vivo’s V-series has definitely come a loooong way.

While this is not the first-ever partnership between the Chinese phone maker and the German lens specialist, the V30 Pro marks a significant milestone in the history of the V lineup especially with ZEISS now up in its sleeves.

V-ception

I joined the GadgetMatch team as “V” as early as 2018. One of my first assignments as an intern that time was all about taking beauty shots of the vivo V9 in three different colorways.

Two years after, I had the chance to use a vivo smartphone for the first time with the V20 Pro last 2020. I commended the phone back then mostly for its look, feel, and overall performance.

I was also fortunate to have the V23 5G and V25 back in 2022. They heavily invested developing portrait-centric camera features.

The rear cameras? Not so much. My camera shootout write-up solidifies that statement.

Four years have passed, I’m able to hold a vivo “Pro” midranger again. Never have I ever imagined that vivo will actually bring ZEISS to a midrange offering.

NGL, I have huge expectations.

ZEISS in the Mid-Class

Let’s get straight to the cake’s filling. The vivo V30 Pro packs promising quadruple 50MP cameras.

Wide	50MP f/1.88 VCS True Color Camera 1/1.49” Sony IMX928 sensor
Ultra-Wide	50MP f/2.0 119º Field of View (FoV)
Telephoto	50MP f/1.85 ZEISS Professional Portrait Camera 2x optical zoom
Selfie	50MP f/2.0 92º Field of View (FoV)

The moment I started using it, I immediately noticed how big deal it was to have a dedicated rear camera system in a midranger’s body.

Shooting with the smartphone felt snappy. I barely noticed any shutter stutter.

To make the camera more reliable, vivo still keeps the Quick Action feature alive.

It works by pressing the volume down button TWICE to instantly open the camera even when locked. That alone saves me time from capturing crucial moments.

Whether it’s the main regular shooter (1x Wide)…

Ultra-Wide Angle (UWA) lens…

Or its 2x zoom sensor, shots all look cohesive to one another without much degradation — especially in color accuracy.

Regardless of the focal length, vivo V30 Pro’s excellent triple 50-megapixel ZEISS camera system all produce post-worthy snaps that look and feel authentic.

With the right framing and timing, you can take astounding photographs regardless if you’re “just” using a midrange smartphone with you.

Anything and everything about #foodporn all look scrumptious and delicious in the regular FoV…

…more so when even when you pinch in a little bit.

Even when shooting just from the usual Auto Mode, AI detects the scene and suggests the Food Mode function.

For everything small and floral, Macro Mode is your best friend.

But for more flowers in the frame, use Portrait Mode for better overall depth.

Night Mode also gives performance consistency as it also delivers A+ snaps.

The cohesiveness can be seen in both wide and ultra-wide modes.

Even zoom isn’t an exemption — optically or digitally.

For every selenophile like yours truly, it can take decent moon shots thanks to Supermoon Mode. That’s despite the lack of a dedicated periscope zoom lens.

There’s even a dedicated Astro Mode for out of this world, star-studded sky shots (literally and figuratively).

However, I’m surrounded by light pollution no matter where I go so I was not able to test this particular mode as much as I want to.

ZEISS Every Moment

vivo wasn’t messing around when they plastered that signature blue logo on its camera bump because it’s the real deal after all.

Just like in vivo’s recent line of X-flagships, the V30 Pro also features the three signature color modes whenever you take a photo.

ZEISS Natural is on by default.

The color science by ZEISS gives the best balance out of the bunch.

The second one is Vivid. Just like what you’re thinking, it takes photos that are more saturated — typically useful for color-rich subjects and sceneries with flowers and greenery around.

Here’s a creamy carbonara to differentiate it from the default ZEISS Natural color mode. Notice the color boosting and contrast?

Last but definitely not the least is Textured.

This has been my go-to mode 60% of the time as it tones down the highlights, shadows, and contrast altogether.

There’s also a subtle vignetting happening — which I personally prefer ever since I used the Xiaomi 13 Pro with its Leica color calibration.

IMHO, this particular color mode makes dark scenes look more dramatic.

Even better for everything NEON.

