Vivo Y81 smartphone - advantages and disadvantages

Vivo phones have appeared quite recently on the domestic market. They were met with controversy and skepticism. At the moment, the device has not yet gained popularity. Today one of the models of this brand Y81 will be reviewed. Users say this is a good but overpriced model, as manufacturers overpricing the price at the start of sales. However, the situation changed slightly after the company became a sponsor of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The budget model Vivo Y81 now costs about 9,000 rubles. It features a bezel-less display and has a powerful processor. But is it really so? Now let's try to figure it out.

Specifications

For its price, the smartphone is equipped with pretty good parameters. In terms of quality, it can be compared with Xiaomi phones in the middle price segment. It has the following main indicators:

In addition, the phone has additional functions: graphics accelerator, compass, accelerometer, microgyroscope, light sensors, gravity sensor, gyroscope, magnetometer, rotation vector, strong motion sensor, pedometer, orientation and proximity sensor.

Design and equipment of the device

The product comes in a compact white package. In addition to the phone itself, it contains the following components:

• Russian-language documentation;
• a clip for pulling out a SIM card;
• cable for connecting to a computer;
• Charger.

To protect against the effects of falls, you should immediately order a protective glass or film upon purchase. Protection will not affect the integrity and design of the case in any way, but it will protect your device from unwanted damage.

The display is large and measures a whopping 6.22 inches. A cutout is made in the upper part - "monobrow". This became fashionable after the release of the iPhone 10. Thus, the display turned out to be frameless. The plastic case causes some discomfort, since there is a possibility that the phone case will disintegrate when dropped. Most modern phone cases are now made of metal components.

Despite the fact that they saved on the materials of the case, the device remains quite practical, since it does not "collect" prints and does not slip in the hands.There are two color options for the case: matt black and red. Red looks more elegant than black. If you look at the phone from the outside, it seems more expensive than its real price.

Only the plastic case speaks of a budget accessory.

The screen occupies 83% of the device. Frames of minimum sizes run along the perimeter. At the bottom, the developers have left the largest frame. However, users do not see a great need for it. A small cutout for a selfie camera was left at the top of the device. If you look at the 32GB version, then there is no LED event indicator.

There are two slots for SIM cards and an additional one for a flash card. Also, the model does not have a fingerprint scanner. Instead, you have to unlock the gadget with your face. A selfie camera lens will help with this procedure. These inconveniences make it difficult to unlock your phone in the dark.

Despite the small diagonal of the device, it is comfortable to use. Outwardly, it is no different from smartphones with a diagonal of 5.5 inches. But it is worth considering that it will hardly be possible to work with the phone with one hand. For this purpose, you can limit the size of the display and not reach the other side of the screen.

Display

The screen expansion is only 1520/720 pixels, which is extremely small for a 6.22-inch display. On such a device, the image will be of average quality. But, as for a budget option, it is quite enough. But on the other hand, a good supply of brightness and excellent contrast pleases. Also, wide viewing angles allow you to see the picture in more detail. The image is grainy, although almost invisible to the naked eye. The screen itself is made without an air gap, which allows you to see an almost vivid picture.

The screen has a factory protective film. But it is better to buy a protective glass, because the film does not always save you from scratches, let alone falls. But it is not advised to remove this film, since your finger will start to slide on the screen and lead to dust and scratches. If you do not need it, then it is better to let the experts remove it and place the glass. "Clean", that is, without film or glass at all, the display cannot be left due to the above reasons.

The settings additionally provide an eye protection function.

Interface

The smartphone runs on Android 8.1 Oreo, and Funtouch OS 4.0 is used as a shell.

There is a feature to control the notification "curtain", it opens with a swipe from the bottom, but taking into account the screen size it is more convenient than if it were from the top.

The firmware has the required applications. There are several desktop, lock screen and wallpaper themes that can be updated and expanded. Various free programs from the manufacturer can be downloaded through the Play Store.

Performance

This gadget copes with basic functions, but programs that require a powerful processor, it will not pull. This is a cheap Mediatek processor. Basic applications run smoothly, although the speed is not impressive. If 32 GB of memory is not enough, then you can additionally install a flash drive up to 128 gigabytes.

