In a bit of a comedown from the absurdly expensive R40,000 X200 Pro, Vivo is back with the release of the Y19s, a smartphone sitting firmly on the other end of the price spectrum. Vivo has ditched the fanfare and skipped straight to release day with a solid budget device we’re keen to get our hands on.
“We’re excited to unveil another captivating product in the rapidly evolving smartphone market. Vivo has always been an advocate for style and innovation, continuously pushing the boundaries to make top-tier performance accessible and affordable. Vivo Y19s is an exemplary embodiment of this philosophy, and we’re eager to see consumers embrace this device,” said Vivo’s GM of SA, Tony Shi.
The stuff of budget dreams
Vivo has certainly made the Y19s easy to embrace. It arrives in two colourways – Pearl Silver and Diamond Black – and sports a halfway-decent battery spec. We doubt Vivo will have trouble clearing the shelves at R3,500 a pop. That’s what it’ll take to get the Y19s and its 90Hz 6.68in LCD ‘Dotch’ display into your pocket.
If you can wrangle it, you probably won’t be disappointed with the Y19s’ excellent 5,150mAh battery – something Samsung’s flagships can’t match. You won’t be nearly as happy with Vivo’s choice of SoC, the 12nm 4G Unisoc Tiger T612 (according to GSMArena) and 4GB or 6GB of RAM that the company didn’t feel the need to include in the announcement.
Read More: Vivo X200 Pro review – The one to beat
It’s not what we’d call the most reputable chipset, but it should have enough oompf to get you around. Gaming and editing are all but out the window but at R3,500 you already knew that, didn’t you? Vivo rescues the situation somewhat with the inclusion of a 50MP main shooter on the rear, coupled with a 5MP sensor on the front.
“This stylish and powerful device will be available at an affordable retail price of R3,499 and on contract at Vodacom stores,” Vivo said. We, however, have been unable to verify the suggested RRP or the official contract price. Vodacom only offers a once-off purchase of the Y19s for R4,000, a price matched by other outlets.