Picture-Perfect Professional Portraits

The ZEISS features don’t end there. What I missed the most on vivo’s X-series (specifically when I used the vivo X80 Pro) are the special ZEISS Style Portraits.

Upon checking the phone’s Portrait Mode, I was stoked to see it at the lower right corner of the camera interface.

No frills! The signature Distagon, Planar, Sonnar, and my all-time fave Biotar are all here!

There’s also the Cine-Flare as an addition to the already great list of portrait styles courtesy of ZEISS.

That added flare adds more ✨ flair ✨ to the photo — especially the unplanned, candid ones.

Lastly, there’s the Cinematic Style Bokeh with a narrower-than-usual aspect ratio to make way for the “cinematic” vibe.

No matter what portrait style you use, whether for one or multiple, single or taken, these bokeh flares will truly nail any portrait that other smartphones in the same category (or even higher) cannot totally achieve.

BONUS: It works well with pets!

Here’s a randomly parked car as a reference.

Better with Aura

The Aura Light flash (or ring light, so to speak) is at the forefront on last year’s V27 and V29 series. This year, it’s been upgraded. But unlike the usual ring light, it now features a larger area in squircular form.

Its temperature can be adjusted two ways: Manually, depending on how you prefer it or Auto, where the phone adjusts depending on the scenario — much like how AWB (Auto White Balance) works.

The consistency is unstoppable even if you decide to hit that light on! Mind you, these were taken with Night Mode completely turned OFF.

What’s even better is that it doesn’t stop you from using the brilliant Aura Light together with the aformentioned ZEISS Portrait Styles.

It’s never harsh and gives better illumination with ample diffusion that conventional rear flash units fail to provide.

Weird or not, it’s very usable for food, too — especially when there’s little to no presence of natural light.

As for selfies, the V30 Pro does NOT have the Dual Spotlight Flash feature I liked when I held the V23 5G from two years ago. However, the S18 Pro (or its Chinese variant) ships with ’em .

Still, with the screen-based Aura Fill Light turned on, it instantly gives post-ready selfies whenever, wherever.

Having a wider-than-usual front camera means you can squeeze in two or more people for groufies (or couple shots, whatever).

But for single introverts like myself, I decided to just take one with my grumpy ol’ catto — even if it’s against his own will.

Featherlike and featherlight

After thoroughly discussing its camera tricks, let’s now focus on other key areas.

vivo has sent me the V30 Pro in this Blooming White colorway, exuding elegance.

From the naming itself, it’s a color option you wouldn’t want to miss — especially with its inspiration to flower petals in full bloom.

When hit by light, it has teeny-tiny specks of sparkling dust à la beach sand. Paint is faint enough for my liking — not being full-on flashy which most brands love doing with their midrange phones.

Another highlight of the vivo V30 Pro is its form factor. As of this writing, the vivo V30 Pro is their second slimmest smartphone at a merely thin 7.45mm, just behind the recently-released vivo S19 — 7.2mm at its thinnest point.

It’s also very light at just 188 grams. I even managed to pull of this solo finger lift without the phone losing balance.

Despite its ultra slimness and lightness, curves on both front and back all make up for a less slippery yet more ergonomic feel.

However, I accidentally dropped the vivo V30 Pro on the hard floor once — NOT from the solo finger balance trick I did for photo-op purposes, but right after picking it from my shorts’ pocket.

Fortunate enough, it’s scratch-free on all sides and corners — despite the frame being made out of plastic.

Adding more to the durability talk, I use it without a case — putting all of my confidence in its Schott α glass protection.

Moreover, the V30 Pro also has IP54 rating that can repel dust and water sprays or rain droplets. I used it several times in the shower as bathroom speaker. I even placed it on the white sand (seen above). Those prove the point.

V for Versatility

The vivo V30 Pro features a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate.

Of course, size matters 😏 when buying a new smartphone. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it’s the perfect size for me.

The screen can reach brightness of up to 2800 nits. That particular feature was helpful when I took a lot of the photos at the beach amidst the blindingly bright sunlight.

Of course, the claims of deep blacks and whiter whites are expected for a display type like this.

It’s also good to see that it’s a display panel with 1 Billion Colors and has support for HDR10+ and DCI-P3 Wide Color Gamut.

