Vivo V29 Pro review: reliable camera-focused smartphone

The Vivo V29 Pro is official barely six months after the Vivo V27 Pro (review) launch in India. The new Vivo smartphone looks and feels familiar to its predecessor, but mind you, there are some modifications in the camera department and charging speeds. The camera improvements can also strategically attract new customers, given that the wedding and festive season is around the corner.

Apart from these upgrades, the display, design, and other aspects remain more or less the same. Does it make it worth considering, given that the price (Rs 39,999 for the 8GB and 256GB storage and Rs 42,999 for the 12GB RAM variant) remains more or less similar to its predecessor? Let’s find out.

Verdict

The Vivo V29 Pro offers a nice design, long battery backup, impressive charging speeds, and good camera performance. And despite using the same MediaTek chipset as before, the new Vivo phone performs relatively better than its predecessor, and a few tweaks here and there definitely give the new phone an edge. On the other hand, the software experience is a bit cluttered, and the phone seems like an incremental upgrade over the Vivo V27 Pro.

Design and display

As I mentioned, the Vivo V29 Pro 5G looks similar to its predecessor. The phone retains 7.4mm thickness, which is not bad at all, provided that flagship devices by many OEMs continue to get marginally thicker. The weight is again capped at roughly 188 grams.

Despite a pleasantly slim build, using the Vivo V29 Pro wasn’t an issue during my week-long review. The metal frame also adds some degrees of durability and premiumness. I like the placement of the volume and power buttons on the sides, which seems perfect for a phone with a tall display. The glass back can be tricky to use and slippery if you’re carrying it in your pocket. Fortunately, Vivo provides a clear silicone case in the box to mitigate that risk.

If you’re not a fan of using the case, the finish on the back will not disappoint. Vivo has introduced an India-specific Himalayan Blue colour option for the Vivo V29 Pro, which uses “3D magnetic and nano-scale magnetic particles” technology to create a floating mountain texture on the back. As I used this blue variant, I feel this colour option can easily go with daily and formal attire.

The display size also remains unchanged compared to the last-gen model. The Vivo V29 Pro features a 6.78-inch Full HD+ (2,800 x 1,260) pixels 3D curved AMOLED display with a centrally aligned hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera. Some display specifications remain uniform across this segment, therefore, we are getting more or less standard features, including a 100 percent colour gamut on DCI P3-scale, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, and 1,300nits peak brightness.

Overall, Vivo V29 Pro’s display performance remains sharp and vivid. I suppose the viewing experience could’ve been better had there been a stereo speaker setup. But the tall display won’t disappoint in terms of brightness or colours, at least when you’re reading or scrolling through Instagram.

There’s also an in-display fingerprint scanner, which is fairly fast and responsive. At least in my testing, the curved display on the Vivo V29 Pro appeared nicely optimised to prevent accidental touches.

Cameras

The Vivo V29 Pro retains the rectangular module on the back for the three sensors. The back includes:

-50MP OIS-enabled primary camera
-12-megapixel portrait camera with 2x zoom
-8MP angle ultra-wide camera

The Smart Aura Light setup also carries some improvements. It has become “smarter” with brighter LEDs and more tones. The Vivo V29 Pro allows you to adjust the Smart Aura light’s intensity from warm red to cool white with simple gestures in the camera app. You will find the option under the flash adjustment settings in the Camera app. That being said, Vivo must improve the Camera app UI as navigating some options can be a bit overwhelming.

Once you get the hang of it, the Vivo V29 Pro offers loads of options to play with. Photos in daylight with HDR are naturally boosted and sharp – in a good way. With the 50MP primary camera, you will naturally get a good mix of contrast, shadows, and saturation, which many customers will like. Of course, if you prefer more natural colours, there are options to turn off HDR and AI-powered colour detection. Similarly, portrait shots with the primary camera (1x zoom) appear equally sharper with improved edge detection. The consistency stays across the 12MP portrait camera as well.

