The vivo V29 is a mid-range 5G phone built around portrait photography. vivo announced it on July 31, 2023, and it launched in Europe first. Later it reached India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. vivo does not sell it in the US, and it published no official European price.
Design and display
The V29 has a 6.78-inch curved AMOLED screen with a 2800 x 1260 resolution and 452 ppi. The refresh rate goes up to 120Hz in supported apps. Reviews list HDR10+ support and a peak brightness of 1,300 nits. The body is 7.46 mm thick and weighs 186 g, with a glass back and a plastic frame.
The phone came in five colors. Noble Black and Peak Blue were sold in Europe. Velvet Red has a color-changing glass back. Starry Purple was sold in Southeast Asia, and the pink First Love edition arrived in Malaysia in late 2023. Indian models use other names for the same colors: Space Black, Majestic Red, and Himalayan Blue.
European and Latin American units carry an IP68 rating for dust and water. vivo lists the models for other markets with IP54 instead. A clear case and a pre-applied screen protector come in the box.
Performance
Inside is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G, a 6 nm chip with an Adreno 642L GPU. Memory options range from 8 GB to 12 GB of RAM, with 128 GB to 512 GB of storage. Europe got a single 8 GB and 256 GB version. There is no microSD slot. A large vapor chamber helps with cooling during long games.
Cameras
The rear camera system has a 50 MP main camera with optical stabilization and an f/1.88 aperture. It also has an 8 MP ultrawide camera and a 2 MP monochrome sensor. The main feature is the Aura Light, a large ring light next to the lenses. It can adjust its color temperature to match the scene, which helps with portraits in dim light.
On the front, there is a 50 MP selfie camera with autofocus. vivo designed it with a wide field of view for group selfies.
Battery and charging
The battery has a typical capacity of 4,600 mAh. It supports 80W FlashCharge, and vivo claims a 1 to 50 percent charge in 18 minutes. The 80W charger is included in the box. There is no wireless charging.
Software and updates
The V29 shipped with Funtouch OS 13 based on Android 13. vivo did not publish a clear update promise for it at launch. It has NFC in most markets, plus eSIM support in Europe and Latin America. Connectivity also includes Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.2.
Should you buy the V29?
The V29 suits buyers who take many portraits and selfies. The Aura Light and the autofocus selfie camera are its main strengths. Fast 80W charging and the IP68 rating of European units are also useful. However, the Snapdragon 778G is an older chip, so heavy games need lower settings. The phone also has a single speaker and no wireless charging. In addition, it is not sold in the US, so buyers there need an import.
