vivo V23 5G Unboxing, First Impressions, Camera Samples

vivo's camera-focused V series is back. On paper, they are better than ever. Today, we have one of them—the V23 5G.

Meet vivo V23!

vivo V23 5G is the upgrade V21 5G last year which impressed us with its build, design, display, performance, and of course cameras. In fact, it is one of the best devices that you can get for mobile photography and vlogging for the price even to this date.

The vivo V23 aims to improve on that by incorporating a new interesting design, better overall internals, and more cameras.

In particular, this is the only handset in the country with a color-changing back design and a 50MP + 8MP dual front camera setup yet.

Now let's take a look at it and see if it is worth your PHP 27,999.

Read on.

Unboxing/Accessories

Everything inside the box

The V23 5G arrived with the familiar vivo purplish-blue box that is similar to other V series phones.

Inside, you will immediately see the handset itself. On closer inspection, you will see that its display has a pre-installed screen protector. Next are the TPU clear case, paper documentation, 44W power brick, USB-A to USB-C data/charging cable, earphones with mic, and a USB-C dongle.

This is a near-complete package as few phones have freebie earphones at this price point nowadays.

Build Quality/Design

Sleek back design

The new vivo V23 5G is made out of a glass back, a flat metal frame, and a flat glass front. It also has a large metallic camera island that houses its triple camera setup and dual-LED flash.

Legit premium materials!

To protect its display from scratches and unwanted damages, vivo added the SCHOTT Xensation Up glass protection technology apart from the pre-installed screen protector.

For the glass back, there is no mention if it has protection, but it is a textured glass that is not that prone to fingerprint smudges and hairline scratches.

SIM tray!

However, unlike is no mention if it has water and dust resistance, it has a blue rubber gasket suggesting that it might be protected against water splashes. To be sure, just avoid it from getting wet.

But in general, the overall materials used by vivo here are premium and durable enough.

You can even write in its back

In terms of design, this is where the handset will stand out. It is sleek, minimalist, and very premium-looking. In fact, it'll remind you of an iPhone 13 Pro's boxy design with chamfered edges and a slightly different look.

The color-changing back is cool!

Where it will shine the most literally is in its back design. This is the first in the country with a Photochromic Glass back. This technology allows the phone to automatically change its colors depending on where the light hits it. Under direct sunlight or UV light, you can even doodle on its back which will disappear after a few minutes.

Just note that this tech only works on the Sunshine Gold. For a more minimalist look, vivo also has a Stardust Black version of the V23 5G.

My only minor complaint is the camera hump is a bit too wide for its camera configuration. It could have been smaller for an even neater look. On the bright side, allowed the phone to be less wobbly when placed on a flat surface.

Great HDR display!

In front, we enjoyed that it is using a not too small or too big display. vivo used a 6.44-inch AMOLED panel with a super-slim top and side bezels. The chin bezel is a bit thicker, but this is super slim for a mid-ranger.

However, it still has a notch instead of a punch-hole cutout. Fortunately, it is still smaller than the iPhone 13 Pro. The notch is also not useless as it is housing two cameras in total. On each side of the top bezel, vivo cleverly added a Dual Tone Spotlight function as well.

Below the display is the In-Display fingerprint sensor of the device. To recap, this is a technology pioneered by vivo themselves.

As a result, it has a listed 91.4 percent of screen-to-body ratio. That made its overall display immersive.

Top and bottom

On top, you will see the antenna lines along with the first microphone. Underneath, it has pinhole access to the SIM card tray slot, the second microphone, USB-C port, and the single speaker grille.

Sadly, there's no 3.5mm headphone slot. So, to take advantage of its Hi-Res Audio using your favorite wired earphones, use the dongle included in the package.

Personally, I would have liked it better if it has a stereo audio setup similar to other phones at this price point.

On the left, only the antenna lines are visible. On right, you will find the power key and the volume rocker.

As a result, the handset measures just 157.20 x 72.42 x 7.39 mm (Stardust Black) or 7.55 mm (Sunset Gold) and weighs 179 grams (Stardust Black) or 181 g (Sunshine Gold).

It has easy to reach keys and ports, is slim and relatively comfortable to hold, and is lightweight for the size.

The overall build and design of the phone are flagship-grade for us.

Clear cam!

