Yesterday marked the launch of the Vivo V25 series, bringing with it the Vivo V25 5G, and the V25e, the younger, not-as-cool sibling of the V25 5G. For years, Vivo has been a staple of the budget smartphone market in South Africa. Little has changed on that front.
No, you won’t get Covid
First, we’ll dive into the headliner – the V25 5G. As the name suggests, it has a 5G chip stuck in there. You might think this would be standard across any new mid-budget smartphone, but believe it or not, it isn’t.
We’re working with a 6.44in screen, which is perhaps a smidge too small for some. Even so, the screen’s smaller size works well with the 2404×1080 AMOLED display, capable of hitting 90Hz, perfect for pwning scrubs on PUBG. Oh, and it supports HDR10+ too.
Keeping you alive during load shedding will be the 4500mAh battery, powered by a 44W fast charger. Vivo claims that’ll get you 61% of charge in 30 minutes. It’s not as good as other phones in the same price bracket. Especially for those days Eskom just spring load shedding onto us.
Pulling up in the rear the V25 5G has a 64MP, f/1.8 main sensor, teaming up with a 2MP, f/2.4 macro sensor, and 8MP, f/2.2 ultrawide camera. If you’re keen to shoot video, the V25 lets you capture 4K at 30fps. The selfie camera is rocking a 50 MP, f/2.0, and the same 4K – 30fps video capture as the rear camera.
Inside, you’ve got the choice of 128GB of ROM with 8GB of RAM, or the more powerful 256GB of ROM with 12GB of RAM. If you’re going to be playing some serious games, then you might want to find the 12GB RAM model. The phone sports a MediaTek Dimensity 900 which is what gives it that 5G flair.
No 5G on this one
If you aren’t interested in having Vivo’s best cameras, or a chip that gives you access to 5G, then you might consider the V25e.
The screen sizes and dimensions are exactly the same as the 5G model. That means you still have a 6.44in screen to work on, with the same 2404×1080 AMOLED display, also with a 90Hz refresh rate. The big difference here is the absence of HDR10+.
On the battery, once again the V25e bares no difference from its 5G counterpart. You’ve still got a 4500mAh battery in there, with a 44W fast charger to keep it filled up. Vivo does say you’ll only get 58% in a 30-minute charge, 3% less than the 5G model. We’re not sure why, but it’s something to keep in mind.
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Where you’ll find major differences are in the cameras. It features the same 64MP, f/1.8 main sensor in the rear and the same 2MP, f/2.4 macro sensor. Instead of an ultrawide, the V25e has a 2MP, f/2.4 depth sensor. The selfie camera is different too. This one has a 32MP, f/2.0 main sensor, and only 1080p 30fps video functionality.
You’ve only got one option for storage in the V25e. And that’s 256GB with 8GB of RAM behind it. Here you’ll find a MediaTek Helio G99 chipset, which unfortunately isn’t capable of giving you 5G.
If you’re keen to grab either the V25 5G or the V25e, then you’ll need to be willing to pay R15,000 for the 5G model, or R11,000 for the V25e. We’re still waiting to hear about the availability of both phones, though we know they’ll be available soon.