Vivo recently rolled out a new generation of its mid-range V-series and we are having a close look at the vivo V50 ahead of our review. Some tests are already done and we didn’t quite get the results that we thought we would.
First, let’s look at the phone and how it compares with its predecessor, the V40. Both are powered by the same Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset, both have essentially the same screen size at 6.77”. However, the V50 screen has a lower resolution of 1,080 x 2,392px vs. 1,260 x 2,800px on the previous model. You’d think that would be an advantage when it comes to battery life.
vivo V50
The upgraded Si/C battery should have had an even bigger impact as it now has 6,000mAh capacity, up from 5,500mAh. And yet the vivo V50 posted slightly worse results.
vivo v50 battery life test
Vivo promises that a full battery is enough to last 16 hours of watching YouTube or 9 hours of gaming. The V50 delivered on the gaming front with almost exactly 9 hours and over-delivered in the video test with almost 18 hours. But the V40 lasted 10 hours of gaming and 20 hours of YouTube. So, the vivo V50 lives up to its promises, but it falls short of its predecessor.
This is perplexing. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 was also used in the vivo V30 and that one only has a 5,000mAh battery – 1,000mAh less than the V50 – and yet it beat it in the video test and was only around half an hour short in the other tests. The V30 had the higher-resolution 1,260 x 2,800px display like the V40, by the way.
Let’s switch brands – the Motorola Edge 50 Pro also uses the 7 Gen 3 and pairs it with a 6.7” 1,220 x 2,712px display and a relatively small 4,500mAh battery. Predictably, the battery life of the Moto falls well short of the V50. However, the difference is proportional to the battery capacities (the Moto battery has 75% of the capacity of the V50 battery), so the efficiency is the same, despite the slightly higher resolution.
vivo v50 charging test
Our charging test for the vivo V50 is also complete and the results are good but not impressive. As mentioned, the V50 has a larger 6,000mAh battery and brings a slight upgrade to the charge system with a 90W rating, up from 80W on its predecessors.
The vivo V50 ships with a charger
The V50 is quick off the ground and gets to 40% in just 15 minutes. That is a solid result, but it is on par with what 80W systems can do with that battery capacity. At the 30 minute mark, the phone is at 71% – again, solid but 80W phones match it.
If you’re charging to 100%, the V50 actually gets there quicker than some of the 80W models. By a couple of minutes compared to the OnePlus 13R, but by a solid 9 minutes compared to the Realme 14 Pro+ – the Realme kept pace with the vivo at the 15 minute and 30 minute times but fell behind in the final stretch. So, the upgrade from 80W to 90W is minor, but it could be impactful for those that like to leave home with their battery at 100%.
The vivo V-series has a pretty quick turnaround – the V30 came out in March 2024, the V40 in July 2024 and the V50 is already here. On paper, there are upgrades with each generation, but in practice some of the promised improvements have failed to materialize. We have more tests in the works, stay tuned for the detailed report.
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