The Vivo V29 Pro, the latest addition to Vivo’s V-series, is here aiming to capture the hearts of camera enthusiasts and those seeking a well-rounded smartphone experience within the sub-Rs. 40,000 price segment. Packing a powerful MediaTek Dimensity 8200 SoC and boasting a camera system specifically designed for low-light portrait photography, the Vivo V29 Pro promises a compelling package. But does it live up to the hype and deliver on its promises? This in-depth Vivo V29 Pro review dives deep into its design, display, camera capabilities, battery life, performance, and overall experience to help you decide if it’s the right smartphone for you.
Vivo V29 Pro Review: Price in India
The Vivo V29 Pro comes in two storage variants: 8GB RAM with 256GB storage priced at Rs. 39,999 and a 12GB RAM with 256GB storage variant priced at Rs. 42,999. Color options include the eye-catching Himalayan Blue and the classic Space Black.
Vivo V29 Pro Review: Design
The Vivo V29 Pro shares a familiar design language with its predecessor, the Vivo V27 Pro, sporting a glass sandwich design. The glossy finish, with the Vivo branding at the bottom, is susceptible to fingerprints, so a case is recommended. The rectangular camera module, slightly raised from the back panel, showcases a subtle yet noticeable change in design. Instead of a row of three lenses, the V29 Pro features two lenses in a row, accompanied by the aura-light flash, with the primary flash and a camera lens positioned on the right. The camera module now seamlessly blends with the back panel’s finish. The Himalayan Blue variant, in particular, shines under light, offering a captivating iridescent effect.
The smartphone is constructed with a metal chassis and boasts a glossy finish. The power button and volume controls are placed on the right, while the bottom houses a USB 2.0 Type-C port, a dual-SIM slot, and a speaker grille. Unfortunately, the Vivo V29 Pro lacks an official water and dust resistance rating, which is a missed opportunity in this price segment.
Despite its sleek 7.5mm profile, the phone feels delicate and the 6.78-inch curved display makes one-handed use a bit challenging. While its weight of 188g is relatively light, the phone’s slimness does lend to a slightly fragile feeling. Overall, the Vivo V29 Pro exudes a premium look and feel that justifies its price point.
Vivo V29 Pro Review: Display
The Vivo V29 Pro flaunts a captivating 6.78-inch curved AMOLED display boasting a 120Hz refresh rate and a sharp 1,260 x 2,800 pixel resolution. The colours produced by this display are truly eye-catching, as evidenced by the immersive experience offered while watching Marvel movies. The sharpness is impressive, and the viewing angles remain good despite the curved display, ensuring minimal colour bleeding on the edges.
The thin bezels enhance the screen’s impact by minimizing their presence. The Vivo V29 Pro performs remarkably well in outdoor conditions, with ample brightness to combat direct sunlight, although the peak brightness levels are not officially specified. This HDR10 certified display brings high-dynamic range videos to life with crisp detail and vibrant colours, making content consumption a treat.
The smartphone comes with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate that allows you to switch between the standard 60Hz and a ‘Smart Switch’ mode. The ‘Smart Switch’ mode dynamically adjusts the refresh rate based on usage patterns, helping to conserve battery life. The 120Hz refresh rate significantly enhances the user experience across various tasks, ensuring smooth scrolling, fluid UI interactions, and seamless app performance.
Vivo V29 Pro Review: Camera
The camera is one of the Vivo V29 Pro’s strongest assets. It features a triple rear camera setup:
- 50-megapixel primary camera with f/1.88 aperture and OIS
- 12-megapixel portrait camera with 2x optical zoom and f/1.98 aperture
- 8-megapixel ultrawide camera with f/2.2 aperture
Daylight Performance:
The primary camera excels in daylight conditions, producing images rich in detail and balanced dynamic range. While the processing is not excessive, the images tend to be slightly oversharpened. To capture full-resolution 50-megapixel images, you need to delve into the camera settings and select the high-resolution option, a minor inconvenience. However, the bokeh effect is quite pleasing and focuses effectively on close-up subjects.
Portrait Camera:
The portrait camera delivers excellent results in daylight, offering sharper images than the primary camera and maintaining accurate colours. The 2x optical zoom offers an edge in capturing subjects that are a bit out of reach for the primary camera, and the resulting images retain their details. The portrait mode images are quite impressive, showcasing a slightly enhanced colour palette. The subject isolation is notably good, effectively separating the subject from the background and preserving natural skin tones.
