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Vivo V21 5G phone review: Viable for the best looking phone award

By Liu Hongzuo - 10 Aug 2021
Launch SRP: S$599

Benchmark Performance, Battery, Conclusion

Benchmark Performance

To recap, the Vivo V21 5G packs a mid-range MediaTek Dimensity 800U mobile chipset. With its S$599 price point, we pit it against other similarly priced handsets. The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G and Realme 7 Pro are worthy mid-range alternatives. We’ll also resurface the Vivo V19 to see how the newer V21 5G did against its predecessor. For added measure, we’re throwing in an Oppo Reno4 Pro, another 2020 mid-range device (which is sadly overpriced, next to the competition).

  Vivo V21 5G Samsung Galaxy A52 5G Realme 7 Pro Oppo Reno4 Pro Vivo V19
  Vivo V21 5G Samsung Galaxy A52 5G Realme 7 Pro Oppo Reno4 Pro Vivo V19
Launch SRP
  • From S$599
  • From S$548
  • From S$499
  • From S$899
  • From S$599
Operating system
  • Android 11 with FunTouch OS 11.1
  • Android 11 with Samsung One UI 3
  • Realme UI, based on Android 10
  • ColorOS 7.2, based on Android 10
  • Android 10 with Funtouch 10
Processor
  • MediaTek Dimensity 800U
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G Octa-core (2x2.3 GHz Kryo 465 Gold & 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 465 Silver) with Adreno 618 GPU
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 712
Built-in Memory
  • 8GB RAM
  • 8GB RAM
  • 8GB LPDDR4X RAM
  • 8GB RAM
  • 8GB RAM
Display
  • 6.44-inch / 2,404 x 1,080 pixels / AMOLED
  • 90Hz refresh rate
  • 6.5-inch / 2,400 x 1,080 pixels (FHD+) / Super AMOLED Infinity-O Display
  • 120Hz refresh rate
  • 6.4-inch / 2,400 x 1,080 pixels (409 ppi) / Super AMOLED
  • 6.5-inch / 2,400 x 1,080 pixels (402 ppi) / 20:9 ratio / AMOLED Display
  • 90Hz Refresh rate / 180Hz Touch Sampling Rate
  • TÜV Rheinland Full Care Display Certification
  • 6.44-inch / 2,400 x 1,080 pixels (409 ppi) / Super AMOLED Display
Camera
  • Rear:
  • 64MP main camera, f/1.79, OIS, AF
  • 8MP wide-angle, f/2.2, 120° FOV
  • 2MP macro, f/2.4
  • Front:
  • 44MP main, OIS, AF
  • Rear:
  • Main: 64MP OIS autofocus (F1.8, 0.8µm)
  • Ultra Wide: 12MP fixed-focus (123-deg FOV, F2.2, 1.12µm)
  • Macro: 5MP fixed-focus (F2.4, 1.12µm)
  • Depth: 5MP fixed-focus (F2.4, 1.12µm)
  • Front:
  • 32MP fixed-focus, (F2.2, 0.8µm)
  • Rear:
  • 64MP, Sony IMX682, f/1.8, 1/1.73-inch sensor size
  • 8MP, Ultra-Wide-Angle, f/2.3, 119° FOV
  • 2MP Macro, f/2.4
  • 2MP, B&W Portrait, f/2.4
  • Front:
  • 32MP, in-display selfie, f/2.5, 85° FOV
  • Rear: 48MP Main, f/1.7, 26mm / 8MP Ultrawide f/2.2, 13mm, 2MP Macro, f2.4 / 2MP Mono, f/2.4,
  • Front: 32MP, f/2.4
  • Rear: 32MP main camera, f/1.79 / 8MP wide-angle, f/2.2 / 2MP bokeh, f/2.4 / 2MP macro, f/2.4
  • Front: 32MP main, f/2.08 / 8MP wide-angle, f/2.28
Connectivity
  • Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz, 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, A GPS, OTG
  • Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz, 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, MST, GPS, Glonass, BeiDou, Galileo, USB 2.0 Type-C
  • 4G/LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4G, 5G), NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, A-GPS, Beidou, Glonass, GPS/A-GPS
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, MU-MIMO, hotspot, Bluetooth 5.1, SBC, AAC, LDAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX TWS+, dual-band A-GPS, Beidou, Glonass, Galileo, QZSS, NFC
  • Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz, 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, A GPS, OTG
Storage Type
  • 128GB internal storage
  • Hybrid nano-SIM 2/microSD card slot
  • 128GB internal storage
  • microSD support up to 1TB
  • 128GB internal storage
  • UFS 2.1
  • 3-card slot (2 SIM + 1 microSD)
  • 256GB internal storage
  • microSD support up to 256GB
  • 128GB internal storage
  • Dedicated microSD card slot (up to 1TB)
Battery
  • 4,000mAh
  • 33W fast-charging
  • 4,500mAh
  • 25W fast-charging
  • 4,500mAh
  • 65W SuperDart Fast Charging (10V/6.5A)
  • 4,000mAh
  • 65W SuperVOOC 2.0
  • 4,500mAh
  • 33W fast-charging
Dimensions
  • 159.68 × 73.9 × 7.39mm (Sunset Dazzle)
  • 159.68 × 73.9 × 7.29mm (Dusk Blue)
  • 159.9 x 75.1 x 8.4mm
  • 160.9 x 74.3 x 8.7mm
  • 160 x 73.2 x 7.7mm
  • 159.4 x 75.04 x 8.5mm
Weight
  • 177g (Sunset Dazzle)
  • 176g (Dusk Blue)
  • 189g
  • 182g
  • 161g
  • 186g
Network:
  • 5G Sub6 FDD, 5G Sub6 TDD, 4G, 3G

