Vivo V9 First Impressions and overview

So Vivo launched their new smartphone device in the market a few days ago. The company officially unveiled the all-new Vivo V9 smartphone in India on 23rd with short bezels and a display notch. The device is something special as it has a really wonderful design (inspired from iPhone X). It has a display notch on the front and a vertical dual camera setup on the rear side. With all these, the company is getting mixed reactions from the market for this smartphone model. However, if you check the trend, many companies are now working on their models with display notch, then why not Vivo?

At the same time, it has a lot of cons too. Because Apple introduced iPhone X a few months back with a whopping price. Now brands like Vivo, Oppo and Asus are copying their design as a forward concept. But the thing in Vivo is that the company clearly makes the V9 a copycat of iPhone X. Because the pricing is also very high for this device. Priced at Rs. 22,990, this smartphone comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 chipset and 4GB of RAM. It features a 64GB of internal storage and a 6.3-inch screen with 1080p resolution. The device gives users the option to add two nano-SIM cards and a micro SD card in the third dedicated slot. V9 will come with a micro USB 2.0 port, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.2 and a headphone jack. Still, pricing is a big concern.

Design is okay, but what about the build quality?

However, the Vivo V9 doesn’t feel like an iPhone, or indeed any premium smartphone. While many premium phones and even a lot of affordable devices use elegant combinations of metal and glass, the Vivo V9 is unapologetically plastic. Although the glossy finish might make you think you have a glass-backed phone, picking it up and feeling it might be disappointing for a lot of people. The back is also a grime magnet, so you’ll need to clean it often to keep your phone looking nice. But what about the build quality? The plastic body makes the device non-durable, and it is the most disappointing factor in the Vivo V9.

The screen, price and the usability

The biggest attention in the V9 is its screen. It is a larger 6.3-inch FHD+ display with 1080p resolution and an iPhone X-like notch. The display is sharp, beautiful and an attention seeker. It looks very similar to that we have seen in the iPhone X. But still, the notch is smaller as compared to the iPhone X. The notch portion in the V9 has a compact section for the front camera, earpiece and the sensor. As you can see in the above picture, the ear-piece is comparatively small so that it might cause issues with alignment while on call.

Let’s talk about the price; the device costs Rs. 22,950 in India. But we don’t think it is a perfectly balanced pricing. Because, for that specifications, 23 thousand is too much. It could have been around 16000-18000 range. Coming to the camera, it does have a good selfie camera. However, the rear camera is not that great but improved from the V7+. The camera app is feature-rich and supports 4k video recording too.

Initial Verdict

Vivo has become the first company to introduce the first device with ‘Full View 2.0’ display in the Indian market. This design along with the good built quality is likely to give the company an edge in the market as other companies play catch-up. The Vivo V9 is ideal for anyone looking for a phone with a great screen and does fairly well when it comes to photography as well. Selfie-enthusiasts, in particular, will be impressed with the features of the phone’s front camera.

The Vivo V9 isn’t the most capable smartphone in its price segment, and you’ll indeed find better devices on paper (such as the Moto X4) if you’re looking purely at specifications. Stay tuned to AndroidHits for our full Vivo V9 review.