vivo V50 Lite 5G Review

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The vivo V50 Lite has arrived, and as the name suggests, it’s the more affordable sibling of the vanilla vivo V50 5G.

In terms of pricing, the standard V50 5G starts at PHP 26,999, while the V50 Lite 5G is priced at just PHP 16,999. With that significant price cut, some compromises are to be expected, but are they reasonable?

So, the big question now is: does the vivo V50 Lite deliver the kind of value we should expect at this price point? Let’s find out in our full review.

Design and Construction

Starting with its looks, the vivo V50 Lite sure has a familiar vibe. At the rear, it features an oval-shaped camera island housing its dual camera setup.

It almost looked like last year’s iteration, the V40 Lite, but with the design change, the V50 Lite is a lot more pleasing to the eyes.

Our unit is in the Titanium Gold colorway sporting a metallic matte finish on the back, complemented by a high-glossy flat frame. Personally, not a huge fan of the high-gloss material, as it tends to be a smudge magnet.

However, despite the brand calling both the frame and the back “metallic,” the phone feels plasticky in hand. That said, I do want to give a nod to the phone’s overall minimalist look, plus, the V50 Lite does have a durable build worth noting.

The phone boasts an IP65 rating for dust and water resistance, so an exposure to sudden rain, for example, won’t be a problem. It should be able to withstand casual drops, too, thanks to SGS Five-Star drop resistance certification.

For I/Os, there’s nothing on the left; while the power button and the volume rocker are both found on the right; there’re mic and a speaker grill up top; and at the bottom, sees a USB-C port, the dual SIM slot, and the second loudspeakers.

Display, Multimedia, and Biometrics

Flip it over to front, the V50 Lite sports a 6.77-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, and peaks at 1800 nits of brightness. Visuals are sharp with vivid colors and deep blacks as expected of an AMOLED panel.

The bezels are a bit thick to my liking, especially at the chin, but it’s not as obtrusive, at least. Setting that aside, expect a good visual experience. The phone gets Widevine L1 certification and can easily stream 4K videos at 2160p on YouTube.

And like I mentioned earlier, it has dual stereo speakers that output decent sound stage with clear highs and mids, although the bass lacks a bit of that punch.

It can get quite loud, and you can even turn up the volume up to 400%, but there’s no need to set the volume that high up all the time, at least for me. The volume at 100% is enough to fill a small room, and any higher will only make the audio a bit distorted.

For biometrics, the phone deploys an under-display fingerprint sensor alongside face unlock. The former unlocks the phone fast enough most of the time, though some other times, it would take a second to unlock. So, there’s that.

Camera

Now, let’s talk about cameras. As you’d already know, the regular vivo V50 5G has ZEISS tuning for its camera system. That is not the case for its Lite version though, so I’m managing my expectations here.

The V50 Lite features dual rear cameras led by a 50-megapixel main shooter along with an 8-megapixel ultrawide.

Image captures are mostly good in well-lit environments. The detail and dynamic range are alright, though color reproduction is a bit inconsistent at times. The phone’s image processing adds more saturation most of the time, while zooming in or tapping the 2x zoom makes the colors less contrasty.

Interestingly, portrait shots captured in low-light scenarios look good… so long there’re party lights or at least a studio light. The skin texture looks nice, and the Aura Light has been useful as it helps bring out the person’s facial features.

As for video, the phone is capped at 1080p at 60 fps. Video quality is mediocre at best, offering limited dynamic range, less sharp detail, and no stabilization.

There’s this ultra-steady mode, which implies electronic image stabilization but in exchange for a cropped image, as expected.

Performance and Benchmarks

Moving on to performance, the vivo V50 Lite 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset.

Honestly, that’s a bit underwhelming for a lower mid-range device, and it would’ve made sense if the phone’s pricing is below Php12,000 (it’s not). I just wish that the V50 Lite could’ve used a more powerful chip for its price.

Taking a look at our benchmark results, the phone’s performance is passable.

Despite the numbers, day-to-day navigation is smooth enough in real world use cases. As for gaming, low-demanding titles like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang or Honor of Kings will run just fine. However, playing graphic-intensive titles like Wuthering Waves isn’t as smooth even at low graphics settings.

OS, UI, and Apps

On the software side, the V50 Lite 5G runs on the latest Funtouch OS 15 based on Android 15.

This is my very first time reviewing a vivo phone in a long time. And in terms of UI design, Funtouch OS 15 should be looking nicely for most people. Personally? It is probably my least favorite among all Android skins for two reasons.

There are some outdated UI elements, especially the control or notification panel, and the animations are not as snappy.

Where I have to give credit though is the software’s wider range of customizations. From changing the icon design down to small details like charging or unlocking animation, it’s nice to get that freedom to make the V50 Lite more personal.

There’s some bloatware to be seen here, but these can be easily uninstalled, so no big deal. If you’re looking for AI features, the phone does support Google’s Circle to Search and AI Erase inside the Albums app.

As for update policy, vivo is promising three major OS uprgades and four years of security patches.

Connectivity and Battery Life

Battery-wise, the V50 Lite packs a humongous 6,500mAh unit paired with 90W of fast charging.

That bump in capacity definitely makes the phone lasts longer. In PCMark, the phone lasted a solid 20 hours and 37 minutes of runtime.

And despite the large battery capacity, what I really liked about it is that the V50 Lite is still relatively slim, measuring only 7.79 mm. That’s the wonder of silicon-carbon battery tech methinks.

Charging it won’t take as much, reaching 50% in 30 minutes and full charge to about an hour. In terms of connectivity, the phone gets all the essentials: 5G, NFC, Wi-Fi, and GPS.

Pricing and Verdict

Now, let’s talk about the price. The vivo V50 Lite is priced at PHP 16,999 for the 8GB+256GB trim and PHP 19,999 for the 12GB+512GB config.

With that, the V50 Lite is a bit of a mixed bag. It nails the basics: great battery life, a nice screen, and a clean design that looks better than it feels. All this at a significantly lower price than its standard version.

That lower price comes with its share of trade-offs. Yes, you get a nice AMOLED screen, a durable build, and that massive 6500mAh battery with fast charging to boot. But these are counterbalanced by a rather middling chipset, average camera performance, and a UI experience that could use a little more refinement.

Wrapping this up, the vivo V50 Lite excels where it counts—battery life, display, and durability—making it a decent choice for everyday users who want a reliable phone that can stand the test of time.

What we liked:

• Durable build, IP65 rating
• Large 6500mAh battery, solid battery life
• Minimalist design
• Decent cameras

What we didn’t like:

• Price-to-performance ratio isn’t that great
• UI needs improvement

vivo V50 Lite 5G specs:
6.77-inch FHD+ AMOLED display
120Hz refresh rate
1800 nits peak brightness
MediaTek Dimensity 6300
8GB, 12GB RAM
256GB, 512GB storage
Dual rear cameras:
– 50MP main Sony IMX882
– 8MP secondary
32MP selfie shooter (hole punch notch)
Dual nano-SIM
5G, 4G LTE
Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth 5.4
GPS
USB-C
NFC
Under-display fingerprint sensor
IP65 dust and water resistance
Dual stereo speakers
Funtouch OS 15, Android 15
6500mAh Si/C battery
90W charging (wired)
7.79 mm thick
Purple, Black, Titanium Gold (colorways)