The launch of Vivo V9 attracted a lot of traction as it is an iPhone lookalike phone with an edge-to-edge FHD+ display and navigational gestures. The phone was launched for Rs 22,990 and is available in 3 colors i.e. Pearl Black, Champagne Gold & Sapphire Blue. In the camera department, the phone offers an AI-powered camera for smart photography with a 24MP front camera and 16MP + 5MP rear camera set. Vivo also hired the coolest actor of Bollywood i.e. Aamir Khan to endorse the V9 and upcoming smartphones by them. Here are the first impressions of the Vivo V9 smartphone:
Vivo V9 First Impressions
Vivo V9 Design and Display
The biggest highlight of this phone is the notch. Whether you like it or not, but this is how the future smartphones are coming unless some brand may find the solution of integrating sensors and camera under the display. Although, Vivo’s future devices will be coming soon with a fingerprint sensor under the display and those shall hit the production and be a reality soon. Having a notch on the display means you’re getting some extra space on the display and anyway the notch shall be officially supported by Android P which this device will surely be getting.
Vivo V9 has a display size of 6.3-inch which sounds huge on paper but doesn’t feel that large upon using it regularly, all thanks to the 19:9 display ratio i.e 90% screen to body ratio. The bezels around the display at top and side edges are 1.75mm wide. Also, the device weighs only 150 grams, hence doesn’t feel bulky.
The display has a resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixel i.e. FHD+ Display which looks really good and is suitable to watch Full HD or even 4K videos without any issues. The display has no visibility issues under the sun nor it gets heated up upon continuous usage.
At the back, the design is pretty basic, as all the glory points for design goes to the front. There is a fingerprint sensor placed right above the Vivo logo. For most users, the fingerprint location is perfect, and it is fast. Vivo has not chosen to go metallic at the back still, the phone feels premium. There are rounded edges around the corners and the finishing of the phone is excellent.
Vivo has opted to provide a vertically stacked dual-camera module at the back. There is a LED flash positioned below the camera module. The phone doesn’t feel slippery and there is a cover included in the box for casing. Vivo V9 offers dual nano-SIM card slot along with a dedicated micro-SD card slot which is needed by many customers and of course, 3.5mm jack is there at the bottom.
Vivo V9 – Hardware and Software
Vivo V9 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 with 4 GB of RAM and offers 64 GB of internal storage which can be expanded up to 256 GB using micro-SD card. If you plan to use micro-SD card, prefer to buy the card with minimum Class 10 speed or Ultra-high speed (UHS-I) rating. There is a non-removable 3260 mAh battery which lasts a day at least, if not more.
On the software part, Vivo V9 offers Android 8.1, the latest Android version out of the box skinned with FunTouch 4.0 which offers many useful features which stock Android lacks. FunTouch OS also offers gestures navigation which you might have seen in iPhone X. You can swipe upwards from the bottom of the screen to go back, or stop half-way to reveal the app switcher. Similar gestures were there in Vivo V7 also.
Other features by FunTouch OS 4.0 include gaming mode, smart motion, smart split, app cloning and many more hacks to enhance user experience. Not to forget, there is a face unlock feature for quickly unlocking the phone. This feature also works in dark by lighting up the screen a bit for recognizing the face. Face unlock feature can also be used to lock apps and encrypting them.
Vivo V9 – Camera
Speaking of the camera, Vivo V9 offers dual-camera setup in the rear. The bottom one in the duo is a 16-megapixel camera for clicking images, delivering detail in the image and above it is a 5-megapixel camera which is used as depth analyzer.
This duo setup is able to take excellent bokeh images. The camera analyzes the image using powerful software and machine (AI) learning and hence enhance the images outcome in a great way.
As the Vivo V9 is a selfie centered camera, at the front, it offers a 24-megapixel camera. You’ll be able to take excellent selfies using it. The AI face beauty feature in the camera also identifies users’ age, sex, skin tone, and texture as well as adjusts to the surrounding’s light. It also offers AR stickers, which can be applied to already clicked images or the pictures being taken, and it offers numerous options to choose from to reflect the user style.
Final Verdict
Overall Vivo V9 looks like a good choice for a camera smartphone. Vivo improved a lot in camera and display department from previous generations and for an iPhone lookalike phone, the pricing is not that high, considering the features it offers. Vivo V9 not only is an attractive phone, it also offers a big display with a notch and latest android out of the box which is a plus point. Stay tuned for the in-depth review of the device, coming soon.
