vivo V25 Pro review

Funtouch OS 12 on top of Android 12

Vivo hasn't made any spectacular advancements in the software department since its last big mode earlier this year - migrating FuntouchOS 12 to the Android 12 core. That's what the V23 Pro ran and what the V25 Pro is shipping with out of the box as well.

You can find more than a few traces of the new Android core scattered about here and there, like Google's new privacy-focused green notification dot that indicates when the camera or microphone are being used or the increased "bounce back" animations on most UI components. Overall, however, the UI and UX are distinctly custom, which comes courtesy of Funtouch OS 12.

The stock-ish-looking UI elements that were kind of the norm in FunTouch OS 11 have been substituted with a highly customized and customizable UI. Some of the changes are pretty nifty, too, including the system menus being tailored toward single-handed use. Some of the menus' content moves to the lower half of the screen when you swipe down, but not all, which is odd. Vivo has revamped its default selection of widgets to make them more intuitive and easier to use as well.

Lockscreen • Homescreen • Folder view • Settings menu

The recent apps menu, for example, has one of those useful proprietary features. You can choose between the standard carousel formation and a horizontal tiles layout - sort of like MIUI, only scrollable horizontally.

The app drawer, although stock-ish looking, has an expandable recommended apps category on the top (most commonly used ones), whereas using the vertical scroller on the right would highlight the apps beginning with the selected letter.

Recent apps • Recent apps • Notification shade • Quick toggles • App drawer

The notification shade is pretty familiar. Though for one reason or another, vivo is back to round toggles instead of the square ones that the V23 Pro shipped with. The default accent color here is blue and can be controlled via the Android 12 AOSP color palletes interface. The theme engine is still just as powerful as always.

Themes

The rest of the UI gets plenty of love too. In the Dynamic effects sub-menu, vivo has grouped quite a few customizable aspects of the home screen, lock screen, animation effects, etc. There are even various charging and facial recognition animations.

The Ambient light effect gets more granular control with the option to enable it only during a limited time period, or you can choose which apps to trigger it.

Dynamic effects • Ambient light effect

The always-on display settings are in a different sub-menu, but the phone still gives you plenty of options to tinker with - a wide selection of animations, clock styles, colors, backgrounds, etc.

Always-on display

Vivo used to have an annoying issue with the fingerprint reader only activating when the phone detects movement. That was cleared up a while ago, though and as expected, simply waking the display on the V25 Pro also brings up the fingerprint reader. However, we are still not particularly happy that the double-tap-to-wake function is buried in the Smart motion menu.

The Sound menu holds a few pleasant surprises. Just like Samsung, vivo pays attention to people with hearing problems, and you can calibrate the sound to be heard by elderly people or those with impaired hearing. Additionally, notifications and calls get separate volume sliders. The vibration intensity can be adjusted for calls and notifications independently. No system-wide equalizer is available for the loudspeaker, though, which could be both a negative and a positive, depending on how you look at it.

Sound options

The previously mentioned Smart motion menu holds a handful of familiar screen-on and screen-off gestures along with some new additions. One of those requires you to wave in front of the screen during an incoming call to answer hands-free - useful if you're cooking, for example.

Smart motion menu

Holding the volume down key can be used to launch an app or do a certain task, although the list of the latter is limited to launching the camera app, turning on/off the torch or starting recording audio and opening Facebook for some odd reason. The so-called Quick action feature doesn't work when playing music for obvious reasons. Why isn't there a double-press option for Quick action, though?

Shortcuts and accessibility • Quick action • S-capture • Screen-split • Easy Touch

Having all of these customizable gestures, actions and additional features around is definitely nifty, but we can't help but feel that vivo could have organized them a bit better. As things currently stand, it is hard to find certain options, even when you know for a fact that they exist and consequently, discovering new things is even harder.

Lastly, there's a little something for the gamers. A dedicated Ultra Game Mode is available, and it has it all. Most of the features are about mitigating disturbance during gameplay or letting certain apps display heads-up notifications. One of the most intriguing features that have been around on vivo phones for a while is the ability to turn off the screen and keep the game running in the background. Especially useful for turn-based games or those requiring some sort of "farming" and "grinding". Eagle eye enhancements and 4D vibration are also quite interesting in their own right. The V25 Pro is missing Game Surround sound, though, which used to be a thing on the V23 Pro.

