vivo V25/X80 Lite review

Competition

The vivo V25 retails for about EUR 350. Currently, its price in India is right around INR 28,000. That's pretty much what we would consider core mid-range territory. As you can imagine, there is plenty of competition in the niche.

First off, however, let's address the elephant in the room - the vivo V23 5G. As we've mentioned a few times in this review already, the vivo V25 is pretty similar to its predecessor but with a few notable downgrades, primarily in the selfie camera department, where the V23 has a whole extra ultrawide camera and two selfie LED flash modules.

Otherwise, the two phones are comparable regarding their display, chipset and most other key specs, including design and appearance. The newer V25 does have OIS added to its main camera and a larger battery going for it. Plus, there is the not-insignificant question of price. Namely that the V25 has a notably lower MSRP at launch than its sibling, which means it has a chance of faring far better over its product lifetime.

Over in camp Samsung, the Galaxy A53 5G stands out as a perfect alternative. It costs about as much as the vivo V25. Some of its advantages include IP67 ingress protection, a 6.5-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, stereo speakers and a large 5,000 mAh battery. If you want to save a buck, don't mind an older model and or appreciate a Snapdragon chipset more over Samsung's Exynos for one reason or another, may we also suggest looking at last year's Galaxy A52s 5G. It can be had for a great deal where stock remains.

Xiaomi has more than a few very viable competitors lined up. The Redmi Note 11 family is overflowing with variants at this point. We would probably go for the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G ourselves. It has a 6.67-inch, 120Hz AMOLED display, Snapdragon 695 5G chipset, 108MP main camera, stereos speakers and a big 5,000 mAh battery. Of course, you could just as easily sacrifice 5G, save some money and go for the Redmi Note 11 Pro or, on the other end of the spectrum get the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G for its added HDR10 display certification and 4K video capture.

Realme naturally has a counter for the Redmi Note 11 series with the Realme 9 Pro+. It is quite similar in specs to the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G at a slightly lower price point. With it, you get a 6.4-inch, 90Hz AMOLED panel, Dimensity 920 5G chipset, a 50MP main camera with OIS and 4K video capture, stereo speakers and a 4,5000 mAh battery.

vivo V23 5G • Samsung Galaxy A53 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G • Realme 9 Pro+

Of course, we can't talk about value without mentioning Poco. The Poco F4, for instance, costs about as much as the vivo V25. Some of its highlights include a 120Hz 6.67-inch display with HDR10+ and Dolby Vision certifications, a very powerful, especially for this price range, Snapdragon 870 5G chipset, 64MP main camera with OIS and 4K capture and stereo speakers.

Depending on which market you are shopping in, there might be other more viable alternatives to the vivo V25 to consider, like the Google Pixel 6a with its 6.1-inch AMOLED HDR display, IP67 ingress protection, industry-leading computational photography capabilities and 12.2MP OIS-enabled main camera, Google's own Tensor chipset and clean AOSP software.

OnePlus has an interesting offer of its own in the Nord 2T. It packs a 90Hz 6.43-inch HDR10+ display, Dimensity 1300 chipset, 50MP main, OIS-enabled camera with 4K capture and stereo speakers, all for a very reasonable price a tad below that of the vivo V25.

Xiaomi Poco F4 • Google Pixel 6a • OnePlus Nord 2T

Our verdict

When all is said and done, the vivo V25 can probably best be described as the result of the company's efforts to tune the vivo V23 5G formula and hopefully make it more competitive all around. That meant slashing a few things here and there, like the secondary selfie camera and selfie LED lights, but also adding some things to the mix, like OIS on the main cam and a larger battery. Most important, however, it means slashing the initial MSRP of the V25 down to around EUR 350.

The vivo V25 delivers plenty of value at that price point. It retains the fancy Fluorite AG Glass color-shifting exterior, which is as eye-catching as ever. It also has a solid display, great battery life and fluent performance for its class. Even in its downgraded state, the selfie setup on the V25 remains impressive and a spotlight feature of the entire device. The rest of its camera setup is well-rounded too.

The vivo V25's weak points are the lack of formal ingress protection rating. Its single speaker is overall unimpressive, and so is color accuracy on the display. And the MediaTek Dimensity 900 chipset on board is technically a downgrade from the Dimensity 920 inside the V23 5G.

That means the the vivo V25 is a well-rounded midranger with an eye-catching exterior and a decent value proposition. We are confident that it will serve any owner well. That being said, given the huge number of competitors out on the market, it wouldn't necessarily be our first choice at this price point.

Pros

• Trendy iPhone-inspired design. UV-sensitive back panel is a nice party trick.
• The 90Hz, HDR10+ display has good performance.
• Excellent battery life and decently fast 44W charging.
• Funtouch OS 12 with Android 12 underneath offers great performance and customization.
• The new Dimensity 900 chip is a solid all-around performer. Runs cool and is quite battery efficient.
• Truly great selfie and video experience from the 50MP selfie cam. A truly great vlogging experience.
• Solid all-around camera daylight performance.

Cons

• No ingress protection. The plastic frame doesn't feel premium.
• No NFC and no 3.5mm audio jack.
• Wonky automatic refresh rate switching and underwhelming color accuracy.
• Just a single, mostly underwhelming bottom-firing speaker.
• The Dimensity 900 is technically a downgrade coming from the vivo V23 5G.
• There is no longer a secondary selfie ultrawide. The back ultrawide camera is a bit inconsistent and lags behind the other cameras.