Funtouch OS 4.0 serves as the screen shell. This system is similar to the iPhone. All applications are sorted on the desktop as there is no corresponding menu. This shell is not very convenient and it is almost impossible to change it. A swipe from the bottom brings up notifications. It is terribly inconvenient when you swipe across the bottom of the screen and accidentally click on it.

There is also a special game mode, which will automatically turn off calls, close notifications and windows. Three virtual navigation buttons help control the system. There is also a free store for installing programs from the manufacturer (the idea is copied from the iPhone).

The 3DMark program was tested and it showed the following indicators:

Description of device operation

3 gigabytes of RAM is enough for productive work. And the medium-segment processor Mediatek Helio P22 will help you to efficiently operate the gadget. The processors of this company are installed on almost all Meizu phones. The browser can open about 10 tabs simultaneously without braking.Also, the menu itself and large applications run smoothly.

With the GameBench program, you can measure the degree of stress on your smartphone while playing. This app collects all load statistics of any big game played offline. Perhaps Vivo saves the battery life in this way in the high load mode, since during the charge the level of application load on the phone is not displayed.

The new video accelerator PowerVR GE8320 without braking makes it possible to play the game WoT: Blitz. The application works perfectly on the minimum settings. Problems arose with PUBG, where graphics were weak up to 12 frames per second.

The sound quality of the main speaker is also excellent. In addition, it surprises with its strong volume. Headphone sound quality is excellent.

Camera

The camera parameters are listed in the Specifications section. The camera of this device has the following shooting modes:

• panorama;
• portrait;
• HDR;
• "Beautiful face";
• professional.

There is also a document scanning function that converts them into PDF format so that they can be printed later. The quality of mobile photography is high enough for a 9K smartphone. In the daytime, great pictures are obtained. There are no problems when shooting outdoors and indoors. In the dark, the image does not lose quality. The readability of text documents is excellent.

An additional benefit is the Auto HDR feature, which is not often found in budget smartphones.

When comparing the camera to the LG Q6 and Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) phones, the picture quality is worse.

An example of a photo in HDR mode:

Without HDR mode:

The front camera of 5 megapixels is enough only to support video calls via Skype. For portrait shots, the "front camera" is not suitable (poor photo quality).

How does the front camera take pictures:

The camera also has the function of shooting video in Full HD quality (as for a budget smartphone, the quality is good).

Wireless communications

The developers have made 3 slots in the phone (2 for nano-SIM cards, and the third for a flash drive). By the way, in the already well-known and popular Xiaomi brand, there is no such distribution (there are only 2 slots designed either for two nano-SIMs, or for 1 nano-SIM and a flash drive). Internet speed is always high and stable. Wi-Fi support is available only at 2.4 GHz, which is very weak for modern gadgets.

GPS and GLONNASS systems start slowly (about 20 seconds).

Battery life

3260 milliampere hours - this is the capacity of the Vivo Y81 battery. This is enough for 4-6 hours of active phone use (playing games and using the Internet). That is, a charged battery is enough for a whole working day. To conserve battery power, you can turn on the power saving mode and reduce the brightness.

For example, while playing World of Tanks Blitz, the battery is discharged by about 20 percent per hour. It is also recorded that up to 9 hours you can watch videos without recharging.

Pros and cons of Vivo Y81

• Bluetooth 5.0;
• large amount of device memory;
• Bezel-less display: bright and modern;
• good battery life;
• no event display indicator;
• high power gaming processor;
• Face Recognition function;
• many additional features.

• no fingerprint scanner;
• no NFC;
• there is no oleophobic coating on the display;
• the screen glares in the sun, creating a lack of visibility;
• the phone is wide, so it is not convenient to operate with one hand (for example, it does not fit at all for a woman's hand);
• the camera is inferior to Samsung and LG for the same price of the phone;
• plastic case.

Vivo Y81 is a bright smartphone with good specifications for a small price. The lack of a fingerprint scanner and the plastic case are the biggest drawbacks of this model. On the other hand, we are pleased with a fairly productive processor for this price, sufficient memory, and an additional slot for a flash card.