Vivo V7+ Review; Plus Means A Lot

Vivo V7+ Review; Plus Means A Lot

INTRODUCTION:

Year after year, there is at least one smartphone feature that trends and sets to become the norm for almost all mobile brands. This year, it is the wide display with 18:9 aspect ratio, and most brands, both local and international ones, adapted it. Vivo is one of them, and the result is the Vivo V7+.

The Vivo V7+ is the first handset from the Chinese manufacturer that has 18:9 display, which they aptly called FullView. Vivo put pride in it, and markets it as one of the highlights the V7 Plus has to offer. Moreover, it is the first time that Vivo made its display the front runner in billboards and all sorts of signage. Of course, they still put weight on its selfie camera.

But, it is not just about the display and camera, Vivo brags that it comes with tons of other unique features, and this review is about to check all of those things. So, let's start!


PHYSICAL:

Vivo V7+ Unboxing and Hands-on

The Vivo V7 Plus is a well-built phone that is nice to hold and look at. At a distance, its back looks like made of metal, but in reality, it is just made of plastic. But, do not get me wrong here, it still feels premium to touch, and the plastic nature adds to a comfortable grip, not to mention makes it lighter. Speaking of which, it weighs only 160 grams despite of having a huge display, for comparison sake, the Huawei Nova 2i ticks 164 grams on the scale. It measures 155.9mm x 75.8mm x 7.7mm, it is about 0.4mm slimmer than the LG Q6, but around 0.2mm thicker than the Nova 2i.

One thing I notice though is that the face of the phone is not completely submerged in its frame, meaning there is a small step around the edges of the screen going to the frame. In addition, the main camera is not in-line with the back, it is slightly raised, and might get scratched over time when you use the phone without a case.

Vivo V7+ (Front)

Moving on, the front is mainly occupied by its 5.99-inch display made from an IPS panel. As mentioned earlier, it has an aspect ratio of 18:9, which give it more screen estate and wider display than traditional 16:9, as per Vivo, that's 12.5% more. It also has 1440x720 pixels or HD+ resolution for easier memory recall, it sounds not much on paper, which is why many of our readers downplay its display. But, in real-life, it is not bad at all, images and all things the screen project still looks good. Yes, it is not sharp as FHD+, but the difference is hardly noticeable, especially if you are not intentionally comparing the two.

Display Information

Going back to the display, it has an automatic brightness feature, has Eye Protection mode to reduce visual fatigue, which you can set  manually or automatically via a pre-defined period of time. Moreover, it has sufficient brightness, good viewing angles, highly legible even under direct sunlight, and supports up to 10-point touch. In addition, it has Corning Gorilla Glass on top plus a pre-installed plastic film for added protection.

Vivo V7+ Display Options

Users can also scale the apps to follow the 18:9 aspect ratio instead of the default 16:9. There is also an option to show or hide the on-screen navigation keys, by default, it is hidden in favor of sliding gesture, which in my opinion is much pleasing to the eyes. The sliding gesture allows users to mimic the navigation keys by swiping from the bottom of the display.

Vivo V7+ (Back)

The phone this big usually designed to be used with both hands, but one-handed operation is still possible, especially if you are just browsing and reading texts. And yes, there is a 'one-handed' mode that makes the interface smaller. By the way, all the buttons as well as the fingerprint scanner are all within reach, and do not feel awkward when reaching them.

One-Handed Mode

In terms of security, it has facial recognition that works impressively well, even with or without my eyeglasses, and at different angles. Moreover, it cannot be faked with pictures or images, whether printed or not. On top of that, it still has fingerprint sensor that works quite fast and accurately.

Vivo V7+ Facial Recognition

To learn more about how the Vivo V7+ looks like and to know what are the items included in the retail package, you can watch the above video unboxing. By the way, there is a notification light located at the left side of the front camera.

See Also: Vivo Plans To Expand To More Global Markets 


SOFTWARE:

User Interface

The Vivo V7+ runs on Android 7.1.2 Nougat with Funtouch OS 3.2 on top. Just like before, and its ColorOS cousin, it remained to be inspired by Apple's iOS, even some of the pre-installed apps sound like it, such as iMusic, iTheme and iManager. It still has a single layer interface, which means that all apps are lined up in the home screens, and the only way to organize them is to create folders. To view the notifications, you need to swipe down from the top, while sliding from the lower left going up reveals the quick setting toggles.

Funtouch OS 3.2 Features

As a forked version of Android, it has several tricks of its own, such as Smart Split that lets you use two apps at the same time, App Clone that lets users create two independent identical apps, and Super Screenshot to capture different kind of screenshot as well as to perform screen recording. If you do not know what to do on each feature, there is a built-in instruction to help you go along.

There are other things that a step backward than the stock Android, and some pre-installed applications that have the same functions with the likes of UC Browser, Browser and Chrome. But, overall, the Funtouch OS 3.2 works OK, although, there is a small learning curve to know most functions and features.


PERFORMANCE:

CPU-Z Information

The Vivo V7 Plus is a mid-range device powered by the top of the line entry-level chipset from Qualcomm, that is Snapdragon 450. It has an octa core Cortex-A53 processors clocked up to 1.8GHz each bundled with Adreno 506 graphics. It also has 4GB of RAM to handle multiple tasks easily, and 64GB of on board storage for apps and files. Moreover, the storage space can be expanded with the use of a micro SD card, and one thing worth noting is that it has a dedicated slot for it, which means no need to choose between dual SIM functionality or more storage.

On our favorite benchmark applications, it scored far better than the OPPO A57 that has Snapdragon 435 chip, and very close to the ASUS ZenFone 3 ZE552KL that has Snapdragon 625. In addition, the results are higher than the LG Stylus 3 and OPPO F3 that are powered by MediaTek MT6750 and MT6750T respectively.

