Review: vivo Y31

vivo introduces the latest addition to their Y Series — the Y31. It sports a 48MP camera, a Snapdragon 6 Series Qualcomm CPU, and a 5000mAh battery. Let’s find out how this entry-level smartphone performs.

Build and design

The vivo Y31 comes in two color options namely, Racing Black and Ocean Blue which we have on hand. It has a blue to white fade which reminds me of the OPPO Reno4 Galactic Blue. It’s quite long for a phone with a length of 163.86mm and it’s extremely thin with 8.3mm width. It pretty light to hold as well weighing only 188g.

• 

• 

• 

On its right is the volume rocker and power button which also functions as a fingerprint scanner which can quickly unlock the phone. Up front it features a 6.58-inch 1080P Halo Fullview Display. The screen also filters harmful blue light and has a P3 Color Gamut for a stunning presentation.

Camera

The vivo Y31’s AI triple camera contains a 24-27mm lens with various capabilities: Bokeh Camera, Super Macro Camera (capable of focusing up to 4cm), and Super Night Camera for capturing low-light scenes clearly. Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) technology helps out the camera’s picture and video-taking, especially when you are mobile (running, cycling, or in a vehicle for instance) or taking landscape shots. The images above demonstrate the latter feature, showing the clarity and depth capability of the vivo Y31’s camera.

• 

• 

• 

Under the hood

The vivo Y31 sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 663 with 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and runs on Funtouch OS 11 based on the new Android 11. In addition, the phone’s three-card slot design can support up to 1TB of memory expansion. We ran it through GeekBench and 3D Mark and got these scores:

• 

• 

• 

• 

We experienced quite a number of frame drops playing graphic-intensive Asphalt 9. It can perform well doing basic tasks like surfing the web, socializing, and binge-watching. The vivo Y31’s 18W Fast Charge allows you to recharge the phone to 70% in just over an hour. The battery itself when fully charged can provide you almost 18 hours of online HD movie streaming, or 10 hours of gaming.

Multi-Turbo 4.0 optimizes your gaming experience by maximizing core scenes to reduce lag and stuttering when playing games. This is especially useful when there are a lot of apps running in the background.

Verdict

For the price of P12,999 the Y31 packs quite the punch for a ₱12,999 phone, and features: a 48MP rear camera, a Snapdragon 6 Series Qualcomm CPU, and a 5,000mAh battery capable of 18W fast charging enough to last you a day with daily tasks. You actually just get what you pay for.