Following the debut of the Vivo V30 and Vivo V30 Pro (review), Vivo introduced its 2024 ‘e’ series addition, the Vivo V30e. The phone stands out for its camera capabilities and stylish design, both of which are key features shared with its main competitor, the Realme 12 Pro (review). Priced starting at ₹27,999, the Vivo V30e is a compelling option in the sub-₹30,000 price segment, on paper, at least. It has a 50 MP front and primary rear camera, a gargantuan 5,500 mAh battery, a 6.78-inch AMOLED display, and fast 44 W charging.
The Vivo V30e doesn’t aim to be a power monster; it is powered by a modest Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor. However, it puts heavy emphasis on design and camera, hoping to gain a leg up over its competitors such as the Realme 12 Pro and OPPO Reno11 (review). Is it successful in doing so? Let’s find out in my detailed Vivo V30e review.
The Vivo V30e has two striking colour options – Velvet Red and Silk Blue. Both versions boast a dual-tone rear panel, featuring a blend of matte and glossy finishes. The Red variant flaunts a glass back, while the Blue variant opts for a plastic one. I got my hands on the former for review.
At first glance, the device’s aesthetics captivate; it’s almost like a bejewelled piece of art. The matte finish covering most of the back panel is a practical choice since it does a great job of resisting fingerprints and smudges.
One of the standout design features is the circular camera module, adorned with a golden ring, resembling the elegance of a high-end watch dial. Within this module reside the dual cameras alongside Vivo’s unique Aura Flash, which simulates the soft illumination of a ring light.
Beyond its visual appeal, the Vivo V30e offers a comfortable grip, thanks to its curved edges. At just 7.7 mm thick and lightweight at 188 g, it feels pleasantly manageable in hand. However, the tactile feedback of the buttons leaves something to be desired, with a somewhat mushy feel.
Additionally, the absence of official Gorilla Glass protection on both the front and back is disappointing. Vivo could be using a Schott Xensation protective glass but they haven’t confirmed this. Another notable drawback is the absence of stereo speakers, a feature many would expect at this price point. The phone does come with an IP64 dust and water resistance rating, which is a nice perk.
The Vivo V30e’s display is nothing to write home about, but it does the job. The phone houses a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution, 120 Hz Adaptive refresh rate and support for 1 billion colours. There’s no HDR or Dolby Atmos certification though. This is quite disappointing since the Realme 12 Pro and OPPO Reno11 have superior HDR-complaint displays at a similar price. Thankfully, the phone has Widevine L1 support, so you can stream HD content on OTT platforms.
Now, content looks good on streaming platforms – the display looks crisp and colours are surprisingly natural. The lack of stereo speakers means that it doesn’t provide the most immersive content viewing experience, but it should be satisfactory for most users. The display is also quite bright. I got a reading of 1,081 nits on Auto-Brightness Mode under direct sunlight, which is excellent for outdoor screen legibility.
As I mentioned earlier, the Vivo V30e is not a power monster. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset which we’ve earlier seen on phones such as the Realme 12 Pro and Honor X9B. It is a very modest chipset that doesn’t have the raw power of say the Dimensity 7200 or the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, but for casual users, it provides a pretty smooth day-to-day experience.
If you’re using the V30e for basic tasks such as browsing social media, texting, making calls, and using the web, the phone is going to do just fine. There’s 8 GB of RAM as well, so multitasking is not an issue here. However, power users and gamers will be underwhelmed since this phone doesn’t have the raw power to carry out demanding tasks without a hitch. So if you’re gaming at Medium graphics, expect a fair number of frame drops and some lag too.
Let’s talk about benchmarks now. In CPU benchmarks, the Vivo V30e matches up to the Realme 12 Pro and Samsung Galaxy M55 but gets pulverised by the likes of the POCO X6 Pro. Starting with AnTuTu v10, it scores a modest 570,416 points and in PCMark Work, it scores only 10,851 points. In GeekBench’s Single Core test, the phone gets a score of 938, while in the Multi Core test, it peaks at 2,789 points. The phone doesn’t do much better in GPU benchmarks. It falls behind the Samsung Galaxy M55 in every single test.
