Vivo V20 SE review: The latest Vivo mid-ranger is reviewed.

The Vivo V20 SE is the latest addition to Vivo's ever-expanding collection of mid-range smartphones. The V20 SE is now priced at Rs 17,721, and it competes with the Realme 7 Pro and the Galaxy M31s. Vivo already has the V20, an upper mid-range smartphone that I tried out lately as well. The V20 SE retains many of the features of its sister while removing a few to lessen the price.

The V20 SE appears to be a capable everyday driver, with a high-resolution camera arrangement and one of the nicest displays in the market. However, the chipset selection casts a pall over the entire ensemble. In this Vivo V20 SE review, I'll look at the device's numerous features, specs, and capabilities to see if it's a hit or miss.

Vivo V20 SE FULL SPECIFICATIONS

Vivo V20 SE review: The lowdown

The Vivo V20 came in a fun Sunset Jazz colour scheme that was really pleasing to the eye. Vivo has taken a more natural approach with the SE, opting for a glossy dual-tone shift over a matte glass surface. As a result, the surface is easily damaged and collects a lot of smudges. Vivo, like all OEMs in this price range, has included a clear silicone shell that should help the smartphone retain some of its lustre. A triple-lens configuration and a dual-LED flash module are housed in the camera hump, which protrudes from the back.

The V20 SE's total weight is relatively low, and the sloping edges make it easy to put the gadget into my hand. The SE, like the V20, has its internals in a surprisingly small body that measures 7.83mm in thickness. The Vivo V20 SE has been designed to impress, from the button placement to the slim shape to the sparkling colours and the large camera hump. Along with the Realme 7 Pro, the V20 SE is a smartphone that gives a wonderful in-hand sensation in this market.

AMOLED panels are becoming more ubiquitous on mid-range smartphones, and the Vivo V20 SE is no exception. Even though the refresh rate was set at 60Hz, I admired the Vivo V20's panel for its vividness and excellent contrast ratios. The fact that Vivo has included the same display on its lower-cost device leads me to believe that the business is not skimping on the viewing experience. Even though the waterdrop notch, a practically obsolete screen element, is still visible, it barely detracts from the otherwise bezel-free display.

The brightness settings are ideal, however I did have some difficulties when sunlight shone straight on the screen, which I did not experience with the standard V20. The display is the same size at 6.44 inches, with the same FHD+ resolution and 20:9 aspect ratio. As a result, all display customization options, such as colour temperature and saturation settings, as well as the standard blue light filter toggle, are available. With the V20 SE, Vivo appears to be quietly building a reputation for producing competent displays in a variety of pricing ranges, and it's simple to see why.

The Vivo V20 SE also borrows some of the original V20's features in terms of optics. Instead of the main 64MP GW1 ISOCELL camera, the V20 SE features a 48MP primary camera, which is supplemented by an 8MP ultra-wide and a 2MP macro camera. The powerful 32MP front-facing camera is in charge of selfies. In daytime, you can expect a wide range of stunning images with plenty of colours, accurate HDR, and a bit of the Vivo-branded saturation levels. As a result, whether you point your camera in the morning or afternoon, you'll receive the finest Vivo has to offer in the mid-range.

In photographs, people may prefer Samsung's, Realme's, or Vivo's colour science, but all outcomes should be appealing. The ultra-wide lens occasionally gets the colour temperature off, giving a false sense of the illumination, but the details are razor-sharp. With a 2.5cm focus distance, the macro shooter can get up close and personal, but colour quality is skewed and a very solid subject is required. Without a dedicated night mode, low-light photography is a flop.

When a camera fails to detect a lack of light in a photo, the exposure is not adjusted appropriately. The images in Night Mode, on the other hand, are noticeably more focused and packed with more details while balancing the exposure. Although the SE's 32MP front camera lacks a few capabilities found on the V20's 44MP camera, it still produces amazing selfies.

The only legitimate criticisms I have are the Vivo face smoothening and lighter skin tones. Details, exposure, and colour accuracy were all spot on, bordering on excellent. Portrait mode is adequate, with edge recognition failing a few times. The camera experience on the V20 SE isn't groundbreaking, but it's on par with what other manufacturers have to offer.

The V20 SE is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC. You may understand my anxiety when companies like Realme and POCO are selling newer 700-series chipsets at lower prices. The standard V20 came with a Snapdragon 720G processor, which isn't the finest for the money, and the SE follows suit.

While I don't place a lot of emphasis on benchmark results, the V20 SE performs poorly in both CPU and GPU tests, indicating that it's not designed for performance-intensive tasks. However, as with practically any phone in the Rs 20,000 price bracket, moderate to low-intensity tasks can be completed quickly. Just don't go about playing Call of Duty Mobile or other graphics-intensive games on your phone. At the very least, Vivo provides an ample 8GB of RAM and 128GB of expandable storage.

In addition, the V20 SE offers one of the fastest in-display fingerprint authentication speeds of any smartphone I've encountered. Unlike the Realme 7 Pro, it is also incredibly accurate. On the software front, check out my Vivo V20 review to see how well the company's proprietary FunTouchOS 11 works. On a side note, I'm pleased to see that the phone comes with Android 11, which is currently uncommon in the mid-range market. As expected, the call, microphone, speaker, and earpiece quality were excellent.

The V20 SE's battery life isn't very spectacular, thanks to its 4,100mAh capacity. Even yet, Vivo has done a good job of backing up its battery with a quick 33W charging option. Because of the slightly lower capacity and fast charging speed, the V20 SE can be fully charged in roughly an hour. While I wouldn't go so far as to label the device a day and a half device, moderate use results in around 5 hours of screen time. However, my normal battery test of looping a video at half brightness and volume got a score of 18 hours, which was below average.

Vivo V20 SE review: Final verdict

Remove a few features from the V20, add a lower-powered chipset, and slash the price by a fourth, and you've got the V20 SE. The V20 SE, like the recently released Galaxy S20 FE, retains the majority of its older sibling's useful features. The V20 SE isn't great at gaming, and its battery life isn't great either. These are two of the Realme 7 Pro's strongest features. Also, while both phones' displays are excellent, they lack high refresh rates, which the POCO X3 will quickly exploit.

The truth is that the Vivo V20 SE does not excel in any one element of smartphone usage, but it does compete in the most of them. The Vivo V20 SE is attractive, shoots excellent images, and has a fantastic AMOLED display. If you're interested in those features, the V20 SE is the way to go. Realme, Xiaomi, and POCO, on the other hand, have a number of good options.