Vivo V15 Pro Review: Pop Goes the Selfie

Vivo has had an interesting year. From the Apex concept to the Vivo NEX, and then the Vivo NEX Dual Display, the company has surprised us with its ability to innovate and offer something different. Like them or not, the pop-up camera and rear display unit definitely added some much-needed pizzaz to the phones’ otherwise me-too designs. Enter the Vivo V15 Pro, a device that takes a lot of inspiration from higher-end devices and brings it to a more mainstream price point.

This is Android Authority’s Vivo V15 Pro review.

Design

The Vivo V15 Pro looks really damn good. There, I said it. That massive screen at the front offers an expansive viewing field that is as close to the concept of all-screen devices as we’ve gotten to so far. It doesn’t hurt that the screen looks really good too (more on that later).

I’ve spent almost a week with the Vivo V15 Pro and the dimensions have grown on me. This is not a small phone, but the gently curved edges and back make it very comfortable to hold. Vivo did a really good job with weight distribution, and the phone nestles very easily in the palm of your hand.

The ergonomics, however, aren’t quite perfect. The volume rocker, in particular, is rather flush with the side of the phone and it’s often hard to make out whether a button press registers without looking at the visual feedback. Perhaps it’s just me, but I found the volume rocker on my Vivo V15 Pro review unit was a bit too high up for my hands, requiring a little shimmy to reach.

The power button, on the other hand, was easy to reach and had sufficient give, though I wouldn’t mind a “clickier” button. There’s a direct shortcut for Google Assistant on the left side of the phone. Double clicking the button activates Google Lens or Vivo’s own Jovi image recognition.

The back of the phone is all sorts of interesting. Gradient style colorways are all the rage at the moment, and the Vivo V15 Pro is joining in, sporting a finish that goes from an inky almost-black, to a bright electric blue, and then back again. It looks splendid. Coupled with the ripple-like design underneath, it’s definitely going to turn heads.

Since the Vivo V15 Pro has a glass back, the usual caveats apply. The phone is extremely slippery and more than once, I caught it slipping down a couch. It is nearly impossible to keep the back clean of fingerprints and smudges.

Vivo is throwing a case in the box, which adds a bit of bulk to the phone, but we’ll take that over constantly wiping the back clean. The case is rather nicely designed and combines a transparent back with rigid side panels.

Along the top of the phone, there’s a 3.5mm audio jack. The bottom edge has a speaker grille and Micro-USB charging port. Yes, it’s 2019 and the Vivo V15 Pro has a Micro-USB charging port. There is no justification for this, especially at this price point.

There’s a fifth-generation in-display fingerprint scanner under the screen here and I found it worked perfectly well. It isn’t quite as fast as a standard fingerprint reader, but unlike last year’s models, the speed of the fingerprint reader is no longer an impediment. However, I have an issue with the location of the fingerprint touchpoint. It is set too low on the screen and I found myself having to bend my thumb over a bit too much to unlock the phone.

If you are reading this Vivo V15 Pro review, there’s a good chance that the pop-up selfie camera has you intrigued. In fairness, it could be overkill, but I absolutely love it.

The selfie camera on the Vivo V15 Pro pops out in under half a second. It’s fast enough. Located at the top right corner, the camera pops out for face recognition or if you are taking selfies in the camera app. It works just fine even in Instagram.