So, naturally, this is not a phone for power users and gamers. It doesn’t have the chops to be a strong performer, but to be fair, it never claims to have that.
As for the OS, the phone comes with Funtouch OS 14 which is based on Android 14. Vivo has promised three years of software updates and four years of security updates, which is good for the price. The phone has a few preinstalled apps such as Snapchat, Amazon, PhonePe, Block Blast!, and Netflix but I got no ads in my week-long testing period. The OS is also very customisable and easy to use, making it a great option for beginners and enthusiasts alike.
The Vivo V series has been synonymous with exceptional camera capabilities. The Vivo V30e keeps that association well and alive. The phone houses a dual rear camera setup which includes a 50 MP Sony IMX882 primary camera with OIS and Auto-Focus and an 8 MP ultrawide shooter. The Aura Light flash has support for dual colour temperature allowing you to click warm or cool portraits in low-light conditions. You also get a 50 MP selfie camera with Eye Auto Focus and an 82-degree FOV.
The primary camera on the Vivo V30e gave us good results in ideal lighting conditions. Photos come out looking detailed and vibrant with good colour science for the most part. However, the dynamic range could be improved as I noticed some instances where the details in the shadows were crushed and the highlights were overexposed. I also experienced some lens flare in certain instances.
The dynamic range issue is worse on the 8 MP ultrawide camera. There are areas of the picture that were completely overexposed as you can see in the photos below.
Portrait photos have good colour and edge detection but the facial textures do get smoothened out significantly. However, it’s not a bad look. Some people may like how flattering the portrait photos make you look as the phone’s camera wipes out most of the blemishes on the face. In low-light, the Aura Light Flash can turn an underwhelming noisy portrait into something that is more than usable – it actually looks fantastic. You can see the difference below.
The 50 MP selfie camera is one of the best, if not the best, at this price range. The camera gets human skin tones spot on and the photos have plenty of detail and great dynamic range. Videos are capped at 4K at 30 fps on the rear and selfie cameras. Footage comes out looking decent in ideal lighting conditions but it does have some jitter when there’s plenty of movement.
In terms of competition, the Vivo V30e outmatches both the Realme 12 Pro and OPPO Reno11’s camera system because of superior portrait photography.
Vivo surprised me by packaging a large 5,500 mAh battery in the Vivo V30e’s slim 7.75 mm build. The large-capacity battery, coupled with the power-efficient Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset, ensures long-lasting battery life, which is only rivalled by a select few phones in this price segment. The Vivo V30e can last a day with ease, even if you are a heavy user who watches videos and plays games religiously. For light users, the Vivo V30e can even be a 2-day battery life phone.
In our 4K video loop test on VLC, the phone lasted a whopping 16 hours and 22 minutes, starting from 100 per cent charge. The phone lost only 4 per cent battery when watching Netflix for 30 minutes, which is excellent.
As for charging, the Vivo V30e comes with 44 W fast charging support that charges the phone from 0-100 per cent in 1 hour and 22 minutes, as per my tests. It is not the fastest charging on the block, but it does the job.
The Vivo V30e is a masterclass in design – it is meticulously designed to provide a premium look at a relatively affordable price. The battery life is also one of the best in the sub-₹30,000 price segment. The OnePlus Nord CE4 beats it in this regard but it is also a bulkier phone.
Not just that, the Vivo V30e performs admirably in many other areas. The primary and selfie cameras are pretty solid for the price, the display is bright enough to use even in direct sunlight, and Vivo has promised a solid three years of software updates. However, if you are a mobile gamer looking for a powerful phone under ₹30K, the POCO X6 Pro and OnePlus Nord CE4 are better options, without a doubt.