Vivo V7+ Benchmark Scores

In actual usage, we did not encounter any performance issue, navigating the interface is smooth, and it handles simultaneous tasks pretty well. Users will also be glad that playing games with heavy graphics like Dead Trigger 2, NBA 2K17 and even Asphalt 8 works just fine, although loading times are a bit slower when compared to devices with higher chipset. Of course, if you push it too hard like running multiple heavy apps and games at the same time, you will definitely encounter slow down or hiccups. Remember Snapdragon 450 maybe the top end of SD 400 series, but it is still an entry-level silicon from Qualcomm.

By the way, Vivo also equipped it with HiFi audio chip, an Asahi Kasei Microdevices AK4376A, which makes the sound output better than usual plus the ability to decode high resolution audio files.

Also Read: Vivo V7+ versus Huawei Nova 2i; Battle of FullView Display


CAMERA:

Camera UI

The camera interface of Vivo V7+ is almost identical to that of other Vivo devices like the Vivo Y55 and Vivo V5s, even if the latter runs on Funtouch OS 3.0 based on Android Marshmallow. The UI offers intuitive experience with lots of shooting modes and added features. For those who love to tweak the settings deeper, there is a Professional Mode to play with, which allows users to the E/V value, ISO, Shutter Speed and more. We will not go deeper with the camera UI as it is something that was just carried forward.

Indoor with Good Lighting

Night with Good Lighting

Indoor with Less Ideal Lighting

Night with Less Ideal Lighting

Overexposed Background

As a selfie-centric handset, it has a 24MP front-facing camera that has an f-stop of f/2.0 and with its very own softlight flash. However, the Snapdragon 450 chipset supports only up to 21MP resolution, so more likely than not, the 24MP is achieved using software interpolation.

We took several shots using it, and we can say that it produces superb images when the lighting conditions are good. Shots taken at night or on the dim environment are still good, although not as natural looking as when compared to pictures captured during broad daylight. Moreover, despite having a single lens, it still has Portrait Mode for that bokeh-effect, the downside though is you cannot adjust the depth. In addition, it does not have an auto focus mechanism, so shots taken against the light usually turn out to be overexposed.

Lowlight

Closeup, Lowlight

Indoor

Night

Indoor, Night

Against the Light, Without HDR

Against the Light, With HDR

Macro

Day, Without HDR

Day, With HDR

Pro Mode

The main camera on its rear does not pack as much resolution as the front-facing one, it only has 16-megapixel, but that it is enough for the V7 Plus to produce great output. It has phase-detection auto focus that picks up the right target quickly. The dynamic range is good too, noise level is kept to a minimum, and color reproduction is near accurate. As mentioned earlier, there is also Professional Mode that allows advanced users to capture any given subject to a new heights, especially during night time or low-light situations when auto mode output is less than stellar.


CONNECTIVITY:

The Vivo V7+ can accommodate dual Nano SIM cards, and can provide high-speed mobile internet via LTE connectivity. If you have no data plan, or just want to save those precious data, WiFi is the way to go, however, please do note that it only supports single band, that is 2.4GHz. It still has 3.5mm audio jack, and in the same manner, still uses micro USB 2.0 instead of the newer Type-C, thankfully it has OTG function.


BATTERY:

PC Mark Battery Life Score

Inside the Vivo V7 Plus is a non-removable 3225mAh power source, this sounds pretty normal for today's smartphones, but in PC Mark Batter Life Test, it performed extraordinary. It scored amazingly high, 16 hours and 16 minutes to be exact, which as far as I can recall is the highest result we got from any phones that we reviewed. The score is even higher than the ASUS ZenFone 3 Max ZC553KL's 4100mAh battery that only got 15 hours and 19 minutes, and OPPO F3 Plus' 11 hours and 42 minutes that has a 4000mAh battery.

In real-life, it usually survives more than a day easily when my usage does not involve long periods of heavy gaming or watching videos. But even doing so, it would still last through the day without the need to look for a charger or power bank. Of course,  it varies per user, but with the score mentioned above, you already have the idea how long it will last daily with normal usage.


CONCLUSION:

The Vivo V7+ is indeed the best phone Vivo has to offer today. It has a very reliable overall performance, thanks to the octa core Qualcomm chipset and 4GB of RAM. The front camera offers great selfies, while its main shooter takes decent shots. It also has a nice and huge 18:9 6-inch display, and superb battery life that goes a long way. Moreover, it comes with lots of add-on too, one of which is the facial unlock that works pretty well.

However, there are things that we hoped it has, such as Quick Charge 3.0, USB type-C port, and auto focus selfie camera or perhaps dual front cameras.

Vivo V7+ Specs:

• Dual Nano SIM, dual standby, supports LTE connectivity
• 5.99-inch IPS capacitive HD+ (1440x720) touchscreen 18:9 FullView display
• Dimensions: 155.9mm x 75.8mm x 7.7mm
• Weight: 160 grams
• Android 7.1 Nougat with Funtouch OS 3.2
• 64-bit 1.8GHz octa core Cortex-A53 CPU cores, Adreno 506 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 chipset
• 4GB of RAM
• 64GB internal storage, expandable up to 256GB via micro SD card, uses dedicated slot
• 16MP f/2.0 PDAF main camera with LED flash, 1080p video recording
• 24MP f/2.0 secondary camera
• Multimedia player
• Hi-Fi audio chip
• FM Radio
• 3.5mm audio jack
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
• WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual band
• Micro USB 2.0, OTG-support
• Bluetooth v4.2
• Sensors: fingerprint, accelerometer, light, proximity, gyroscope
• Battery: 3225mAh Li-Ion, non-removable
• Price: Php17,990
• Freebie: Clear Case
• Color: Gold, Black