If you’re looking for a selfie-focused phone on a budget, the Vivo V5s might just provide what you need. Sharing a similar size and front shooter with its more powerful sibling, the V5 Plus, the V5s prides itself on having a lower price point. But does the drop in specs change much in terms of actual performance?
The contents of the V5s don’t differ much from its V5 siblings, as it has:
- Vivo V5s Unit (1 pc)
- Clear Jelly Protective Case (1 pc)
- SIM card holder opening pin (1 pc)
- Vivo V5s Quick Start Guide (1 pc)
- Warranty Card (1 pc)
- micro-USB charging cable (1 pc)
- Vivo Charger (1 pc)
- Earphones (1 pair)
Build and Construction
This 5.5-inch smartphone looks exactly like its V5 siblings, and is almost indistinguishable from them. In fact, looking at it side-by-side with the V5 Plus, it’s as if they’re almost the same phone. The similarity in style, in my opinion, is a positive. The uniform design of the V5 family ensures that interested buyers know exactly what the V5 brand phones look like. In addition, the similar design shows that the although the V5s costs less, Vivo still strove to give it a premium feel.
Basically, the V5s has the same metallic finish on the back, the same white bezels on the front, and curved edges. Even the button layout remains the same, with volume and lock buttons on the right. The left, of course, has the SIM card holder, the top has nothing on it, and the bottom holds the earphone jack, speaker grill, and micro-USB port. We have the main camera in the same upper left portion as other V5 variants, and the front has the selfie shooter flanked by its sensors. Appropriately enough, Vivo did not skimp on both cameras, keeping them at a high quality (20 MP rear, and 13 MP front). Adding to this, the bezels continue to be thin on the sides, with same-size front and bottom bezels. Of particular note is the bottom bezel, which features the same physical home button and capacitive side buttons.
OS, UI, and Apps
Disappointingly, Vivo sticks to an Android 6.0 OS, even though as of this writing, the Android 7.0 Nougat is already out. However, we should temper our expectations and consider the fact that the Marshmallow still seems viable as a functioning OS. And besides, the Funtouch 3.0 skin over it makes the entire UI look good. Like other Vivo phones with Funtouch, the minimalist, muted design of the interface works well. Icons are mostly limited to two colors, and the font takes a simple yet appealing sans serif form.
The Vivo V5s is powered by a 1.5GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6750 processor and comes with 4GB RAM. Additionally, it packs 64GB of internal storage, expandable to 256GB via microSD card. Apps load fast, and changing between apps isn’t a hassle. Speaking of the apps, I again must express appreciation for Vivo, because they did not pack the phone with bloatware. At most, you could maybe call WPS Office an unneeded app, but that’s it.
As far as the cameras are concerned, the Vivo V5s promises great images from a 20-megapixel main camera a 13-megapixel front shooter. The question now, is if the V5s can match or maybe even exceed its V5 siblings in the realm of photography! Be sure to check out our review for the Vivo V5s, coming soon.
Vivo V5s Specs
| OS | Funtouch OS 3.0 (Android 6.0 Marshmallow) |
| Processor | 1.5GHz MediaTek MT6750 Octa core CPU |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM |
| Display | 5.5-inches |
| Storage | Expandable 64GB onboard storage (256 GB, microSD) |
| Camera | 13-megapixel rear camera +20-megapixel front camera |
| SIM | Dual-SIM |
| Battery | 3,000 mAh |
| Others | Fast Charging Battery, Hi-Fi Chip, Fingerprint Sensor |
| Price | PHP 14,990 |
More photos of the Vivo V5s:
