Vivo V23 Pro Review with Pros and Cons – Smartprix

Vivo had an eventful 2021. While it didn’t pepper the market with new devices right left and center, it introduced a few impressive devices with a certain targeted audience in mind. While the Vivo V21 series targeted Selfie obsessed consumers, the X70 series was targeted at photography enthusiasts. 

Now, Vivo has started its count for 2022 with the launch of the V23 series which includes Vivo V23 Pro and the vanilla V23. True to V- series spirit, these phones offer trendsetting design (with a color-changing rear panel in V23 Pro) and capable hardware. Another thing that has been a constant improvement in V Serries is Selfies. With each passing year, Vivo made incremental upgrades to selfie cameras, especially with Pro variants. The V23 Pro boasts of a 50MP dual selfie camera setup which isn’t a common sight in 2022. But are these dual cameras promising enough to make the V23 Pro a compelling buy?

Well, I have been using the Vivo V23 Pro for a week now and here’s what I think about the phone:

Navigate this review:

Unboxing | Specs | Design | Display | Software & Performance | Camera | Battery | Verdict

Vivo V23 Pro Unboxing

Vivo V23 Pro Specs & Price

Body: 159.4673.277.36mm, 171g; Gorilla Glass equivalent protection, plastic frame
Display: 6.56″ AMOLED, 90Hz, HDR10+, 800 nits (peak), 2376x1080px resolution, 18.10 aspect ratio,
Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 1200 (6 nm): 1x Arm Cortex-A78 up to 3GHz, 3x Arm Cortex-A78 up to 2.6GHz, 4x Arm Cortex-A55 up to 2GHz; Mali-G77 MC9 GPU.
Memory: 128GB ROM + 8GB RAM, 256GB ROM + 12GB RAM;
Software: Android 11, FunTouchOS 12.
Rear camera: Wide (main): 108 MP, f/1.88, PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4.
Front camera: Main: 50 MP, f/2.0, Wide: 8MP, f/2.28
Battery: 4,300mAh; Fast charging 44W
Misc: Fingerprint reader (in-display); NFC; Stereo speakers.

Vivo V23 Pro Review: Design and build quality  

In my opinion, the biggest talking point of the V23 Pro is the in-hand feel of the phone. Vivo has done fantastic work delivering a soft-touch matte finish. There has been a lot of talk about hits fluorite AG glass back of the SunShine Gold variant which changes colors for a few minutes after getting exposed to ultraviolet light.

 Well, I am more impressed with the shimmering Stardust Black color option which I have with me. Vivo has kept it really slim and it indeed is one of the slimmest phones that is available in the market today. With curved edges on the side and excellent weight distribution, holding the V23 Pro is a delightful experience in itself.

What I didn’t like in this entire package is a notch in the middle of the screen.  Come on Vivo, it’s 2022! and I don’t like being reminded of 2018 when we had to endure such wide notches on Android phones. Nevertheless, this is an anomaly most people buyers would find easy to get used to. 

The phone has a glass back, the side frame is made of plastic. The phone has a bottom-firing speaker – I wish Vivo had used the earpiece as a second speaker to deliver a stereo effect. There is no 3.5mm port here so Vivo has supplied a connector within the box. 

Vivo V23 Pro Review: Display

​​The Vivo V23 Pro flaunts a 3D curved screen on the front. It’s a large 6.56-inch AMOLED display offering a 90Hz refresh rate in an 18:10 aspect ratio. The 90Hz Full HD+ panel may feel a tad lethargic if you switch from a 120hz or 144hz display phone. 

The AMOLED panel offers a decent level of peak brightness and can be used outdoor without concern. Color reproduction is also decent but might fall short if I compare side by side with other offerings in this price segment. 

The HD streaming works out of the box on all relevant apps but HDR support is currently only limited to Youtube. Talking of streaming, the wider notch on the Vivo V23 Pro does hinder my viewing experience as most apps are not optimized for a wide notch. Overall, I would say the V23 Pro panel is functional and isn’t its strongest suit. 

Vivo V23 Pro review: Software and Performance

​​The V23 Pro comes running on Vivo’s own custom skin FunTouch 12 which is based on Android 12. Vivo has incorporated some of the Android 12 features such as camera, location or mic access in-use indicator, redesigned notification, and quick setting panel. However, it has conveniently left out some of Android 12 features as well. You won’t find Android 12’s personalization features that allow you to pick colors from wallpaper that can be used in different elements. There are no smart controls options while long pressing the power button.

Coming to the performance part, the Vivo V23 Pro is driven by a 6 nm-based MediaTek Dimensity 1200 octa-core chipset which is clocked at 3.0GHz. The chipset is mated with up to 12GB RAM with up to 256GB storage. Vivo has also added 4GB of virtual RAM which uses part of your storage to storage as memory. 

With Dimensity 1200 at the heart, it performs similar to OnePlus Nord 2, Poco F3 GT, OPPO Reno 6 Pro, and other similar specced phones. It delivers good day-to-day performance. It manages to handle everyone’s tasks without slowing down. Even the games like CoD Mobile and PUBG mobiles ran without fame drops at 60FPS and 40FPS respectively. 

What about throttling you may ask? Well, we ran the CPU throttling test on the V23 Pro and it throttled at 75 percent of its max performance. That means over a longer period of time, system performance dips to manage to keep CPU temperature in check.

As far as other benchmarks are concerned, the Vivo V23 Pro scores 6,34,276 on Antutu. On Geekbench it only manages to score 626 on single-core and 2611 in multiple cores tests. 

Overall, the Vivo V23 Pro doesn’t disappoint on the performance front. While it won’t top the price to performance charts but you won’t face any performance stress in day-to-day life with the V23 Pro. 

Let’s now take a look at Vivo V23 Pros cameras. Well, the phone has a stack of three cameras at the back featuring a 108MP primary shooter, an 8MP ultra-wide shooter, and a 2MP macro camera. For selfies, Vivo has packed in a setup of 50MP primary snapper coupled with an 8MP ultra-wide sensor. There are also two spotlights on the front with the option to change their colour temperature for better low-light selfies. 

The primary rear camera snaps 12MP images by default. These pixel binned shots offer ample details with close to real-life colors (well at least they aren’t as oversaturated as competition).