Vivo V29 5G Review: An Excellent Camera Phone

TechLekh Verdict

Vivo V29 is a really good camera phone. In recent years, Vivo has made good upgrades to the V series and the V29 is a good example of that.

It is not a huge step up from the V27 but the upgrade in the camera sensor is a good one. It is better than before. Likewise, the 1.5K display is one of the best for the price. However, the switch to Snapdragon 778G chipset is underwhelming.

Overall, the vivo V29 is a good phone albeit it is slightly more expensive than its competitors.

Vivo launched the vivo V29 5G in Nepal a few weeks ago. It is the successor of the vivo V27 that was launched in May 2023.

Vivo V29 5G price in Nepal is Rs. 59,999 for the sole 12/256GB variant. With a slight price bump, the vivo V29 5G brings an updated camera setup, a better display, and a chipset from Qualcomm.

So, is the vivo V29 5G worth the price? Find out in this review of the vivo V29 5G.

ALSO READ: Vivo Mobile Price in Nepal (April 2024 Updated)

Vivo V29 5G Review

Familiar Design

• 164.18 x 74.37 x 7.46 mm
• 186gm
• Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)

Vivo V29 looks similar to the vivo V27. The back panel curves to meet the frame and the front glass also curves into the frame. Like the V27, it has a color-changing rear panel in the Black variant. However, our review unit is a Blue variant with a gloss finish and floating mountain texture.

One of the few changes is the size of the camera ring and the camera placement. vivo V27 had a vertically stacked triple camera setup but the V29 swaps the monochrome sensor for the new Aura Light system.

On the front, it has a hole punch in the middle of the screen just like the vivo V27. Likewise, the ports and buttons are unchanged.

V29 5G comes with IP68 dust and water resistance which was missing on the vivo V27.

It has USB-C on the bottom alongside a mic, speaker, and a dual sim slot. On the top, there’s a secondary microphone.

The right side houses volume buttons and a power button. The fingerprint sensor is integrated underneath the display. The fingerprint sensor is fast and accurate, I haven’t had any problems with the fingerprint sensor.

ALSO READ: Best Mobiles Under Rs. 60,000 in Nepal (April 2024 Updated)

Impressive Curved Display

• 6.78 inches AMOLED
• 1260 x 2800, 20:9
• 120Hz, HDR10+

The 6.7-inch OLED panel might look similar to vivo V27’s display but it is now improved.

First, it is now a 1.5K panel with a screen resolution of 2800 x 1260. This makes the display of the V29 sharper and better than that of the V27.

The 1.5k panel is sharp and vibrant. It’s a really good panel for watching videos.

The display supports 1B colors and it also has HDR10+ certification. The display panel on the V29 now has 1300 nits peak brightness and 2160 Hz PWM dimming.

The 120Hz refresh rate feels well-optimized and smooth on the V29. In Smart Switch mode, the screen refreshes at 90Hz most of the time. All of the apps and even the Home and Settings page refreshes at 90Hz. So, you will have to use 120Hz mode to get the full 120Hz refresh rate experience. But the screen was refreshing at 90Hz on the Home page even in 120Hz mode.

Performance

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G (6nm)
• Octa-core (1×2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 & 3×2.2 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4×1.9 GHz Cortex-A55)
• Adreno 642L
• 256GB 12GB RAM

Weirdly, the vivo V29 uses an older chipset than the vivo V27. The V27 was equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 chipset. But the V29 swaps out the Dimensity 7200 for Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G.

In terms of memory, it comes with 12GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB UFS 2.2 storage. V29 is a smooth performer when it comes to the basics.

It is fast and slick when it comes to opening apps, running multiple apps, and switching between apps.

Benchmark

The Dimensity 7200 is a better performer, especially regarding GPU performance. The Dimensity 7200 excels in Multi-Core CPU performance but it falls behind the Snapdragon 778G in Single-Core CPU performance. But, it takes a huge lead in GPU performance.

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Gaming

In daily usage, I did not notice a performance disparity between the V29 and V27. The V27 is a very good performer and so is the V29. The phone runs smoothly when opening apps, running multiple apps, and switching between apps. It is also a good performer interms of gaming.

I tested Genshin Impact on Low Graphics and a 60 FPS Frame limit. The V29 managed to get an average of 55 fps in the first 2 minutes with some frame drops. After 3 mins and 30 sec, the max temperature reached 57 degrees. The temperature dropped immediately after hitting 57 degrees and the fps also dropped to 40. Overall, V29 managed to get an average fps of 42.4 in 20 mins of gameplay. V27 managed to get an average fps of 41.8 in the same test.