For those with more sensitive eyes, it has 2160Hz PWM Dimming. This gives you more visual comfort aside from Eye Protection features when using the phone in the dark.

Sufficiently speedy

The vivo V30 Pro is equipped with MediaTek Dimensity 8200 chipset based on a 4nm process.

For day-to-day usage, it’s snappy with enough room for a lot of apps opened.

When it comes to games, it’s also powerful enough to handle most (if not all) titles.

Racing games such as Asphalt 9: Legends…

Simulator games like Bus Simulator: Ultimate…

the ever-popular MOBA, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang…

and my all-time fave FPS game, CoDM (Call of Duty: Mobile), they all run fine on the highest settings possible even if you play it for several hours.

And just like most Android smartphones, dedicated game-focused features are in attendance.

You can toggle the sidebar at the left side when you open any game. You can choose between Battery Saver (why would you, though), Balanced, and BOOST to ace your A-game.

Although as expected, the more in-demand, graphics-intensive Genshin Impact runs at a lower setting.

Software-wise, it runs Funtouch OS 14 based on Android 14. If 12GB RAM isn’t enough, you can virtually extend it up to 24GB.

Then again, its 512GB storage is more than enough for most people — though I am exclusively excluding myself from such narrative.

Adequacy at its core

Back then, it’s hard to pack a large battery in such a thin design. vivo has dared to defy the odds by bringing a large 5000mAh battery into its slim chassis.

If you use your phone lightly or moderately, it’s sufficient that can last ’til the sun sets. But if you’re into hours of gaming or shoot a lot of photos, battery levels deplete rapidly. More rant on that later.

I also go out and about using 5G data while making this phone my primary hotspot. Unfortunately, it’s also a big battery hog.

Thankfully, it can be charged quickly with an 80W FlashCharge adapter. vivo promises a full-charge from 0% to 100% in just 48 minutes — and it’s not far behind from the total duration of my second charge test.

	1st Charge Test Start Time: 03:38 AM	2nd Charge Test Start Time: 12:32 PM
3 minutes	5%	6%
5 minutes	8%	10%
10 minutes	18%	22%
12 minutes	22%	27%
15 minutes	27%	33%
20 minutes	36%	43%
30 minutes	53%	63%
40 minutes	70%	80%
45 minutes	77%	92%
50 minutes	87%	97%
55 minutes	97%	100%
TOTAL	58 MINUTES 32 SECONDS End Time: 04:36 AM	50 MINUTES 39 SECONDS End Time: 01:22 PM

It might be the timing of my first charging attempt which affected the result. Manufacturers tend to trickle charge overnight.

If you own a lot of wireless chargers at home, that’s no use for the V30 Pro as it doesn’t support one.

“Pro” at what cost?

With the grand brand collaboration for its camera system, I already expected that vivo had to cut corners just to deliver flagship-grade camera experience at half the cost.

There are three (3) compromises I could think of:

I: Absence of stereo speakers

It’s questionable how vivo left this “Pro” feature behind. Budget smartphones nowadays are equipped with it. The TECNO SPARK 20 Pro+ I previously reviewed offers this spec for 1/3 of the V30 Pro’s price.

Even if that might get in the way of the “Professional Portrait” branding at the phone’s top, vivo could have still equipped a top-firing speaker where the speakerpiece usually sits.

I often use my smartphone for social media and entertainment, but the sound produced by the V30 Pro feels inadequate.

It’s loud but it lacks the extra oomph. I clearly notice the lack of a fuller, more immersive sound experience.

I do commend vivo though for the special DeepField Audio Effect plugin. Even though this only works when using any Bluetooth (or wired) earphones, it still gives me better control over the music I play.

I’m not completely sure if it works in all music apps since I exclusively use Apple Music but I can confirm it is a phone-exclusive feature as my other devices DO NOT have it.

II: Same chipset three strikes in a row

As previously mentioned, MediaTek’s Dimensity 8200 is a no-slouch performer — also the same chipset found in last year’s V27 Pro and V29 Pro.

However, I find it odd that the vivo S18 Pro, its Chinese cousin, runs Dimensity 9200+. Shipping the newer chipset not only means better battery and efficiency, it could also solve the heating dilemma I have experienced.

