vivo Y36 Unboxing, First Impressions, Camera Samples - Punch-hole on a Y Series phone!
One of the best-selling brands in the Philippines vivo recently introduced its newest "affordable" mid-ranger in the country called the Y36.
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| Glitter Aqua Y36 |
Basically, the Y36 is available in two versions—a 4G model and a beefier 5G version that will be available via Smart Postpaid soon.
The version that we will be checking out today is its 4G variant.
To recap, the PHP 12,999 vivo Y36 boasts a boxy design with a stylish glass-like back, a 6.64-inch LCD FHD+ 90Hz screen, 6nm Snapdragon 680 4G chip, 8GB RAM, up to 8GB virtual RAM (total of 16GB Extended RAM), 5,000mAh battery, and a USB-C 44W FlashCharge support.
For cameras, it uses a 50MP f/1.8 main shooter paired with 2x 2MP cameras for depth and macro.
Unboxing/Accessories
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| Everything inside |
vivo kept it simple. The handset arrived in a neat white box that had the phone itself, a clear case, paper docs, a SIM ejector tool, a USB-A to USB-C data/charging cable, and the 44W USB power brick.
There are no earphones included in the package though.
Build Quality/Design
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| The back design |
The new vivo Y36 features arrived in a fairly nice build with and plastic frame and a glasstic back cover.
The back is more glass-like with another layer of glasstic material on the upper corner for the camera island.
In fact, vivo is claiming that it is Flourite AG Glass and comes with anti-scratch tech.
In front, it is glass. But, there is no mention of any glass protection.
For the whole body, vivo somehow managed to add an IP54 rating. It provides some sort of protection against water splashes. It has dust resistance as well.
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| Glitter Aqua vivo Y36 |
In terms of design, it is reminding us of the higher-end OPPO Reno8 5G (PHP 27,999 SRP). The look in feel has some similarities and that is a good thing for the Y36 as it is the more affordable device.
For me, it has a very beautiful-looking back cover, a neat boxy frame, and a decent display. It is available in Meteor Black and Glitter Aqua glitter colorways.
The Meteor Black version has a stardust-like effect while the Glitter Aqua version is "inspired by golden ripples of a shimmering lake".
The texture is smooth and it isn't as prone to fingerprint smudges compared with other handsets with a glossy finish. It isn't that slippery in the hand and wobbly when placed on a flat surface.
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| Punch-hole screen |
In front, we are glad that finally, vivo is now using a more modern-looking panel for its Y Series phone. The notch is gone and this one now has a top-center punch-hole for its 16MP f/2.5 selfie camera.
Finally, punch-hole on a Y Series phone!
The top and side bezels are now slimmer. But, the chin is still a bit thick. This is normal and understandable at this price point though.
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| Top, bottom |
On top, you will find the SIM tray slot and the microphone hole. Below, you will see the single speaker grille, USB-C port, another microphone, and a 3.5mm headphone jack slot.
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| Dual SIM slots or single SIM + microSD card (hybrid) |
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| Left, right |
The left side is a clean slate. On the right, you see the volume up and down keys. It also has a side-mounted fingerprint reader to keep its back design clean.
The 164.1 x 76.2 x 8.1 mm making it one of the slimmest phones for the price and weighs 202 grams.
For cameras, you get a 50MP f/1.8 main shooter at the back. It is accompanied by a 2MP f/2.4 macro shooter and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor. In front, you get the 16MP f/2.5 selfie snapper we mentioned above.
Here are the first shots we took.
First Camera Samples
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| Daylight |
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| Well-lit close-up |
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| Well-lit Portrait mode |
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| Indoor well-lit |
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| Low light |
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| Night mode |
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| Night mode 2 |
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| Selfie indoor |
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| Selfie Night mode |
In daylight, we find its cameras to perform decently. It is also quite good for close-up images with close-to-natural colors. The AF speed is just a little slower than what I'm used to at this price point.
The Portrait mode is also decent, but the edge detection is not the cleanest around as expected. Indoor snaps also retained some vibrant colors, but the grain is now more visible.
Low light images are obviously darker. Thankfully, it has a decent Night mode.
For selfies, it is alright for indoor shots and there is Night mode as well. The face beauty is not too strong if you will turn it off.
It can also take up to 1080p videos, but we haven't tried it yet. Stay tuned for our review.
vivo Y36 Specs
Display: 6.64-inch LCD (IPS) w/ 90Hz refresh rate, FHD+ 2388 x 1080 resolution at 395 ppi
CPU: 6nm 2.4GHz Snapdragon 680 octa-core processor
GPU: Adreno 610
RAM: 8GB
ROM: 256GB
Back Camera: 50MP f/1.8 + 2MP f/2.4 macro+ 2MP f/2.4 depth + LED flash
Selfie Camera: 16MP f/2.5
Battery: 5,000mAh w/ 44W FlashCharge
OS: Android 13 w/ Funtouch OS 13
Connectivity: WiFi (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G, Bluetooth 5.1, OTG, NFC, GPS, dual SIM (nano)
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, IP54 water splash and dust resistance. USB-C, Colors: Meteor Black, Glitter Aqua
Dimensions: 164.1 x 76.2 x 8.1 mm
Weight: 202 g
Price: PHP 12,999
As of the moment
I am personally pleased with the improvements I've seen from vivo on an affordable Y Series phone in terms of design. The back of this device ranks among the prettiest out there at this price point.
It also has a pretty good display, large memory options to help minimize lag when multitasking and allow users to store more files, a big battery capacity with fast 44W charging, and capable 50MP back + 16MP selfie cameras. There is no ultra-wide cam though.
My concern here is that vivo is marketing this as a gaming phone due to the 240Hz touch sampling rate of its screen and the Turbo Memory Booster. But in our initial impressions, it isn't for gaming. This is more of a lifestyle phone.
The culprit behind that is its use of the 5nm Snapdragon 680 chip. It is a power-efficient chip, not a gaming chip.
Stay tuned for our full review of our complete vivo Y36 assessment.
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