Review Summary
Expert Rating
The Vivo V40e is the latest and most affordable smartphone in the V40 series. Priced below Rs 30,000, it is touted as the slimmest smartphone with a 5,500mAh battery. Moreover, Vivo claims the V40e continues the V-series legacy with its cameras and design. But how accurate are these claims, and how well does the phone perform with the mid-range MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC? Let’s explore these aspects in this Vivo V40e review.
Table of Contents
Verdict
The Vivo V40e is a good buy for its performance and battery life. The handset also boasts a sleek, durable design paired with a vibrant AMOLED display that provides ample brightness for outdoor use. The viewing experience is further elevated by its stereo speakers, adding to the handset’s overall appeal.
Design and display
The Vivo V40e design is reminiscent of the iQOO Z9s smartphone, launched earlier this year. The handset flaunts a sleek design with an interesting camera module, which comes in a pill shape with two oval sections. The upper section is black, raised, and houses dual cameras, while the lower section is flushed, contains the Aura ring light, and matches the colour profile of the phone. We received the Vivo V40e in a mint green colour, which has a smooth marble-like finish and silver-hue wave-like pattern to further accentuate the Vivo V40e design. Having said that, the phone boasts a glossy finish that attracts smudges and fingerprints.
| Thickness | Weight | IP rating | |
| Vivo V40e | 7.4mm | 183 grams | IP64 |
| Motorola Edge 50 | 7.79mm | 180 grams | IP68 |
| Nothing Phone (2a) Plus | 8.5mm | 190 grams | IP54 |
| OnePlus Nord 4 | 8mm | 199.5 grams | IP65 |
Moving on, the Vivo V40e measures 7.4mm in thickness, which is impressive given its beefy 5,500mAh battery. The handset is also relatively lightweight at 183 grams, making it comfortable to hold for prolonged usage. The phone features physical buttons for volume and power on the right spine, while the USB Type-C charging port and the sim-ejector tray are at the bottom edge. Moreover, the handset boasts stereo speaker output for an immersive listening experience.
The Vivo V40e sports a 6.77-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and peak brightness reaching up to 4,500 nits, ensuring excellent visibility even in direct sunlight. Its wide viewing angles and razor-thin bezels contribute to an immersive viewing experience. The 120Hz refresh rate also delivers seamless performance across the user interface and compatible apps, offering smooth and responsive navigation. There were hardly any accidental touches around the curved edges of the screen.
| Display size | Peak brightness | |
| Vivo V40e | 6.77-inch AMOLED | 4,500 nits |
| Motorola Edge 50 | 6.67-inch pOLED | 1,900 nits |
| Nothing Phone (2a) Plus | 6.7-inch AMOLED | 1,300 nits |
| OnePlus Nord 4 | 6.74-inch AMOLED | 2,150 nits |
Cameras
The Vivo V40e features a 50MP front-facing camera that delivers superior selfies compared to rivals like the Motorola Edge 50, Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, and OnePlus Nord 4. However, its dual rear camera setup, consisting of a 50MP primary sensor and an 8MP ultrawide lens, might fall short of expectations. The standalone performance of the device is solid, with fast focus, quick capture speeds, and good detail, while producing warm-toned colours. Nevertheless, the Motorola Edge 50 outshines the Vivo with its more versatile camera system, which captures images with greater detail and dynamic range. Although Motorola’s colours tend to be oversaturated, the result is often vibrant, social-media-ready photos.
The OnePlus Nord 4 also excels in capturing daylight and ultrawide images, offering superior detail and pleasing colours. Moreover, the Vivo V40e’s portrait mode, its standout feature, isn’t that impressive. Our in-depth review of the Vivo V40e cameras revealed that the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, OnePlus Nord 4, and Motorola Edge 50 all performed better in edge detection and facial details. However, it’s worth mentioning that the Vivo smartphone delivers more accurate skin tones. The phone even features a Smart Aura light to capture portraits with superior details in low light.
