Vivo V21 Review

Vivo’s latest smartphone packs a triple-camera setup and a 6.44-inch AMOLED display. This attractive device will appeal to upcoming YouTubers, Tiktokers, and other content creators who want a good camera in their mid-range smartphones.

The front camera is also highlighted, offering a high-resolution (44MP) sensor with f/2.0 aperture, OIS, and dual-LED flash. The camera also supports 4K video recording at 30fps.

Camera

The Vivo V21 is a rock-solid midrange smartphone that stands out for its stellar front camera, which is the best in its price range. It has a pixel-tastic 44MP snapper, OIS, autofocus and can shoot 4K video.

It also boasts not one but two front LED lights to help it get better selfies in low light.

The V21 takes great photos in natural sunlight with excellent details and near-accurate colors. It also does a good job capturing detail in night mode pictures, but the dynamic range is limited.

If you like to take photos, the Vivo V21 is worth a look, but not the best camera phone of 2022. If you’re a more experienced photographer, you should instead look for a phone with a better main, ultra-wide, and macro camera setup, like the Redmi Note 10 Pro or OnePlus Nord 2.

Screen

Your smartphone is always with you, whether you use it for social media, checking emails, shopping, banking, reading, or watching videos. With this kind of usage, a lot of wear and tear is naturally experienced.

Screens are prone to scratches and scuffs, which weaken the surface of the glass. This deterioration can make your screen more susceptible to damage if subjected to direct impact like a drop.

This is why protecting your smartphone with a screen protector is essential. A quality screen protector will prevent casual scuffs from damaging the surface of your display, keeping your device looking as new as the day you purchased it. It will also preserve the luster of your screen by keeping grease and oil from dulling the glint.

Performance

Despite being a mid-range smartphone, the Vivo V21 does a decent job of performing day-to-day tasks. Its MediaTek Dimensity 800U chip isn’t a powerhouse but can run various apps without any problems.

The Vivo, V21’s screen, is a big highlight, delivering crisp, apparent viewing angles and rich colors. It also has an in-display fingerprint scanner that works well.

In the camera department, we’re impressed by the Vivo V21’s selfie shooter. The photos are very sharp and detailed and look much less artificial than other Vivo phones we’ve used.

The rear camera combines a primary sensor with an 8MP ultra-wide sensor and a 2MP macro camera. The primary camera delivers a good range of detail and contrast, though we can’t help but wish it had a wider field of view.

Battery

The Vivo V21 is a mid-range smartphone that packs a lot of features into a small package. The device is a slim 7.67mm thin and weighs 165g, making it very comfortable to use while on the move.

Its screen also has an impressive 90Hz refresh rate which is very smooth and responsive to touch, even when scrolling a vertical UI. However, like many other high refresh rate panels, the OS needs to be smart enough to make the most of the extra speed when required.

This resulted in an excellent battery life that lasted 9 hours and 20 minutes when we ran an intensive test with the screen on at full brightness and the 90Hz refresh rate. That’s pretty good and compares well to similar devices with the same battery size.