vivo Y33s Unboxing, First Impressions, Camera Samples

We recently received the vivo Y33s for review. Here are our thoughts and experience with the new smartphones.

Midday Dream colorway

Back in October, vivo launched the Y33s in the Philippines. It features a large 6.58-inch LCD display with a notch. Inside is the 12nm MediaTek Helio G80 octa-core processor, Mali-G52 GPU, 8GB RAM, 128GB of storage, and 5000mAh battery with 18W fast charging.

At the back is the 50MP triple rear camera and in front is a 16MP selfie camera. 

In the Philippines, it is priced at PHP 12,999.

Is it worth it? Let's dive in!

Unboxing/Accessories

White packaging

The new Y33s comes in the familiar white box with the vivo branding, specs, special features and regulatory information.

Box inclusions

Inside is the phone, 18W wall charger, SIM ejector tool, USB Type-A to Type-C cable, earphones, silicone bumper case, and documentation.

It is nice to see that vivo still includes 3.5mm audio jack earphones, a charger, and a silicone case inside the box. This has become a rarity in higher price smartphones.

Build Quality/Design

Back panel

At first glance, the vivo Y33s looks like a more premium smartphone. Upon closer inspection, we find that it is has a glass front panel, polycarbonate frame, and glasstic back panel.

The rubber gasket on the SIM tray

There is no mention of glass protection for the display though.

But, the phone may have a form of water and dust resistance as the SIM tray is layered with a red rubber gasket.

Neat build!

The frame is smooth and flat with chamfered edges while the back panel has a sandstone-like texture that makes it feel premium. The curved back panel and the chamfered edges make the phone easy to hold. Overall, the phone is eyecatching but still slippery. 

FHD+ display

In front is the aforementioned 6.58-inch curved LCD display with 2408 x 1080 resolution. around the panel are slim top and side bezels and a thicker chin bezel. The top bezel also features a waterdrop notch that houses the selfie camera.

Mid-range phone with a notch in 2021...

It would have been nicer if vivo used a punch-hole type of display for a more modern look though.

Top and bottom

On top is the SIM tray while at the bottom is the 3.5mm audio jack, microphone, USB-C port, and speaker grills.

Left and right sides

On the left side is a smooth surface while on the right side is the volume rocker and the power button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner.

The phone measures 164.26 x 76.08 x 8.0 mm and weighs 182 grams. It is surprisingly lightweight.

Rear cameras

At the back are the 50MP f/1.8 main camera, 2MP f/2.4 macro, and 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor triple rear cameras with an LED flash.

First Camera Samples

Daylight 1x

Daylight 2x

Portrait mode

The rear cameras performed well. The images are sharp with vibrant color, deep contrast, and plenty of detail. 

While the portrait mode is able to detect most of the fur fibers from the cat's back but struggles with similar colors. Otherwise, the images from the rear cameras are great.

Selfie daylight

On the day when this selfie was taken, the weather was overcast or the sun was covered by the clouds but the resulting image is still overexposed. This is unfortunate as the image is sharp with plenty of detail. It just turned washed out because of the overexposure.

vivo Y33s Specs

Display: 6.58-inch 2.5D curved LCD screen w/ FHD+ 2408 x 1080 resolution at 401 ppi
CPU: 2.0GHz 12nm MediaTek Helio G80 octa-core processor
GPU: Mali-G52 2EEMC2 (950MHz)
RAM: 8GB
ROM: 128GB expandable storage via microSD card slot up to 1TB
Back Camera: 50MP f/1.8 + 2MP f/2.4 macro + 2MP f/2.4 depth + LED flash
Selfie Camera: 16MP f/2.0
Battery: 5,000mAh w/ 18W Fast Charging
OS: Android 11 w/ Funtouch OS 11.1
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, dual SIM
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, USB-C, Colors: Mirror Black, Midday Dream
Dimensions: 164.26 x 76.08 x 8.0 mm
Weight: 182 g
Price: PHP 12,999

As of the moment

vivo's stock Internet Browser

The vivo Y33s is an eye-catching smartphone with flat sides with chamfered edges that make it pleasing to look at while being easy to hold. It is also surprisingly lightweight but is slippery.

We were immediately impressed by the rear camera's initial camera samples but were not happy with the selfie images.

On paper, the specs look decent but we will have to do more testing to answer whether this smartphone is worth the PHP 12,999.

For our review: vivo Y33s Long Term Review - Great looks, long battery, quite expensive for the overall specs