In terms of cameras, the handset is packed with a 64MP main shooter paired with an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2MP f/2.4 camera at the back. It also has a dual-tone LED flash.

Flash in front!

In front,  this is the first in the country using a 50MP + 8MP ultra-wide camera. Like we said earlier, it even has a Dual Tone Spotlight flash for selfies in the dark. In particular, the 50MP selfie is a custom JNV ISOCELL 3.0 sensor designed to deliver high-quality shots in most lighting conditions.

50MP + 8MP selfie cam!

Both the back and front camera configurations can record up to 4K in video quality. The stabilization used is EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization). The phone has no OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) this time, unlike V21.

It sounds interesting so we tried it. Take a look at the first few shots we took.

First Camera Samples

Daylight 1

Ultra-wide 1

Indoor 1

Indoor close-up

Indoor Portrait mode

Low light 1

Low light 2

Daylight wide selfie 1

Indoor selfie 1

Indoor wide selfie 2

Low light selfie wide 1

Based on the first images we took, the vivo V23 5G did an impressive job for photos. 

Autofocus, shutter, and saving are fast and pretty accurate for a mid-ranger. It also took lifelike shots with minimal grain in nearly all the shots we took. The portrait mode has good edge detection and plenty of cool modes to try. But, the color rendering is hit or miss. We are impressed with the low-light shots it took even if you don't use the Night mode.

With the Night mode, noise is even lesser and your shots will render better details and colors. Even for the ultra-wide cam, Night mode shots are great. You will only need 2 seconds per Night mode shot.

For videos, we haven't really explored it that much. But, we enjoyed that it was able to take crisp videos even for selfies. The autofocus is also very fast. The Eye AF is legit too. The ultra-wide cam in front also helped a lot when you need a wider field of view so you can fit more in just one frame.

My only concern so far is the EIS has a crop. It would have been better if they retained the OIS from the V21 5G.

vivo V23 5G Specs

Display: 6.44-inch SCHOTT Xensation Up protected AMOLED screen w/ 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, FHD+ 2400 x 1080 resolution at 409 ppi

CPU: 2.5GHz 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 920 octa-core processor

GPU: Mali-G68 MC4

RAM: 12GB LPDDR4X

ROM: 256GB UFS 2.2 expandable via microSD card up to 256GB

Back Camera: 64MP f/1.89 w/ PDAF + 8MP f/2.25 105-degree ultra-wide-angle + 2MP macro + dual-tone LED flash

Selfie Camera: 50MP f/2.0 JNV ISOCCELL 3.0 sensor w/ Eye AF, EIS + 8MP ultra-wide + Dual Tone Spotlight

Battery: 4,200mAh w/ 44W FlashCharge

OS: Android 11 w/ FuntouchOS 12

Connectivity: WiFi 6, 5G SA/NSA, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM (hybrid)

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic

Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, Hi-Res Audio, dual mic, 7 component liquid cooling system, USB-C, Colors: Stardust Black, Sunshine Gold (Color Changing Glass)

Dimensions: 157.20 x 72.42 x 7.39 mm (Stardust Black), 157.20 x 72.42 x 7.55 mm (Sunset Gold)

Weight: 179 g (Stardust Black), 181 g (Sunshine Gold)

Price: PHP 27,999

As of the moment

AnTuTu score

On first look, vivo V23 5G nailed it in the looks, display (one of the best screens for the price), and photography department. As advertised, it shoots highly detailed 4K selfie videos as well.

We also welcome that it is now using a lot of RAM at 12GB + 4GB Extended RAM (It uses your internal storage as RAM), large 256GB internal storage so we can store plenty of files, apps, games, and others, and the strong battery life thanks to its power-efficient 6nm chip and 4,200mAh battery, and the really fast 44W FlashCharge solution.

vivo's use of the 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 920 octa-core processor also made this handset the fastest V series phone in the market.

It also provided a lag-free experience on most of the social media apps that we use like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. It is also superb at consuming hi-resolution content on Netflix, iQIYI, and YouTube as well. For casual games, there are no issues as well.

However, even if Dimensity 920 has flagship-like features, it isn't the strongest in the PHP 27,999 range.

But in general, for the functions that vivo is highlighting, they are delivering so far.

This is a phone that you need to see in person first to understand why vivo increased its price coming from the V21 5G.

For our review: vivo V23 5G Review - Best in style, great for selfies