Ultra Game mode

Overall, Funtouch OS 12 is a great skin when it comes to fluidity and snappy operation. Vivo even gives you the option to speed up transitions further, which is another option to add to the myriad of customization available here. If you are into that, then you will definitely enjoy the experience. However, those that want to use Android as Google intended might not be okay with the colorful iconography and the highly customized system menus and animations.

Synthetic benchmarks

The vivo V25 Pro packs a MediaTek Dimensity 1300 chipset. It is not a particularly popular chip, but we have seen it before in other devices. Made on a 6nm node with an octa-core (1x3.0 GHz Cortex-A78 & 3x2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) CPU setup, plus a Mali-G77 MC9 GPU, the Dimensity 1300 is essentially identical to the Dimensity 1200. Hence, the V25 Pro packs around the same power as its V23 Pro predecessor.

There is one noteworthy difference between the two chips, though. The newer Dimensity 1300 comes with MediaTek HyperEngine 5.0 gaming technology, whereas the Dimensity 1200 has HyperEngine 3.0.

Mediatek's HyperEngine packs together a bunch of technologies, but one of its more notable functions is better thermal-throttling control with a gentle performance degradation curve rather than sudden stutters. We can't say for sure how much that has changed from version three to version five, though.

For the sake of thoroughness, we have to note that the vivo V25 Pro unit we are testing is the beefier 12GB/256GB model.

Kicking things off with some CPU tests and GeekBench, we can clearly see the V25 Pro holding its own, particularly in single-threaded workloads where that primary 3.0 GHz Cortex-A78 is stretching its legs nicely. Naturally, it's no match for the newer and more powerful Cortex-X1 inside Google's Tensor chip.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Poco F4
  3190
• Nothing Phone (1)
  3024
• vivo V23 Pro
  3021
• Google Pixel 6a
  2876
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  2801
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  2790
• Oppo Reno8
  2694
• vivo V25 Pro
  2521
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  2225
• vivo V23 5g
  2140
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  2063
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  2063
• Realme 9 Pro
  2020
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  1900
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  1891
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  1729
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  1662
• Realme 9i
  1581

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  1047
• Poco F4
  975
• vivo V25 Pro
  858
• vivo V23 Pro
  850
• Nothing Phone (1)
  820
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  771
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  743
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  742
• vivo V23 5g
  739
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  736
• Realme 9 Pro
  694
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  688
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  687
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  511
• Oppo Reno8
  493
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  491
• Realme 9i
  384
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  376

Things get a bit more varied in multi-threaded testing, with the V25 Pro losing quite a bit of ground and scoring around the middle of the pack we picked out. On the one hand, that's pretty expected, given that the Dimensity 1300 only has one "big" CPU core and is going against chipsets with more primary CPU cores in their design. Then again, we also can't ignore the fact that the V25 Pro is scoring a bit lower than devices like the Oppo Reno8 and OnePlus Nord 2T, both equipped with the same chipset. And even the vivo V23 Pro is ahead of it, though that might be more of a commentary on great optimization in the V23 Pro rather than criticism towards the V25 Pro.

AnTuTu and its much more complex set of benchmark runs are notably kinder to the V25 Pro, though it is still being slightly outpaced by its vivo V23 Pro predecessor.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• vivo V23 Pro
  716766
• Google Pixel 6a
  712092
• vivo V25 Pro
  704090
• Poco F4
  698586
• Oppo Reno8
  619610
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  604467
• Nothing Phone (1)
  592789
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  506432
• vivo V23 5g
  476058
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  437872
• Realme 9 Pro
  401894
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  394918
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  384646
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  382902
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  379313
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  319093
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  244526

This trend of scoring decently yet underperforming slightly compared to other devices with the same chipset and the V23 Pro sadly continues in GPU testing.

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  47
• vivo V23 Pro
  34
• vivo V25 Pro
  33
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  31
• Oppo Reno8
  31
• Nothing Phone (1)
  23
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  19
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  15
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  12
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  12
• Realme 9 Pro
  11
• vivo V23 5g
  11
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  4.6

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  29
• vivo V23 Pro
  23
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  22
• Oppo Reno8
  22
• vivo V25 Pro
  21
• vivo V23 5g
  16
• Nothing Phone (1)
  15
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  13
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  10
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  10
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  7.8
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  7.8
• Realme 9 Pro
  7.8
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  3.1

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  39
• vivo V23 Pro
  32
• Oppo Reno8
  30
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  29
• vivo V25 Pro
  28
• Nothing Phone (1)
  23
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  20
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  15
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  12
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  12
• Realme 9 Pro
  12
• vivo V23 5g
  10
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  4.8

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  32
• vivo V23 Pro
  21
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  20
• Oppo Reno8
  20
• vivo V25 Pro
  19
• Nothing Phone (1)
  16
• vivo V23 5g
  15
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  14
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  10
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  10
• Realme 9 Pro
  8.2
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  8.1
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  8
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  3.1

Of course, we are only looking at the off-screen numbers to eliminate the variable of display resolution. Still, it is obvious that both the OnePlus Nord 2T and the Oppo Reno8 are managing to squeeze a few more frames from the Mali-G77 MC9 GPU. The same goes for the vivo V23 Pro with its Dimensity 1200 chipset, rocking the same GPU.