 

JetStream 2.0

JetStream 2 is a combination of a variety of JavaScript and Web Assembly benchmarks, including benchmarks that came before like SunSpider and Octane. It primarily tests for a system’s and browser’s ability in delivering a good web experience. It runs a total of 64 subtests, each weighted equally, with multiple iterations, and takes the geometric mean to compute the overall score.

 

AnTuTu 

Note: As of 9th March 2020, all AnTuTu benchmarks were removed from the Google Play Store. This move likely arose from Google's attempts to relieve the Play Store of apps that violate their policies. AnTuTu is working with Google to restore their app listing. For this review, we used the APK file that was available on AnTuTu's website.

AnTuTu is an all-in-one benchmark that tests CPU, GPU, memory, and storage. The CPU benchmark evaluates both integer and floating-point performance, and the GPU tests assess 2D and 3D performance, the memory test measures available memory bandwidth and latency, and the storage tests gauge the read and write speeds of a device's flash memory.

Note: HWZ scores are not available for the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G and Realme 7 Pro. The scores reflected in this graph are taken from AnTuTu, which is the average score based on all benchmarks submitted to the platform (1, 2).

 

Geekbench 5

Geekbench CPU is a cross-platform processor benchmark that tests both single-core and multi-core performance with workloads that simulate real-world usage. Geekbench 5 scores are calibrated against a baseline score of 1000, which is the score of an Intel Core i3-8100.

 

3DMark Sling Shot Extreme

3DMark Sling Shot is an advanced 3D graphics benchmark that tests the full range of OpenGL ES 3.1 and ES 3.0 API features including multiple render targets, instanced rendering, uniform buffers and transform feedback. The test also includes impressive volumetric lighting and post-processing effects. The test's Unlimited mode ignores screen resolutions.

We’re also collecting scores with 3DMark’s new benchmark, Wild Life. Below are the test’s Unlimited Mode scores. Unfortunately, the Wild Life scores for the other devices are not available - for reference, the Vivo V21 5G scored 1582 (average after multiple runs).

 

Performance Benchmark Remarks

The benchmarks show better scores than the preceding Vivo V19 at CPU and graphics processing. V21 5G also measures up against the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, but the latter sits at a lower starting price. It scored quite poorly for web-browsing, oddly. 

The V21 has fluid animation and touch response in real-world use, but load times are noticeably longer - between taps, when apps are booting up, entering new submenus inside apps, and more. Each loading action may not take much time on its own, but they add up if you’re trying to complete a series of actions (e.g. searching, downloading, and installing an app, or jumping between apps to multi-task). The phone’s animations also start slowing down when you’re running a high-priority background process, like downloading files/shows/apps as you shuffle through the device. We shudder to think how the phone will react when tasked to run a much needed background app like TraceTogether which tends to sap resources and battery life.

While slower load times are expected from more affordable phones, the preceding V19 never had these issues during navigation or browsing - at least, not when it’s freshly out of the box. What we've observed is very likely due to the phone's use of the Mediatek Dimensity 800U processor as a vast majority of other phones tested in recent years have either been Apple's, Samsung's or Qualcomm's chips, for which we've never really observed these issues.

As a whole, the Vivo V21's general performance is oddly unbalanced, because the phone was blazingly fast at photo-taking.

