Let’s compare Vivo’s 2017 and 2018 flagship phones!
Last year, Vivo made the 18:9 trend popular by being one of the first brands to bring in a phone that sports skinny bezels with the V7+. This year, the Chinese brand is one of the many brands adapting to the notch trend, and they have used that with the V9.
While the V7+ is around six months older than the V9, the latter has a lot of changes and upgrades that go beyond the display. Let’s do a quick comparison:
Vivo V7+ Specifications
- 1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core processor
- Adreno 506 GPU
- 4GB of RAM
- 5.99-inch HD+ IPS LCD display; 1440×720 resolution
- 64GB of expandable storage (up to 256GB via MicroSD card)
- 4G, LTE
- Dual SIM
- 16-megapixel rear camera, f/2.0 aperture, LED Flash
- 24-megapixel front camera, f/2.0 aperture, PDAF, LED Flash
- WiFi, Bluetooth
- GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
- Fingerprint scanner
- Android 7.1 Nougat with FunTouch OS 3.2
- 3225mAh Battery
Vivo V9 Specifications
- 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 octa-core processor
- Adreno 506 GPU
- 4GB of RAM
- 6.3-inch Full HD+ IPS Display; 1080 x 2280 resolution, 400 ppi
- 64GB of expandable storage
- 4G, LTE
- Dual SIM
- 16-megapixel + 5-megapixel rear cameras, f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus, 4K video, LED flash
- 24-megapixel front camera, f/2.0 aperture, AI beautification, Softlight flash
- WiFi, Bluetooth
- GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
- Fingerprint scanner
- Facial recognition
- 3260mAh battery
- Android Oreo 8.1 with FunTouch OS 4.0
Processor: A major performance boost
Among the many improvements of the V9 is found with the processor. Instead of a Snapdragon 400 series SoC, the V9 uses a new Snapdragon 626 processor-which is, in essence, an incremental upgrade of the Snapdragon 625. We wished that Vivo used a newer Snapdragon 600 series chip, but their SoC of choice is still pretty good nonetheless.
Display: Full HD+ at last
Among one of the major criticisms with the V7+ last year is that it is pricey for a phone that uses only an HD+ display. For the V9, Vivo not just increased the size of the display, but they also used a Full HD+ panel as well to make it competitive against its rivals.
Cameras: With some extra help
Technically speaking, both the V7+ and V9 have the same set of camera, with a 24-megapixel front camera and a 16-megapixel rear camera. The V9, however, gets a secondary 5-megapixel rear camera to aid in achieving depth-of-field shots. In addition, the V9 also has AI Beauty mode for more flattering selfies.
Battery: A slight boost, BUT…
As for the battery, Vivo managed to increase the capacity to 3260mAh on the V9. However, when it comes to synthetic tests, the V7+ lasted longer than the V9 at 10 hours 15 minutes, compared to the V9’s 8 hours 54 minutes. There are many factors leading to this discrepancy, but Vivo will be sending updates for the V9 to optimize its battery consumption further.
Pricing: More value for money
Both have the same launch price of Php 17,990, but if specs are to be discussed (at the time they were launched), the V9 is a more value for money offering compared to the V7+. However, the V9 will be facing another tough battle, as there are a number of new mid-range phones priced within the same range.
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