Vivo launched the V21 5G smartphone a few months ago, in a very competitive market. On paper, the V21 5G looks neat and packed with the latest specifications, but how does it hold up in practice? Check it out. 29,990, the V21 competes directly against the OnePlus Nord, Realme X7 Max, Mi 11X, Realme X7 Pro 5G and others.
Design
The V21’s design is easily one of the phone’s best features. Vivo has produced some very beautifully designed smartphones, and the V21 is one of them. The phone is a glass sandwich surrounded by metal railings that feel nice to hold. Our model’s color is Arctic White, and the back glass has a neat matte finish. Over a gorgeous mesh of color that constantly changes in different lighting.
On the right, there is the volume rocker and a ridged power button, and the left edge is bare. The bottom edge houses the SIM card slot, a USB Type-C port, a microphone. And a speaker grill, while the top edge houses another microphone.
Moving to the back, we have a rear camera module that houses triple cameras. The design is quite like the V20 Pro with two layers – one for the lens and one for the rear dual flash.
Display
Design aside, the display is another strong point for the V21. It has a 6.44-inch touch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2400×1080 pixels. Colors are bright with good contrast, blacks are deep and sunlight visibility is not an issue. The pixel density comes in at around 409ppi, which is a good number for media use. The device is HDR10+ certified, meaning. It will playback HDR content on Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Prime at that quality.
Unlike its predecessor, the V21 5G comes with a 90hz refresh rate. At 90Hz, the V21 feels smoother and faster, with scrolling. Through social media feeds and paging through the home screen feeling snappier. There is an option to choose 60Hz or 90Hz. Also, the screen color mode – standard (default). Professional and bright and can be calibrated based on color temperature.
Performance
Vivo V21 5G is powered by octa-core (4 x 2.4GHz Cortex-A76 + 4 x 2GHz Cortex-A55 CPUs). MediaTek Dimensity 800U (MT6873V) 7nm processor. The smartphone is great for everyday use. Navigating the system was smooth and the animations throughout the UI had no hiccups. Apps open more or less quickly and thankfully don’t get too hot. During extended sessions, which is a good sign.
We also tried playing games with the V21. For most games, the V21 5G has no issues, but, for heavy games. You may notice a drop in frame rate now and then at high graphic settings.
The camera
Vivo V21 5G comes with a triple camera setup-
Primary camera: 64MP rear camera with f/1.79 aperture, LED flash, OIS, Secondary camera: 8MP 119°. Ultra-wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture
Third camera: 2MP macro camera with f/2.4 aperture.
The camera module is the same as the V20 Pro except for the front camera. Which has a single 44MP module instead of 44MP and 8MP. Yet, this time Vivo has dual flash for the selfie game and OISO for the front camera.
The primary sensor shoots 16MP photos by default, and there’s a mode to shoot at the full 64MP resolution. In good lighting conditions, the V20 Pro takes some nice pictures. They’re bright, sharp with good contrast. And color and white balance are mostly accurate.
The camera outputs some really impressive HDR shots.
Even in low light conditions, the camera manages to get an impressive dynamic range. And capture a good amount of detail. Portraits come out very well with nice clean borders thanks to the bokeh effect. The 8MP ultra-wide camera also works well. It also works as a macro lens. Output is much better than other phones’ dedicated 2MP or 5MP macro lenses. The cameras also support RAW image capture.
The primary 44MP front camera shoots some of the best selfies. The face has a lot of detail and isn’t too smooth. Since the front camera comes with a dual-LED flash. Which the company calls Spotlight, even low-light selfies come out good. On the video front, the V21 can shoot video at up to 4K 60fps from both lenses. And some helpful features like eye-tracking autofocus and ultra-stabilization.
vivo v21 ships with Android 11 with Funtouch OS 11.1 out of the box. As expected, Funtouch OS 11.1 offers a lot of customization options. From the ability to change system icons and color schemes. Android 11 gestures, to tons of animation. Effect choices for different aspects of the system.
There is an always-on display, which comes with customization. options such as changing the clock design, color, layout and more. You can even set a kind of live wallpaper based on the position of the sun.
For serious gamers, FunTouch OS 11 includes Ultra Game Mode. Which contains many settings that can enhance the gaming experience. Notifications and incoming calls can be muted, the SoC can be set to peak performance. And accidental touches can be prevented.
The phone comes with several pre-installed apps, such as Daily. Hunt, YT Music, Snapchat, Moz, etc. Notably, they are easily uninstalled, so not too bad. Apart from Google’s Play Store, you also get V-Appstore and GameCenter.
Dual SIM and connectivity
The phone has dual SIM connectivity with dual standby support. The v21 features 5G as it packs a MediaTek Dimensity 800U chipset with a 5G modem built-in. There were no call drop issues with unusual signal strength issues. And the sound from the earpiece was comfortable. Other connectivity options include Bluetooth 5.1, Dual-Band Wi-Fi 5, GPS, NFC and USB-OTG.
battery
The vivo V21 comes with a 4000mAh (typical) battery with 33W fast charging. I was able to comfortably get through a full day with moderate to heavy use. The phone can go from 0-100% in about 55 minutes, which is a great feature when you need a quick charge.
Conclusion
At Rs 29,990, the V21 5G is one of the worthy contenders, offering good specs and performance in a beautiful body. The phone has a very good display, good performance scores and an amazing camera. The phone has a strong battery life and can be charged within an hour.
Vivo V21 5G comes in Arctic White, Sunset Dazzle and Dusk Blue colors and is priced at Rs. 29,990 for the 8GB RAM with 128GB storage variant and the 8GB RAM with 256GB storage variant is priced at Rs. 32,990. It is available on Flipkart, Amazon.in and vivo India eStore online and offline retail stores.
