Vivo V3Max review: Horizons expanding

06 May, 2016
Vivo enjoyed a good run with the X-series in 2015 and even snatched the world’s slimmest phone title with the local Chinese version of the X5Max. In 2016, the company is obviously trying to carry that momentum into the midrange with the V-series.

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AnonD-541571, 27 May 2016The phone is OK .. Feel is good ... But its just not worth ... moreBTW which mobile with sd652 4gb ram with dac and premium metallic build is cheaper than vivo v3 max?

    AnonD-541571, 27 May 2016The phone is OK .. Feel is good ... But its just not worth ... moreIts not possible in current business world it can't be productive either retailers love to have multiple brands they always welcome new brands in hope to bargain better with established brands

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      • AnonD-541571
      • 7ty
      • 27 May 2016

      The phone is OK .. Feel is good ... But its just not worth the price ... The specs are not competitive on paper ... Rather go for lenovo vibe x3 or moto g4 plus or simply wait for any flagship ... I'd recently visited a few stores (offline) for a random check(India) and the scenario that I found out was hilarious ... I guess vivo and oppo are paying extra commission for selling their phones.. The sellers are literally not stocking good phones and simply forcing people to buy their phones ... Its a cheap stunt ... Vivo thumbs down .

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        • AnonD-531500
        • dU6
        • 24 May 2016

        RishiGuru, 24 May 2016The MediaTek version of Vivo X5Pro is China bound only. It ... moreWell if you would know how to trick google.. I have no issues with g play store whatsoever.. You need to know which version you have to install.. I use 4.9 version and all works fine..It updates itself but when update needed I just easily reinstall.. I don't install crap spam apps like crazy so some play store isn't any issue for me..
        And with audio I really don't remember when I last time used it for listening music.. Prob. year n half ago when I bought it to test..
        And this mtk version works just perfect.. 4g signal inEU is no problem.. But been watching brand new videos of honor v8 with 2k screen and it is very nice pice for less money..

          AnonD-531500, 24 May 2016Hi vivo x5 pro DOES support flac u need to have MT mediatek... moreThe MediaTek version of Vivo X5Pro is China bound only. It comes without any Google Play services pre-installed as using Google services is banned in their country. Users who buy MediaTek X5Pro to use globally faces a lot of issues like no guarantee or after sales support. Also installing Google Play services on these devices are a hit or miss as it has not passed the Google Android Certification Process and causes a lot of issues.

          Internationally Vivo must provide Google Play services by default or else nobody will buy their Android based smartphones. To provide Google services any smartphone manufacturer must go through Android certification process through Android Compatibility Test Suite (CTS). This is compulsory from Android Lollipop (ver 5.0) onwards.

          So the international version of X5Pro needs to pass this Google CTS test in-order to provide you the google services. Unfortunately as of now CTS does not support the ultra high resolution of FLAC files, hence neither the Google Play Music or Vivo's own "iMusic" apps can play FLAC files. However you can personally install third-party free apps like VLC player to play FLAC files on international version of X5Pro.

          Globally Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets are more renowned and respected than MediaTek. Hence Chinese smartphone manufacturers tends to use Snapdragon chipsets on their international versions. Hence the global version of X5Pro comes with Snapdragon 615 chipset and not the MediaTek one.

          Default ability of a smartphone to play high-resolution lossless audio FLAC files is not entirely dependent on chipset. As an example the international version of Vivo X5Max comes with the same Snapdragon 615 chipset but support FLAC file playback by default. It is because it uses Android KitKat (ver 4.4.4) which does not need to pass CTS test when it was launched to provide Google Play services. So X5Max is best of both worlds, it gives you default FLAC playing capability through the awesome "IMusic" app that comes with every Vivo handset and also give access to full set of Google services you require to use the unit globally.

          As I said before many-a-times, to me Vivo X5Max is their masterpiece. Best audio quality using HiFi 2.0 audio architecture, best screen quality, best built quality while being one of the thinnest smartphones in the world. Unfortunately it also their most expensive of the X series model launched globally at US $500 while X5Pro was much cheaper at US $400.

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            • AnonD-531500
            • mxx
            • 24 May 2016

            RishiGuru, 08 May 2016I have used Vivo X5Pro extensively. A very well made phone ... moreHi vivo x5 pro DOES support flac u need to have MT mediatek version not crappy snap dragon version .. I have even UHD photography on mine x5pro.. ;)

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              • shiva
              • Hkt
              • 23 May 2016

              misha, 12 May 2016very like it, great companyys i like this brand

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                • AnonD-60384
                • nX$
                • 21 May 2016

                You'll never pace with those tasty smartphones. I now have vivo x6 plus and of course it sounds better than ordinary smartphone. But after listening it for a couple of months I can say it does not impress me so much anymore...
                It's so easy to get used to something good. As well a good sound. If you need a perfect sound - buy player for 2000$, not a smartphone :)

                  • i
                  • inder
                  • X0P
                  • 19 May 2016

                  I like this vivo brends

                    • K
                    • Karim
                    • KZ8
                    • 14 May 2016

                    AnonD-535125, 08 May 2016Superb phone No words to expalin The 4GB RAM works great ... moreHow many hours screen on time on your v3 max?

