Reviews

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review: The best among the beasts?

Are the extra specs worth the extra price?

Published

January 22, 2021

Vincenz

It hasn’t even been a year ever since Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 series but they’ve already unpacked the Galaxy S21 as early as January 2021.

I even remember we did a three-way review of the Galaxy S20 variants when it was launched. That experience serves as an eye-opener for me that I am, by all means, an “Ultra” user for the tasks I do. Multitasking, gaming, watching, shooting with great set of cameras, what more could I ask for now that I have the Galaxy S21 Ultra in my big hands?

While there are currently less newer flagships in the horizon powered by the latest Snapdragon 888 such as the China-exclusive iQOO 7 and the Xiaomi Mi 11 with its pending global release, is it enough to say that this phone is the best among all the beasts released so far? Let’s find out.

Ultra-minimal box content

The rumors are true after all. After mocking Apple for removing bundled chargers, Samsung still followed their path and ditched the usual 25W Super Fast Charger. Inside the retail box, I only got the phone itself, the usual SIM tray ejector tool, some paperwork, and a USB-C to USB-C cable.

It appears the removal of the AKG earphones in the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra packaging was already an early hint.

Ultra-sophisticated design

Love it or hate it, the Galaxy S21 series has a newer design that I honestly admire. While last year’s S20 Ultra had a glossy finish, the S21 Ultra now has a matte finish like the Note 20 Ultra — which should lessen the amount of fingerprints on the device. I used the Galaxy S20+ in Cosmic Black last year and that was an ultimate fingerprint and scratch magnet.

Samsung is proud of this year’s “Phantom Black” colorway by doing several processes to achieve its true and final color. It’s a more mature look that’s bold yet clean.

The whole process reminds me of how Apple made the Jet Black iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Regardless of that tedious process, this dark color option closely resembles Apple’s Matte Black variant even more.

But unlike the iPhone’s aluminum unibody chassis, this one is made out of a tougher Gorilla Glass Victus — even tougher than last year’s Gorilla Glass 6. Albeit, there are times when fingerprint smudges still show when hit by light.

Distinct from the Galaxy S21 and S21+ is this humongous camera bump of the S21 Ultra with six holes in different sizes that house its wide array of camera components.

If you have big hands like I do, you’ll enjoy using this phone. Holding the phone feels lighter than last year’s S20 Ultra. But frankly speaking, it’s still on the hefty side — what more if you have petite hands?

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, despite its larger display and sharper edges, was still easier and more comfortable for me to hold in one hand. That’s due to the fact that it has symmetrical sides and a slimmer form factor.

Turning the phone around reveals the new “Contour Cut Camera Design” where the phone’s metal frame meets the thicc AF camera hump. Unlike most people who despise it, I just love this over last year’s rounded rectangular-cutout.

Ultra-immersive audiovisual experience

Applied my shot as the wallpaper and it suddenly felt like I’m in Hong Kong again

I’m always a sucker for great displays — and Samsung always exceeds my expectations. Even though it’s less curved and a tad smaller at 6.8-inches (compared to last year’s 6.9), there isn’t much of a difference. It still feels immersive with its narrow and almost-borderless viewing experience.

I’m addicted — both with this gorgeous display and aespa

With its Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology, the colors pop with vibrant hues, deeper blacks and whiter whites. It’s still the ultra-crisp and vibrant display I’ve been loving ever since I had the Samsung Wave in 2010 — Samsung’s first Super AMOLED device in history (announced a month earlier than the Galaxy S).

It also has 1500 nits of max brightness, which helped me use the screen even under harsh sunlight. Paired with crisp and loud stereo speakers, it’s truly a great device for your entertainment needs.

While last year’s S20 had a progressive 120Hz refresh rate, the caveat is you only get it under Full HD+ resolution. This time, while it may be adaptive, you get to enjoy 2K+ resolution/120Hz.

It might be an ongoing discussion for most users but I prefer faster refresh rates over larger screen resolution. Enabling both options affect the battery life over time anyway.

Had to cherish IZ*ONE’s remaining promotional period through Panorama

To maximize the Samsung ecosystem, I paired the new phone with my good ol’ Galaxy Buds+. I always love how seamless the transition is from connecting all the way to listening without frills and hassle. Don’t fret! As long as your audio accessory has Bluetooth (like my AirPods 2 and Lenovo Yoga ANC headphones), you’re good to go.

Ultra-snappy Unlocking

Whether you choose Face Unlock or the embedded fingerprint sensor, unlocking is fast and snappy! Unlike before where I have to press more than twice just to unlock both the S20+ and Note 20 Ultra, the new ultrasonic under-display sensor unlocks even when I lightly tap the screen for around 0.5 seconds.

