Introduction
Vivo V5 is all about the selfies, and you can tell it right away by a quick inspection on its specs sheet. It has a lower-res screen, a mediocre chipset, and an uninspiring main camera. Its popularity in recent months however spiked surprisingly high and that left us curious wherether there might more than the spec sheet alone reveals.
The Vivo V5 Plus, which we reviewed recently, is a model, which is positioned higher in the food chain. It may not have been particularly original in its design choices (read: its almost an iPhone clone), but at least it had quite the decent chipset and a dual front camera setup, which produced selfies with great-looking artificial bokeh - something of an industry first if you ask us.
The lower-priced V5, however, has lost that selfie superpower, but has kept a single 20MP selfie camera and the fill-light for those a dvertised "moonlight" selfies.
vivo V5 key features
- Body: Plastic unibody; 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass front
- Screen: 5.5-inch IPS LCD of 720 x 1,280 resolution; 267ppi;
- Chipset: MT6750 chipset; octa-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU; Mali-T860MP2 GPU;
- Memory: 4GB RAM; 32GB of built-in memory; microSD card slot;
- Camera: 13MP rear camera; f/2.2 lens; phase-detect AF; single LED flash; 1080p video
- Selfie cam: 20MP front camera; f/2.0 lens; single LED flash
- OS: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, Funtouch OS 2.6 on top
- Battery: 3,000mAh battery
- Connectivity: Dual nano SIM slots (hybrid); Cat. 6 LTE support; 802.11 a/g/b/n; Bluetooth 4.0; GPS; FM radio
- Misc: Home button with fingerprint scanner
Main shortcomings
- Low-end chipset
- 720p resolution is a bit of a stretch on a 5.5" screen
- Hybrid Dual SIM/microSD card slot limits options
- No NFC and no fast charging
There are already a few clear warning signs on the Vivo V5 spec sheet. The Mediatek MT6750 is a feeble chip worthy mostly for entry-level smartphones, but vivo has put it on a $270 device. It doesnt even support 1080p screens, which may explain why vivo has gone for the 720p panel despite that they are stretching it a bit too thin over the otherwise ample 5.5-inch sized display.
There is no fast charging, not even a microSD slot. There is also no NFC, but thats the least of your concerns.
The V5 has a few attractive features, which may help it save face - the 20MP selfie camera, its fill-light, the 4 giga bytes of RAM, and the promising fingerprint scanner. Oh, and there is an FM radio, probably onboard because of the dated chipset, so there is that.
Is there anything more beneath the surface? Can the V5 escape from its low=end vibe? Lets find out, shall we?
Unboxing the vivo V5
The vivo V5 comes in a regular sized paper box, and its jam-packed with accessories. There is a 2A/5V regular charger plug inside, a pretty standard microUSB cable, and a pair of earbuds. One of the paper compartments hides a silicone bumper case.
The beautiful SIM release pin is the final thing of interest.
The retail package • the bumper case • V5 with the case • V5 with the case
vivo V5 360-degree spin
The vivo V5 measures 153.8 x 75.5 x 7.6 mm - about right for a 5.5" smartphone and nearly identical to the vivo V5 Plus dimensions. The V5 is a bit taller and wider even though both V5s share the same screen measurements.
The V5 weighs 154g - all very much standard for a 5.5-inch device.
Design
We called the vivo V5 Plus an iPhone impersonator, and if you thought the company might have come up with some original design for the regular V5 - youd be wrong. While it no longer takes its cues from the Cupertinos flagship, it recycles the already overused forms by Oppo and vivo.
You may recall Oppo, vivo, OnePlus, and imoo are part of the BBK corporation, and this could easily explain the blatant V5 similarities with the Oppo F1s, the Oppo A57, and the in-house vivo X7 and vivo Y67, among others.
Now that weve established the vivo V5 wont shine with any design innovations, we can move on to all the positive impressions from the phone.
Vivo V5
For starters, the V5 looks like its made of metal, but a very close inspection and some tests involving a coin and some knocking led us to believe its actually plastic. Vivo has put some effort into making it look and feel premium when it comes to exterior and touch, so we are giving it credit for that.
The entire front is covered by Corning Gorilla Glass with beveled 2.5D edges. vivo didnt specify the exact Gorilla Glass revision used here. There is a beautiful silver line emphasizing on the border between the screen and the rear panel. Similar silver strips cover the antenna bands at the back and win some extra points for good looks.
The V5 round corners and oval frame may not be the perfect shape for a secure grip, but if vivo was a house in Hogwarts, the points for those good looks should have already made Slytherins faces turn green with envy.
