vivo V23 5G in for review

vivo's mid-range V23 lineup was announced back in November with the V23e 5G launch but the more interesting V23 and V23 Pro models saw their release this week. After we welcomed the Pro we now see the vivo V23 5G join our review queue.

Just like the Pro, the vanilla model can change colors thanks to its Fluorite AG Glass rear panel on the Sunshine Gold version. The Stardust Black doesn't do that, mind you. In addition to the changing colors, the soft-touch matte finish is rather grippy and pleasant to the touch. vivo's V series has always been design-centric, but this generation is still arguably the most impressive.

The V23 come with a 6.44-inch AMOLED display of 90Hz refresh rate and with HDR10+ support. The panel is protected by a Schott Xensation Up glass that claims extra durability over existing solutions.

The notch houses two selfie cameras - a 50MP wide unit with f/2.0 aperture and autofocus and an 8MP ultrawide f/2.3 snapper. The selfie experience is supposed to be one of the centerpiece features so we will make sure to test them out extensively in our review.

The chipset running the show is MediaTek's Dimensity 920 and is paired with either 8GB or 12GB of RAM while storage options are 128GB or 256GB, respectively.

And while the standard V23 retains the same selfie setup, it settles for a less impressive 64MP main camera on the back with f/1.9 aperture. It's joined by an 8MP ultrawide snapper and 2MP macro camera.

A slightly smaller 4,200 mAh battery (compared to the 4,300 mAh on the Pro) runs the show but offers speedy 44W charging with vivo claiming 68% charge in 30 minutes.

Of course numbers don't tell the whole story so stay tuned for our full review to see how the handset fares against the competition and whether the selfie experience and the flashy design are enough to win over some users.