Flagship Camera Without the Flagship Price

The mid-range Android smartphone market has been pretty competitive for the past few years, especially with the releases of phones like the Pixel 7a, Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro+, and OnePlus 12R. However, vivo has stood out in this segment. Last year, the vivo V29 Pro impressed me with its excellent camera at an affordable price.

The company is now back with the vivo V30 Pro, offering a larger battery all while maintaining a sleek design and introducing the premium ZEISS camera partnership to the mid-range segment. I’ve been using the V30 Pro for the past few weeks, and I believe this is the best mid-range camera smartphone of 2024. Here’s why!

Price and Availability

The vivo V30 Pro was announced on February 28, 2024, and has been released in some Asian markets like India, Malaysia, and Thailand since then. It starts at a price of Rs. 41,999 (~$500) and goes up to Rs. 46,999 (~$560) for the highest end model with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage. However, this smartphone is not yet available in Europe or North America. Nonetheless, we will update this page in case vivo decides to bring it to those regions later on.

Design and Build

Starting with the design, the vivo V30 Pro keeps a very similar look to its predecessor, the V29 Pro. Curved front and back panels make a return with rear camera modules tucked into the top left corner with the new Aura ring light system just below it. The new ZEISS branding can also be seen in the camera module.

The vivo V30 Pro comes in four colors: Bloom White, Waving Aqua, Lush Green, and Noble Black. We tested the Black variant, which features a very similar finish to the Space Black variant of the V29 Pro. Bloom White features a 3D-etched pattern resembling flower petals. Both Lush Green and Waving Aqua have unique finishes as well.

When comparing the V30 Pro to the V29 Pro, you’ll notice it’s just a tad wider and taller. But, surprisingly, the weight remains the same (188 grams) despite the fact that the new vivo V30 Pro features a considerably larger battery. The curve on the edges is also less pronounced this time, which makes it easier to hold, and the display is easier to see as well.

In terms of durability, the V30 Pro comes with IP54 dust and water resistance — something that the V29 Pro lacked. However, vivo still isn’t using Corning Gorilla glass for front glass protection. Instead, they’ve chosen Schott Alpha glass to protect the screen. However, similar to its predecessor, the vivo V30 is a bit slippery, but the good news is that vivo provides a transparent TPU case in the box.

Display

Taking a look at the front, you get a big 6.78-inch AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1260 x 280-pixel resolution. This display supports HDR10+ playback and has 2800 nits peak brightness. And yes, it supports proper HDR10 playback on popular apps like Netflix, YouTube, and Prime Video, thanks to correct Widevine DRM certification. There’s a 50MP punch-hole camera at the center top and an under-display fingerprint sensor at the bottom.

The edges of the screen are curved again, although less noticeably this time. However, this curvature can cause some slight color shifting at the edges, which might be noticeable. Despite this, the overall display experience is enjoyable, boasting impressive sharpness, deep blacks, excellent contrast, and vibrant colors.

Camera

And now, onto the star of the show — the cameras. vivo’s V-series smartphones have always been heavily focused on cameras — in fact, the previous generation V29 won our “Best Affordable Camera Phone” — and now, with the V30 Pro, vivo has brought the ZEISS partnership, which is usually reserved for flagship X-series phones, to the affordable lineup. The result? This partnership takes the already impressive camera setup to the next level.

Going over the hardware, the vivo V30 Pro features a triple-50MP camera setup with a 50MP primary lens, a 50MP ultra-wide lens, and a 50MP telephoto lens that enables 4x optical zoom. And how does it perform? Exceptionally well. In daylight lighting conditions, the camera captures some of the most beautiful photos with vibrant colors, sharp details, and excellent dynamic range. There’s a consistency across the shots as well, which I appreciate.

Both the telephoto and ultra-wide lenses deliver quality similar to that of the main camera. There is, however, a slight color shift that you can see. But, overall, you’ll be impressed with the photos from the other two lenses as well. But now, let’s shift our focus to the portrait mode — which is truly outstanding.

The vivo V30 Pro churns out some of the best-looking portrait shots of all the smartphones in this segment. The edge detection, background blur, sharpness, and overall look of the portraits are simply amazing. Plus, with the ZEISS branding, you get access to a range of ZEISS portrait styles like Zeiss Biotar, Zeiss Sonar, Zeiss Planar, and more.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of low-light photos too. The sensor captures plenty of light, and the post-processing enhances the photos nicely. Where the flash is required, you should use the new Aura Ring Light system, which now has a square shape instead of a ring on the V29 Pro. It does a great job of balancing light on the subject, especially in auto mode. It also helps make sure the camera shows the subject’s colors accurately. But enough talk — let the camera samples below speak for themselves.

Software and Performance

Moving onto the internal hardware, the vivo V30 Pro is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 8200 processor, the same chip used in the V29 Pro. While we would have loved to see an upgrade here, the Dimensity 8200 is a reliable chipset and performs smoothly on the V30 Pro. This is paired with up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Performance-wise, it’s similar to the previous model—apps launch quickly, and everyday tasks run smoothly.

Regarding the software, the V30 Pro runs on Funtouch OS 14, based on Android 14. The UI has received some tweaks compared to the V29 Pro, which ran on Android 13. The notification bar and quick settings now have a transparent blurred background. Moreover, vivo now uses its own apps for apps like Phone, Messaging, and more, although you can still download Google apps.

Unfortunately, the device comes with a lot of pre-installed bloatware, which we would have preferred not to see in the first place, although you can still uninstall it. On the bright side, vivo promises two major OS upgrades and three years of security patches for the V30 Pro.

Battery

Now onto the battery and charging, I have good things to report here. Unlike its predecessor, the V29 Pro, which struggled to last a full day on a single charge, the V30 Pro comes with a larger 5000mAh battery that easily lasted me through a day of heavy usage. I put the phone through its paces, doing everything from watching sports and playing games to making calls, texting, and scrolling through social media. Even with all that, the phone managed to last the entire day.

And if you somehow manage to drain the battery before the day ends, vivo includes an 80W wall adapter in the box. vivo says the V30 Pro can fully charge the phone from 0 to 100% in just 46 minutes, and in my experience, that claim held true. While there’s no wireless charging option, having the fast charger included makes up for it.

Verdict

So, is the V30 Pro worth buying? Well, if you’re looking for a sleek smartphone that also offers great battery life, smooth performance, a great display experience, and an excellent camera experience with ZEISS optics, then the vivo V30 Pro is a solid choice. Even though there are a few annoyances like only a single speaker and some pre-installed bloatware, the V30 Pro stands out as one of the top mid-range options available today.