Review of Vivo Z5i smartphone with key features

In November 2019, the Chinese company Vivo launched a new Z5i model on the international market, which is a lightweight version of the previous Z5. The smartphone belongs to the budget category, but for the declared price of 230 euros, it includes many advantages. Details regarding the detailed characteristics and features are found below in the article.

Brief information

The manufacturer Vivo has once again proved that their manufactured models do not differ much in appearance and characteristics, but you should give them their due, as the gadgets are of low cost. As for the Z5i model, it practically does not differ from its predecessor.The main changes include a larger battery, the installation of a microSD slot, a larger display diameter and improved performance of the proprietary shell. Otherwise, this is the same Z5 with a high-quality display, impressive color reproduction and high pixel density. Of course, there were no changes for the worse, since the main sensor of the rear camera dipped in quality. They also installed a weaker chipset, and moved the fingerprint sensor to the rear panel. But, despite the shortcomings, the Z5i is worthy of attention.

Specifications

Design and ergonomics

As a material for the smartphone served as a durable glossy plastic with a glass insert. The material can hardly be called practical by the standards of 2019, but there are no other options for a budget model. On the other hand, plastic looks attractive, given the available colors. The phone is sold in Jade Blue and Glazed Black.

The design is assembled with high quality, since the plastic panel sits rigidly in the hands, and the controls do not dangle at all. Under moderate loads, the device behaves with dignity. The back cover does not creak, and the connectors do not play.End surfaces deserve special attention. To the touch, the material resembles metal inserts.

In terms of dimensions, the Z5i has noticeably improved, as it now weighs 193 grams. The height of the case is 162 mm, the width is 76.5 mm, and the thickness is 9 mm. Compared to its predecessor, the model has become much thicker.

The location of the controls has not changed. On the right side there is a power button and volume control, and on the left side there is a tray for two NanoSIMs and a microSD slot built into it. Also on the end surface is a key to launch a virtual assistant with voice control. At the bottom is a phone charging port and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.

The front panel is equipped with a 6.53-inch screen and a front camera, which is located at the top in a waterdrop notch. The back cover houses the main camera with three sensors, an LED flash and a fingerprint scanner. As in the previous model, there is no notification light, but the system has an Always-on-Display option with individual settings.

Display

The main feature of the smartphone is a 6.53-inch display, which occupies 84.5% of the area on the front panel. The device has an IPS LCD matrix with 16 million colors. The screen resolution is 2340x1080 pixels and the aspect ratio is 19.5:9. The dot density is 395 ppi, which is slightly less than the Z5 (404 ppi).

The picture on the display is very bright, so that the content on the screen does not lose quality even in daylight sunlight. The minimum brightness level can be adjusted in such a way that night reading will not hurt your eyes.Color reproduction can be adjusted in the advanced screen settings. The image is always saturated, it is especially worth noting the white color, which does not look faded.

Hardware and performance

The Vivo Z5i smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm SDM675 Snapdragon 675 chipset, which is built on an 11-nanometer process technology. The platform runs a 2-core Octa-core Kryo 460 Gold processor at 2 GHz and a 6-core Kryo 460 Silver at 1.7 GHz. As you can see, the chipset is much weaker than its predecessor, as the previous model has a Qualcomm SDM712 Snapdragon 712. Despite the budget category, the platform copes with demanding tasks thanks to a cool, energy-efficient processor. You can buy the device in one configuration: 128 GB of internal memory and 8 GB of RAM. The main advantage of the light version is the presence of a memory slot that supports MicroSD up to 256 GB. The read and write speeds of the built-in memory are relatively good - 498/188 MB / s, respectively. RAM does not show the best results - 11 Gb / s.

The Adreno 612 graphics processor is responsible for the visual component. Together with the central processor, which generates a low amount of heat, the video chip does an excellent job with gaming applications. The best representatives of the mobile gaming industry Shadow Gun and PUBG work at maximum settings without FPS sagging. Of course, after 4-50 minutes, the performance of the GPU fell by 15%, but this did not affect performance.

Autonomy of work

An unexpected plus in the device was an increase in battery capacity.A 5000 mAh battery is installed on board, which is quite enough for three days of continuous operation. Of course, there is also a downside in this situation, as the fast charging function has decreased in power to 18 watts, when the Z5 had 22.5 watts. Under these circumstances, the device will charge for 30 minutes longer, and in total, the power replenishment process will take 1 hour and 50 minutes.

Operating system

The software in the device is Android 9.0 OS with a proprietary Funtouch 9.2 interface. As for the shell, it has undergone a noticeable change, resulting in increased performance of the operating system. For example, gesture control has become faster to respond to hand touches. The work of the virtual assistant has also accelerated, where voice control has become clearer in accepting commands. The fingerprint scanner is much more responsive than the Z5i.

Camera

Compared to its predecessor, the Vivo Z5i has a budget camera and, accordingly, the quality of the pictures will be much worse. There are three modules on board:

• the main one at 16 MP with a light intensity of f/1.8 PDAF;
• 8MP ultra-wide with f/2.2 aperture;
• 2MP depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture.

Photos taken with the wide module are of mediocre quality with questionable levels of brightness and saturation. The portrait mode does not inspire positive impressions, as the detail is quite low. At night, the camera copes poorly. Using the backlight, the pictures come out with obvious graininess and poor detail. When the daylight is good, then you can create a normal photo, but under other circumstances, the camera is clearly inferior to its predecessor.

The front camera has also been downgraded, as the module now has not 32 MP, but 16 MP with f / 2.0 light intensity. There is a portrait mode in the front lens, and the pictures are better than on the main camera. Video recording supports Full HD+. The videos come out not very detailed, plus the sound is very lame. This is especially true for poor lighting conditions.

Sound system

The sound quality is average. Mostly high frequencies are heard with a complete lack of sound depth. The situation is saved by an additional headset, thanks to which you can choose an individual sound style in the device settings. The sound itself is loud, but there is very little bass.

With the conversational speaker, things are much better, since the interlocutor is heard well. The volume is also high, there is no interference or distortion.

Communication and communications

The smartphone system supports two nanoSIM cards with all communication standards. The tray is hybrid, so a memory card is installed in addition. There are USB On-The-Go and microUSB 2.0 ports. The device is equipped with Bluetooth technology with a data transfer rate of 5 MB / s and a dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac module. There is support for connecting with BDS, GLONASS and A-GPS satellites. Cold start is 5 seconds. A radio receiver acts as a multimedia addition. There is no contactless payment module in the phone.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Large 6.53-inch display;
• High image quality;
• IPS LCD matrix with good detail and pixel density;
• Support memory card up to 256GB;
• Modified proprietary shell Funtouch 9.2;
• Capacious battery - 5000 mAh;
• High-performance chipset and graphics processor;
• Fast fingerprint scanner;
• Support for demanding gaming applications;
• High speed writing files in the internal memory.
• Low cost - 230 euros;
• Nice appearance.

• Weak rear camera
• Poor sound quality;
• Low speed RAM;
• 18W fast charging;
• Lack of NFC;
• Great weight and thickness of the case.

Conclusion

Based on the information provided, it becomes clear that Vivo did not have to let the Z5i smartphone in. The main problem of the phone is its secondary nature. There are no special changes or innovations that could be noted against the backdrop of the Vivo Z5 at the same cost. A more capacious battery and memory card support pleases, but a very weak camera kills the positive impression, the pictures of which look ridiculous on such a large display.