vivo V30 Pro review

The competition

At the time of writing, the vivo V30 Pro has a pre-order price of $570 for the 12/512GB model. Surprisingly, that's not a particularly active price bracket at the moment. Most really popular mid-rangers seem to be competing below the $400 mark, while proper flagships are hovering around and sometimes well above the $1000 price point.

Also, it should be noted that the vivo V30 Pro has some rather unique camera chops, and its all-around 50MP four-way setup, with autofocus on every cam, will make it quite hard to match specs for specs. Still, there are some viable alternatives out there to consider.

Over in camp Xiaomi, the Xiaomi 14 instantly springs to mind. It has an impressive camera setup of its own, including three 50MP snappers on the back, co-developed with Leica with laser autofocus on the main cam and OIS on both it and the 3.2x telephoto. The 32MP selfie cam on the Xiaomi does, however, lack autofocus, which is a bit of a shame, and the same goes for its ultrawide. Size might also be a consideration since, with a display diagonal of 6.36 inches, the Xiaomi 14 is a considerably smaller device than the V30 Pro. Some things the Xiaomi 14 brings to the table, however, include an IP68 ingress protection rating and Gorilla Glass Victus, stereo speakers, LTPO and Dolby Vision certified 12-bit AMOLED display, a flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset with faster, though still non-expandable UFS 4.0 storage.

While the Xiaomi 14 is kind of a flagship offering, you could alternatively save a bit of money and drop down to a "high-end midranger" in the Redmi Note 13 Pro+. You still get the IP68 rating, Gorilla Glass Victus, stereo speakers, and a much more comparable size-wise 6.67-inch, 12-bit, Dolby Vision AMOLED display. The camera setup on the Redmi is a bit of a step-down, though, but having said that, the main 200MP snapper shouldn't disappoint.

Xiaomi 14 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro+ • Samsung Galaxy A54 • Realme 12 Pro+

Samsung's "premium midranger" currently on offer is the Galaxy A54, which is probably due for a refresh soon. Some of its advantages include an IP67 ingress rating, Gorilla Glass 5 and stereo speakers. However, compared to the vivo V30 Pro, you will have to settle a bit in the camera department again. Also, the chipset is a notable downgrade, and you have to live with just 25W charging. Plus, the Galaxy A54 is still a bit pricy since, for around €500, you will likely only be getting 128GB of storage. At least it is expandable via microSD, unlike in the vivo.

We should also mention Realme's "high-end midranger" in the Realme 12 Pro+. Depending on where you live, it could be a viable alternative to the vivo and one significantly cheaper at that. Some notable highlights here include IP65 protection, stereo speakers, and a pretty versatile camera setup. It is not quite as impressive as the one on the vivo V30 Pro, but it is still one that includes a 64MP and 3x periscope telephoto camera, among other things.

Our verdict

Finding any particular glaring fault with the vivo V30 Pro is hard. Sure, it is not exactly a cheap device, but it's not 2024 premium flagship money either. And, in keeping with tradition, vivo has packed some pretty impressive hardware into the V30 Pro's very thin and eye-catching curvy body.

Particularly, we just have to point out the camera setup. A quad 50MP camera setup with autofocus all around is just not something you see every day. The V30 Pro has incredible camera chops, especially when it comes to portrait shots, be it at 1x with the main camera, 2x with the telephoto or even the impressively wide and sharp selfie camera. The V30 Pro also does great in low-light conditions. If vivo fixes up its EIS implementation, the V30 Pro would be a no-brainer for an all-around amazing cameraphone able to rub shoulders with much more expensive devices.

The display is another staple highlight of the vivo V series, which also goes for the V30 Pro. The large 6.78-inch AMOLED panel is very bright and sharp with a 1,260 x 2,800-pixel resolution and offers a 120Hz refresh rate, 10-bit color, and HDR10+ support. We also found the battery life on the 5,000 mAh pack to be excellent and quite enjoyed the performance from the Dimensity 8200 chipset, even if the vivo V29 Pro and V27 Pro were running the same chip. The performance still checks out.

Honestly, the only things the vivo V30 Pro left us wanting are a microSD slot slot and stereo speakers. Oh, and you definitely want to have a case on it at all times since it is incredibly slippery and hard to grip. None of these is a real dealbreaker in our book, though. We have no hesitation in recommending the vivo V30 Pro, especially for its photography chops.

Pros

• Full retail package with a charger and a case.
• IP54-rated thin, light body with striking, memorable color options and different finishes.
• Bright OLED with thin bezels, 120Hz, 10-bit color and HDR10+ support.
• Great battery life.
• Very competitive fast charging solution.
• Despite being carried forward from the vivo V29 Pro and V27 Pro, the Dimensity 8200 still has plenty of power.
• Great all-around camera performance with the addition of ZEISS color modes and the Aura Light square light.

Cons

• No stereo speakers.
• Incredibly slippery body with practically no grip without a case.
• Video stabilization is somewhat lacking.