Vivo V50e Review: E for Enough?
After launching the Vivo V50 in India this February, Vivo followed up with the more affordable V50e in April. While both phones share a similar design language, the V50e features a smaller battery, a different chipset, and a scaled-down camera system. It still retains key features from the V50 like the quad-curved display, IP69 rating, and 90W fast charging. Compared to last year’s V40e, however, the upgrades are minor. The Vivo V50e starts at Rs. 28,999 for the base variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. Is it worth the upgrade? Read on to find out.
Vivo V50e Design
The Vivo V50e looks nearly identical to the V50, with the only noticeable difference being the colour options. Compared to its predecessor, the V40e, the V50e brings a redesigned rear camera module and a more refined look up front, thanks to its new quad-curved display, which is an upgrade from the standard curved screen on the older model.
The phone is available in Sapphire Blue (image) and Pearl White colour options
We received the Sapphire Blue variant of the Vivo V50e, and it’s definitely a head-turner. The rear panel features a shimmering wave pattern that catches the light beautifully. Vivo claims that each unit has a unique pattern on the rear panel; however, we can’t confirm this, having only tested one device. There’s also a Pearl White variant.
The rear panel also houses the keyhole-style camera module, which houses two cameras and the Aura ring light flash. You’ll also find the Vivo branding towards the bottom left corner. The rear panel is made from polycarbonate, and so is the frame, which has a glossy finish. The Sapphire Blue variant is 7.6mm slim, whereas the Pearl White is slightly slimmer at 7.39mm. The phone weighs 186g and is therefore very comfortable to hold. The comfort is enhanced thanks to the curved edges.
The phone has a glossy frame that can easily attract fingerprints and smudges
You’ll find the Power and volume buttons on the right edge, with the bottom housing featuring a USB Type-C port, a loudspeaker, a SIM card tray, and dual microphones. The top part of the phone also houses dual microphones. The Vivo V50e is claimed to meet the IP68 and IP69 ratings, which is nice to have.
The Vivo V50e doesn’t offer a microSD card slot
On the front, the phone features a large 6.77-inch full-HD+ AMOLED quad-curved display with slim bezels. The panel offers a 120Hz refresh rate and features a hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera. It also houses an in-display fingerprint scanner towards the bottom.
Vivo V50e Performance
Let’s start with the display performance. The Vivo V50e offers a satisfying experience for streaming your favourite shows and movies, with punchy colours, HDR10+ support, and Widevine L1 certification. The quad-curved design also adds to the immersion, making it feel more premium than a flat display. Vivo claims a peak brightness of 1,800 nits, but in real-world use, the screen doesn’t get exceptionally bright outdoors. However, it performs very well indoors.
Vivo V50e’s display isn’t very legible under direct sunlight, but works great indoors
The Vivo V50e is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC, which is the same chipset used in last year’s V40e. It comes with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. In synthetic benchmark tests, the V50e delivered results nearly identical to its predecessor, showing no significant performance gains. Compared to similarly priced phones like the Poco X7 Pro, the Vivo V50e falls noticeably short in performance.
| Benchmark | *Vivo V50e | Vivo V40e | Poco X7 Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 Single | 995 | 1,275 | 1,549 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi | 2,881 | 2,886 | 6,216 |
| AnTuTu v10 | 6,69,912 | 6,93,086 | 16,02,933 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 | 10,660 | 10,454 | 14,628 |
| 3DM Slingshot Extreme OpenGL | 5,067 | 5,090 | Maxed Out |
| 3DM Slingshot | 6,490 | 6,492 | Maxed Out |
| 3DM Wild Life | 3,139 | 3,140 | Maxed Out |
| 3DM Wild Life Unlimited | 3,148 | 3,154 | 13,102 |
| GFXBench T-Rex | 88 | 94 | 120 |
| GFXBench Manhattan 3.1 | 45 | 51 | 118 |
| GFXBench Car Chase | 26 | 29 | 89 |
While day-to-day performance is generally smooth, I did encounter a bit of lag during extended BGMI gaming sessions and when taking burst photos in the camera app. On the plus side, the phone remains relatively cool under load. It runs Funtouch OS 15, based on Android 15, out of the box, and is promised three years of Android updates and four years of security patches. You also get a handful of AI features, including AI Image Expander, Photo Enhancer, and AI Eraser 2.0 – all of which work fairly well. Google’s Circle to Search and Gemini are also on board.
The Vivo V50e’s rear camera setup is identical to the V40e
Moving on to the cameras, the Vivo V50e features a dual rear setup, but unlike the standard V50, there’s no Zeiss branding here. You get a 50-megapixel Sony IMX882 primary sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS), paired with an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera. For selfies and video calls, there’s a 50-megapixel Samsung JN1 sensor up front. Strangely, despite using the tagline “Portrait So Pro,” Vivo hasn’t included a dedicated portrait lens on the V50e.
The image quality from the primary rear camera is pretty good in daylight conditions with plenty of details, natural-looking colours, a wide dynamic range, and decently balanced exposure. The ultrawide camera also performs well in well-lit environments. However, you will notice some noise around the edges. The portrait photos from the phone are good with decent edge detection, but don’t offer the same natural colour tone as the standard shots. You can also use the Aura light to add some flair to portrait photos. The phone also allows you to shoot 2x photos and 4K videos at 30fps (both front and rear cameras).
Daylight shots from the main and ultrawide rear cameras
The primary rear camera also captures good images in low-light conditions by automatically using a longer exposure. However, you’ll find some noise and glare from light sources. The ultrawide camera, on the other hand, produces noisy and soft images.
Lowlight photos from main and ultrawide [Tap to expand]
Now, let’s discuss battery life, which, to be honest, impressed me the most. The phone packs a 5,600mAh battery, slightly more than the 5,500mAh unit on the V40e. You get slightly faster charging at 90W with the charger included in the box. In the PCMark battery test, the phone lasted 23 hours and 42 minutes. In daily usage, it delivered 6-7 hours of screen-on time with ease. As for charging, the 90W charger enabled the phone to go from 0 to full charge in approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes.
The Aura Light feature is useful when taking portrait photos in low-light conditions
The phone features a hybrid speaker setup that provides sufficient volume for indoor use, but lacks bass depth. Call and microphone quality were also good. The in-display fingerprint sensor is also fast and reliable.
Vivo V50e Verdict
So, should you get the Vivo V50e over the older V40e? My answer would be a strict no, as there are not a lot of new features in the new phone to warrant an upgrade. Yes, the latest model looks significantly better with its quad-curved display and unique rear panel, but that’s not enough to make me recommend it to those who own the Vivo V40e (Review). The phone also pales in comparison with other phones in the same price range, such as the Poco X7 Pro (Review), which delivers much better performance, a better display, and equally good cameras.
The Vivo V50e is not a bad phone, but it’s not a significant upgrade either. However, if you are looking at the phone as a first buy, then you might want to give it a shot.