vivo v23 5G review: Built for selfie snappers

A phone that changes color? That’s what the vivo 23 5G is probably most known for. But apart from that, the other draw of this device is actually its selfie snappers.

The vivo V23 5G is equipped with a not-so-common front camera setup that provides more features and capabilities to make the best of your photos and videos.

From beauty enhancement to creative shooting modes, this is one feature-filled offering.

But with so much effort put into its design and cameras, does it fall short on other aspects? Or can it satisfy non-selfie lovers as well?

Design and build

Before anything else, let’s talk about the vivo V23’s neat little magic trick — its color-changing back.

Thanks to a UV-reactive dye used in the Sunshine Gold variant, the V23 5G shifts from shimmering gold to blue when exposed to UV light. It works with a handheld UV flashlight, like in the video below, but also takes effect when the device is exposed to the sun.

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Color changing phone! #techreviewph @vivo_philippines

♬ Mood – Remix – Zero Two

 

The color only lasts a few minutes though so it really is just a party trick you can show off to your friends.

It’s a very fun feature, undoubtedly, but I think it’s more of a novelty than anything else. Still, I believe vivo made this design choice for the oohs and ahhs and that’s exactly the reaction that they’re getting.

For its build, we have hard and flat corners all around which makes it look and feel like an iPhone.

I’m personally more used to rounded corners but this device isn’t uncomfortable to hold, feels sturdy, and fits well enough in my hand.

There is a bit of heft which may be due to its aluminum frame. It’s actually heavier than the Pro variant but its weight is hardly noticeable in day-to-day use.

The Fluorite AG panel finish on the back also helps to diffuse reflections while also reducing fingerprint marks.

Buttons and ports are standard — volume rocker and power button are on the right while on the bottom we have its dual SIM card tray, USB-C charging port, and single firing speaker.

It’s worth noting that this device supports dual 5G.

No physical fingerprint reader here but there is an in-display sensor. It’s not as responsive as I’d like it to be which made me stick to other unlock methods.

All in all, it exhibits a solid, straightforward, and familiar build that’s expected of a device in this segment.

You may be coughing up a little extra for the color-changing back but it’s something worth spending for if a unique and interactive design is what you’re after.

Display and multimedia

The vivo V23 5G offers a 6.44-inch Full HD+ AMOLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate. The display is flat and bezels are barely noticeable. There’s enough screen real estate, as well, that you can move around without feeling cramped.

Colors are nice and vibrant, good enough for the everyday grind. Brightness is sufficient indoors but you may need to find some shade when the sun gets in the way.

It also carries Widevine L1 certification that certifies high-resolution streaming on Netflix. I find it a shame that such a nice display is paired with just a single down-firing speaker which sort of takes away from the whole entertainment experience.

And with no headphone jack in sight, you’ll have to opt for wireless peripherals for better audio quality. It does get loud though, loud enough to fill a small room and more than enough for personal consumption.

Cameras

Now let’s shift focus to this phone’s other pride and joy — its cameras. More specifically, these two shooters upfront, hidden in an iPhone-esque notch.

On the vivo V23 5G are a 50-megapixel main front camera paired with an 8-megapixel ultra-wide for accommodating group shots.

And as mentioned earlier, it’s supported by a good number of AI enhancements and features.

Yup, this phone wants to make you look good and look good you will.

Even if you rolled right out of bed, you can opt to use one of the many filters which, when properly adjusted, are not bad at all. The makeup filters can be made to look really natural and it’s very tempting to use them all the time for stories and posts.

Even in the dark, the V23 is equipped with dual-tone LED lights to illuminate your face. You can also opt for the aura light for a softer look as well.

Both are able to illuminate the face enough to bring out details. Whether in fairly dark or even in more extreme situations.

In addition to enhancement, vivo also equips the V23 with a wide range of creative shooting styles including double exposure, dual-view video, super macro, and more.

Some of these features are available for video as well. In addition to that, there’s also Stediface which works to minimize shakes and jerks.

The V23 is capable of shooting video up to 4K at 30fps which should be enough to satisfy more casual vloggers or creators.

For the rear, we have a more familiar setup with a 64-megapixel rear, 8-megapixel wide-angle, and 2-megapixel macro.

The rear cameras are not as stand-out as its front but still supply detailed and well-saturated photos and videos. Low-light performance is also acceptable and the phone does well enough to minimize noise in darker areas.

The rear cameras are a good partner but are easily overshadowed by the selfie shooters.

