Vivo V70 5G

Introduction

Vivo’s camera-centric, not quite flagship V line of devices has become a staple. It offers a solid and well-rounded experience, with a clear emphasis on camera performance, all inside a slick package that hits all of the basics, all without breaking the bank (usually).

Today, we are looking at the regular vivo V70. There is also a V70 Elite model available this year but only for certain markets. We are not quite sure how it relates to the previous Pro line, but regardless, the regular V70 is clearly a direct successor to the V60.

vivo V70 specs at a glance:

• Body: 157.5×74.3×7.4mm, 187g; Glass front, aluminum alloy frame, glass back or fiber-reinforced plastic back; IP68/IP69 dust tight and water-resistant (high-pressure water jets; immersible up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.59″ AMOLED, 1B colors, HDR10+, 120Hz, 1800 nits (HBM), 5000 nits (peak), 1260x2750px resolution, 19.64:9 aspect ratio, 459ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM7750-AB Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×2.8 GHz Cortex-720 & 4×2.4 GHz Cortex-720 & 3×1.8 GHz Cortex-520); Adreno 722.
• Memory: 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 4.1.
• OS/Software: Android 16, up to 4 major Android upgrades, OriginOS 6.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.9, 23mm, 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/2.7, 73mm, 1/1.95″, 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 15mm, 115-degree.
• Front camera: 50 MP, f/2.0, 21mm (wide), 1/2.76″, 0.64µm, AF.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS, OIS, HDR, LUT; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps.
• Battery: 6500mAh; 90W wired, PD, Reverse wired, Bypass charging.
• Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi; BT 5.4; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers.

It’s all about subtle changes, tuning and small refinements with the V series. Vivo almost never makes sweeping changes. So much so, in fact, that the chipset powering the phone rarely changes generation from generation. The V70 is a perfect illustration of this, carrying forward the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 from the vivo V60.

All that being said, the V70 is definitely not a carbon copy of last year’s model. In fact, design-wise, the V70 brings the biggest change in a while, and it now takes after the more expensive vivo X300 series.

Interestingly, compared to last year, the V70 has shrunk in all dimensions. The curvy display is also gone. Now there is a smaller 6.59-inch flat AMOLED with wide-rounded corners. The overall build quality has gotten an upgrade as well, and now the bill of materials includes an aluminum frame and either a glass or a fiber-reinforced plastic back side.

There are other arguably smaller upgrades peppered here and there as well, like a reimagined telephoto, now at 85mm and a 3.7x zoom factor, 4K@60fps video capture capabilities, a brighter selfie camera and an ultrasonic under-display fingerprint reader.

Unboxing

The vivo V70 ships in a thick, two-piece cardboard box. Unfortunately, there is a plastic cradle inside the box, which is not particularly eco-friendly.

The vivo V70 has a solid accessory package – at least the unit we received, which appears to be from Thailand. Our retail box came with a 90W charger and accompanying USB Type-A to Type-C cable. Make sure you keep track of both if you want the fastest charging speed possible.

Also in the box is a nice transparent TPU case, so you can start using your shiny new phone worry-free right away.

Design, build quality, handling

The vivo V70 has a new design this year. It is smaller and rounder on all sides. It clearly takes after the vivo X300 series.

Overall, it’s a welcome change and a nice refresh. The curvy display was starting to show its age design-wise, and a flat display with rounded frame corners is certainly more in tune with the current trends.

The color selection is truly wild this year. You get a whopping six color options, some of which have a glass back, while others have a fiber-reinforced plastic one. Not all markets get all of the color options, though.

The phone’s back side is unassuming. Nothing audacious or that eye-catching, to be frank. Just a mundane camera island. It is a fairly compact camera island given the hardware it contains, including the periscope telephoto, the signature customizable LED ring flash, called the Aura flash, and there was even enough room left over to fit a small ZEISS logo.

Our Alpine Grey model is a curious shade. Depending on the lighting, it appears a light brown color or a diluted rose shade. In reality, it has a light grey back panel and a slightly darker grey frame. All of the color options actually get a nicely color-matched middle frame.

That frame is one of the clear highlights of the V70’s design. It is now aluminum instead of plastic, as has been the case with V-series devices. It both looks and feels way more premium.

Speaking of premium, the bill of materials also includes Schott Xensation Core glass on the front. This is very much in keeping with vivo’s tradition of using Schott products.

The vivo V70 is excellently built with practically no flex to the chassis or hollowness. Just like its predecessor, it still has an IP68/IP69 ingress protection rating. This should allow for up to a 30-minute dip in up to 1.5 meters of fresh water.

The button layout is perfectly standard. You get a volume rocker and a power button on the right-hand side. Both nicely positioned height-wise and also very clicky and responsive. No complaints there. The left-hand frame is pretty empty. You only get some antenna lines, which are clearly visible all around the phone’s frame.

 
 
vivo V70

The top side of the frame is pretty empty. There are a few holes for things like the secondary noise-cancelling microphone and the IR blaster. There is no speaker grill inside the frame; instead, the earpiece/speaker is behind a slit between the screen and the frame.

The bottom side of the frame has the speaker grill in question along with the Type-C port, the main mic and the SIM tray, which takes two SIM cards. Again, nothing out of the ordinary.

The display bezels are pretty thin. There are no visible sensors above the display either. Everything is nicely hidden away underneath the display.

One of the upgrades this year is a new ultrasonic fingerprint reader in place of the old optical one. It is solid when it comes to speed and reliability, so no complaints there.