Vivo Z3i smartphone - advantages and disadvantages

At the end of September 2018, the Chinese manufacturer BBK, which owns the VIVO brand, presented its new device - the Vivo Z3i smartphone. This manufacturer never tires of endowing their devices with new technologies. Since 2012, all of her popular models have had some innovation.

The Vivo brand is developing rapidly and today it ranks fifth in the ranking of world manufacturers of high-quality and reliable smartphones.

The company has entered the category of "the best smartphone manufacturers in the world", carrying out its sales in only nine markets in Asia. The popularity of the models of this company has long been known there, but Vivo entered the Russian market quite recently, officially sponsoring the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

What characteristics and functionality she has endowed her new brainchild Vivo Z3i, is described in this article.

Equipment

In a compact box, as is now expected in all modern smartphones, the owner of the novelty is greeted not by the device itself, but by the insert, which comes with:

• smartphone (size - 156 * 75.6 * 7.8 mm, weight - 164 g);
• protective transparent silicone case;
• adaptive charger (2 A);
• power cable (micro USB 2.0);
• a clip to open the slot;
• documentation;
• warranty card.

Appearance

In terms of the visual perception of the screen, Vivo Z3i resembles some of the popular models of this manufacturer, for example, Vivo X23 or Vivo V11. It also lacks a large top bezel, and instead has only a small teardrop-shaped eyelet for the selfie camera on the top of the display. The dimensions of the device are 156 * 75.6 * 7.8 mm, weight is 164 g. Such dimensions allow convenient use of the smartphone without using the other hand - you can reach any point of the screen with your thumb.

But special attention is drawn to the color scheme of the model with beautiful names, which is presented in two versions Aurora blue, Millenium Pink - blue and pearl. At the same time, the smartphone does not have a uniform tone, but the shades shimmer, forming a gradient coloring, which is now in trend.

The materials of which the body is composed: plastic and glass. Although most of the popular models today use metal elements in design. But even saving on materials, the case remains quite reliable. Back panel - 5th generation gorilla glass. It is distinguished by increased shock resistance and special resistance to drops, but individual reviews claim that the glass does not meet the declared parameters for protection from scratches.

The device is equipped with micro USB, USB OTG, 3.5mm headphone jack. Above, the speaker, light and proximity sensors are located imperceptibly.

The overall impression of the case is easy to use. The design is original, effective and stylish.

Specifications

Screen

The Vivo Z3i has a capacitive multi-touch touch LCD display with an IPS matrix protected by a 2.5D curved glass. Such a matrix, of course, in comparison with its competitor, AMOLED, has certain disadvantages, for example, not deep black and, accordingly, not sharp contrast and a longer response time, but it has no less advantages: maximum color accuracy, fixed power consumption and durability. All the advantages of an IPS-matrix and a screen resolution of 1080 * 2280 with a pixel density of 400 ppi allow you to create a sufficiently high-quality and clear image. Even in bright light or in the sun, image sharpness is not lost.

The 6.3-inch diagonal, which occupies 84.0% of the body, the 19: 9 aspect ratio and the presence of thin bezels increase the working space of the screen, and the expanded view and high-quality picture from any angle create an immersive video effect and is perfect for active games.

For Vivo Z3i phones, the screen is unlocked using an optical sensor - a fingerprint scan located on the back of the case, which unmistakably identifies the user.

operating system

The Vivo Z3i smartphone comes with OS Android 8.1 Oreo - a productive, ergonomic and bright system with the original Oreo cookies, which are marked with system notifications. An orderly settings menu, good gesture control contribute to convenient and comfortable use.

The user interface is Funtouch OS 4.5, a specially designed add-on for Vivo smartphones. It is difficult to call it original, it is very similar to IOS - Apple's operating system.

Not spared this device and voice artificial intelligence from Vivo - Jovi, which helps in choosing a composition, improving the face when shooting selfies and recognizing scenes in the camera. And for gambling addicts it's just a gift. Jovi prevents distractions from games by blocking incoming calls and pop-ups. You can even charge him with the very process of games when the smartphone is turned off.

The platform supports Dual SIM mode, which allows a smartphone to work with two micro SD and a memory card at once, without sacrificing anything. Also, the device is endowed with useful sensors that expand the functionality of the smartphone:

• fingerprint scanner;
• light and proximity sensors;
• accelerometer;
• gyroscope;
• compass.

Performance

Responsible for the performance of the smartphone is the 8-core Helio P60 processor from MediaTek, created using the 12nm FinFET process technology. This powerful processor is nimble, yet energy efficient, thanks to an architecture consisting of 4-core Cortex-A53 and 4-core Cortex-A73, clocked at 2.0 GHz.

The chipset received a graphics video accelerator Mali-G72 MP3, operating at 800 MHz, providing high quality video and heavy games. But it is not a secret for anyone that the graphics of Mali are slightly weaker than Adreno. GPU still lags behind Helio P60.

LTE Cat. 7/13, which develops download speeds up to 300 Mbps and upload speeds up to 150 Mbps, provides the opportunity to enjoy high-speed surfing, online games, watch Full HD + quality videos and, of course, record videos in 4K resolution.

