India is now witnessing stiff competition in the fiercely competitive mid-range market. Vivo V23 Pro is the new contender with an eye-catching design, 108 MP camera, and power performance. Will it be able to make its presence felt in the premium competitive market? We checked it for you in this review.

Design: You will probably notice the phone’s dazzling rear before anything. Vivo V23 Pro comes with a beautiful color-changing design. The rear panel has a layer of crystals along with the Fluorite AG glass which changes color when exposed to UV rays. V23 Pro is available in two colors- Stardust Black and Sunshine Gold variant.

We got the Golden variant for review that amazingly turns bright turquoise when exposed to the sunlight. Of course, if you have a case, it won't work unless it's a transparent case. The fun part is you can also temporarily imprint a design on it if you leave some part of the phone blocked from light. When you bring it back indoors, in around 15-20 minutes, it gradually changes back to gold. Moreover, you can get a sight of this hidden turquoise color if the rear panel faces a UV light source. We've seen phones that appear to shift and flicker in light before, but Vivo has taken it to the next level. It is very slim-7.4mm, thanks to the narrow polycarbonate frame. It is lightweight too and weighs only 171 grams. Overall, it is one of the best-looking smartphones out there.

Display: Vivo V23 Pro gets a 6.56 inches curved-edge AMOLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate. For protection, it is coated with Schott Xensation α but the rear of the phone is unprotected. Also, there’s no IP rating for dust and water resistance but that is too much asking for its price.

While a 90Hz panel is enough to make the experience smooth, it still falls short of the 120Hz that other smartphones offer, and this might disappoint some people who are spending close to Rs 40,000. There is also another benefit of cost-saving. Vivo could include an AMOLED panel and an in-display fingerprint sensor.

With 1300 nits of peak brightness, it is bright enough to use comfortably in most lighting conditions and rich enough to do justice to photos, movies, and games. The display has Widevine L1 certification, HDR10+ compatibility, and TUV Rheinland certification. This means you will be able to stream Full HD content on Netflix and other OTT platforms.

Camera: Vivo V23 Pro gets the triple camera setup at the rear with 108MP as the primary lens. It's flanked by another 8MP ultra-wide and a 2MP macro camera. Pictures captured with the 108MP primary camera in broad daylight had great dynamic range but sometimes it over-saturated the photos. The ultra-wide lens offers good photos but lacks details. Macro lens results were just satisfactory. The night photography with a primary rear camera retains details with great dynamic range. Shots were sharp and full of details. Capturing light sources such as lamps resulted in over-exposed photographs. You can manage it by manually adjusting the settings.

Camera Sample: Size and quality reduced for web optimization

Coming to the selfie shooter, it gets a 50MP primary lens and an 8MP ultra-wide lens. Both the lenses sit in an Apple-style notch with the dual-LED flash units. Noteworthy, Vivo hasn't given the optical image stabilization (OIS) in V23 Pro. It was there in last year's V21. The selfies captured were sharp and offered great colors. Most of the time, the portrait mode detected the edges perfectly and it also separates you from the background very nicely.

Both front and rear cameras can capture 4K videos at 30fps. On the downside, there's no optical stabilization. This will likely affect vloggers who buy smartphones for stabilization rather than a resolution.

Performance: Vivo V23 is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 1200 chipset which is equivalent to Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset. We received an 8GB RAM +12GB storage variant for review. It’s not the latest, but most of the users are unlikely to notice the difference. It handled all the tasks very swiftly no matter what I’ve thrown at it.

Coming to the Gaming performance, it managed to run all the popular games very smoothly. Also, it doesn't heat up easily even after an hour-long gaming session. Obviously, any smartphone paired with 8GB of RAM and MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset is enough to perform all the tasks effortlessly in these times.

To my surprise, the battery life of the Vivo V23 Pro was amazing for such a slim smartphone. On moderate usage, it easily lasts long for the day. When required to charge, its 44W charger can charge it 68 percent in just 30 minutes.

It runs on Funtouch OS 12 which is based on the latest Android 12. Its design language doesn’t go along with Google's Material You redesign. I would say it’s a blend. In Android 12, Vivo has introduced new privacy features to its skin such as the Privacy Dashboard and Permission Manager. The connectivity option includes Bluetooth 5.2, NFC support, and older Wi-Fi 5.

Verdict: Vivo V23 Pro is really a great amalgamation of eye-catching design, good specs, and decent battery life. It is a solid mid-range phone which is sleek and feels featherweight. The only downside of the smartphone is it’s missed OIS in the selfie camera. If you are looking to buy a slim and light smartphone with a decent camera setup and quirky design, Vivo V23 Pro must make its space on your list.

Vivo V23 Pro Review: Color Changing High Performer