Vivo U10 First Impressions: The Good, The Bad, And The X Factor

Vivo U10 will be made available online via Amazon.in on September 29, 2019. We were present at the launch event of the Vivo U10 in New Delhi, India and here's what we think of the new budget handset from Vivo.

The Good

Premium Aesthetics

The Vivo U10 looks quite premium for a sub 10K smartphone. Though the handset is made out of plastic, it feels robust and does not come across as a cheap looking device. The Vivo U10 features a 2.5D curved design and fits comfortably in hands.

The back panel has been given a gradient pattern with fusion of black and blue colors that look quite striking. Vivo U10 will be available in two colour variants- Electric Blue and Thunder Black.

Triple-Lens Camera Setup

The budget Vivo U10 flaunts a triple-lens camera setup featuring a 13MP main camera, 8MP wide-angle camera, and a 2MP depth-sensor. The primary camera captures decent shots and the 8MP wide-angle lens manages to give a good 120-degree Field of view. Vivo U10 also offers an 8MP selfie camera.

The camera app on this budget smartphone also offers all modes and filters that are usually seen in the mid-range and premium devices. These include- AI Beauty, Panorama, Pro mode, Slow-motion and even Time-lapse. You can even shoot wide-angle videos with the dedicated 8MP wide-angle lens.

5,000mAh Battery Unit With 18W Fast-Charger Support

The budget Vivo U10 is powered by a beefier 5,000mAh battery unit. The company is also offering an 18W fast-charger in the box. The company claims that the handset can offer 4.5 hours of talk-time and 1 hour of PUBG gameplay with just 10 min of charge.

As for the 5,000mAh battery, Vivo claims that one full charge can offer 38.6 hours of talk-time and 7 hours of PUBG. We will put these claims to test in our comprehensive review of the smartphone.

Capable Hardware

The budget Vivo U10 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chipset, the same SoC that also powers the recently launched Xiaomi Mi A3. The SD665 is built on the 11nm fabrication process. The energy-efficient CPU is accompanied by Adreno 610 GPU to manage graphically intensive tasks.

The Adreno 640 GPU is similar to Adreno 512 GPU in terms of raw performance. The SD665 is paired with 3GB + 32GB, 3GB + 64GB and 4GB + 64GB RAM-ROM configuration. For connectivity, Vivo U10 offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM Radio, GPS, dual-SIM card and a dedicated microSD card slot.

The Bad

It is very tough to find a flaw in the budget Vivo U10 smartphone. For the sub 10K price-point, the handset brings a triple-lens camera setup and a capable hardware. The 6.35" IPS LCD screen offers HD+ resolution but the color reproduction and brightness levels matches the likes of a full HD+ display.

The company hasn't mentioned anything about the screen protection for the HD+ display. Make sure you apply a tampered glass if you purchase the Vivo U10.

The Vivo U10 runs on the latest FunTouch OS skin, which might not be the most intuitive customized skin in the market, but it is very fluid to use and offers some useful features such as dark mode, ultra game mode, smart split to name a few.

The X factor

If you look at the price-point, the whole package that the budget Vivo U10 brings to the table is the smartphone's ‘X Factor'. It's a well-packaged deal for price-conscious consumers who don't want to compromise on the features.

Should You Buy The Vivo U10?

Vivo U10 is worth checking out if you have a tight budget and you still want a power-packed device. The smartphone is more than just an alternative to Redmi Note 7 and Realme 5 series devices. The price for the Vivo U10 starts at Rs. 8,990 and go up to Rs. 10,990.