Review of the Vivo V25 Pro
Vivo’s V series is its middle-range, youthful and creative series. We reviewed both the V23 and the V23 Pro at the beginning of this year and were quite satisfied with both. After a few short months, Vivo is already moving to the V25 series. Our review today is of the Vivo V25 Pro. There are similarities between this phone and the V23 Pro, at least in spirit. Specifically, it targets a creative crowd with an impressive camera setup and a focus on great selfies.
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As compared to the older generation, the V25 Pro now features a lower-resolution 64MP SAMSUNG GW1 sensor with electronic image stabilization (EIS) and optical image stabilization (OIS). A 12MP ultrawide camera has also been added.
Vivo dropped the second ultrawide camera and replaced it with a single 32MP Samsung GD2 camera to simplify things a bit. While we’ll have to wait and see whether it’s an improvement over the dual selfie cameras on the vivo V23 Pro, the autofocus feature remains. This makes the V25 Pro a good choice for younger social network enthusiasts.
Price of Vivo V25 Pro in India
The Vivo V25 Pro 5G starts at 35,999 rupees in India. Vivo V25 Pro 5G is available at Croma for the lowest price. The Vivo V25 Pro 5G is not available in any other online store. Mobile phones with 128 GB and 256 GB storage are available in India in Sailing Blue colors.
The vivo V25 Pro specs in a nutshell:
- Body: 158.9×73.5×8.6mm, 190g; Glass front and back; Resistant to drops, scratches, and sweat.
- Display: 6.56″ AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1300 nits (peak), 1920x2376px resolution, 19:9 aspect ratio, 398ppi.
- Chipset: Dimensity 1300 (6 nm) from MediaTek: Octa-core (1×3.0 GHz Cortex-A78 & 3×2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G77 MC9.
- Memory: 128GB with 8GB RAM, 256GB with 12GB RAM; UFS 3.0.
- OS/Software: Funtouch 12 for Android 12.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f/1.9, 25mm, 1/1.72″, 0.8m, PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 16mm, 120-degree, 1/4″, 1.12m; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4.
- Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.5, 1/2.8″, 0.8m, autofocus.
- Video capture: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps, 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 4830mAh; Fast charging 66W, 40% in 15 minutes, 71% in 30 minutes (advertised).
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); Back panel color changes.
In keeping with its predecessor, the vivo V25 Pro maintains a fresh and youthful design and exterior. For the phone’s back cover, Vivo has created a new color-changing finish. The phone needs to be in Surfing Blue for an extra touch of visual appeal. There is also the tamer Starlight Black option if that’s not your thing.
Additionally, the V25 Pro gets a few slight specs bumps compared to its predecessor, like the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 chipset, which we are eager to test. Besides the 120Hz display, the Vivo V25 Pro also gets a larger battery and faster charging.
Vivo V25 Pro: Unboxing
We should take a closer look at the retail box of the Vivo V25 Pro before we move forward with exporting it. A sturdy cardboard two-piece box is included with the vivo V25. The case has a tough exterior and a plastic cradle to hold the phone inside. All of it is very secure.
One of vivo’s 80W FlashCharge chargers comes with the V25 Pro. At peak charging, the phone won’t be able to fully utilize the charger’s capacity, but will instead use its 11V@6A – 66W output specs. That’s not bad at all. Besides the USB Type-A to Type-C cable, there is a sturdy Type-A to Type-C cable included in the package. As with the charger, you should keep track of both since they are non-standard and required to charge the V25 Pro fully.
Vivo included a pretty generous accessory package with the Vivo V25 Pro. An attractive, soft, but thick TPU case is included in the box. Additionally, there are earbuds with built-in microphones. We were initially surprised to find that the latter have a 3.5mm jack, something that was missing from the vivo V25. However, digging deeper into the box revealed a Type-C to 3.5mm dongle. As a whole, the accessory package is very rich by today’s standards.
Vivo V25 Pro: Design
There is no doubt that the Vivo V25 Pro is an elegant phone. There is a certain refinement to many of Vivo’s phones as of late that is also evident here. The thin middle frame flows nicely into the curved lines on the back and front. There is a nice uniformity to all of the surfaces, and they look and feel premium. There is something symmetrical and orderly about vivo’s camera island designs. It would look right at home on a boardroom meeting table, too, especially in Pure Black, even though the V25 targets younger creatives.
A Sailing Blue color variant is definitely a better choice if you want an extra splash of visual flair. A proprietary color-changing paint job is used on the back of vivo’s V25 phones, just like on the previous V23 generation. UV-reactive material or, rather, a UV-reactive color layer is in question. As a result of UV exposure, the light blue color on the Vivo V25 Pro darkens. From the clear skies to the deep seas, vivo puts it.
