Vivo V1 Max review: Premium look for a price

The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo is aggressive with its latest launches in India. After introducing its flagship smartphone X5 Max, the company has introduced the V1 Max for Rs 21,980. Does it justify the price tag?

Design: Designed on the lines of the flagship smartphone X5 Max, Vivo V1 Max has got a neat finish. It has got a 5.5 inch display sitting at the front and the hardware touch keys at the bottom. It has got curved edges with the top and bottom panel done in white. Barring the top and the bottom part, there is a metallic rear which is extended towards the left and right panel. This awards it a premium feel. The power key and volume control is placed on the left edge, 3.5mm jack on top and charging port at the bottom. The camera dominates the left top while speakers are placed at the top as well as the bottom on the rear.

Display: The Vivo V1 Max has got a 5.5 inch display with 1280x720p resolution. The competition is offering smartphones with full HD display. However, at full brightness, the colours looked bright and the text appeared sharp. It felt better than an HD display and the touch response too was good.

Performance: It has got FunTouch OS 2.1 based on Android Lollipop operating system. The UI is somewhat inspired by iOS as all the apps are placed on the home screen itself. Sliding up from the home button gives access to shortcuts including brightness, running apps, Wi-Fi, data, flashlight, S-Capture, vibration, portrait, super saver and offline mode. It has got Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor clocked at 1.4GHz processor and is paired with 2GB of RAM. It handles all the tasks without any lag, including gaming and video playback. There is also a multitask window comprising shortcuts for video, notes, music and inbox that can be accessed anytime. While the smartphone can be comfortably operated using a single hand, it also has one hand keyboard access setting. This is a dual SIM smartphone and the battery lasted slightly over a day. However, the sound output of the dual speakers wasn't loud.

Camera: While the V1 Max is equipped with a 13MP rear camera, the camera app packs in a normal capture mode and a pro mode. Just by sliding the capture button, one can enter into the pro mode where one get to adjust settings such as ISP, white balance, etc. The images captured were impressive and it managed to produce decent images under low light conditions too. There are nodes such as night, panorama, PPT, HDR, children, face beauty and fun mode. The 5MP selfie camera was just about average though.

Bag it or Junk it: A decent piece of hardware facing competition from Motorola Moto Play and OnePlus One.
 
Price: Rs 21,980
Rating: 4/5
Plus: Design, display
Minus: Sound