But this might be vivo’s answer that they cannot give the best of both worlds. The S18 Pro lacks the ZEISS Camera System that I love now.

If that’s the case, I hope they would still keep the partnership in the next Pro variant of V-series in lieu of a more powerful chipset.

After all, the next V-series might just be around the corner as vivo has just announced the latest S19 Pro in China.

Although it’s packing the same Dimensity 9200+ chipset, it still has major improvements in battery, memory, IP rating, Aura Light, and cameras — minus the ZEISS system, as expected.

III: Not a biggie but…

A better in-display fingerprint sensor could have been considered. The fact that vivo pioneered this technology since 2017 makes it somewhat of a fuss.

Unlocking your phone requires a 2-3-second hard press in order for it to be read by the sensor. This is most felt when I’m in a rush to get things done. I just rely on Face Unlock sometimes — but only when I feel like I’m in a more safer and secure environment since it’s never foolproof.

If we can’t have a 1st-gen ultrasonic reader or at least a faster optical sensor, a side-mounted scanner would have been a faster yet cheaper option. But I digress.

What’s in the box?

If you’ve reached this far, you might be curious to see what’s inside its retail box.

@gadgetmatch

ZEISS the day! Let’s unbox the vivo V30 Pro ✨ #vivo #vivoV30Pro

♬ original sound – GadgetMatch – GadgetMatch

Is the vivo V30 Pro your GadgetMatch?

The vivo V30 Pro retails at PhP 34,999 (RM 2599 / INR 46,999) for the 12+512GB configuration.

I’ll be upfront: you DO NOT need the vivo V30 Pro if you are just looking for a decent midranger. There are plethora of options out there that can easily punch this phone — especially if you consider some compromises that might affect your everyday usage. Those come at a more pocket-friendly price tag.

That said, the vivo V30 Pro is by no means a slouch. You still get power-packed hardware with plentiful performance, sufficient battery life, and fast charging speeds.

If you are like me who values smartphone cameras and is heavily invested in smartphone-tography but can only shell out half the cost of any modern-day flagship, I highly recommend the vivo V30 Pro.

The great feat of Aura Light, its ZEISS camera system and the added portrait hullaballoos all make it a complete camera contender — at least in the category it belongs to. That’s everything packed in such a slim and light form factor.

For what it’s worth, it’s not “just” any midranger. It is a midrange marvel with smartphone cameras that are unbeatable in its class. And by that, it is a worthy recipient of the GadgetMatch Seal of Approval.

ASUS ROG has been very bold with their gaming lineups these days, from the handhelds to the hand-carries. Look no further than their Zephyrus line. Their bread and butter gaming laptop continues to shine every year, looking better and more powerful than before.

A lot of gaming laptops these days like to go for the aesthetic of being dark and warm. It is a simple machine after all. Powerful hardware, great displays, and needs all the peripherals to truly unleash its potential. All placed in a subtle piece of work — the type of device you can bring anywhere and people would not suspect a thing.

With the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16, however, that doesn’t seem to be the case — on paper. While it can come in the sexy, darker option with all the bells and whistles, the 2024 version comes with a cooler side to things. But will it be cool all the way through?

Design as nice as ice

Right off the rip, the fact that we get a Platinum White color way for the Zephyrus G16 is one way to show off the sleek design. The cleaner look is paired with a simpler feature in the Slash Lighting bar across the middle. It’s fully customizable within Armoury Crate. This felt a lot better and more subtle considering that previous generations had big gimmicks that would draw a bit too much attention.

Other than this, most of the laptop’s core design remains relatively unchanged. For instance, the ports for the peripherals and charging are still found on the sides instead of the rear. Also, the keyboard and touchpad maintain their layouts, with the touchpad seemingly increasing in size for more space. Even the absence of the Ethernet port gets carried over to this machine.

In terms of overall weight, the G16 isn’t one of the lighter options available in 2024. This is mostly attributed to all the hardware it carries, though it looks thinner to take up less space. 

Performance is cold with it

The thing about most ROG laptops is they consistently bring great performance for almost every use case imaginable. For a gaming laptop like the Zephyrus G16, all that internal hardware comes into full swing the moment you turn it on and things load smoothly. It’s all thanks to the power pairing of the Intel Ultra 9 Processor and an NVIDIA RTX 4080.