It can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes for the color to change from UV blue to UV green, depending on the amount of UV light present. In some environments, like on a cloudy day, you can end up with a mid-way change and fail to reach the proper “deep blue” hue.
By covering parts of the back panel as it changes, you can play around with the process quite a bit. Any temporary “customization” won’t stick around consistently unless you’re in a controlled environment, such as a stencil of a logo. If you hold your phone as you walk into or away from the sun, be prepared to look at a not-so-pleasant random “artsy” design.
As a whole, it ends up being a pretty fun party trick, and the case comes with the kit too. If you’re not into it, you can always slap a solid case on the V25 Pro and forget about it.
The fluorite AG glass on the back surface of the V25 Pro also has a layer of crystals that shine and glimmer when light hits it from different angles. To the touch, the surface feels like very soft sandstone.
A discussion of the V25 Pro’s design would not be complete without mentioning its aggressively curved profile. With the front and back glass panels curving steeply into a thin middle frame, this aesthetic is mostly carried over from the V23 Pro. The result is a striking profile, but also a surprisingly comfortable grip. The V25 Pro’s back surface isn’t particularly slippery, and it measures just 8.62 mm, which is not excessively thin and actually quite a bit thicker than the V23 Pro.
The V25 Pro weighs 190 grams more than its predecessor. Due largely to the larger 4,830 mAh battery, the V25 Pro has gained girth and weight – a tradeoff we are happy to make, especially since the device is very well-balanced. With 158.9 x 73.5 x 8.6 mm dimensions, the V23 Pro hasn’t really grown in any other dimension.
Vivo V25 Pro: High-quality materials and construction
It feels very sturdy when you hold the V25 Pro. The body has very little flex, and there is no hollow feeling to be found anywhere on it. Two curved sheets of 3D glass are bolted to a middle frame to provide structural rigidity in this “glass sandwich” design.
In contrast to the back of the V25 Pro, that middle frame is made of plastic with a shiny finish that retains plenty of grease and smudges. Despite its thin size, it does a great job structurally. Vivo has not shared any details about the front and back glass surfaces of the V25 Pro. The back is made of fluorite AG material, and Vivo advertises scratch-resistant surfaces on both sides. The exact amount is unknown, however.
The V23 Pro used Schott Xensation glass for its front, so Vivo could have used Schott again. However, that’s just speculation on our part. The V25 Pro comes with a factory-applied plastic screen protector, which feels quite nice, despite having more resistance than glass.
The vivo V25 Pro still lacks any official income protection rating, which is a bit disappointing. At least Vivo promises that it will withstand sweat. To be fair, the V25 Pro has apparently been extensively drop-tested.
Vivo V25 Pro: A control system
There is a standard control layout on the V25 Pro. Right-hand side buttons include a power button and volume rocker. Despite being well positioned in terms of height, they are rather thin, which is understandable given the frame’s thinness. It makes them a bit harder to use, though. Furthermore, the tactile feedback is merely acceptable and not great.
Vivo V25 Pro: It is entirely empty on the left-hand side.
This is also true for the top of the phone, since there is still a tiny secondary microphone hole here. The flat plastic insert on top, complete with tiny writing, is also worth mentioning. Vivo’s recent design language has featured this consistently. At first, we thought it was kind of unnecessary, but we’ve grown to like it.
One of the two speakers is located on the bottom side of the V25 Pro. Second channel is provided by the amplified earpiece above the display. There is also a SIM tray here, as well as the main microphone.
In spite of the absence of an official ingress protection rating on the phone, it houses two nano SIM cards and has a gasket. Storage expansion is not possible with SD cards.
Under the display of the V25 Pro is a fingerprint reader. This is a standard optical unit. Excellent positioning, speed, and accuracy. There are no complaints there.
Display bezels on the V25 Pro are not too thick or too thin, particularly on the left and right sides. Due to the lack of a dual selfie camera setup, there is a central-mounted selfie punch hole, which is less of an eyesore than the notch on the V23 Pro.
A proximity sensor and a light sensor are hidden away near the top of the V25 Pro. As has become common, there is no notification LED.
Vivo V25 Pro: Availability of connectivity
The V25 Pro runs the new MediaTek Dimensity 1300 chipset, which is a slight update to the Dimensity 1200 chip. A similarity is found in the V25 Pro’s dual-SIM SA/NSA Sub-6 5G connectivity, which supports up to 4.6Gbps download speed. For local connectivity, the V25 Pro has dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (ax) and Bluetooth 5.2 with LE support. GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS, and NavIC are all available. The phone does not have NFC, FM radio, 3.5mm jack, or infrared port.
Additionally, we tested the USB Type-C port’s capabilities. Despite having USB OTG and host capabilities, data transfer is limited to USB 2.0 speeds of 480 Mbps. Video output is not available.