The vivo V29e 5G is a more affordable version of the vivo V29 5G with the same Aura Light 2.0 technology for low-light portrait photography.
It also has a high-quality 120Hz AMOLED display, 50MP selfie camera, and 44W fast-charging speed. I tested its camera capabilities, screen quality, performance, battery life, and overall experience. This is my full review of the vivo V29e 5G!
What’s in the box of the vivo V29e 5G?
vivo V29e 5G unboxing
The gray box of the vivo V29e 5G has the same circular embellishment to signify the Aura Light 2.0 feature.
Upon opening the box, you’ll immediately see the smartphone itself with a pre-applied screen protector. Underneath it are the FREE transparent phone case and quick start guide.
The USB type-C cable and 44W fast charger are found in their respective compartments. You’ll also find the SIM ejector tool under the cable.
Design and Color Options
Back design
Ports and SIM card tray at the bottom
I have the Ice Creek Blue color variant of the vivo V29e 5G and it looks nice. The light blue back panel has a splash of iridescent design including the camera island. It also comes in Forest Black color which looks dark green or camo-esque.
The phone has a boxy design with the buttons and ports placed in normal locations. Meanwhile, the sides are nicely chamfered for comfort when holding the phone. It even has some heft to it signifying a sturdy build without becoming too heavy at 190 grams only.
It has the usual smartphone design with a standout feature (the built-in mini ring light at the back) which we’ll talk about later in the camera section.
Display Quality
Watching Netflix shows on the vivo V29e 5G.
Home screen
Screen quality outdoors
On the front is a 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with narrow bezels and a small punch-hole for the selfie camera. It has a slightly shiny ring around it which is a bit distracting though.
The screen itself has good quality with enough brightness for outdoor use, vivid colors, and great contrast for watching videos. It has up to 120Hz of screen refresh rate so animations look extra smooth.
It supports full HD video streaming for both YouTube and Netflix. Watching videos on the vivo V29e 5G’s display is a treat.
There’s also an under-display fingerprint scanner for securely unlocking the phone. It’s not as fast as I’d like it to be but it works okay. You just have to press the fingerprint logo firmly.
vivo V29e 5G Cameras with Sample Pictures
Camera app
The vivo V29e 5G has a 64MP + 8MP dual rear camera system with autofocus, OIS, LED flash, and Aura Light 2.0 smart mini ring light.
It can capture good-looking pictures in daylight and well-lit situations. Pictures look clear and sharp with plenty of details, bright colors, and decent dynamic range.
The ultra-wide camera makes a welcome comeback. It produces good-looking pictures too with minimal difference compared to the main camera in well-lit scenes.
📷 vivo V29e 5G
📷 vivo V29e 5G
📷 vivo V29e 5G
📷 vivo V29e 5G
📷 vivo V29e 5G | Ultrawide
At night and low-light scenes, the pictures still look good but with less details or sharpness. Its auto night mode improves the picture quality but what really stands out is the Aura Light 2.0 technology.
It’s a built-in mini ring light with smart color temperature adjustment that results in more pleasing portraits. Here are some sample pictures:
📷 vivo V29e 5G | Portrait Mode with Aura Light 2.0
📷 vivo V29e 5G
📷 vivo V29e 5G | 2x zoom
📷 vivo V29e 5G | Night mode
Meanwhile, selfies are handled by a 50 Megapixel front camera. Selfies look good in well-lit environments with sharp details and balanced color saturation.
At night, selfies can still look decent but you’ll have to use the screen flash function in poor lighting scenes.
Remember to adjust the amount of beautification too because the default settings seem too much.
📷 vivo V29e 5G | Selfie camera
The vivo V29e 5G can also capture up to 1080p videos using either the rear or front cameras. Video quality is good with decent stabilization for the main camera at the back.
Selfie videos can be shot at 0.8x or ultra-wide configuration to fit more people in the scene.
Performance, Software and Storage
Browsing websites with the vivo V29e 5G.
The vivo V29e is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 processor with 12GB of physical RAM. This is more than enough processing power for basic tasks like scrolling across social media, browsing websites, or streaming videos.
I experienced occasional lags but the general experience is good especially with the high screen refresh rate.
This is running on Android 13 OS with the Funtouch OS 13 interface. There are some redundant and third-party apps but these can be uninstalled if not used.
It also comes with plenty of storage at 256GB for installing games and storing pictures or videos. There’s no microSD card slot but that might not be a big issue.
Gaming Experience
Call of Duty graphics
I played popular games on the vivo V29e 5G including Mobile Legends and Call of Duty Mobile.
Mobile Legends runs smoothly at high graphics quality. Enabling the e-sports mode and boost performance in the gaming sidebar further improves the experience.
For Call of Duty Mobile, the maximum graphics quality is Very High and I had a lot of fun playing in Multiplayer mode. Battle Royale mode should be played in High graphics quality though to minimize frame drops.
Connectivity and Sound Quality
SIM card tray
The vivo V29e 5G is a dual SIM smartphone with 5G connectivity. Hence, it can provide high speed mobile internet connectivity in areas with 5G signals.
Signal reception is good with reliable 4G fallback in rural areas. Its Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functions also work well.
Sadly, it doesn’t have stereo dual speakers. There’s only a single bottom firing speaker which can go up to 150% in volume with unremarkable sound quality.
Battery Life and Charging Speed
A 4,800mAh battery powers the vivo V29e 5G and it can last slightly more than a day with my normal use. I’m usually left with around 30% battery capacity at night.
This is slightly above average among smartphone’s I’ve tested. Playing games continuously will drain the battery in around 6-7 hours.
Thankfully, it has 44W vivo FlashCharge technology and can be recharged from 0% to 100% battery capacity in around 1 hour and 15 minutes only.
Conclusion
The vivo V29e 5G and its box.
In conclusion, the vivo V29e 5G is a photography-focused smartphone with a useful built-in smart mini ring light at the back. It also has a good display, enough performance, more versatile cameras than its predecessor, fast 5G connectivity, and long battery life.
It would have been better if vivo added stereo dual speakers. Nevertheless, I still recommend the vivo V29e 5G for those who like pleasing portrait shots at night.
The vivo V29e 5G is now available in the Philippines with a Christmas Special Offer price of ₱17,999.00.
vivo V29e 5G Review Summary
The vivo V29e 5G has good performance, capable cameras even at night thanks to Aura Light 2.
- 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED Display (1080 x 2400 Pixels), 395 ppi
- Android 13 Operating System
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 (6 nm) Chipset
- 12GB of RAM
- 64 Megapixel Rear Camera with Dual-tone LED Flash + Circular Multi-tone LED Flash
- 50 Megapixel Front Camera
- Dual SIM
- 256GB Internal Storage
- 5G, 4G LTE, 3G HSPA+, 2G EDGE & GPRS Networks
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac (dual band)
- Bluetooth 5.2
- USB Type-C
- USB Type-C
- Fingerprint Sensor
- 4800mAh Battery
- 44W Fast Charging (vivo FlashCharge)
- ₱19,999.00 Official Price in the Philippines
- ₱17,999.00 - Price drop on October 15, 2023
