Design of Vivo U20
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When we got our hands on the Vivo U10, we found it to be heavy and now the company’s new Vivo U20 is not much different. It weighs 193 grams and measures 8.9 millimeters thick. The display size has grown, the Vivo U20 has a 6.53-inch IPS LCD panel.
There are thin bezels on the sides, Vivo claims that it comes with a 90.3 percent screen-to-body ratio. We found the display to be quite bright outdoors and its viewing angles are also good. Remember that the Vivo U10 had an HD+ display, while the Vivo U20 has a full-HD+ panel.
The back panel of Vivo U20 is flat but the edges are curved, due to which the phone can be held easily in the hand. This Vivo brand phone has a plastic back panel and frame. The back panel comes with a glossy finish, fingerprints are easily visible on it.
We found that the power and volume buttons are placed slightly higher. Instead of USB Type-C, the company has used a micro-USB port in Vivo U20. There is also a 3.5 mm headphone jack and loudspeaker along with the micro-USB port. There are three rear cameras in the back of the phone, please note that the camera module is slightly raised.
Vivo U20 specifications and software
The Vivo U20 also packs some impressive hardware as the smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor. The same chipset was also used to power the Redmi Note 7 Pro (Review) launched earlier this year. The Vivo U20 did not face any issues while gaming or multitasking.
With this processor, Vivo U20 has 4 GB and 6 GB RAM with 64 GB storage. It is worth noting that Vivo has provided UFS 2.1 storage. For your information, let us tell you that it is possible to increase the storage up to 256 GB with the help of microSD card.
Talking about Vivo U20 Price in India, the price of Vivo U20’s 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage variant is Rs 10,990. Its 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage variant is priced at Rs 11,990. Vivo U20 has two color variants, Racing Black and Blaze Blue.
We have the Racing Black variant of the Vivo U20 for review. If you like gradient finish then you may like the Blaze Blue colour variant. For connectivity, the Vivo U20 includes dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, four satellite navigation systems and FM radio.
Vivo U20 has a 5,000 mAh battery, 18 W dual-engine fast charger will be available in the retail box. Vivo U20 smartphone runs on Funtouch OS 9.2 based on Android Pie. This smartphone of Vivo brand has many bloatware.
The phone has apps like EasyShare, GameCenter, Gaana, Amazon, Hello, Dailyhunt, Opera, Facebook, WhatsApp, WPS Office. Let us tell you that some of these apps send spammy notifications. For quick toggles in FuntouchOS, you have to swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
Let us tell you that Vivo U20 users can also change the UI theme, animation for charging and face recognition if they want. Vivo’s smart assistant Jovi will be available built-in in the smartphone. Along with Google Digital Wellbeing, parental control feature will also be available in Vivo U20.
The smartphone also comes with some smart features like raise-to-wake and opening apps by drawing alphabets on the lock screen. Vivo has also given a motorbike mode in the phone, which rejects all your incoming calls and automatically sends an SMS to the caller if you are in motion. The Vivo U20 also has an Ultra Game Mode which comes with features like off-screen autoplay, which means it lets you run games even when the display is off.
Vivo U20 performance and battery life
Vivo U20 managed to grab our attention with its aggressive pricing and powerful processor. The Snapdragon 675 processor was first launched with the Redmi Note 7 Pro and at that time it was the most powerful processor in the price segment under Rs 15,000. Now this chipset has also been given in Vivo U20.
Scrolling through the UI on the Vivo U20 didn’t slow down or stutter while multitasking between apps. We had the 6GB RAM variant of the Vivo U20 for review, so we didn’t face any issues while multitasking and switching between apps was smooth.
The fingerprint sensor at the back of Vivo U20 and the face unlock feature in the smartphone unlock the phone quickly. The speaker of this Vivo brand smartphone is also not very loud. We tried playing PUBG Mobile on Vivo U20, by default the game was set to high preset while the graphics were set to HD and the frame rate was set to high.
While playing the game on these settings, we did not face any problem and the game ran smoothly. After 20 minutes of gaming, Vivo U20 does get a little warm. During this time, we found that the battery consumption was 5 percent. The battery life of Vivo U20 is quite good and this smartphone easily lasts for a day and a half on a single charge.
Usage included an active WhatsApp account, playing PUBG Mobile, taking some camera samples, using GPS for navigation, and at the end of the day, the Vivo U20 still had 45 percent battery left. In our HD video loop test, the Vivo U20 smartphone lasted for 14 hours and 59 minutes.
It does not take much time to charge the 5,000 mAh battery in the phone. The fast charger provided with the phone charges the phone up to 33 percent in half an hour and up to 67 percent in one hour. On the other hand, Vivo U20 takes about two hours to fully charge.
Vivo U20 Camera
Talking about the camera setup, there are three rear cameras in the back of the phone. A 16-megapixel primary camera sensor with Sony IMX499 sensor, along with an 8-megapixel super wide-angle sensor and a 2-megapixel macro camera sensor have been provided.
There is a 16-megapixel front camera for selfies and video calling. The camera app is similar to what we have seen in other Vivo smartphones recently. It includes modes like Night, Portrait, Pano, Live Photo, Pro, AR Stickers and Time-Lapse.
There is a quick toggle for HDR and various filters can be applied before taking a shot. The camera app also has separate buttons for the wide-angle and super macro cameras. The Vivo U20 locks focus quickly and provides accurate exposure. HDR is automatically enabled when shooting in bright areas.
Photos taken with Vivo U20 were good but the details were not the best. Some grains are visible when you zoom in on the photo. The wide-angle camera gives a wide field of view, but distortion was visible at the edges and the sensor could not capture details.
Close-up shots taken with the Vivo U20 turned out to be good, the details were captured well in the pictures taken with the smartphone. Not only this, natural depth of field was also seen in the subject and background. Edge detection was good in portrait shots and the Vivo U20 blurs the background correctly but in this mode you do not get the option to set the level of blur.
The pictures taken with the macro camera were good but their resolution is 2 megapixels. The camera performance is not good in low light. The pictures taken with the Vivo U20 lacked details and grains were also visible. The pictures came out brighter when we switched to night mode.
The quality of selfie shots taken indoors was below average, with grain visible on zooming in. Video recording is 4K for the primary camera and 1080p for the selfie camera. We found that video stabilisation was competent when shooting during the day but the focusing speed could have been better.
Our verdict
Vivo created a stir by launching Vivo U10 in the price segment below Rs 10,000 and now the company has launched Vivo U20 in India. This new smartphone has been launched with powerful hardware and big battery at an aggressive price.
This phone from the Vivo brand is not a perfect all-rounder. If you are thinking of buying Vivo U20 for gaming then it can be a good option. You can also consider Realme 5s and Redmi Note 8.
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