Handling the V5 is a nice experience - the phone feels solid and well built. One-hand operations are possible, but not enough for some common tasks. There is a software feature that shrinks the interface to manageable dimensions, so vivo has thought of that and has provided a solution.
Handling the V5
Device overview
The V5s 5.5" display is occupying most of the front surface. The earpiece is centered above the screen, the 20MP selfie snapper is on the left, while the LED flash is on the right.
There is a trio of capacitive keys below the screen, but the Home key is the only one to get some special treatment. It has a fingerprint scanner embedded within its surface, and the always-on sensor is one of the fastest and most accurate weve encountered lately.
The front • the 20MP selfie camera • the Home ley
The Task and Back capacitive keys are around the Home key, and they light up when you wake the V5.
Only the SIM card slot sits on the left side of the phone. Its a hybrid one and takes either a nano and a micro SIM combo, or a microSD and a microSIM cards.
The usual suspects - a volume rocker and a power key - are placed on the left side of the V5.
The left side • the hybrid SIM slot • the right side • the power key
There is nothing at the top. The V5s bott om is crammed with cutouts for the audio jack, the primary mic, the microUSB port, and the loudspeaker (which gets six holes).
The top side • the bottom • the microUSB port
The 13MP camera and the LED flash at the back complete our device overview.
The 13MP camera is on the back
HD resolution stretched over a 5.5" display
The vivo V5 is fitted with a 5.5-inch 720p IPS display. Pixel density is mediocre at 267ppi, but not a worrying number, and the images on screen are subjectively sharp. Beneath the surface lies a standard RGB arrangement with equal number of subpixels for each primary color.
The 5.5" display has a maximum brightness of 476nits, but its uninspiring black levels led to an average contrast of 1:1021. The color rendering is average, too - the screen offers mostly accurate colors but it looks a bit bluish and the representation of the white color is way colder than it should be (DeltaE of 10). The overall color rendering out of the box worked out to an average DeltaE of 5.3, which is fine if you are okay with the colder looking screen.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
| 0.466 | 476 | 1021 | |
| 0.348 | 475 | 1365 | |
| 0.614 | 463 | 754 | |
| 0.42 | 403 | 953 | |
| 0.38 | 439 | 1158 | |
| 0.45 | 420 | 933 | |
| 0 .00 | 340 | ∞ | |
| 0.42 | 497 | 1192 | |
The high reflectivity of the screen prevents it from being very legible under bright sunlight. Weve seen worse, though, and this number means you can using the phone outdoors if you avoid direct sunlight.
Sunlight contrast ratio
- Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
4.615 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
4.439 - OnePlus 3
4.424 - Samsung Galaxy S7
4.376 - HTC One A9
4.274 - Samsung Galaxy Note7
4.247 - Samsung Galaxy A3
4.241 - OnePlus 3T
4.232 - Google Pixel XL
4.164 - ZTE Axon 7
4.154 - Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
4.124 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09 - Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019 - OnePlus X
3.983 - Vivo Xplay5 E lite
3.983 - Oppo R7s
3.964 - Apple iPhone 7
3.964 - Huawei P9 Plus
3.956 - Meizu Pro 6 Plus
3.935 - Lenovo Moto Z
3.931 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
3.918 - Samsung Galaxy C5
3.911 - Samsung Galaxy C7
3.896 - Samsung Galaxy A5
3.895 - Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
3.879 - Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
3.873 - Samsung Galaxy A8
3.859 - Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
3.817 - Motorola Moto X (2014)
3.816 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
3.804 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
3.802 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3.798 - LG V20 Max auto
3.798 - Sony Xperia XZ
3.795 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
3.789 - Apple iPhone 6s
3.783 - Meizu Pro 5
3.781 - Microsoft Lumia 650
3.772 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.756 - Oppo F1 Plus
3.709 - Vivo X5Pro
3.706 - So ny Xperia X Compact
3.694 - Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
3.688 - Apple iPhone SE
3.681 - Huawei Mate 9
3.68 - Samsung Galaxy A7
3.679 - Meizu PRO 6
3.659 - BlackBerry Priv
3.645 - Apple iPhone 7 Plus
3.588 - Apple iPhone 6s Plus
3.53 - Motorola Moto Z Play
3.526 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