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                      • misha
                      • 8j2
                      • 12 May 2016

                      very like it, great company

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                        • amrit
                        • w43
                        • 11 May 2016

                        nice looking

                          Rao Hukam Singh , 10 May 2016Vivo phone is anytime smart Love india love vivoI am tired looking at these Vivo marketing jargon's. Plz write something constructive or don't post at all.

                            Gon-j, 10 May 2016So many wolves on Xplay5 Elite :) DAC + HP amp, hifi 3... moreSome people like me buy Vivo for listening music. As such Xplay5 Elite is the only model after X5Max which generates some interest in their heart to go for. The only question now is globally availability.

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                              • Rao Hukam Singh
                              • HsG
                              • 10 May 2016

                              RishiGuru, 06 May 2016As per vivo website the integrated (DAC + Headphone Amplifi... moreVivo phone is anytime smart
                              Love india love vivo

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                                • Gon-j
                                • th1
                                • 10 May 2016

                                So many wolves on Xplay5 Elite :)

                                DAC + HP amp, hifi 3.0... Droolworthy.
                                Xplay5 Elite could be the best audiophile smartphone. Specs are intact too.

                                V3Max is a good midrange contender. Can't say much about the price though.

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                                  • xcv
                                  • LHf
                                  • 09 May 2016

                                  I just watched "Captain America: Civil War" and Captain used Vivo cell phone, lol. It was 4-5 sec long.

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                                    • AnonD-535125
                                    • rAM
                                    • 08 May 2016

                                    Superb phone
                                    No words to expalin
                                    The 4GB RAM works great
                                    As well as the OCTA CORE processor

                                    Its a very amazing phone in this range
                                    It works like a 5000 Rs worth phone

                                    Great performance

                                    Amzing camera
                                    We Cannot

                                      Wai, 07 May 2016Can you please review Vivo Xplay 5 Elite if you can get one... moreBoy everybody wants to have the Vivo Xplay5 Elite, me included. Personally the only phone I am interested to lay my hands on after their X5Max. Reason being the newly developed superlative HiFi 3.0 audio architecture, a step up from X5Max's HiFi 2.0. After all people like me buy Vivo to listen quality music on the go. If the audio hardware in HiFi 3.0 lives up to its promise, we will have have the best audio quality ever conceived in a smartphone. I don't care much about it's curved display, I will get a Samsung Edge if I need that. And yeah as of now 4GB RAM is enough for me.

                                      Going through Chinese review websites, I found the Elite version is just launched and a full review is still not made available. That said I wonder Vivo will ever release any of their new X-series products globally. Say the X6 series was announced last November, it is still not available globally. The last globally made available units were their X5 series, X5Pro announced a year ago in May.

                                      I don't think GSMArena will ever be interested to review any phone which is available in only one region. If only Vivo improves the game and makes Xplay 5 Elite available globally will they review it. In the mean time let us keep our fingers crossed and hope Vivo to make the phone available to us.

                                        AnonD-531500, 07 May 2016x5 pro is best GsmArena please review Xplay 5 ultimateI have used Vivo X5Pro extensively. A very well made phone at a sky high price.

                                        Personally I found it had some major issues which made me revert back to Vivo X5Max. Vivo touted it to be the audio centric successor of X5Max but the default music player "i Music" never supported high resolution audio FLAC files. X5Max had no issues with that.

                                        Secondly, the sound quality of X5Pro was simply not in the same level of X5Max. X5Max had HiFi 2.0 hardware audio architecture while X5Pro came with older HiFi 1.0. I am not saying the Pro was bad, it is way superior than any phone be it Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge where audio quality is the concern. But the X5Max simply had better acoustics, better sound quality and more headphone volume.

                                        Thirdly, the 5.2 inch screen of X5Pro was no match for 5.5 incher of X5Max. Though both were 1080p Samsung Super AMOLED screens, the Max had a more rich, vibrant, bright which is more legible in direct sunlight.

                                        Fourthly, the design a built quality of X5Max was superior that X5Pro, had more authentic and better upmarket feel. It got reflected in the price, X5Pro came at INR 27K (US $400) while X5Max at INR 33K (US $500).

                                        Lastly, even though X5Pro was more thicker than X5Max (global version) with a slightly bigger battery, I repeatedly found out Max had better battery backup. May be the Funtouch OS 2.0 is much better optimized for X5max than FuntouchOS 2.1 for X5Pro. Also both OS versions looks and feels identical.

                                        In the end I personally feel after using all X series phones available in India, the X5Max is the best. Hence it was also the most expensive of the lot as US $500.

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