I really believe vivo is targeting a specific character for this device — those who put a lot more weight into the quality of their selfies — and it’s pretty evident with the camera output.

In my time with this device, I found it was hard not to look good. Effortless, even. But be careful, too, because things can look too artificial if you start maxing out beautification filters.

Performance

At the heart of the vivo V23 5G is a MediaTek Dimensity 920 processor. There are two configurations available with ours having 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage.

Putting it through its paces, I found the V23 to be a very handy daily companion. The Dimensity 920 chip seems to be a good match for this device as I didn’t have issues in handling the usual apps and multi-tasking didn’t take too much of a toll either.

Launch a game and the game assistant will come in and optimize your phone for playing. Genshin Impact defaults to low graphics at launch but we were able to run it pretty smoothly on high with the phone set to Performance Mode.

Frame drops were very minimal but heat starts to build up around the top area after about 30 minutes of straight play.

On Pokemon Unite, the game utilized the display’s high refresh rate and ran at a smooth 60fps with little to no lag. Overall, not a bad phone for casual mobile gamers like myself.

For OS, the vivo V23 5G runs Funtouch OS 12. Bloatware is minimal and you can always take out the apps you don’t want.

UI customization options, ranging from animations to icons, are plenty, and being an Android 12 skin, you’ll see some features present on vivo’s OS as well.

Battery

On the vivo V23 5G is a 4200 mAh battery. Using it on a daily basis, the vivo V23 5G will have you charging at least once, maybe twice, in a day depending on your use.

I wish we had a little extra juice here but it’s clear where vivo decided to pour most of its effort on. Luckily, the 44W fast charging can make up for it by fully topping up the device in under an hour.

Creature Feature

In our reviews, The Modern Creatures aims to find special features in devices that give them an edge over their competitors — something that makes it worth having.

And for the vivo V23 5G it would have to be its front-facing cameras.

Some of you may have been expecting that it would be its color-changing back but, for me, that comes as more of a bonus.

The front cameras, along with features like dual-tone LED flash, are the stars of this device.

These not only capture sharp and high-quality selfies but are partnered with powerful AI to aid in face and image enhancement, making it a true selfie-lover’s device.

Final thoughts

So, all in all, what do we think about the vivo V23 5G?

Its front cameras are impressive, and so is its design, but even if you’re after power, this device is still worth mentioning.

Performance lives up and provides more than what the average user would need. With this higher variant, the device could tackle more intensive apps or games as well.

Battery life would have to be its weakest link but there’s fast charging to make up for it. Plus, you can get a fun color-changing back you can show off.

Carrying a PhP 27,999 price tag, the vivo V23 5G strikes a good balance of form and function and lets you have a fun little magic trick on hand, too.

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realme GT Neo 3 review: A flagship worth getting?

10/05/2022

A few months back, realme introduced a flagship smartphone that not only looks unique, but also carries specs that should easily keep up with your gaming needs and sports a set of capable optics for mobile imaging in mind.

Priced originally at PhP 29,999 (currently discounted at PhP 25,999), we have spent a good amount of time with it, and here’s our take on one of realme’s supposed smartphone disruptors after months of usage.

Design

With its racing stripe running the entire back panel, the phone is quite an attention-grabbing piece. During my time using it, I’ve heard a couple of people mention how the phone looks unique so it’s been a great conversation starter as well.

This stripe design is actually inspired by the Ford GT40 that beat a Ferrari for the first time at Le Mans back in the 1960s. According to the company, this symbolizes the next-level speed that realme GT Neo 3 can provide its users.

Its back panel also feels nice to the touch. With a matte finish, it overall feels soft and smooth, and even minimizes fingerprints so that’s great news for those who are not into wiping their phones from time to time.

You have your usual power button on the right side while the left has volume buttons. Its top is devoid of any ports except an additional speaker grille and a pinhole for one of its noise-canceling microphones.

Take a look below and you’ll see its USB-C for charging and data transfer, microphone pinhole, speaker grille, and its dual SIM slot with no space for storage expansion.

At around 188 grams, this phone comes with a good heft to it, but more on the lighter side of things. Its slim form factor also makes operation easier on the hands, while its chamfered corners make gripping the device effortless.

The realme GT Neo 3 is available in two colors namely Sprint White and Nitro Blue.

Display and Multimedia

On to its display, we get a sizable 6.7-inch display with a nice OLED panel for that extra vivid colors. realme calls this its Reality Display which aims to provide lifelike colors and quality. True enough, it was able to produce nicely saturated images and color accurate hues.

