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| vivo Y31 review; Familiarity is key |
Get yours now via Lazada at https://bit.ly/vivostoreph or Shopee at https://bit.ly/vivoofficialstorephl.
A Charm Of Its Own
Something that will definitely catch your attention when you pick the vivo Y31 out of its box is its camera module which takes up a huge space on the rear part because of its protrusive setup. The smartphone itself feels slender and is easy to grip, and its rounded edges exude a sophisticated feel.
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| Retail Package |
This vivo smartphone shines in a racing black color with a frosted glossy finish. You’d definitely want to use a case on this one since it’s a magnet to smudges and fingerprints, but in order to still flaunt its pretty color, we suggest using a clear protective case.
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| Racing Black |
The physical buttons of the smartphone, namely its power button slash fingerprint scanner and volume controls, are all located on its right cheek. At the top are its secondary microphone and its SIM card tray with a dedicated MicroSD slot, while at the bottom are its USB-C port, 3.5mm headphone jack, main microphone, and speakers.
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| Side-Mounted Fingerprint Sensor |
While the rear part of the vivo Y31 leans on a more updated design, its front physique screams a familiar face. The smartphone’s 6.58-inch FHD+ Halo FullView IPS display in 2408 x 1080 is surrounded by thick bezels, with the chin part being the most prominent. Given that there are already a number of smartphones in the price bracket of the vivo Y31 that carry seamless, all-screen displays, we kind of don’t understand why the brand didn’t decide on adapting this on the vivo Y31. The smartphone also has a waterdrop notch where its front camera sits -- which we dare say is passé, especially for a smartphone model released in 2021.
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| FHD+ Halo FullView Display |
What it lacked aesthetics-wise in the display department, the vivo Y31 made up in terms of showcasing impressive screen performance. This is a smartphone ideal for multimedia-heavy users as its display gives out accurate and sharp colors, which makes binge-watching an even more enjoyable experience. Viewing angles are pretty decent, too. We appreciate how the vivo Y31’s screen remains visible even when used on a bright, sunny day outdoors without tuning the brightness to the maximum level.
See Also - Vivo Y12s Offers Stylish Design and Powerful Battery for Only Php6,499
Trusty Daily Buddy
If you’re looking for an affordable daily driver that can handle a digital-heavy daily grind, the vivo Y31 is the right choice. vivo didn’t lie when it advertised this smartphone for “all-day fun” because it provides just that, may it be on the productivity or the gaming side. This can be attributed to its very capable chipset -- a Snapdragon SDM662 octa-core processor combined with 8GB RAM and 128GB onboard storage. We used this device for a couple of weeks as our main driver, and even once, the vivo Y31 didn't fall short in providing smooth performance. On a normal day that involves restless switching between various apps like Gmail, Viber, Messenger, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter, Instagram to Spotify, Netflix, and Call of Duty Mobile, we experienced nothing but seamless usage with the vivo Y31. We'd also like to note that its Funtouch OS 11 with Android 11 is neat and very convenient to navigate through.
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| Loudspeaker, USB Type-C Port, Microphone, and 3.5mm Jack |
Battery life is another strong point for the vivo Y31. Its massive 5,000mAh battery allows you to go through a day or two without having the need to plug it into a power source and its 18-watt fast-charging support is icing on the cake. It only took us around an hour and 45 minutes to have its battery fully charged, while charging it for 30 minutes gave us a battery life of 43%. The vivo Y31 lasted 22 hours before its screen went pitch black through the traditional video loop test. Needless to say, the vivo Y31’s juice is enough to cover a productive day even if you don’t have a power bank with you.
To put things more into perspective, here’s a quick rundown of the benchmark results of the vivo Y31:
- Antutu - 226,768
- Geekbench Single-Core - 317
- Geekbench Multi-Core - 1,430
- Geekbench Compute - 381
- PC Mark Work 2.0 - 5,828
- 3D Mark Wild Life - 383
- 3D Mark Wild Life Stress Test - 386
- 3D Mark Sling Shot - 1,823
- 3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme - 1,163
Cameras Are Good
We mentioned earlier that the vivo Y31 has a flashy triple camera module, the 48-megapixel as the main sensor, and the other two sensors - 2-megapixels, f/2.4 each for depth and macro, respectively. An addition of a wide-angled sensor would be nicer. But, don't get us wrong, we were quite impressed with its macro shots.
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| 48MP Triple AI Camera |
Its camera modes are the common ones, but vivo added some useful night filters on its Night Mode, which somehow improved the quality of the shots, especially since the smartphone appeared to sacrifice detail and clarity on images taken under dim environments. However, when used under broad daylight and in well-lit places, you can expect the vivo Y31 to deliver photos that can pass on your social media feeds edit-free.
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| Afternoon, Playground |
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| Macro, Tiny Flower |
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| Night, Pool |
Its 8-megapixel front camera works decently, too, as it provides natural-looking self-portraits with just the right amount of color production and detail accuracy.
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| Selfie |
For a device that claims that ultra-stable videos as one of its strengths, the vivo Y31 somehow meets our expectations, thanks to its electronic-image stabilization.
Final Words
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| vivo Y31 |
Objectively speaking, there are several smartphones under the price range of vivo Y31 that can be pegged better when compared with the said smartphone. However, just like how the smartphone market works, it’s all about finding a niche. The vivo Y31, while unabashedly compromising in some areas, is essentially strong in factors that some mobile users would deem non-negotiables, including its battery life and smooth performance. If you’re among these kinds of smartphone owners, then you wouldn’t regret spending Php12,999 for the vivo Y31.
How much is the Vivo Y31 price in the Philippines?
- The Vivo Y31 price in the Philippines is Php12,999 upon release.
- Get yours now via Lazada at https://bit.ly/vivostoreph or Shopee at https://bit.ly/vivoofficialstorephl.
When will be the Vivo Y31 available in the Philippines?
- The Vivo Y31 is now available in the Philippines since February 6, 2021.
Vivo Y31 Specs Philippines:
- Dual Nano-SIM, dual standby, supports 4G LTE connectivity
- 6.58-inch IPS FHD+ (2408 × 1080) capacitive touchscreen display
- Dimensions: 163.86mm × 75.32mm × 8.38mm
- Weight: 188 grams
- Funtouch OS 11 based on Android 10
- Octa-core (4x2.0GHz Kryo 260 Gold + 4x1.8GHz Kryo 260 Silver) CPU, Adreno 610 GPU, Qualcomm SM6115 Snapdragon 662 chipset
- 8GB RAM
- 128GB eMMC 5.1 internal storage, expandable up to 256GB via MicroSD card, uses dedicated slot
- 48MP f/1.79 PDAF main + 2MP f/2.4 macro + 2MP f/2.4 depth triple rear cameras with LED flash
- 8MP f/1.8 front camera
- Multimedia Player
- FM Radio
- 3.5mm audio jack
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
- Bluetooth v5.0
- GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo
- USB Type-C with OTG function
- Sensors: fingerprint, accelerometer, light, proximity, gyroscope, compass
- Battery: 5,000mAh, non-removable, 18W fast charging
- Colors: Ocean Blue, Racing Black
- Price: Php12,999