3.523 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
3.523 - Acer Jade Primo
3.521 - Microsoft Lumia 950
3.512 - Oppo R7 Plus
3.499 - nubia Z11
3.466 - Samsung Galaxy J7
3.422 - Meizu MX5
3.416 - LG V20< /span>
3.402 - Oppo R9s
3.352 - Oppo R7
3.32 - Lenovo P2
3.316 - Xiaomi Mi 5s
3.276 - Samsung Galaxy J2
3.235 - Sony Xperia X Performance
3.234 - Xiaomi Mi Note 2
3.228 - Motorola Moto X Play
3.222 - Huawei Mate 9 Pro
3.206 - Huawei P9
3.195 - Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113 - Motorola Moto X Force
3.105 - LG Nexus 5X
3.092 - Huawei Mate S
3.073 - Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
3.065 - Sony Xperia X
2.989 - Huawei Mate 8
2.949 - Xiaomi Redmi 3S
2.913 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
2.906 - LG G5
2.905 - HTC One S
2.901 - Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
2.893 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
2.884 - Sony Xperia Z5
2.876 - Microsoft Lumia 550
2.851 - Lenovo Moto M
2.813 - Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
2.803 - Sony Xperia Z5 compact
2.784 - Meizu MX6
2.751 - LG V10
2.744 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735 - Meizu M5
2.71 - Sony Xperia M5
2.69 - Huawei P9 Lite
2.679 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
2.679 - Vivo V3Max
2.659 - Xiaomi Mi Mix
2.658 - Xiaomi Mi 4i
2.641 - Sony Xperia XA
2.609 - Motorola Moto G4 Plus
2.582 - Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
2.582 - Xiaomi Mi 4c
2.574 - LeEco Le Max 2
2.567 - Microsoft Lumia 640
2.563 - Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
2.563 - Lenovo K6 Note
2.544 - Lenovo Moto G4
2.544 - Oppo F1
2.528 - Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
2.525 - Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
2.506 - Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2.503 - Oppo F1s
2.481 - Motorola Moto G
2.477 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
2.473 - Huawei G8
2.471 Huawei nova
2.467- Sony Xperia Z
2.462 - Lenovo Vibe K5
2.459 - Meizu m3 max
2.447 - HTC 10 evo
2.407 - Huawei Honor 7
2.406 - Sony Xperia E5
2.386 - ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
2.382 - HTC 10
2.378 - Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)2.378
- vivo V5 Plus
2.371 - Meizu m1 note
2.362 - Huawei nova plus
2.329 - HTC One E9+
2.305 - Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272 - Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
2.254 - Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2.253 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
2.249 - Sony Xperia C4 Dual
2.235 - Xiaomi Mi Note
2.234 - Motorola Moto G (2014)
2.233 - Huawei P8
2.196 - Meizu M5 Note
2.189 - Huawei Honor 6
2.169 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
2.166 - OnePlus Two
2.165 - HTC One X
2.158 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
2.145 - LG Aka
< span class="value">2.145 - Archos 50 Diamond
2.134 - Xiaomi Redmi Note
2.119 - Acer Liquid X2
2.084 - Huawei P8lite
2.078 - vivo V5
2.059 - Moto G 3rd gen max manual
2.026 - Xiaomi Mi Max
1.996 - Sony Xperia E4g
1.972 - OnePlus One
1.961< /li> - Meizu m3 note
1.923 - BlackBerry Leap
1.892 - Meizu m2 note
1.892 - ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
1.759 - Sony Xperia U
1.758 - Asus Zenfone Selfie
1.68 - Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
1.675 - ZTE Nubia Z9
1.659 - Jolla Jolla
1.605 - Motorola Moto E
1.545 - Sony Xperia M
1.473 - HTC Desire C
1.3 - Sony Xperia C
1.283 - Meizu MX
1.221 - Sony Xperia E
1.215
Battery life
The battery inside the vivo V5 packs 3,000mAh worth of juice. The Redmi Note 4 has 1,000mAh more, while the vivo V5 Plus only makes do with 3,160mAh.
The V5 ships with a rather standard 5V/2A plug and it fills up 25% of the battery capacity in 30 minutes. You get 50% in 55 mins and a full charge in 2 hours and 20 mins.
The vivo V5 posted a res pectable score on our 3G talk time test, average numbers on video playback and standby, and a very poor endurance on our web browsing test. The unimpressive individual figures inevitably lead to an average 60-hour overall endurance rating.
The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case youre interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones weve tested will compare under your own typical use.
Connectivity
The V5 is a dual SIM device and it accepts one nano and one microSIM card. Only one card at a time can connect to a 4G network, but the other one can meanwhile be on 3G too - its not limited to just 2G connectivity. Alternatively, you can have both cards connected to a 3G network.