Performance and software
The Vivo V40e is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC, which has been quite popular in mid-range devices of late. As observed in the Vivo V40e performance review, the V40e handles graphically demanding games like BGMI, Call of Duty, and Real Racing 3 effortlessly, despite its modest synthetic benchmark scores. Impressively, it delivers better thermal management and more consistent FPS (frames per second) than the OnePlus Nord 4, which ranks higher in AnTuTu and Geekbench benchmarks within this segment.
During regular usage, the device exhibited no noticeable lag, with app launches and multitasking occurring smoothly. The Vivo V40e also proves reliable for more demanding tasks, achieving a solid 62.6 percent score in the Burnout CPU Throttle test. The phone comes with 8GB of RAM and a couple of storage options: 128GB and 256GB. The storage is not user-expandable, so calculate your storage needs properly before buying the device. The 256GB storage variant is Rs 2,000 more expensive than the base variant.
The Vivo V40e comes with Android 14-based FunTouch OS right out of the box. The user experience is consistent with other Vivo devices, featuring a large number of pre-installed apps — 52 in total, including eight third-party apps. These third-party apps are quite popular, with millions of downloads, and can be easily removed after setup. Additionally, Vivo has introduced two new AI-powered features: Eraser and Photo Enhancement. The Photo Enhancement feature, which requires an internet connection, smooths out image details and reduces graininess to enhance overall quality, while the AI Eraser tool removes unwanted objects, much like Google’s Magic Eraser.
| Pre-installed apps | Updates | |
| Vivo V40e | 52 | 3 years major + 4 years security |
| Motorola Edge 50 | 42 | 2 years major + 3 years security |
| Nothing Phone (2a) Plus | 26 | 3 years major + 4 years security |
| OnePlus Nord 4 | 48 | 4 years major + 6 years security |
The smartphone also offers customisation options and proprietary apps such as V-Appstore (Vivo’s own app store), iManager (cleanup utility and security scanner), and Jovi Home (an AI assistant that learns from your usage habits to recommend actions and more). As for the Vivo V40e software update policy, it is promised to receive at least three years of major OS upgrades and four years of security patches.
Battery and charging speeds
The Vivo V40e packs a substantial 5,500mAh battery, which is optimised to last at least an entire day involving some heavy usage such as gaming. This is not reflected on its PCMark battery test where similarly priced OnePlus Nord 4 outclasses it with roughly an hour of more screen time. However, its real-world usage is much more refined. Its total battery consumption after 30 minutes of YouTube video streaming and 90 minutes of gaming was just 15 percent, which is not only better than the OnePlus Nord 4 but also trumps the Motorola Edge 50 and Nothing Phone (2a) Plus.
The Vivo V40e’s 80W fast charging is also among the best. In our lab test, the handset recharged from 20 to 100 percent in about 42 minutes with the fast charging enabled. For detailed analysis, check out our detailed Vivo V40e battery review.
Final verdict
The Vivo V40e can be yours starting at Rs 28,999. The handset offers excellent value for the price in terms of performance, battery life, and design. However, its endurance in the synthetic benchmark apps and charging speeds is subpar as compared to the OnePlus Nord 4 (review). Moreover, the Motorola Edge 50 (review) outshines the V40e when it comes to cameras.
The Vivo V40e strikes a commendable balance in performance, excelling in everyday tasks and gaming without overheating. Its selfie camera impresses with detailed shots in daylight and natural skin tones, further enhancing its appeal. The device also boasts superior battery life compared to its competitors, and its AMOLED display delivers vibrant and crisp colours. If these features resonate with your needs, the Vivo V40e stands out as a worthy contender in its category.
Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10
Reasons to buy
- The handset boasts a sleek, durable design.
- The 6.77-inch AMOLED display offers punchy and vibrant colours.
- The handset offers balanced performance for most day-to-day activities including gaming.
- The battery is optimised to offer long-lasting backup.
Reasons not to buy
- The primary and ultrawide lens image quality could have been better.
- The glossy finish on the back panel is prone to fingerprints and smudges.