Performance and software

Both Vivo V29 Pro and Vivo V27 Pro draw power from MediaTek’s 4nm process-based Dimensity 8200 SoC. The smartphone’s base variant now comes configured with 256GB of storage. There are two RAM configurations available – 8GB and 12GB.

Notably, the Vivo V29 Pro (12GB RAM variant) performed relatively better in our benchmarks (screenshots below) compared to the Vivo V27 Pro. But it still throttled (CPU Throttle app with 50 threads and 30 minutes), similar to its predecessor.

In my daily usage, the Vivo V29 Pro offered reliable performance with some degree of heating. However, that did not hamper running multiple apps simultaneously or playing games like BGMI or my favourite 99Balls (a simple strategy game that involves a bit of maths). In my test, I also did not face any abrupt app crashes. Some Meta apps like WhatsApp and Instagram perform relatively better on iOS, but that’s an Android limitation and not Vivo’s.

What you may not like is the number of pre-installed apps on the Vivo V29 Pro. Some of them are useful, but most aren’t. You can delete some of these apps, but the native Vivo apps can be tricky to remove.

Vivo has promised two years of Android OS updates (ships with Android 13-based FuntouchOS 13) and three years of security updates with the Vivo V29 Pro. It won’t be too much to ask for additional years of OS updates as brands like Google, OnePlus, Nothing, and Samsung are doing in the same segment.

I also tested the Vivo V29 on the Airtel 5G Plus network in Gurugram, Haryana, and the phone offered good internet speeds and largely uninterrupted signal. Of course, the strength will vary depending on the location.

Battery

The Vivo V29 Pro houses a 4,600mAh battery, the same as the Vivo V27 Pro. However, the current iteration comes with a bump in the charging speed (80W instead of 66W). With bundled charger, the phone attained 50 percent charge in barely 20 minutes, while 100 percent charge can take nearly 40 minutes. Vivo has provided the option to optimise charging for those concerned about the effects of ultra-fast charging on the battery over a prolonged period of usage.

In the PC Mark battery test, the Vivo V29 Pro lasted over 15 hours (flight mode enabled and 50 percent brightness), almost the same as the Vivo V27 Pro.

In real-life usage, I got up to seven hours of backup with the highest settings enabled (AoD, 120Hz refresh rate, mild gaming, and high brightness) on the Vivo V29 Pro. Naturally, you can expect a relatively better backup per charge with moderate settings.

Final verdict

The Vivo V29 Pro is a good recommendation overall. The software experience does get mixed reviews though… I prefer FuntouchOS 13’s light design, but the barrage of pre-installed apps is a no-go at this price. Similarly, relatively fewer years of Android update promise may irk some, with Samsung, Nothing, and Google offering at least three years of major OS updates. For instance, the Google Pixel 7a and Nothing Phone (2) seem better options if you want to experience a clean Android OS. That said, the V29 Pro works well for those looking for a camera-focused smartphone (at least for still photography) in the Rs 40K segment. The Vivo V29 Pro proudly boosts colours and some scenes to let users be carefree about editing and directly uploading images on their favourite social media apps. Beyond the cameras, you can expect lag-free performance and good battery life with fast charging speed on the Vivo V29 Pro.

Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10

Reasons to buy Vivo V29 Pro

• The design and display are easily the highlight of the Vivo V29 Pro. The back also has a nice smooth finish.
• The back camera system, especially for portraits is good. Aura ring light makes all the difference.
• The Vivo V29 Pro can attain a 50 percent charge from 0 in just 20 minutes.
• For daily tasks, the Vivo V29 Pro is decently reliable. Apps open smoothly.

Reasons not to buy Vivo V29 Pro

• Despite a relatively high price tag, the Vivo V29 Pro lacks stereo speakers.
• The Vivo V29 Pro’s user experience can also be slightly cluttered due to loads of pre-installed apps.
• The 50MP selfie camera is average at best.