Vivo itself doesnt detail what category LTE the phone suppo rts, but MediaTeks specs page for the MT6750 says Cat.6 downlink (300Mbps theoretical maximum).
There is dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n with Wi-Fi Direct and hotspot support, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS, GLONASS, and BDS for positioning. An FM radio is on board, too, but there is no NFC support.
A microUSB 2.0 port is used for charging and attaching peripherals (OTG needs to be enabled in settings), and theres a good old 3.5mm headphone jack.
Software overview
The vivo V5 runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow OS with vivos custom Funtouch v2.6 overlay on top, which is an older version of vivos overlay compared to what we saw on the V5 Plus. As with other Chinese manufacturers, that means a single-tiered interface with no app drawer. Vivo steps it up a notch and bakes a lot of Apple-esque user interface touches to Android, making for an interesting mashup.
The result is a slick user interface with a slew of features, making for an interesting Android skin. That being said, theres also a lot vivo can further polish. Many menus and some features are hidden under layers of shortcuts and obscure menus. The company has taken care of some of these issues with the Funtouch v3.0 launcher, which we saw on the vivo V5 Plus. We are hoping vivo brings v3.0 to the V5, too.
The lockscreen can be heavily customized and features notifications - a feature Google introduced with Lollipop. The other modifications come in the form of two shortcuts in the bottom corners - dialer and camera by default. However, you do get to assign any other app of your choice to either one. Lockscreen themes are also an option for further customization.
Default lockscreen • Lockscreen settings • Lockscreen themes
Past the lockscreen you get the same single-tier interface with no app drawer. The number of homescreen panes doesnt appear to be limited to a single page of thumbs (which holds 9), and we quickly concluded you wouldnt be left needing any spare room for new app icons.
You can rearrange the homescreens in any way you like and the pane you place first is the default one that appears when you tap the Home button. The panes cannot be cycled, which can prove to be a problem if you have a large number set up.
The homescreen • It doubles as an app drawer • Managing the homescreen panes isnt easy
The homescreen is where all your apps reside after installation. You can group the app icons in folders and tapping on a folder shows its contents in a nicely animated popup on a blurred background (quite iOS like).
Theres a dock on the bottom of the homescreen, which takes up to 5 icons, folders included, and redistributes them evenly, depending on the number.
Meanwhile, swiping up from the bottom edge brings out a combined toggles/brightness/tasks drawer, reminiscent of the iOS Control center. Closing apps works with a cheerful "Speed up" button.
The Quick settings toggles and the task manager • You can customize the Quick settings toggles
The brightness slider wont accept tapping for changing its position if you want to jump straight to a specific place along the axis. Instead, you need to grab it by the handle and drag it where you want it to be each time. Theres an Auto switch too.
The toggles offer the expected functionality and aside from the simple on/off action, work as shortcuts to the respective setting upon a long press. All of them are listed in a singled side-scrollable row, and you can rearrange them or hide the unused ones.
Custom notification shade • Searching a-la Apples Spotlight
The vivo V5 comes with extensive gesture and motion functionality, found in settings under Smart motion. Smart wake works with the display off and lets you draw letters to launch specific apps, unlock with an upward swipe without lighting the screen beforehand or launch the camera with a downward swipe.
"Smart motion" gestures
Theres Sma rt Multi-Screen, which allows you to split the display and launch two apps side-by-side. This is only limited to just a few supported messaging apps - Messages, Facebook, Whatsapp. It works only when you are within one of these messengers, say Facebook, and receive a notification from some of the others, say Whatsapp. Then you can expand the Whatsapp floating icon into the full-blown app, which will share the screen with Facebook.
Smart Multi-screen
Vivo has kept things pretty clean regarding preloaded applications and, besides the nowadays obligatory Google suite, there are few pre-installed apps. Also, the things that are included in the mix are well executed, nicely styled and even, quite convenient. We wont mention the mandatory calendar, calculator, clock, and voice recording apps, but they are onboard.
Funtou ch OS has an amazing central management hub, called iManager. It is designed to keep your phone in top shape and does a pretty good job of it. It can clean your RAM and storage on request and naturally manage applications.
The phone also comes with a very intuitive file manager. It automatically groups things according to type but also allows traditional folder browsing, as well as searching. Multiple file operations are now possible too.
iManager app is pretty powerful • iManager • iManager • iManager • Intuitive file manager
Performance
The vivo V5 is powered by the dated and mediocre MediaTek MT6750 chipset - it sits a step below the Helio P10, and it didnt even deserve a pet name thats easier to remember. It packs a true octa-core Cortex-A53 processor clocked at 1.5GHz. The GPU is nothing special - the Mali-T860 MP2 (read: dual-core), but there are 4 gigs of RAM on board, so thats something.