On almost any regular use case, the Zephyrus G16 performs with a level of coolness to it. Whether it’s creating your own content, watching content, or even casual gaming, this device can simply handle all of it with ease – no lagging included. Also, the 32GB of RAM helps out immensely. It manages heavy workloads to maximize your usage of it for intensive tasks.

Retaining top-notch Gaming performance

When you want to push things an extra mile or two, the Zephyrus G16 with the RTX 4080 inside serves as that sweet companion. A lot of competitive titles tend to hit the 150-200 FPS average. They can go higher under more conservative settings with minimal lag observed. Even games capped at 60 FPS like TEKKEN 8 feel buttery smooth at its highest, which is a bonus for the gameplay you want to create.

With the RTX 4080 inside the ROG Zephyrus G16, games like Horizon Forbidden West look and feel like a massive world sprawling with life. Frame rates hover around the usual 50-58 frames per second. The details on the characters and the overworld pop out beautifully. Even when you set it to its most balanced setting, the game still plays out well without sacrificing too much on the details.

That deep of a Nebula Display

Much of the performance driven by the internal hardware is supported by the large, 16:10 OLED Nebula Display. With the large screen, there is an abundance of space to utilize for those who are avid multitaskers — especially for professional work.

Also, the display comes with a 240Hz refresh rate. It’s a huge boost for those who play games competitively and for content creators to see every video frame in real time.

When needed, this display is bright enough to even work outdoors regardless of how bright the sun will be. From watching intense gameplay to fancams of the nation’s girl group, it’s truly one of those displays you can whip out anywhere. If anything, one of its few drawbacks is that the dark tones can be a bit too deep. To the point that you don’t see anything on the screen.

Needs a little warmth here and there

With most gaming laptops, these can’t be all cooled down most of the time. The Zephyrus G16 is no exception. Even with Liquid Metal Vapor Chambers attached to all that internal hardware, more often than not, the heat escapes and is easily felt. Whenever the fans start thrusting to push more performance, you’ll feel heat around the keyboard. It can be uncomfortable after a while.

Apart from this, the Zephyrus G16’s heating fiasco extends even into the battery life situation. It lasts about 6-7 hours with regular use. When putting the device under more conservative power settings, it can be extended to an average of 10 hours with a full charge. It is rather expected, but if the fans continue to heat up with more intensive tasks, that would be 5-6 hours shorter.

Luckily, the device charges up a bit quicker. It goes from a drained battery to near 80 percent in an average of 40 minutes when not in use. Getting the battery to a full charge takes a while at an average of two (2) hours. But 80 percent capacity isn’t bad to get you back in the swing of things.

One cool gaming machine

The 2024 ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 has all the cool qualities you want in a gaming laptop. A powerful device under a sleek design is an excellent pair for every type of user out there. With powerful internal hardware built inside the machine, the sky is truly the limit for creators and gamers alike.

Much like a lot of great things, it isn’t totally perfect. For one, it can get pretty warm and uncomfortable in some places. Another would be the rather short battery capacity, which is mitigated by the fast charging time. These aren’t total deal breakers, but do keep these in mind if you do end up wanting one in the future.

Overall, the Zephyrus G16 is a great device for gaming, entertainment, and for any casual productive work. It’s one of the pricier options out there, but worth the investment for a cool machine you can bring anywhere!

ROG Zephyrus G16 Official Product Page.

Imagine yourself rising from the dead with an insatiable thirst for revenge, only to carry a curse of a literal thousand voices upon returning. To deal with the burden of having an entire community of souls scream in your head about how you failed them, how they’re guiding you to where you need to be — it’s just all too much for any regular human being.

Hellblade introduced us to such a character in Senua, who was willing to go through hell and back for a person she loved. In a near twist of fate, she was consumed by darkness and the souls of her entire clan lost in her thoughts. However, she had learned to accept her reality. She hoped that this newfound power would lead her to a bigger purpose ahead.

I had zero expectations heading into Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 other than what the title screen would show me. Honestly, I saw that ominous image with a face and just thought of how horrifying this game was going to be. I didn’t realize that there was a whole lot more to this journey than I thought.

