Vivo V40 in review: Great portrait shots and huge battery
A TEST REPORT from Fabian Menzel 
on September 20, 2024, 0:00 | Write a comment
Vivo introduced the Vivo V40 and V40 Lite two new mid-range smartphones. Vivo is clearly focusing on the camera. In collaboration with ZEISS, the V40 proenable professional portrait shots.
For a recommended retail price of 549 euros, the data sheet reads pretty well: Above all, the 6,78-inch OLED display with a smooth refresh rate of 120 Hertz stands out positively, but the large 5.250 mAh battery also gives hope. You can read in this review whether the Vivo V40 can convince not only on paper, but also in everyday life.
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Conclusion on the Vivo V40
In conclusion, the Vivo V40 is a good high-end smartphone with the usual strengths and weaknesses. While the performance, the vibration motor and the stereo speakers are less convincing, you get a lot in terms of design, display, battery and camera. My personal highlight is clearly the outstanding battery life and the beautiful design. The portrait shots are also great and it is simply fun to use all the setting options.proNevertheless, the RRP of 549 euros seems a bit too high to me, which is why I would wait to buy it. 450 Euros I think that's fair for what's on offer.
We would like to thank Vivo Austria for providing the test device!
Haptics, design & processing
We start this review with a highlight, namely the design of the Vivo V40 – beautiful, slim, light and high quality. It is a large smartphone, which in many situations is not procan be operated easily with one hand, but the weight of 190 grams, the rounded edges and the thickness of only 7,58 millimeters ensure excellent handling. I really enjoyed using it.
The back is made of matte glass, which feels very pleasant. The cameras and the LED are placed in a rather conspicuous camera bump on the top right, which I really like. It's something different. This camera design reminds me a lot of that of the Huawei P50 ProUnfortunately, the frame is made of plastic, which I think is a real shame for 549 euros. It is well made and fingerprints are hardly noticeable thanks to the matte surface, but a high-quality metal frame would have suited the design of the Vivo V40 much better.
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
I like the front much better, which is similar to the Vivo X100 Pro The edges are pleasantly thin and the panel is only interrupted by a small cutout for the front camera. The edges on the left and right sides are slightly rounded, which makes the V40 look more modern. The curvature is also quite subtle, so you don't have to worry about making incorrect entries.
Display – as usual great
The front is dominated by a 6,78-inch OLED display with a smooth refresh rate of 120 Hertz. It has a razor-sharp resolution of 2.800 x 1.260 pixels, so that no individual pixels can be seen in everyday use. At maximum brightness, the panel does not come close to current flagships, but for a high-end smartphone, the brightness is really commendable. I was able to read content easily even in direct sunlight.
Picture: TechnikNews
The same applies to the viewing angle stability. It is not perfect, as the colors change color a little when tilted (severely) to the side, but for the price offered, this is completely acceptable. Colors are reproduced beautifully and naturally in "Professional" mode and those who prefer something a little more saturated should switch to "Standard" or "Bright" mode. The black level is outstanding, as is typical for OLED, and even the white level is great, even if it has a slight reddish tint.
Software – 4-year update support
The software used is Funtouch OS 14, based on Android 14. In my opinion, this user interface has gotten better and better in recent years. It looks very tidy, understandable and beautiful. The notification bar and control panel are simple and logically structured and on the left side of the home screen there is the typical Google News Feed.
The real highlights of Funtouch OS, however, are the numerous additional functions. Hardly any other manufacturer allows you to configure as many things as Vivo. For example, you have the option of designing the always-on display as you wish or configuring the animation when unlocking using the fingerprint sensor integrated into the display. Almost all other animations can also be customized. And what about the update policy? The Vivo V40 is provided with software updates for three years and security updates for four years, which I am happy with. In addition, Vivo has been offering a three-year manufacturer's warranty on all smartphones since January 2024.
Performance – too little
If Vivo's previous mid-range and high-end smartphones had a weakness, it was their performance. It was never terrible, but stuttering and lagging occurred every now and then, which was not enough for the prices offered. Has Vivo finally got this problem under control with the V40? Yes and no!