The main competitor of Helio P60 is Snapdragon 660, but it is impossible to say for sure which processor wins. Benchmarks show a slight advantage of the Snapdragon 660 in terms of CPU and user-friendly interface, but the main advantage of the Helio P60 is its support for artificial intelligence. In addition, 12-nm FinFETs are endowed with budget and at the same time energy-efficient devices, which, of course, is a big plus.

The amount of RAM is 6 GB, the main memory is 128 GB, the latter can still be expanded by inserting a micro SD card up to 256 GB into the dedicated slot. This functionality gives the device high speeds under any conditions and allows game lovers to enjoy modern and popular toys.

Autonomy

The autonomy of the Vivo Z3i smartphone is supported by a non-removable lithium-polymer battery with a capacity of 3315 mAh. Active work (accessing the Internet, making calls, watching videos) for the whole day provides the phone with a fast charge of 2 A and battery parameters.

Camera

The selection criteria when thinking about which smartphone model is better to buy depends not only on design and performance, but also the characteristics of the device's camera are of no less interest.

Main camera

The Vivo Z3i has a decent set of cameras.

The rear camera is a dual module, consisting of 16 MP with an f / 2.0 aperture and a 2-megapixel, f / 2.4. Phase detection autofocus (PDAF) of the first 16-megapixel module enables fast focusing on fast moving subjects. And the depth sensor of the second 2-megapixel module is responsible for creating a three-dimensional picture, which, by analyzing the size and shape of surrounding objects, creates a realistic depth and sharpness. The only drawback of PDAF was considered to be poor focusing in the dark, but high-sensitivity sensors plus artificial intelligence allow you to take pictures with high quality both in full light and at night.

With such parameters and a resolution of 4608 * 3456 pixels, the rear camera produces the sharpest and most high-quality frames. An example photo will be presented below.

Video is shot with a maximum resolution of 3840 * 2160 pixels at 30 frames / s and complies with the professional 4K standard.

Additional features that expand the functionality of the camera:

• continuous and panoramic shooting;
• digital zoom;
• optical image stabilization;
• geotagging;
• HDR shooting;
• face recognition;
• ISO settings;
• exposure compensation;
• self-timer;
• touch focus.

The camera is endowed with a wide range of effects that allow you to correct images, creating blur, lightening and darkening. Artificial intelligence plays an important role in high-quality shooting, which recognizes objects and scenes and sets the settings for greater efficiency.

Front-camera

Front camera - 25-megapixel with aperture f / 2.0, resolution 5760 * 4812 pixels produces high-quality HDR shooting. Photos, as in the main camera, are clear, contrasting. The face recognition function is perfect for taking selfies.

With a resolution of 1920 * 1080 pixels at 30fps, the video quality is also high.

Sound

In terms of sound, Vivo has never upset its users. For true connoisseurs of high-quality sound, Vivo Z3i smartphones come with WAV support. The device has an FM receiver. For listening to the radio and other music in surround sound, an Audio Jack is provided. Sound effects in videos and games are at a high level.

Active noise cancellation and a dedicated microphone allow you to have conversations with your interlocutor even in noisy environments.

Wireless interface

Vivo Z3i supports all 2G, 3G and most 4G bands with a maximum speed of 300Mbps. For wireless interaction between devices at short distances, Bluetooth 4.2 with the A2DP profile and 2-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, WiFi Hotspot are provided. Positioning and satellite navigation is carried out using GPS, A-GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS. Browser - HTML 5.

Outcome

• original design;
• separate sim tray;
• large frameless screen;
• good color rendering;
• high-quality assembly;
• a good set of cameras;
• large amount of memory;
• the presence of artificial intelligence;
• smart processor;
• Battery capacity.

• already outdated micro USB power cable. USB Type C is the most relevant in modern times;
• the Helio P60 processor is still inferior in its functionality to the Snapdragon 660, it also applies to graphics.

Vivo Z3i was announced in China and is already available for pre-order at an above average price of 23,000 rubles. Sales start at the end of October. While it will be available only in the Chinese markets, it will appear in Europe a little later, so it will be possible to purchase it first on Aliexpress.

How much the smartphone will cost in the future and where it will be profitable to buy it is still difficult to say, but most likely the average price will not differ too much.

In general terms, Vivo Z3i resembles Vivo V11i with minor differences in the form of increased memory capacity, original colors and slightly other characteristics of the cameras. Otherwise, there are no significant differences. Competitive models with the Helio P60 chip - Oppo F7 Youth, Oppo A3 come with a lower price tag, but their RAM is not 6 GB, but 4 GB, so everyone chooses which company is the best smartphone.

Vivo's devices are not considered the fastest, but, as a rule, they are endowed with an original design, excellent photographic capabilities and some kind of innovation. But it is unlikely that the buyer will be able to buy inexpensive devices from this company - the devices of this brand are quite expensive and the Vivo Z3i smartphone is also not distinguished by a low price.