Vivo V40 Review in Five Minutes

Vivo recently dropped two new smartphones in its V series. The Vivo V40 and Vivo V40 Pro arrive in the country's premium mid-range and flagship killer segments, respectively. We recently got our hands on the Vivo V40 and put it through its paces.

On paper, the Vivo V40 appears to be no different from the Vivo V30 (Review), although there are few upgrades that set it apart. But first, let's talk about pricing. The Vivo V40 price in India starts from Rs 34,999.

Design & Display

While the Vivo V40 retains the same design as its predecessor with curved sides and a sleek form factor. The vanilla V40 comes in three shades - Ganges Blue, Titanium Grey, and Lotus Purple. Our model came in Titanium Grey, which I feel is the best of the three colors. The matte back resists both smudges and fingerprints.

While the design of the Vivo V40 has remained largely the same, durability has improved. The Vivo V40 now has an IP68 rating for resistance to dust and water. It also features an aluminum alloy frame and metal bezels around the camera bump to ensure better protection. While the Vivo V40 does feature an elegant design with its beautiful, curved display, it isn't comfortable to use without the case. Thankfully, Vivo includes one in the box.

Display

Not a lot has changed here from the Vivo V30. The vanilla V40 opts for a 6.78-inch 1.5K (2800 × 1260 pixels) OLED 3D curved screen. The display boasts a 120Hz refresh rate that is excellent for gaming and enables smooth navigation. Moreover, the screen offers sharp and detailed images, while producing vibrant and accurate colors.

The big step up from the V30 is the display's peak brightness of 4,500 nits, although overall maximum brightness still sits at 1200 nits. It is safe to say that you aren't going to face any difficulty viewing content under direct afternoon sunlight. The panel comes with a layer of Schott Alpha glass and offers solid viewing angles.

Performance

Moving on to performance and it's much of the same with the incorporation of the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset. The 4nm chip is quite versatile in most situations, capable of handling most multitasking and gaming tasks with ease. To further bolster performance, the chip is paired with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage.

We did run a few tests on the Vivo V40. In Geekbench 6, the Vivo V40 managed a single score of 1,144 points and a multi-core score of 3123 points. The phone also recorded an overall AnTuTu score of 811579 points. Call of Duty: Mobile and Asphalt 9: Legends ran on high settings on the V40 without any lag or frame rate drops after 30 minutes of gameplay.

Cameras

Not much has changed on the camera front as well, with the Vivo V40 opting for a dual-camera setup on the back. The setup includes a 50MP primary sensor with OIS and an f/1.88 aperture and a 50MP Samsung JN1 ultrawide lens with an f/2.0 aperture. Up front, the Vivo V40 features a 50MP selfie camera sensor with Autofocus and an f/2.0 aperture.

We did manage to take a few samples on the Vivo V40. The main camera reproduced detailed shots during the day and night with accurate colors and good exposure. The ultrawide lens maintains the same color consistency as the main camera, while retaining plenty of detail with minimal edge distortion.

Thanks to its collaboration with ZEISS, the Vivo V40 offers a ton of portrait modes. You can also take portraits at three different focal lengths, while Vivo offers a ton of different portrait filters and modes for a fun experience. When it comes to portrait photography, no one does it quite as good Vivo. The front camera on the Vivo V40 also supports a ZEISS Group Selfie mode.

The V40's camera system also features a "Studio-Quality" Aura light, which is far more effective than the average flash module. The AI Eraser also works better than expected. Finally, 4K video recording is supported on both the front and rear cameras. In my brief experience with the Vivo V40, I found camera performance to be a cut above the competition, which only stresses the importance of quality over quantity.

Battery

The Vivo V40 does pack a 10% larger battery than its predecessor. The whopping 5,500 mAh cell is more than enough to get you through an entire day of work and a night of entertainment, while still leaving you with a fair chunk to take into day 2. And in case your battery does die out, the 80W adapter in the box can deliver a full charge in about 45 minutes, another impressive feat.

Software

For the software, the vanilla V40 runs the latest version of Android 14 with Funtouch OS 14 on top. Moreover, Vivo promises three years of Android OS updates and four years of regular security patches with the V40, which has become a norm for mid-range smartphones.

The software on the V40 is relatively clean and light, Vivo has minimized the bloatware and you don't get bombarded with ads any more. I did find a lot of unnecessary apps, although most of them could be uninstalled.

Vivo V40 First Impressions

Despite only using the Vivo V40 for a week, I wouldn't call categorize it as a generational upgrade over its predecessor. Instead, Vivo has made minor tweaks to improve the overall experience. The big difference from the Vivo V30 is the incorporation of ZEISS optics, which not only offers a big improvement in portrait photography but also makes the experience more fun.

I was also a fan of the Titanium Grey finish, which makes the Vivo V40 look far better than its predecessor. Additionally, the V40 also offers improved durability over its predecessor. The bigger battery also ensures all-day usage and some. Apart from the upgrades, other aspects of the Vivo V40, including performance, display quality, and charging speed were all up to the mark.

With the vanilla V40, Vivo has made some key improvements in just the right areas to make a noticeable difference. I'm still not a fan of the software and prefer the new Quad-Curved displays on the Xiaomi 14 CIVI and OPPO Reno12 Pro. However, that being said, the Vivo V40 remains an excellent smartphone and continues to offer the best camera experience in the segment. Stay tuned for our full Vivo V40 review for an in-depth look at camera prowess, performance, and software capabilities.