The same MT6750 chip is the one behind the Meizu M5 and M3, and it has proven to be enough for those devices.
The processor performance is okay when Android operations are concerned, but it trails behind the competition once it comes to heavy duty tasks, which require all eight cores.
GeekBench 4 (single-core)
Higher is better
- < span class="label">Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
1546 - vivo V5 Plus
846 - Huawei nova
842 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
839 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
819 - Lenovo Moto M
771 - Meizu M5 Note
683 - Lenovo K6 Note
635 - vivo V5
621 - Meizu M5
592
GeekBench 4 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
4456 - vivo V5 Plus
3136 - Huawei nova
3105 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
3065 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
3016 - Lenovo Moto M
2921 - Meizu M5 Note
2690 - Meizu M5
2428 - vivo V5
2427 - Lenovo K6 Note
2027
The raw graphics performance provided by the weak Mali-T860 MP2 GPU is rather uninspiring. Its wor th noting that the GPU at least supports the latest OpenGL ES 3.1. While the offscreen raw scores are nothing to talk about, the onscreen framerate are helped by the lower 720p resolution, and thus the V5 ends up better than most of its competitors.
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
9.5 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
9 - Huawei nova
6.3 - vivo V5 Plus
6.2 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
6.2 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
6.2 - Lenovo Moto M
4.7 - Lenovo K6 Note
4.4 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
4 - Meizu M5 Note
3.6 - Meizu M5
3.4 - vivo V5
3.4 - Oppo F1s
2.4
GFX 3.1 Car scene (offscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
5.4 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
5.3 - Huawei nova
3.5 - vivo V5 Plus
3.4 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
3.4 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
3.4 - Lenovo K6 Note
2.5 - Lenovo Moto M
2.5 - Meizu M5 Note
1.9 - Meizu M5
1.8 - vivo V5
1.8
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
9.4 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
9 - Meizu M5
7.9 - vivo V5
7.8 - Huawei nova
6.5 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
6.2 - vivo V5 Plus
6.1 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
6.1 - Oppo F1s
6 - Lenovo Moto M
5.2 - Lenovo K6 Note
4.4 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
3.9 - Meizu M5 Note
3.6
GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
5.5 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
5.4 - vivo V5
3.7 - Meizu M5
3.7 - Huawei nova
3.7 - vivo V5 Plus
3.4 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
3.4 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
3.4 - Lenovo Moto M
2.7 - Lenovo K6 Note
2.4 - Meizu M5 Note
1.9
Meizu M5 Note is powered by the Helio P10 chip, which has the same GPU but running at a higher frequency. You can see the performance gap between the V5 and the M5 Note in the BaseMark X test - when the GPU is that weak, even the tiniest upgrades matter.
Basemark X
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
14717 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
13666 - vivo V5 Plus
10542 - Huawei nova
10511 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
10483 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
10424 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
8540 - Lenovo K6 Note
7480 - Lenovo Moto M
6732 - Meizu M5 Note
5276 - vivo V5
4996 - Meizu M5
4767
Compound benchmarks such as AnTuTu and BaseMark OS II give us a better understanding of the overall performance. Here, the vivo V5 stands okay next to the competition even though its still trailing behind. The MT6750 chip is the definition of mediocrity.
AnTuTu 6
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
85162 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
76186 - Huawei nova
65021 - vivo V5 Plus
63812 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
62454 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
62316 - Lenovo Moto M
51831 - Meizu M5 Note
47806 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
45474 - Lenovo K6 Note
44972 - vivo V5
41702 - Meizu M5
40831 - Oppo F1s
3 0657
Basemark OS II
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
1914 - Huawei nova
1473 - vivo V5 Plus
1325 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
1296 - Lenovo Moto M
1127 - Lenovo K6 Note
967 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
956 - Meizu M5 Note
944 - vivo V5
938 - Oppo F1s
888 - Meizu M5
846
The benchmark tests show the vivo V5 is a below average performer. It may provide an acceptable user experience, but we expected a bit more - especially at this price point. And the competition is ready to give us that extra bit of oomph at the same or even lower price.
Telephony and phonebook
The phonebook app on the vivo V5 is called Contacts and follows the general styling of the rest of the interface, meaning its entirely custom. There are tabs, but unless you are big on groups, or want to jump to the dialer or to your personal info page all the time, chances are you wont be using them too often.
