vivo V29 review

Competition

The V29 will be seeing a wider global rollout than the V27, and there's some stiff competition against it. With a price tag of around €500, it's looking like a reasonable deal, but you should explore your options nonetheless.

The Galaxy A54 is among the obvious rivals, and it's a tough call on the merits. Both have IP68 ratings, great displays, similarly capable chipsets, and solid cameras for the class, and while the V29 isn't as long-lasting, it does charge faster than the Galaxy. If that tie is left to be settled monetarily, however, the Galaxy's €130-ish lower price tag doesn't leave the V29 much chance, though the difference does shrink to roughly half that if you match the V29's 256GB base storage on the A54.

A 256GB Motorola Edge 40 goes for around €400, so that's another blow against the V29 when it comes to value. If you're after the vivo for its slim profile, the Moto will deliver that, plus some tangible weight savings. Additionally, the Edge 40's chipset is more powerful than the V29's, and the Edge 40 has wireless charging unlike the vivo. We're liking the Moto's ultrawide better for its AF-ing capability, and 4K video capture, and we'd say the Moto is the overall better cameraphone.

The Pixel 7a is another midranger that's easy to recommend as a cameraphone, even though its ultrawide lacks autofocus. The Google phone will win every time when it comes to software updates; its flagship-grade Tensor chipset is a significant step up from the V29's mid-tier Snapdragon, and the Pixel has wireless charging. Then again, the 7a is very slow to charge, and its battery life lags behind the V29's.

The Nothing Phone (1) will also have you waiting to reach that 100% charge, but it actually has an advantage over the vivo in endurance, so it kind of makes up for it. The Phone (1) has the least bright display of this bunch, by quite some margin, and also the least powerful chipset, where it's tied with the vivo. The Phone (1) wins for wow factor thanks to its back LEDs, and it has a much better ultrawide camera. The V29's selfies are superior, though.

Samsung Galaxy A54 • Motorola Edge 40 • Google Pixel 7a • Nothing Phone (1)

Verdict

With the V29, vivo hasn't fixed a few of the quibbles that made the V27 less competitive than it could have been. The latest model still has a single speaker when all rivals rock a pair, video stabilization remains less than ideal, and wireless charging has gotten popular in the midrange, but the V29 misses out on that too.

But an induction coil on the phone's back would have made it thicker, and vivo was going for a thin profile, which we do like. Much more welcome still is the IP68-rated ingress protection - a development that's as surprising, given vivo's past as it is in keeping with trends. Also somewhat unexpected is the higher-res display - the extra pixels are hard to appreciate, but it's a thoroughly great panel in all the important ways. Battery life may not be a winning any records, but the V29 won't leave you stranded, and there's also the above-average for the class charging speed.

The camera system is universally capable, with some particularly good selfies, dependable low-light performance and a unique temperature-changing flood light that can also be game-changing for your low-light portraits.

All things considered, the vivo V29 may not be the most value you can extract from its price tag, but it just might be able to justify the premium.

Pros

• IP68 rating, slimline design.
• Excellent OLED screen, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+.
• Solid battery life, fast charging.
• Great photo and video quality from main camera.
• The Aura light improves low-light photos noticeably.
• Superb selfie photos.

Cons

• Only a single speaker, and not a great one.
• No wireless charging.
• Selfie videos are either stable or in 4K.