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  51
• Poco F4
  49
• vivo V23 Pro
  45
• vivo V25 Pro
  42
• Oppo Reno8
  42
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  40
• Nothing Phone (1)
  33
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  28
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  22
• vivo V23 5g
  22
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  20
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  19
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  17
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  17
• Realme 9 Pro
  16
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  12
• Realme 9i
  7.3
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  6.8

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  66
• Poco F4
  59
• vivo V23 Pro
  53
• Oppo Reno8
  51
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  50
• vivo V25 Pro
  48
• Nothing Phone (1)
  37
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  33
• vivo V23 5g
  27
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  25
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  23
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  23
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  20
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  19
• Realme 9 Pro
  19
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  14
• Realme 9i
  8.2
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  8

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Poco F4
  84
• vivo V23 Pro
  79
• vivo V25 Pro
  67
• Google Pixel 6a
  60
• Nothing Phone (1)
  58
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  56
• Oppo Reno8
  55
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  49
• vivo V23 5g
  40
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  38
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  35
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  35
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  30
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  30
• Realme 9 Pro
  29
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  22
• Realme 9i
  14
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  12

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  116
• Poco F4
  96
• vivo V23 Pro
  91
• Oppo Reno8
  81
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  80
• vivo V25 Pro
  70
• Nothing Phone (1)
  65
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  56
• vivo V23 5g
  45
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  43
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  38
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  38
• Realme 9 Pro
  35
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  34
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  34
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  24
• Realme 9i
  23
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  15

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Poco F4
  114
• vivo V25 Pro
  96
• vivo V23 Pro
  89
• Nothing Phone (1)
  84
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  69
• vivo V23 5g
  63
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  60
• Google Pixel 6a
  60
• Oppo Reno8
  59
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  57
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  56
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  55
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  42
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  41
• Realme 9 Pro
  41
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  34
• Realme 9i
  20
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  18

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  167
• vivo V23 Pro
  140
• Poco F4
  137
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  127
• Oppo Reno8
  124
• vivo V25 Pro
  98
• Nothing Phone (1)
  93
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  77
• vivo V23 5g
  68
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  64
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  60
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  60
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  47
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  47
• Realme 9 Pro
  47
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  37
• Realme 9i
  23
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  21

3DMark paints pretty much the exact same picture. That is to say that the V25 Pro performs mostly as expected but does fall a bit behind other devices with the Dimensity 1800 chipset.

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  6066
• vivo V23 Pro
  4713
• Oppo Reno8
  4653
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  4577
• vivo V25 Pro
  4497
• Poco F4
  4357
• Nothing Phone (1)
  2921
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  2491
• vivo V23 5g
  2315
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  2292
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  2260
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  2014
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  1211
• Realme 9 Pro
  1211
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  1204
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  1101
• Realme 9i
  452
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  439

A quick look at the CPU throttling curve on the V25 Pro, and it's not hard to see where the slight deficiency in benchmark scores stems from. The V25 Pro throttles its performance quite early under a full synthetic load and does so aggressively as well. Since its surface remains comfortable to the touch throughout, we believe this is the result of deliberate tuning for in-hand comfort over top performance.

CPU throttling test

In practical terms, the vivo V25 Pro is very fluent and snappy. We never experienced any slowdowns in the UI, and the phone chewed through daily tasks with ease. While not a gaming powerhouse by any means, it was also perfectly capable of handling everything but the most demanding titles. And thanks to progress on the refresh rate management front from vivo, a greater number of games can now make use of higher refresh rates and push past 60fps.

Still, it is worth mentioning that going by benchmark numbers alone, it is evident that vivo could still squeeze a bit more performance from the V25 Pro. Perhaps this is the result of deliberate tuning to ensure smoother operation with less heat output, which was very tempered on the V25 Pro. We can't say for sure, but the V25 Pro does not disappoint in the performance department either way.