Dialer • Calling someone • phonebook • a single contact
Viewing a contact is done through a clean and well-arranged interface. All in all, Vivo has tried to keep things as simple and intuitive as possible.
Loudspeaker
The vivo V5 posted a Very Good score in our loudspeaker loudness test putting it ahead of pretty much all of its competitors. There is some distortion at maximum level depending on what youre playing, though.
| Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing | Overall score | |
| 66.0 | 64.3 | 70.1 | Below Average | |
| 65.9 | 66.3 | 70.7 | Average | |
| 64.5 | 71.0 | 68.9 | Average | |
| 64.2 | 67.2 | 76.9 | Good | |
| 66.5 | 66.6 | 75.8 | Good | |
| 69.0 | 72.0 | 67.9 | Good | |
| 62.6 | 73.1 | 83.4 | Very Good | |
| 65.1 | 70.7 | 86.8 | Very Good | |
| 65.8 | 73.5 | 80.8 | Very Good | |
| 75.7 | 73.5 | 80.7 | Excellent |
Multimedia
The vivo V5 comes with a simple gallery. It consists of two tabs, one for your camera roll, the other for your various albums. Either way, you get a grid of thumbnails, four in a row. Hitting the search tool doubles the number of thumbs and groups them by month.
The Albums app is decent
Viewing a single image offers the usual basic options like cropping and rotation as well as a quick shortcut for sharing.
The vivo V5 comes with a dedicated video application. It offers a basic interface and few advanced features but gets the job done. The player itself does offer Hi-Fi support as well as DLNA and subtitles.
Very capable video player
As far as format support goes, the V5 didnt have any issues with playing every video we threw at it, be it DivX, XviD, MOV, WMV, MP4, MKV, including files with the typically problematic AC3 sound. It also has good support for subtitles, though no options for customizing them.
An interesting feature is the pop-out mode. It spawns a small draggable video window on top of the UI, but you cant resize it.
Audio player
The music player, bundled with Funtouch OS and curiously named iMusic, doesnt look overly impressive but is quite pleasant to use and has a few tricks hidden away.
The iMusic player is simplistic, but gets the job done
Launching the app brings you to a selection of quite a few browsing options. Songs can be browsed in various categories and playli sts are easily accessible, for even more flexibility. The smartphone comes with preinstalled sound profiles for a few headsets.
The main playback interface consists of a backdrop of album art and a simple control pad. You get two toggles altogether, one for Repeat/Shuffle and another for switching on Hi-Fi mode, but it only works with headphones attached.
Finally, the vivo V5s big audio feature is its Hi-Fi prowess. The phone features AKMs 32-bit/192kHz AK4375 DAC. Provided you have the right headphones and the right source material, it could potentially allow you to play Hi Res Audio.
FM radio
The FM radio is a nice touch. Sure, you can stream with Play Music, but FM broadcasting is free and available at places where there might not be data connection. There are some limitations here. The Radio app is not able to record any radio broadcasts and it lacks RDS (the feature that displays the station name and other info).
FM radio app
Decent audio quality
The vivo V5 performs very well when hooked up to an active external amplifier. The smartphone posted excellent scores for clarity, and its volume was decently high.
Loudness dropped to just above average with headphones and stereo quality took a moderate hit. A tiny amount of intermodulation distortion crept in as well, but all in all, it’s still a decent showing.
| Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
| +0.02, -0.12 | -91.8 | 92.9 | 0.0055 | 0.0097 | -89.8 | |
| +0.38, -0.10 | -91.3 | 92.3 | 0.0073 | 0.256 | -55.1 | |
| +0.03, -0.20 | -92.0 | 92.8 | 0.0020 | 0.0072 | -88.5 | |
| +0.24, -0.14 | -91.0 | 91.6 | 0.0080 | 0.219 | -56.0 | |
| +0.04, -0.02 | -93.0 | 93.1 | 0.0018 | 0.0085 | -93.8 | |
| +0.05, -0.02 | -92.7 | 0.0023 | 0.054 | -52.4 | ||
| +0.01, -0.02 | -93.3 | 93.2 | 0.0010 | 0.0070 | -93.5 | |
| +0.19, -0.35 | -92.3 | 92.2 | 0.0098 | 0.295 | -58.3 | |
| +0.10, -0.03 | -94.2 | 94.0 | 0.0019 | 0.0064 | -89.3 | |
| +0.30, -0.07 | -92.5 | 93.0 | 0.810 | 0.271 | -31.3 | |
| +0.03, -0.30 | -86.6 | 83.6 | 0.0017 | 0.049 | -91.1 | |
| +0.06, -0.03 | -92.4 | 92.4 | 0.0018 | 0.021 | -88.2 | |
| Xiaomi Mi 5s | +0.01, -0.03 | -89.6 | 90.2 | 0.0029 | 0.040 | -85.5 |
| Xiaomi Mi 5s (headphones) | +0.71, -0.31 | -82.9 | 84.8 | 0.229 | 0.559 | -48.0 |
| +0.06, -0.10 | -92.4 | 92.3 | 0.0015 | 0.0093 | -80.9 | |
| +0.03, -0.11 | -92.3 | 92.3 | 0.0011 | 0.012 | -77.0 |
vivo V5 f requency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
Camera and image quality
The vivo V5 comes with a 13MP camera on its back with a f/2.2 aperture lens. On the front, however, is where the real head-turner is - a 20MP Sony IMX376 sensor, aimed to deliver super detailed selfies. The lens on the front has 26mm-equiv. lens with f/2.0, and there is a front LED flash with soft white studio-like light.
