Late last year, the Vivo V17 Pro stepped up the selfie game with its dual pop-up front camera system which stars a 32MP primary sensor. It’s also one of the pioneer handsets that deploy a four-camera system. And now coming into the middle of 2020, the Vivo V17 Pro is still one of the most loved smartphones in the country. Join us in this long-term review of the Vivo V17 Pro, and let's find out if it's still a good purchase at this time.
Vivo V17 Pro Review
DesignThe handset is a gorgeous slab of metal which gives a heft on its overall construction. The glass backing definitely gives off a premium feel to the whole handset where the vertically-aligned camera module is smacked at the middle. This also makes it prone to fingerprints and smudges; it's also quite fitting to use the included case.
The right side crams the power button and the volume rocker, while the left side is a home to the Google Assistant button. The bottom is the busiest, it has the speaker grill, USB Type C port, 3.5-mm audio jack, and the SIM tray.
Design-wise, the handset could turn some heads when seen on the wild. On top, there’s the pop-up camera module which is already becoming a Vivo trademark. I always love Vivo smartphones due to its artistic flair and thin body; however, the Vivo V17 Pro settles on the heavy side. But still, this 201.8-gram smartphone still has the elegance of a Vivo phone.
Read also: Vivo V15 Pro Review
Display
The V17 Pro's display is one of its strongest suits. It's an AMOLED panel and is a delight to use when consuming content. On top of that, the 1080p screen is capable enough to compete with other top-tier displays from flagship phones. Color accuracy is on high bars, as well as the clarity and brightness. The screen also has good contrast with deep blacks and clear whites.
The Always-On Display is also a great feature. It's very useful in displaying quick notifications and time. Meanwhile, in-display fingerprint sensor is mature enough to pick up biometric information in a speedy manner. However, there are rare times that I could get second tries when unlocking the phone.
Performance
Vivo stuffed a Snapdragon 675 chipset inside the V17 Pro. To be honest, I am expecting a more powerful processor since most of its competitors are rocking top-tier chipset. And to think it's even more expensive than its contemporaries.
But performance-wise, the Vivo V17 Pro could deliver most of the tasks thrown at it with ease - thanks to the 8GB of RAM. Playing GPU-hungry games will let you wanting for more graphics power. But don't get me wrong, the handset is still a great companion for consuming content like video streaming and audio playback. Speaking of audio, the V17 Pro has a good set of speakers.
In our Antutu Benchmark, the Vivo V17 Pro scored 177189.
Playing Mobile Legends and other graphic-intensive games like Call of Duty is quite a breeze. We can even play with High Setting with no lags and stutters. Streaming videos in the device is also such a breeze. The handset gives great experience in content consumption, in fact it's our favorite device for Netflix.
Up to this point, the chipset still delivers the same amount of power in performing essential tasks compared to when it's fresh from the box. This means that its processor's longevity is quite impressive. It's call reception is also quite impressive.
Camera
Vivo started the pop-up camera design with the V15 Pro, back then it upped the ante by placing two sensors in the pop-up camera module. This makes awesome wide-angle selfie shots which I enjoyed very much. Shots taken from the wide-angle camera comes with a lower resolution compared to the main front-facing camera. I think it is still a good compromise for the fun wide-angle social media selfies.
At the back, the four cameras are quite imposing. Shots taken from the 48MP main and 13MP telephoto cameras are pretty solid for a smartphone in this price range. Outputs come with great color accuracy, better contrast, and exposure compared to that of the V15 Pro; not to mention that HDR is also on point.
It also excels when it comes to dynamic range. Like I said, the rear ultra-wide angle camera is a fun feature. This gives users wide dramatic shots that’s best for landscape photography. Vivo V17 Pro’s photo taken from the ultra-wide lens are stunning on broad daylight. Compared to the main camera, the 8MP lens suffers from loss of details, but it does not hinder it from taking great shots. Vivo’s implementation of wide-angle shots sticks out from its peers.