In PUBG Mobile, you can play at Extreme fps in Smooth graphics settings. Likewise, you can crank the graphics up to HDR at Ultra fps settings.

The gameplay was smooth in the lowest setting as the V29 managed to achieve an average fps of 59.2. In the Ultra fps setting, the V29 managed to achieve an average of 39.8 fps. V27 managed to achieve an average fps of 55 in the same test.

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While the Dimnensity 7200 is a better chipset for gaming, the older Snapdragon 778G is well-optimized for most AAA titles. However, there’s not much difference in real-life gaming performance between the V27 and V29.

Camera

• Rear Camera: 50 MP, f/1.88, (wide), 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS
• 8 MP, f/2.2, (ultrawide), 1/4″, 1.12µm
• 2 MP, f/2.4, (monochrome)
• Front Camera: 50 MP, f/2.0, 22mm (wide), AF

The camera module houses a 50MP OIS primary camera, an 8MP Ultrawide camera, and a 2MP macro camera. Likewise, it has a 50MP selfie camera on the front. The vivo V27 was equipped with the Sony IMX766 main sensor but the V29 is now equipped with a Samsung GN5 main sensor.

The main highlight of the V29 is the Aura Light 2.0. The V27 had the first Aura Light system which was a compact version of ring light. The Aura Light 2.0 takes it up a notch by adding temperature control.

Main Camera

The main camera captures impressive photos with good dynamic range and plenty of details. The colors are vibrant with a slightly saturated color profile. Furthermore, the natural background blur of the main camera is also really impressive.

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The main camera is good in low-light situations as well. It uses long exposure in Auto mode when it detects low-light scenes. So, it is not necessary to use Night mode. Also, I did not find a huge difference between Auto mode and dedicated Night mode. The exposure is balanced and the details are just enough.

Ultrawide Camera

Likewise, the 12MP ultrawide camera also captures good photos in daylight. Photos turn out sharp with rich colors and decent dynamic range. You will notice slight noise on the outer edges but it’s fine for an ultrawide camera.

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Portraits

The portraits from V29 are top-notch, to be honest. The subject separation is good, it does good even with non-human subjects. Likewise, the background blur is also convincing.

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The low-light portraits are surprisingly good. The aura light 2.0 helped in low-light conditions more than I expected. However, the aura light effect is better when the subject is close to the camera. The upgraded Aura Light system allows users to change the temperature of the ring light. You can now adjust the aura light to provide yellow, red, and white light. This works well in indoor and low-light conditions with proper ambient lighting. It’s not a game changer but helps you capture portraits with variable tones.

Front Camera

The front camera is the same as the V27, a 50MP sensor with auto-focus. The selfies have good details and vibrant colors. Moreover, it has a wide FOV which helps in group selfies. And, it captures good selfies in low light. Overall, it is a good selfie camera.

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Video

The phone can shoot video at up to 4K at 30fps and the 4K videos look sharp and detailed. Similarly, the 1080p videos are sharp too. The videos have vibrant colors and the dynamic range is pretty impressive. Also, the stabilization on both 1080p and 4K is praiseworthy. Although, the EIS is not as effective at 4k compared to 1080p.

Solid Battery Life

• 4600mAh battery
• 80W charging, 1-50% in 17min (claimed)

Vivo V29 has a 4600mAh battery, the same capacity as the vivo V27. It has a good battery life as I was consistently getting about 6 hours of screen on time. However, the V27 had better battery life than the V29.

The Flashcharging only takes 50 mins to fully charge the V29 from 0%.

The onboard 80W fast charging charges the V29 up to 50% in just 17 mins.

Software

• Android 13
• Funtouch OS 13

The V29 ships with Funtouch OS 13, which is based on Android 13. This has more or less the same experience as the V27.

Vivo has promised to provide two OS upgrades for the V29 and three years of security updates. It is not the best upgrade policy but it is better than other manufacturers, except Samsung.

Funtouch OS has plenty of customization features like Dynamic Effects for fingerprint animation, charging animation, and lock screen animation. Similarly, you can customize the always-on display with a variety of animation, clock styles, colors, and backgrounds.

The V29 does come with some bloatware but most of them can be uninstalled.

So this is my vivo V29 5G review. What do you think of the vivo V29 5G? Let me know in the comments!