The camera app interface is simple, yet functional and will be familiar to anyone whos picked up an iPhone. Swiping left and right (or up and down in landscape orientation) switches between basic stills, beautification mode, and video. The separate video mode means you get to preview coverage before hitting record, something you cant do when you h ave a shared viewfinder for stills and video.
The flash toggle, front camera switch, and a mode selector are up top in portrait, so they pretty much require you to use both hands.
Camera interface
Photo enthusiasts will be pleased to find a Professional mode, and its one of the better-made ones weve seen. It gives you access to a lot of manual controls, including exposure compensation (-2EV/+2EV in 1/3EV increments), ISO sensitivity (all the way up to ISO 1600), shutter speed (as long as 16s), white balance by presets and manual focus.
vivos Professional mode is among the more powerful ones
The V5 captures overall likable photos with sufficient detail, though it is missing some definition in intricate high-frequency detail like foliage. Colors are pleasantly saturated, a little warm too, but in a good way, if you will. There are some traces of noise, but nothing that much to get in the way of fine detail. Dynamic range is decent, and we rarely had to resort to the dedicated HDR mode.
vivo V5 13MP camera samples
And here are some low-light photos. First, we snapped a handheld photo, and then, we mounted the V5 on a tripod. In either case, the Auto mode produced a grainy shot that wasnt something to write home about. For the final photo sample, we used the Pro mode with a 6s shutter speed, which al lowed us to get an excellent night shot - you just need to pack a portable tripod.
Handheld night sample • Using a tripod • Tripod and manual mode
Our Photo compare tool is a good place to check out how the V5 fares against any competitors in the controlled environment of our test lab. Weve pre-selected the Oppo F1s and Meizu M5 Note, but you can pick your own contestants as well.
vivo V5 against the Oppo R1s and the Meizu M5 Note in our Photo compare tool
HDR
HDR mode on the V5 doesnt have a dedicated toggle. You can turn it on or off from the Advanced Mode selection. Thanks to the wide dynamic range you may never resort to the HDR mode, but wed still prefer a proper toggle on the viewfinder.
Vivos approach to HDR processing is focused on bringing out the lower mid-tones, and preserving highlights, while the absolute darkest shadows remain black. This results in images that still have plenty of contrast, but also more visible detail in the mid-tones.
HDR off • HDR on
Panorama
Panoramas are around 1,200px tall, and theres a good amount of resolved detail. There are no visible stitching issues (with stationary subj ects), and exposure is even across the frame.
vivo V5 panorama
Selfie camera
Wed go ahead and call the 20MP front facing shooter of the vivo V5 its primary camera. The sensor is an IMX376, which is available only on the V5 (for now). Its 1/2.78" big with 1.0µm pixels, and f/2.0 lens.
If youd expected stunning selfie shots, wed have to disappoint you. The resolved detail in the 20MP selfies is rather mediocre, the focus is a hit and miss, and the beautification effects are often a disaster (but we might not be the prime target for that feature in particular).
Normal 20MP selfie • Beauty at 50% • Beauty at 100%
On a positive note, the colors, contrast, and even the dynamic range, are quite good, and we liked the shots we took. Dont forget these are 20MP images - once you downscale the selfies down to 5MP youd get some excellent pictures.
20MP selfie samples
The fill light is useful too. This shot below was taken at our studio in the same lighting used for the lowlight shot in the Photo compare tool - a dim 28lux environment. The result is not super sharp, but its noticeably better than the shot without a flash.