In night time, the photo quality suffers with noise and lack of details. But Vivo’s Night Mode compensates this with long exposure shots that could revive details but not as much. Check out our sample shots:
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| 48MP Main Camera Sample Shot |
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| Wide-Angle Shot |
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| 48MP Main Camera Sample Shot - Lowlight |
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| Wide-angle Shot - Lowlight |
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| From Left to Right: Regular Shot, Portrait Shot 1, Portrait Shot 2 |
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| Low-light Shot |
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| Low-light shot |
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| Group Selfie using the front facing wide camera |
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| From Left to Right: Sample Selfie 1, Selfie 2, Wide-Angle Selfie |
Software
Vivo V17 Pro’s software is a great improvement from the V15 Pro. The interface is now cleaner and icons are flatter, but this cannot deny the fact that the FunTouch OS is still a heavily-skinned Android UI. This means that bloatwares are still present and some of them you can’t get rid of.
However, there are still good features off the latest version of FunTouch OS. The system-wide Dark Mode is a nifty feature. Other note-worthy features are Motorbike Mode, Ultra Power Saving Mode, and Game Booster. The OS also tends to push notifications to update individual apps (especially the native apps), which could be confusing and annoying at the same time.
The Face Unlock is snappier than ever as well as the in-display fingerprint sensor. Both adds a layer of security to your device; but if you still need to protect your information, the FunTouch OS also allows you to encrypt your apps in a separate folder with a separate unlocking scheme.
The Control Center is now flashier and could take up the whole screen when accessed by swiping from the bottom of the display. The whole user interface may not be the best of all the Android skins but over the course of three years, Vivo has greatly improved the FunTouch OS.
Battery Life
The new 4100 mAh battery is an improvement to V15 Pro's 3,700 mAh capacity. It takes cues from its predecessor with the Dual Engine fast charging which could charge the phone to 100 percent in a little more than one and a half hour.
In real-life setting, the battery is pretty decent which could give about a day for moderate users.
The Warp
If you're into selfies, Vivo V17 Pro's dual front camera module will still amuse you. I still think that Vivo has the best selfie shots among its peers. On top of that, it's also a competent camera phone worth considering, even up to this point.
Design-wise, it's a hefty phone with lots of oddities. If that does not bother you, the Vivo V17 Pro could be a great companion. Software is greatly improved but it's still a long way to go for the FunTouch OS. The Snapdragon 675 may be too shabby but it still gives solid performance up to now.
Other than its selfie capability and camera performance, I'm hard-pressed in recommending the Vivo V17 Pro by virtue of its price point. But I guess camera is a great factor for a smartphone purchase, and this handset excels in that area. And if you're a fan of the brand, then no one's questioning you to buy this one.
At this time, Vivo V17 Pro may be offered in a lower price than its introductory price. If you find a great deal, the Vivo V17 Pro could be a great purchase.
Vivo V17 Pro Specs
159 x 74.7 x 9.8 mm at 201.8 grams6.44-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED Display, 1080 x 2400 Pixels at 409 ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 6 and 20:9 Aspect Ratio
Qualcomm Snapdragon 675
Octa Core
2x Kryo 460 Gold (2.0GHz) + 6x Kryo 460 Silver (1.7GHz)
Adreno 612 GPU
8GB RAM
Rear Camera: Quad
48MP Main Camera, f/1.8 Aperture, PDAF
13MP Telephoto, f/2.5 Aperture, PDAF, 2x Optical Zoom
8MP Ultra-wide, f/2.2 Aperture, 120 degree Field of View
2MP Depth Sensor
Front Camera: Dual (Pop-up, Motorized)
32MP Main, f/2.0
8MP Ultra-wide, f/2.2 105-degree field of view
128GB Storage, expandable up to 256GB
LTE
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Dual Band
NFC
GPS, AGPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou
USB OTG
Dual SIM
3.5-mm Audio Jack
FM Radio
Gyro, Compass, Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor and Accelerometer
In-Display Fingerprint Sensor
Funtouch OS 9.1 based on Android 9 Pie
4100 mAh battery
Midnight Ocean, Glacier Ice, Knight Black
P21,999 - Official Price in the Philippines
