vivo V25 Pro in for review

2022-08-25

The new vivo V25 series has a passion for shooting photos and videos at night. And just like previous V-series models, it comes with a selfie camera that punches above its weight. We will be looking at both models, but let’s say “hello” the Pro first.

The vivo V25 Pro has the better hardware of the two – this means better cameras front and back, but also a more powerful Dimensity 1300 chipset to do the image processing. This is a slight refresh of the 1200 chip that powered the V23 Pro.

However, the V23 Pro had a very different camera configuration than the V25 Pro, so this isn’t a sequel, it’s more of a related phone in the same series. Let’s have a closer look.

The vivo V25 Pro has a 64MP main camera on the back, based on the ISOCELL Bright GW1, a 1/1.72” sensor with 0.8µm pixels (before binning). This camera has OIS and EIS stabilization and can record 4K video at 30fps. Processing plays a key part, so the new Pro comes with Super Night Mode (photos) and Super Night Video Mode. However, Night modes often require processing that can’t be done in real time, so the viewfinder doesn’t offer a good preview of the final result. vivo’s solution is called Real-Time Extreme Night Vision, which aims to take out the guesswork.

Anyway, flipping over to the front is a single 32MP selfie camera (punch hole) that is based on the Samsung GD2 sensor (1/2.8”, 0.8µm). Unlike most phones in this class, this one has autofocus on the front-facing camera, plus an Eye AF feature. This ensures that the focus point is on your eye even as you move around freely.

Let’s go back to the vivo V23 Pro for a moment. It had a 108MP main cam (1/1.52”, 0.7µm) without OIS, plus a dual selfie camera – 50M wide and 8MP ultra wide (105°), housed in a wide notch. The V23 Pro camera performed well in the dark, but the OIS on the new Pro might give it a leg up.

Those are not the only changes. The new V25 Pro keeps the FHD+ AMOLED display at 6.56 inches, but increases the refresh rate from 90Hz to 120Hz. Both the front and back are protected by glass.

We received the Surfing Blue colorway of the V25 Pro, which has UV reactive glass on the back that changes its look when exposed to sunlight (see below). The V23 Pro had UV reactive glass too, but that changed the color of the whole back, here it creates a diamond pattern. The other option is dubbed Starlight Black and does not react to UV light.

Something we noticed after picking up the V25 Pro is that it is bulkier – the V23 Pro prided itself on its slender and lightweight build. The two phones measure 8.6mm and 7.4mm, respectively, and weigh 190g and 171g.

The new Pro model does bring a beefier battery, which accounts for at least some of the bulk. It is a 4,830mAh battery (up from 4,300mAh) with 66W fast charging (up from 44W). The more powerful charger gets to 71% in 30 minutes, compared to 63% on the older model, despite the 530mAh difference in battery capacity. In our tests the 44W charger was actually a bit faster than advertised and we will see how the new 66W charger performs soon.

Of course, the vivo V25 Pro doesn’t compete only against the Pro from earlier this year, it is also up against the new V25. The V25 Pro feels decidedly more premium with slimmer bezels (slightly larger display on a slightly smaller footprint). That notch doesn’t help either and while the camera inside advertises a higher resolution of 50MP, it houses a smaller sensor (still with Eye AF, though). The main module in the rear camera also 64MP sensor (but it’s smaller) and OIS.

Stay tuned for our full report on the vivo V25 Pro.