A foiled revenge plot

I didn’t get to play the first game in the series. So, the fact that the game starts off with a recap was great. Admittedly, I was still trying to sort out a lot of the details since it happened within 10-15 minutes of me playing. Still, I got caught up to what was happening pretty fast, especially to the aftermath of Senua’s actions after Hellblade.

The story begins as Senua finds herself washed ashore on an island she’s completely unaware of. In an attempt to get some clarity, she is met with the shadow of her past, reminding her of who she is and her place in the world. Her plan of revenge is falling apart, and to make it worse, the voices in her head just won’t stop talking. At the end of the opening sequence, she comes face to face with the man that took her in as a slave, and she is roaring to strike.

And then, the moment to strike was cut short because other things came into play.

One of the things I noted about the story was that it took such a short time to just get everything patted down. I didn’t feel like I got sidetracked way too many times. Every little detail made sense to what Senua will eventually do for the rest of the game. I can’t say much else about the story that would spoil things. But it does get good the deeper you go into the island.

Heaven and hell in full glory

Speaking of said island, on the Xbox Series X, the entire overworld is absolutely stunning. Yes, even the desolate areas in the game. A lot of the areas in-game popped out during the day scenes. They received proper lighting when things got dark most of the time. Even in a game with a not-so-open world map, every little detail was given enough thought.

This one area in particular with Senua exploring the fauna through the Hiddenfolk stages was a prime example of how the developers went all out with it, design-wise. Honestly, the colors were stunning and the elements you interact with on the overworld mixed well. When I went into Photo Mode to grab this, I just took time to get as many shots in this area.

Also, I have to applaud Ninja Theory for actually having a Photo Mode that you can use even in the cutscenes to capture some amazing highlights and sceneries! I wish everyone else did it like this, instead of just giving it to live gameplay.

Puzzled minds with extreme overthinking

A core mechanic of the Hellblade games involves the player solving a series of puzzles at critical moments in Senua’s journey. Even in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, the puzzle solving continues with multiple visual cues to guide you on what elements you need for each puzzle. These added another dimension to the whole experience for me, plus it even increased my stress levels too.

As you progress deeper into the game, the puzzles actually become more challenging and hard to crack. It forces you to explore the entire area. There are moments in which the game tells you you’re on the right track. That’s when you rely on Senua’s focus abilities. Also, the voices in your head can come in handy. There are times that they even tell you that you’ve been stuck in a spot you’ve already visited.

It’s overthinking at its finest, but at least you don’t have to juggle that while fighting hordes of enemies and there’s no time pressure.

Fighting your demons, literally

Combat in this game is different from what I’m used to, especially in semi-open world games with multiple enemies rushing you. Unlike other games wherein being aggressive is the name of the game, Senua’s Saga has a timing approach to it with visual cues. Essentially, you just have to know when light and heavy attacks come in, block or dodge accordingly, then fight back.

It took a while to master the timings of some enemies. It was nearly impossible to stay alive in most fights. Once you have it down to a tee, every fight scene feels less of a hassle to deal with. However, the enemies also get harder and have added gimmicks like breathing fire to stop you. Dying isn’t an option either because each death results in resetting every fight scene.

To aid you in your battles, the trusty Focus mechanic also acts as a timely boost by simply stopping time. This was super helpful to get you to do multiple attacks. It cuts the battle time and take down stronger enemies. 

Confronting your past

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is a rollercoaster of emotions and controller-button mashing that was simple enough to go through every step of the way. The linear storyline with great overworld visuals and equally solid gameplay mechanics just suits this type of game well. As somebody who didn’t even get to play the first game, this was definitely something new and unexpected.

If anything, I felt that this game had too much going for it. For some people, this may not be their cup of tea. For one, the story, while linear in progression, can feel a bit rushed especially when building character relationships all throughout. Second, combat mechanics can take a while to get used to, especially on the timings of enemy attacks. These aren’t total dealbreakers in the grand scheme of things, but they do make the game a little bit frustrating.

Overall, the game is simple as it should be. But fair warning: this game has too many voices for you to listen to. If you’re not a fan of that, you can definitely tune them out and focus on the demons you have to slay!