The built-in Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen3 with 12 GB RAM sounds good on paper, but in everyday life the Vivo V40 is sometimes sluggish. Apps take a little too long to open for my taste, there are occasional stutters when scrolling, animations are not 100 percent smooth and the smartphone quickly reaches its limits under full load. Please don't get me wrong here - the performance of the Vivo V40 is completely sufficient for everyday tasks, but for the price offered, it is simply not enough for me. My now similarly expensive Google Pixel 8 runs much smoother, faster and more consistently. Xiaomi also offers (significantly) more in this price range.
Battery – great strength
The strength of last year's mid-range and upper-class smartphones from Vivo was clearly the battery life, in addition to the display and the elegant design. Not surprisingly, this is also the case with the new Vivo V40. I am always proI got through a day without any problems and even two days were mostly possible without any problems. At the end of the day, with a screen-on time of 4 to 5 hours, I still had at least 50 percent and a maximum of 70 percent battery left, which is absolutely impressive. So you don't have to worry about that with the Vivo V40.
If the battery runs out sooner than expected, you can quickly recharge it with up to 80 watts. That's really impressive in this price range, but unfortunately Vivo doesn't include a power adapter.
Camera - neat
Vivo really wants to score points with the cameras and on paper the camera setup sounds really promising. There is a dual camera on the back, which consists of a 50 megapixel main camera and a 50 megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera. In collaboration with ZEISS, beautiful, authentic portrait shots should be created. A 50 megapixel front camera is also responsible for selfies.
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
Let's start with the main camera, which I was impressed with overall. It takes color-accurate pictures, which can sometimes appear a little oversaturated, but in 9 out of 10 cases the color reproduction is natural. The dynamic range is simply excellent. However, there is room for improvement in terms of sharpness. It is not bad, but for 549 euros I expect more. The camera lacks detail, especially in the edge areas, and overall the sharpening is too artificial for my taste. What about poor lighting conditions? The pictures taken at dusk are color-accurate, but a little too high in contrast for my taste. If the lighting conditions are very poor, the Vivo V40 tries to brighten the pictures properly. This helps in many situations, but sometimes it creates too much noise.
The results of the ultra-wide-angle camera are similar to those of the main camera. In good lighting conditions, it takes very nice pictures with natural color reproduction, good contrast, and solid sharpness. There are some blurred areas at the edges, but that is the case with many ultra-wide-angle cameras. In low light, the quality quickly deteriorates. I would then only use it at dusk and not when it is already very dark. The ultra-wide-angle camera can also be used for macro shots. However, the sharpness here leaves a lot to be desired and a nice bokeh effect is not possible due to the small sensor. I would rather zoom in a little on the picture with the main camera and then take a macro shot.
Beautiful portrait shots
Vivo is particularly proud of its portrait shots on the V40. Thanks to the collaboration with Zeiss and numerous setting options, the Vivo V40 is said to be the pioneer in portraits. Is that true? I have to be honest and say that Vivo has definitely not revolutionized the market here, but the results are really good, especially considering the price. The bokeh is beautifully natural out of the box and doesn't look as artificial as on many other smartphones. If you want more or less bokeh, you can easily adjust this in the camera app and even afterwards. You can also adjust the style of the bokeh effect, facial colors and much more to suit your taste.
I really like the sharpness and the facial colors look natural. Only in backlighting and direct sunlight do the portraits look a bit too warm. The dynamic range works as reliably as usual. The front camera performs similarly well, except that I don't like the facial colors quite as much here.
Other – fingerprint sensor, stereo speakers and much more.
The Vivo V40 can be unlocked using a fingerprint sensor integrated into the display, which is placed a little too far down for my taste. In terms of reliability and speed, however, it does a decent job. Comparable to that of the Vivo X80 Pro but of course he is not.
The Vivo V40 has stereo speakers that didn't completely convince me. They are loud enough, but sound quite tinny, especially at high volumes. Bass is unfortunately out of place here.
I am also very disappointed with the built-in vibration motor, but that is nothing new for Vivo's mid-range to high-end smartphones. It gives an inferior feel in the hand and has absolutely no place in a smartphone that costs 549 euros - more likely in a smartphone that costs 250 euros.
To end the review on a positive note, I would like to highlight the IP68 certification, which is not a given for the price offered.