The smartphone market, over the years, has become quite an interesting business to talk about. We have seen the demand for the entry level smartphones and of course, the intent of moving to the mid-range segment for better camera, performance, design and a better display. Seeing these points, brands have smartly entered the segment and refresh it every single year.
Brands like Vivo have already stood out in the segment for offering better value for money options. And now, the brand has revived its 7-year old S series to cater the audience and introduced the Vivo S2. The smartphone sits between Vivo’s Y and V lineups and focuses on your everyday usage. And to check how refined the device is, I have been using the Vivo S2 as my daily driver. From the design first approach to everyday features, here is my take on it.
I have been a fan of curved edged phones all along and for that, full points to Vivo S2. Right after you pick up the phone, it feels sleek and premium. The phone measures 8.1mm at its thickest point and weighs 199 grams.
Vivo sent us the Silk White colour variant, and it looks elegant. The back panel uses a plastic composite sheet and has a wave-like pattern, which gives the phone a unique look when light falls on it at different angles. The finish also gives the phone a slightly pearlescent appearance, which makes it look more expensive than the material would suggest.
The rear camera module is another noticeable part of the design. It is a horizontal pill-shaped module that sits on the top of the back panel. It houses two cameras along with an Aura Light, giving the rear panel a clean look.
It also comes with IP68 and IP69 ratings for dust and water resistance, and military-grade durability. This adds useful protection for everyday situations such as accidental splashes, drops, rain and exposure to water.
Vivo has gone with a large 6.83-inch curved AMOLED panel, which gives the phone a more premium look from the front. It has a 1.5K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. With 449ppi pixel density, text and images look sharp, whether you are reading an article, scrolling through social media or watching videos.
The AMOLED panel offers a pleasing visual experience, with vibrant colours that don’t look overly saturated and deep blacks that give the siaplay plenty of contrast. I spent quite a bit of time watching videos and browsing photos on the phone, and the large curved screen makes the overall experience enjoyable.
The 120Hz refresh rate makes scrolling and animations feel smooth. Apps, menus and social media feeds all felt responsive. The display also supports HDR10+ playback, which makes compatible videos look better, especially in scenes with bright highlights and deep shadows.
Vivo claims that the display can reach a local peak brightness of 3,000 nits. In my experience, the screen is bright enough for outdoor use, and I did not have any trouble reading text under direct sunlight.
So, the Vivo S2 has a display that is easy to like. It is large, sharp, bright and smooth, while the curved edges add to the premium feel.
The Vivo S2 is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7360 Turbo chipset, which is built on a 4nm process. It is paired with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. On the software side, the phone runs OriginOS 6 based on Android 16 out of the box. On paper, this is a capable mid-range setup.
To test the phone’s raw performance, I ran the benchmarks. The Vivo S2 scored 9,50,357 on AnTuTu. In Geekbench 6, it scored 975 points in the single-core test and 2,973 points in the multi-core test. For some context, the Vivo S2 performs noticeably better than similarly priced phones such as the Realme 16 and Oppo F33 Pro in tested benchmarks. The Realme 16 scored 5,70,064 on AnTuTu, with Geekbench single-core and multi-core scores of 752 and 2,027, respectively. The Oppo F33 Pro scored 6,47,777 on AnTuTu, while its Geekbench scores stood at 771 and 1,980. So, at least on paper, the Vivo S2 has a clear advantage in raw performance.
But as always, benchmark numbers do not tell the entire story. In everyday use, the Vivo S2 feels smooth and responsive. Apps open quickly, scrolling through social media is fluid, and switching between multiple apps does not cause any major issues.
For gaming, we tested the phone with BGMI, playing both a Classic match and a Team Deathmatch at Smooth graphics with the frame rate set to Extreme. The game reached a maximum of 91 FPS, while the average FPS was 80.6. The phone does get warm during longer gaming sessions. Well, this is not a phone aimed at competitive gamers who want the highest possible frame rates, but if you play a few matches of BGMI after work or college, the Vivo S2 handles it well. For casual gaming, the performance is more than adequate.
So, the Vivo S2 offers reliable performance for everyday use. The Dimensity 7360 Turbo is more than capable for browsing, streaming, multitasking and casual gaming. For most users, the performance should be good enough, as long as you are not buying the phone primarily for heavy gaming. And that is fair, considering Vivo itself is not positioning the S2 as a performance-focused smartphone.
The Vivo S2 has a simple camera setup. There is a dual rear camera setup, which includes a 50-megapixel primary camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. For selfies and video calls, there is a 32-megapixel front-facing camera. The biggest thing missing here is an ultrawide camera, which is something I would have liked to see on a phone in this price range.
In daylight, the primary camera can capture satisfactory photos. Colours are generally vibrant, and the camera does a decent job of retaining details in well-lit scenes. However, the results can sometimes look a little soft. Colour reproduction can also be inconsistent in some scenes.
There is no dedicated telephoto lens, so the phone relies on digital zoom for closer shots. At lower zoom levels, the results are usable, but once you go beyond around 2x, details start to become softer and the images lose sharpness.
Portrait mode is decent. The camera does a good job of separating the subject from the background in most situations, although the results can sometimes look a little soft.
In low light, Night Mode does help with exposure and brings more light into the frame. Images look brighter and retain a fair amount of detail when there is some ambient light around. However, as the lighting gets darker, noise becomes more visible, especially in shadow areas, while finer details start to look softer.
Now, let’s talk about the front camera. Selfies have good skin tones and decent detail. However, Vivo’s processing can make faces look slightly smoother than they actually are. The overall output is still good enough for social media and video calls, but users who prefer a more natural look may find the processing a little aggressive.
The Vivo S2 packs a massive 7,050 mAh battery, which is one of its biggest strengths. Despite the large capacity, Vivo has managed to keep the phone comfortable to hold, and it does not feel heavy in everyday use.
In our PCMark battery test, the Vivo S2 lasted 24 hours and 22 minutes, which is an excellent result. This also translated well to everyday use. During my testing, streaming content for 30 minutes used just 4 per cent of the battery. Using Google Maps for one hour consumed just 5 per cent of the battery, which further shows how well the phone manages its battery.
So, if you mainly use the phone for browsing, social media, watching videos and other regular tasks, getting through a full day should not be a problem. In fact, lighter users can get more than a day of use from a single charge.
The phone supports 44W wired fast charging, which is not the fastest charging solution in this segment. Using the bundled 44W adapter, the Vivo S2 took a little over an hour to go from 0 to 100 per cent. Considering the size of the battery, this charging time is fair but not the best.
The Vivo S2 is a phone that gets the basics right. It has a premium-looking design, a sharp and vibrant display, reliable everyday performance and excellent battery life. However, there are some compromises. I expected a better camera given the segment it is positioned in.
At Rs 39,999, the Vivo S2 makes sense for someone looking for a well-rounded smartphone with a strong focus on design, display and battery life. It is not trying to be the most powerful camera phone or the best gaming device in the segment. Instead, it offers a balanced experience, and for everyday users, that balance works quite well.