The perfect way to test a smartphone is to use it. Use it like you would use it on a daily basis. Phone calls, text messages, applications, games along with photo and video. Once these parameters are put to their paces, it is quite evidently determinable of how much a smartphone is capable of.
A few weeks back I got a call from Vivo asking me if I would be interested to attend a Photowalk along with a few others and try out their latest upcoming smartphone and the next thing I remember is Sipping coffee in Starbucks while checking out the new Vivo V17 that was yet to be launched. The idea was simple. We would take a common walk route and take pictures on the way exploring the southern tip of Mumbai. Soon, I was rattling off shots on the V17.
How does look Vivo V17?
An instant feel-good factor when you pick it up on your hand. Draped in Midnight Ocean colour, the 6.44-inch Super AMOLED HD+ display is devoid of any notches or thick bezels. An in-display fingerprint scanner takes care of the security. However, you notice a hole punched on the right corner of the display which underneath houses the front-facing camera.
On the right you get the power and volume rocker buttons, the left has the dual nano-sim and micro SD card slot. A USB-C type charging port, 3.5mm headphone jack and the speaker grille can be seen on the bottom. Turn the device around and you can see the quad-camera setup on the top left corner. A 48-megapixel primary sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, a 2-megapixel macro camera, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. An LED flash takes care of the lighting in dark situations. All of this hardware is powered by a 4500mAh battery. All of this comes in an impressive package and there is nothing much to ponder on.
How does it perform?
Performance is what mid-range smartphones are now delivering. Gone are those days where budget and mid-range smartphones used to laggy and slow. Hardware improvement has changed the way mid-range devices are made. Nothing different here with the Vivo V17. It gets a Snapdragon 675 processor along with 8GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. It runs the Funtouch OS 9.2 on top of Android 9.
The software works well and the phone does not hang, lag or even stutter when being exploited by running multiple applications. Overall, the interface does not have much to complain about. The camera is where the V17 shines. The quad setup does a good job of capturing images. The ultra-wide-angle camera being my top favourite. Images look crisp and detailed when shot in HDR. The night mode does a good job of capturing low-light situations giving the images shot the required pop. Overall, the camera is good enough for most of us who do not want to compromise on quality. What else, the 4500mAh battery is good for heavy usage and the 18W supplied fast charger means you are up from 0-70% in about an hour. In a nutshell, the V17 is pretty impressive and clears the tests with good results.
Should you buy it?
Well, it depends. While the processor could have been from the Snapdragon 700 series, the hardware specs are adequate along with the battery life. An impressive display and camera make it a good package. Priced at Rs. 22,999/-, you could also look at some of the phones which carry similar specs for substantially lesser prices. Nonetheless, the Vivo V17 did not fail to impress with its overall performance.