The vivo V40 Lite and its box.
The vivo V40 Lite carries the name of the vivo V40, a smartphone I previously reviewed for its Pro-level portraits and smooth gaming performance. But does the Lite version live up to its sibling’s standards in cameras and performance?
After several weeks of testing its camera, hardware, photography features, battery, connectivity, and more, here’s my comprehensive review of the vivo V40 Lite.
vivo V40 Lite unboxing
The vivo V40 Lite arrives in vivo’s signature gray box featuring the circular Aura Light graphics, the model name, and a 5G badge at the bottom.
Inside the box, you’ll find:
The vivo V40 Lite sports a sleek, boxy design with flat sides and 2.5D curved edges that ensure a comfortable grip. Its standout feature is the large Aura Light LED square with rounded corners below the dual-camera module, giving the phone a distinctive appearance.
The polished build feels premium but is prone to fingerprints and smudges. Measuring just 7.79mm thin and weighing 190g, the device is both slim and lightweight.
The power and volume buttons are conveniently placed on the right side, while the bottom houses the USB Type-C port and speaker grille.
The front features a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with an FHD+ resolution (394 ppi). With narrow bezels, a punch-hole selfie camera, and a peak brightness of 1800 nits, the screen is bright, sharp, and vibrant — even outdoors.
While the display supports a smooth 120Hz refresh rate for scrolling and gaming, it lacks HDR support for streaming apps like Netflix.
For audio, the vivo V40 Lite is equipped with dual loudspeakers. While the sound gets loud (up to 300% volume), it can become slightly tinny at higher levels.
Under the hood, the vivo V40 Lite 5G variant is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 processor paired with 8GB of RAM. A non-5G version with the Snapdragon 685 is also available, so double-check before purchasing.
Performance is good for everyday tasks like social media, browsing, and app usage. However, slight lags are noticeable when multitasking between apps.
In Geekbench 6, it scores:
For gaming, the device handles popular titles like Mobile Legends and Call of Duty Mobile at Ultra and Very High settings, respectively. However, occasional frame drops occur during intense action scenes.
It comes with Android 14 OS with Funtouch OS 14 software. There are several pre-installed apps and promotional notifications that I find annoying.
Thankfully, uninstalling these bloatwares and disabling notifications are easily accomplished.
vivo V40 Lite with Aura Light enabled
The vivo V40 Lite is equipped with a dual rear camera system composed of a 50 Megapixel main camera, 8 Megapixel ultra-wide camera, dual-LED flash, and Aura Light fill light.
It can capture good-looking pictures in both well-lit and low-light situations. Pictures look bright and sharp with decent colors. This is true for both the main camera and ultra-wide camera.
Here are some sample pictures:
Its Portrait Mode produces impressive portrait shots with pleasing faces, customizable beautification, and balanced lighting using its Aura Light feature. However, it doesn’t have zoom capability in this mode.
The vivo V40 Lite also has a 32 Megapixel selfie camera which captures detailed selfies in daylight and decent selfies in low-light situations.
It has its own Portrait mode which applies some beautification and uses the screen as fill light.
In terms of video recording, the device supports up to 1080p video only for both the front and rear cameras. The video quality looks good with mild video stabilization and sharp details.
This dual-SIM smartphone supports 5G connectivity for fast mobile internet. Signal reception is reliable for both mobile data and Wi-Fi.
While the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack might disappoint some users, the under-display fingerprint scanner works flawlessly for secure access.
A 5000mAh battery powers the device and can last more than a day on a single charge with my normal use. I’m usually left with around 30% battery life at night.
When playing games continuously, it needs to be recharged after 6 to 7 hours.
Recharging the device from 0% to 100% battery capacity takes around 1 hour and 15 minutes using the bundled 80W fast charger.
The vivo V40 Lite shines in areas like design, camera quality, battery life, and fast charging. Its AMOLED display and solid connectivity features further enhance its appeal.
However, gamers seeking a high-performance device may find its gaming capabilities insufficient, particularly for resource-heavy games like Genshin Impact. Additionally, it falls short of the vivo V40 in terms of raw power.
For most users looking for a stylish smartphone with excellent cameras and dependable everyday performance, the vivo V40 Lite is a worthy option.
Available in vivo stores nationwide and online platforms like Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop, and the vivo e-store, the 5G variant has a starting price of ₱15,999.