Selfie without the fill light • Fill light on • Fill light in our pitch dark black-painted studio
Video camera
The vivo V5 shoots videos in up to 1080p resolution at 30fps. Theres no 60fps smooth motion mode. All videos from the V5s camera are captured in an MP4 container. The video bitrate is about 17Mpbs, and the framerate is stable. The audio recorded in the video is stereo - it uses an AAC codec with 128 Kbps bitrate and 48 KHz sampling.
The resolved detail is rather poor, but the contrast and colors are fine. Here is a sample weve uploaded on YouTube.
You can also download this 1080p@30fps (9s, 18MB) video sample taken straight off the vivo V5.
If youd like to compare the V5s video camera to some other phones, head over to our Video Compare Tool below.
vivo V5 against the Oppo R1s and the Meizu M5 Note in our Video compare tool
Final words
Vivo did a great job with the V5 Plus, but the V5 is certainly the less impressive product in the duo. The recycled design, the low-end chipset, the low-res screen, the mediocre main camera, the average battery life, and the old Funtouch launcher arent helping the V5s c ase. And the 20MP selfie camera is just not enough to make up for everything else.
We sure appreciate the 4 gigabytes of RAM as they are invaluable for multi-tasking purposes. The dynamic range in the 13MP samples did catch our attention, and so did the speaker loudness, but thats all (aside from the sturdy build quality).
The V5s key feature is the so-called Moonlight selfie, which is the fancy word behind the front fill-flash. Unfortunately, this feature failed to impress as well. The flash is just too weak to provide for any meaningful improvement in the image quality. On a positive note, the 20MP selfies, while mediocre in quality, turn into striking 5MP images once downscaled for social network use.
All of these could have been easily forgiven, if it wasnt for the hefty $270 price tag. Its just too much for a mid-ranger with low-end specs, despite the high-res selfie camera.
vivo V5 key test findings
- The recycled design is still catchy, build quality is great and the plastic can easily pass for metal.
- The display posts good numbers for brightness, average fir contrast, and fails to impress in color accuracy and sunlight legibility.
- Battery life is average - a respectable score on our 3G talk time test, average numbers on video playback and standby, and a very poor endurance on our web browsing test - all of this added up to a 60-hour endurance rating.
- The phone runs on Marshmallow and Funtouch 2.6 - both pretty dated already, but the custom overlay is rich in added functionality.
- Benchmarks reveal uninspiring performance across the board, though the lower screen resolution helps the GPU perform well. The MT6750 chip is dependable overall, but falling short in the most demanding scenarios.
- Audio quality is solid especially when you route the sound from the phone to an external amplifier.
- The 13MP rear camera produces detailed images with pleasing colors and decent dynamic range.
- The 20MP front camera takes pleasant selfies, which lack detail. They transform into excellent pictures when downscaled to 5MP, which is what really matter for the social networks. We miss the bokeh effect from the V5 Plus.
- The 1080p videos lack fine detail, but come out with good contrast and colors.
The Meizu M5 Note costs half the vivo V5s money, and yet it delivers a higher resolution screen, an improved Helio X10 chip, and a metal unibody. It cant match the V5s selfies, but if you are not about the selfie experience, the M5 Note should be fine for you.
Meizu M5 Note
All the V5s shortcomings are taken care of on the vivo V5 Plus, though youd have to pay extra for the Plus model. The V5 Plus looks like an iPhone and is made of metal; it has a better screen, chipset, and newer Funtouch launcher. Its charm is in the 20MP+8MP front camera setup, which takes some impressive selfies with stunning bokeh effects.
vivo V5 Plus
Xiaomis Redmi Note 4, no matter if MediaTek or Snapdragon powered, is cheaper and better than the V5 in everything but selfie photography. The Note 4, even the Note 3 series, have become bestsellers in their respective classes and are among our top picks often, so you might consider them as well.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (MediaTek) • Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
Lenovo P2 price is close to the V5s, yet it comes with a 1080p AMOLED screen, a battery-efficient Snapdragon 625 chip, and a huge 5,100 mAh battery. The P2 is no match for V5s selfie skills, but everything else is light years ahead.
Lenovo P2
The Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime is a good alternative, which has a tight focus on the camera experience with f/1.9 apertures on both rear 13MP and front 8MP snappers. It has a higher-res screen, snappier hardware, and it comes with a TouchWiz, too, which may tip the scales.
Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime
Youve probably taken our hint already - the vivo V5 is for selfie-addicts only. It snaps some great selfie shots (once they turn into 5MP images, that is). But there is nothing outside its selfie photography skills to justify its purchase, and even just for selfies, the V5 Plus is the better phone to get.
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