, it can get a bit slow on your car’s dashboard.
Thanks to the AMOLED screen, you can enable the Always-On Display (AOD), with a bunch of AOD wallpapers to choose from.
There’s also the Ambient Light feature that lights up the edges of the screen when you receive notifications. It’s heavily customizable with different animation styles, colors, and more.
The in-display fingerprint scanner worked fine, but I think the face unlock did a quicker job of unlocking the device. The animation for both the fingerprint and facial recognition can also be customized.
For the storage, the System eats up 24GB of space, which is about 10% of the total 256GB of space. Still, with six games installed and about a hundred photos taken, I was still left with about 167GB of storage. You can also tap the Manage Storage button, which will give you suggestions of apps and files that you can delete to free up space.
Extended RAM is also here, which adds 8GB of virtual memory for an extra multitasking boost.
The Smart Sidebar can be easily accessed from the corner of the screen, which shows a list of apps that you can launch in floating window mode for better multitasking.
vivo’s Game Window can also be summoned from the corner of the screen while in-game. This lets you switch between three different performance modes: Balanced, Battery Saver, or Boost. You can also use the voice changer, block notifications, record the screen, see real-time CPU and GPU usage, and more.
vivo’s iManager app lets users optimize the system with the press of a button. It gives you access to the aforementioned storage cleaner, plus, do a quick security scan, data management, and app management.
The camera app, as expected, is straightforward and polished. Moreover, vivo used Google Keyboard by default, which is the one I prefer of the hundreds of keyboards on the Play Store as it’s more familiar to use and offers the right amount of features to be useful without being overwhelming.
Battery and Charging
The vivo Y100 4G sports a 5,000mAh battery, which provides that same impressive battery life we’ve always seen on any vivo smartphone. What’s more, it ships with a speedy 80W charger for quick top ups.
In PCMark’s battery test, the Y100 4G lasted for 15 hours and 15 minutes before dropping to 20% after a loop of synthetic workload with the WiFi and Bluetooth off and the brightness and volume at 50%. That’s above the average score we get of around 14 hours.
For real-world use, the device lasted 15 hours and 45 minutes after I looped a 1080p YouTube video. That’s from 100% all the way down to 1%.
As for the 80W charger, a quick 15-minute charge already provided 30% of juice. A full charge only takes around 49 minutes. See our full test below:
- 15mins: 0-30%
- 30mins: 63%
- 45mins: 95%
- 49mins: FULL
Verdict
I did appreciate the unique design of the vivo Y100 4G, as well as the colorful AMOLED screen, good stereo speakers, impressive fast charging, and the long battery life that vivo phones are known for.
Still, there’s no denying that it lags behind the competiton in terms of specs. For the same price, you can get a more powerful processor and better cameras from other brands.
That said, it’s best to skip the vivo Y100 4G for now, not unless vivo decides to drop the price tag by a few thousand pesos less.
vivo Y100 4G pricing and availability in the Philippines
The vivo Y100 4G has an SRP of Php14,999 in the Philippines and is available in a bunch of physical stores and retailers nationwide, and through online channels such as Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop.
Pros
- Unique, color-changing design
- AMOLED display with stereo speakers
- Long battery life
- Fast charging
Cons
- Underwhelming chipset
- So-so cameras
- No 5G
- No ultra-wide, macro