 

Battery life

Our standard battery test for mobile phones has the following parameters:

  • Looping a 720p video with screen brightness and volume at 100%
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity turned on
  • Constant data streaming through email

With its 4,000mAh battery, the Vivo V21 clocked in 942 minutes of uptime. Is that long for its capacity? Yes, but bear in mind the lower processing power helping it along. We’ve also noticed such healthy battery uptimes in other recent Vivo phones, so the long uptime isn’t a one-off incident with its devices. 

Provided in the box is a 33W (11V/3A) Vivo FlashCharge 2.0 fast-charging adapter. With it plugged directly into the wall, the phone takes 70 minutes to go from 0% to 50% and 160 minutes to go from 0% to 100%. If we’re frank, we’re already used to fast-charging Chinese Android phones that can generate full charge within an hour to two hours, so the Vivo V21 and its in-box charger isn’t exactly the fastest combo around. Having said that for comparison, you'll still be glad that the phone can juice up decently at short notice.

As mentioned earlier, the V21 lacks wireless charging, but we also wouldn’t expect to have this feature on lower-end devices of this class.

 

Conclusion

The Vivo V21 5G does well at catering to its intended audience - younger folks who are, or want to be the next social media personality of note. V21 5G offers front camera OIS and 5G network support, which makes complete sense if they’re looking to expedite their daily regimen that involves taking photos and uploading them ASAP to social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Also, social media videos hardly go beyond 60FPS, so a display with a 90Hz refresh rate is overkill for their needs.

It’s also an improvement from V19, with better performance, and better design. We doubt most people would miss the additional cameras the predecessor had, nor would they mind the slightly lower battery uptime when it's still last longer than most of its competitors.

With the Vivo V21 5G being much slimmer than before, having great battery life, and satisfactory imaging capabilities for social media at S$599 - it shouldn’t be a tough sell, right? Even without IP-rated water resistance, no 3.5mm audio jack, no stereo speakers and no NFC?

Sadly, no. The V21 5G may be a decent phone that looks pleasant, but the average local isn't so easily swayed. As contactless transactions are increasingly becoming second nature, it's almost difficult to think about buying a new phone without NFC functionality today and this alone is a major setback if not for the other aspects of the phone we've covered in the review.

What truly makes the phone suffer isn’t exactly due to what it lacks. Rather, it’s the intense competition happening at the mid-range phone segment - or, more accurately, its price point. The other options out there offer even more features or better hardware at the same price range.

The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, as mentioned, is slightly more affordable, and yet it has IP-rated water resistance, stereo speakers, and higher refresh rates for its display. In addition, it comes with NFC and an in-display fingerprint sensor too. It even offers the 3.5mm audio jack to pair with cheaper earbuds.

Realme 7 Pro packs features similar to the V21 5G, but it has NFC, and faster charging that actually works at S$100 less (at launch, and it’s probably even more affordable now). 

These comparisons are only about the basics of a phone - we’ve yet to factor in how these named options come with comparable, if not better rear camera imaging capabilities than the V21 5G. 

V21 5G also has to contend against other mid-range alternatives we’ve yet to get our hands on. There’s the cheaper Poco X3 GT with a 120Hz refresh rate display, fast-charging, NFC support, bigger battery, and higher-tier MediaTek chipset.

There’s also the OnePlus Nord 2 with the same starting price but a flagship-tier MediaTek processor and fast charging.

If processing performance isn’t what you’re gunning for, there’s the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro, which sacrifices its chipset performance and 5G access to keep NFC, fast-charging, dual speakers, faster 120Hz refresh rate, a 3.5mm audio jack, a bigger battery, IP-rated water resistance, all at a significantly lower retail price (S$150 less).

No matter where you look to, there’s a device out there more complete or has better overall value than the Vivo V21 5G, since it skimped on one too many basic features, plus its overall real-world performance isn't up to scratch with even older devices. All the alternatives mentioned above are officially available in Singapore.

While the Vivo V21 5G is certainly nice enough to use and one of the prettiest mid-rangers to boot, the feature-set, UI polish, real-world usage and price proposition pales next to our competitive phone offering here. Truly, one should not judge anything based on looks alone, and now that cliché includes smartphones.

Still, we aren't judging if you prefer appearances over everything else, so if you are a Vivo fan and this is a logical step up for you, hop over to their official Shopee e-store to get one.

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7.0
  • Design 8
  • Features 7.5
  • User-Friendliness 8
  • Performance 7
  • Value 6
The Good
Great design and a really good looker for its category
OIS on rear and front cameras
microSD card expandable storage
Long battery life
The Bad
Still no NFC
No IP-rated water resistance
No 3.5mm audio jack
Longer load times during general use
Uneven display boundaries / black bars in landscape mode
Camera colours are too vivid/saturated
Diluted value against alternatives
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