Ultra-Wide Camera:
The ultrawide camera is a mixed bag. The 8-megapixel resolution often leads to softer images, which the processor attempts to compensate for with sharpening, resulting in less-than-ideal results. While the daylight performance proves acceptable, providing decent sharpness and colour accuracy, noticeable distortion at the edges is evident.
Low-Light Performance:
The Vivo V29 Pro shines in low-light photography. The primary camera captures detailed images, even in dimly lit environments, with a slight increase in saturation levels. Though occasional flat images may occur, the majority of nighttime shots captured with the primary camera are visually appealing. The portrait camera holds its own in low light, producing excellent bokeh effects and pleasing colours, avoiding the overly cartoonish appearance often seen in low-light portrait mode shots. The ultrawide camera, however, struggles in low light and noticeably grainy images, requiring longer shutter speeds and a steady hand for better results.
Aura-Light Flash:
The Vivo V29 Pro incorporates an aura-light flash, a feature highlighted by Vivo. It effectively separates subjects from backgrounds, but the results aren’t flawless. While it’s a worthwhile addition for capturing portraits without relying on the main flash and offers a distinct look, it sometimes under-illuminates subjects.
Video Recording:
The Vivo V29 Pro supports video recording at up to 4K 60fps, but stabilization is not available at this resolution. You must sacrifice resolution to activate stabilization, which is an unfortunately common limitation. The video quality is overall solid, but a slight oversharpening effect is present. Nighttime videos tend to appear softer than expected.
Selfie Camera:
The smartphone’s selfie camera utilizes a 50-megapixel sensor with autofocus, providing clear detail in both daylight and nighttime images. The front camera’s tendency to automatically switch to portrait mode can be quite frustrating, as it can be triggered even when a standard selfie is intended. The front camera can record videos up to 4K 60fps, capturing good daylight footage, but the quality suffers in low-light conditions.
Vivo V29 Pro Review: Battery and Charging
The Vivo V29 Pro packs a 4600mAh battery, an impressive feat considering its slim profile. The smartphone handles day-to-day tasks effectively, easily powering through several hours of music playback, internet browsing, video streaming, gaming, and productivity app usage, all while maintaining the 120Hz refresh rate with around 50 percent screen brightness. The Vivo V29 Pro achieved 17 hours and 15 minutes in our battery loop test, demonstrating a remarkable endurance.
The inclusion of an 80W fast charging adapter in the retail packaging is a welcome surprise, as many manufacturers have opted to exclude it. The fast charging capability is exceptional, as the smartphone reaches 66 percent charge in just 30 minutes and a full charge in under an hour. Despite the rapid charging speeds, the phone did not experience any significant overheating.
Vivo V29 Pro Review: Performance
At the heart of the Vivo V29 Pro lies the MediaTek Dimensity 8200 5G SoC, a capable processor designed for handling graphically demanding tasks. Benchmark tests consistently yielded impressive scores for this price range. The Vivo V29 Pro scored a remarkable 9,19,960 on AnTuTu v.10.1.0, 1,213 on Geekbench 6’s single-core test, and 3,931 on its multi-core test.
Gaming performance proved robust. Graphic-intensive games like Call of Duty: Mobile experienced smooth gameplay with minimal frame drops, even with high graphics settings enabled. Real Racing 3 ran flawlessly, with no lag in animations. While the smartphone did warm up slightly during extended gaming sessions, it was not a concerning level of heat.
The Vivo V29 Pro comes pre-installed with Funtouch 13, based on Android 13. While pre-loaded apps abound, they can be deleted at will, which is a notable benefit. The overall user experience is consistently smooth and lag-free, truly reflecting the feel of a premium device.
Vivo V29 Pro Review: Verdict
The Vivo V29 Pro, with a starting price of Rs. 39,999, delivers a compelling smartphone experience that ticks all the essential boxes. From its excellent display and impressive camera system to its premium build quality and long-lasting battery with incredibly fast charging speeds, the Vivo V29 Pro offers the hallmarks of a premium device at a competitive price. The phone exudes a luxurious feel, particularly the Himalayan Blue variant. The 12GB RAM variant offers exceptional value, reinforcing its strong proposition.
However, the Vivo V29 Pro does have a few drawbacks. The average performance of the ultrawide camera and the lack of an IP rating are noticeable shortcomings. For those who prioritize a better ultrawide camera, a higher IP rating, and Gorilla Glass protection, the Google Pixel 7a, at a slightly higher price of Rs. 43,999, might be a better choice. Overall, the Vivo V29 Pro is a strong contender worth considering for those seeking a well-rounded smartphone experience with a particular emphasis on camera quality and a premium feel.