I would even say its Full HD+ OLED screen is able to match color performance with top-of-the-line phones available today. Brightness could improve, though, especially for watching videos or playing games outdoors.

The display’s 120Hz refresh rate made things smoother to the eyes, but helps drain the battery faster. But my experience with it proved that I could be on 120Hz the entire time since charging the phone is very convenient. More on that later, though.

With its large screen, watching short videos and playing mobile games are such easy things to do on the GT Neo 3. Factor in the fact that it comes with stereo speakers that could go loud enough for an immersive gaming session and you have a compact multimedia device in your hands.

You’d also be glad to know that the audio system comes with Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res audio certification if you want to go for a more immersive experience with headphones on. These are some things I enjoyed on this phone as I like getting lost in my music from time to time.

Cameras

realme has previously proven to have familiarized itself in hitting a balance between good camera hardware and useful camera software, and it’s the same case for the GT Neo 3.

Its 50-megapixel main sensor shoots clear images with natural color. Even in low light conditions, its 1/1.56-inch sensor lets more light in. Combine that with its built-in OIS or Optical Image Stabilization and you get detailed images even after the sun goes down.

You can also switch things up using its 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle shooter. With it, you can capture more impressive landscapes and play more with your shots. And when you want to get up close with your subjects, its 2-megapixel macro sensor is decent enough to produce details even with small objects.

In terms of software that improve its imaging capabilities, it comes with AI that helps analyze and determine its best settings for the current scenario all on its own.

Apart from that, it also comes with Street Photography Mode seen previously in other realme phones. In a nutshell, it’s your usual filters overlayed on the images. But realme made color profiles that are actually usable and look nice across different subjects. These filters instantly give a raw vibe to your images which I am a fan of. Check the following samples:

realme also boasts Dynamic Image Snapshot to be able to capture sharp photos even when the phone is shaking. True enough, even if you move the phone while taking a shot, the outcome is still pretty sharp and will definitely pass for social media uploads. It’s a nifty little feature that solves a lot of casual photographers’ problems.

On the flip side, taking care of your selfies is a 16-megapixel front camera that is more than enough not just for self-portraits, but also for video calls at work and even live streaming — if you’re into that.

Performance

Under the hood of this GT40-inspired machine is a MediaTek Dimensity 8100 5G processor. It’s partnered with Mali G610 graphics and a combination of 8GB RAM + 256GB storage.

With those working together, everyday processes like social media browsing, editing photos, and gaming are handled very well by the GT Neo 3 — even switching between them with multiple apps active.

Gaming for longer periods of time like Mobile Legends doesn’t cause the device to break a sweat. Just activate its GT mode and the phone automatically optimizes CPU, GPU, and RAM usage to deliver the best gameplay depending on the required configuration.

For compatible titles, you can definitely take advantage of its smooth 120Hz refresh rate which adds immersion to the games.

Running heavy games like Genshin Impact is also doable and almost lag-free as long as graphics settings are at a modest level. Over the time I used the phone, overheating has not been an issue thanks to its Stainless Steel Vapor Chamber Cooling System Max that help dissipate heat.

Finally, navigation throughout its menu and features has been a smooth-sailing affair with realme UI 3.0 based on Android 12. It does come with a couple of bloatware that you can uninstall if you don’t need them.

Battery life

Powering the phone is a 5000mAh battery and it easily lasts an entire day’s use. But if you’re more of a power user, topping up or refueling the GT Neo 3 is really convenient thanks to its 80W SuperDart charging technology.

With it, the phone is able to charge itself from 0-45% in 12 minutes and up to 100% in less than 38 minutes. This makes it possible to plug it in at empty, go for a quick shower, and have enough power to last you up to the entire day ahead.

Creature Feature

As always in our reviews, The Modern Creatures aims to find that special feature in a device that makes it stand out — its Creature Feature. And for the realme GT Neo 3, it would have to be its ultra-fast charging time.

We know that having power for your phone’s battery is as important as having the phone itself. After all, you can’t use a phone — no matter how advanced it is — if it’s out of juice. This is where realme’s 80W SuperDart Charge comes into play. Even with just short charging periods, you get to enjoy more of the device as you can use it longer.

Price and final thoughts

The realme GT Neo 3 is priced at PhP 29,999 but is currently available in Lazada for PhP 25,999. It is definitely an all-rounder phone that ticks the right boxes.

Although, of course, there are other options in the same price range, we’d still say that it’s a flagship phone worth getting for its performance and offerings.

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