The Face Unlock feature is also here. While it may not be as secure as iPhone’s FaceID system, it’s still fast. Samsung has maximized the use of AI so it will be fool-proof and won’t unlock when you’re asleep.

MultitasKING

This Galaxy S21 Ultra has 12GB of memory. Although it maxes out at 16GB RAM, my unit is enough to make the most out of the tasks I do in a day.

Whether I open social media apps such as Twitter and Facebook, it comes to no surprise that they’ll open instantly.

In my previous phone reviews, there are times where some of the apps in the background close by themselves — whether that may be Instagram, a photo-editing app, a shopping app, Apple Music, and a game in idle. The RAM capacity isn’t the issue, rather the management and lack of software optimization.

In the case of the Galaxy S21 Ultra, switching between apps is a breeze. The navigation gestures on the new One UI 3.1 based on Android 11 is more fluid and responsive. One might say these have been around in most 2020 Android smartphones, but Samsung’s implementation is as close as what I get in iOS.

I commit spelling mistakes more often when I use the keyboard, no matter what Android device I use.

Fortunately, typing has been convenient in Samsung’s native keyboard. I was able to type one-handed with little to no typos at all. This means I don’t need a third-party keyboard like Gboard nor had the need to adjust keyboard height. I don’t even need to switch to one-handed mode at this point.

Ultra woes in storage and performance

The Galaxy S21 series marks the first Samsung smartphone to ship with Snapdragon 888 in the US and China. As bad as it sounds, the rest of the world comes with Samsung’s in-house Exynos 2100 processor. These chipsets are both 5nm — which makes it smaller, faster, and more power-efficient.

There’s no problem in performance. I played Asphalt 9 as well as Call of Duty: Mobile (CoDM) and both were smooth and responsive. You can even see how I scored almost 5,000 points in a single Ranked Match game.

But Samsung’s claim wasn’t really addressed at all. During the first fifteen minutes, the phone quickly sizzled while playing. I can literally feel it especially because I used the phone without a case. To make it worse, I went out to shoot some photos around late in the afternoon, and the phone was still hot to touch.

Another rumor that was later confirmed is the removal of the microSD slot. Previously, Samsung supported up to 2TB of external storage.

This review unit comes with 256GB of internal storage. Based on my experience, I was able to maximize my iPhone’s 256GB storage for almost two years. But considering how this phone shoots 4K-8K UHD footage and high-quality stills? It might take a shorter time to completely fill this up.

Having a microSD card expansion offers the fastest and safest way to backup your files. I feel the sentiment and rage of most Samsung users especially because having no external storage in the Galaxy Note 5 made me lost a lot of unbacked files after a motherboard failure five years ago.

Ultra-heavy battery (and drain)

The equipped 5,000mAh battery might be enough for a flagship smartphone like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, but my first day with it wasn’t particularly promising.

Other than those heating issues, it’s also plagued with serious battery drain. Using it continuously from 8AM to 1PM with 5G, WQHD+, and 120Hz enabled resulted to a major decrease in battery life. From 100%, it went down to 34% — that’s just five hours of moderate use of social media apps and the camera.

Disclaimer: I did the extensive gameplay and camera test around 3-4PM, just right after doing an hour of charge using my powerbank.

Third day of use, it notified me of a new software update. I’m unsure if that solved the heating and drain issues as I barely used the phone while I worked on articles and videos but the standby time since has been pretty stable. The screenshots prove that from 3PM (82%), it only had a 11% decrease after 11 hours of standby (2AM) with little to no phone activity.

Battery drain during an 11-hour standby | Image by GadgetMatch

While there’s no official word from Samsung if the S21 models support 45W super fast wired charging, the closest thing you can have is Samsung’s 25W Super Fast Charger.

In my case, I used a third-party 30W USB-C PD (Power Delivery) charger. Even if it only detected “Fast charging”, it was completely juiced up after an hour and a half.

If you have a fast wireless charger that supports speeds of up to 15W, charging the S21 Ultra will also work on that as well.

Ultra-speedy 5G connection

Although 5G speeds may not be blazing fast just like in South Korea and the US, the S21 Ultra was able to detect ultra-fast 5G speeds around the Metro.

Watching Sejeong in this drama truly felt uncanny as I was used to her cheerful, girl group idol vibe #WeWillMissgugudan

Downloading and uploading shouldn’t be a problem at all. I’ve managed to download the first three episodes of the K-Drama ‘Uncanny Counter’ under a minute. Even uploading a 30-second 8K video took a minute — which isn’t possible in 4G LTE and regular Wi-Fi hotspots.

Ultra-interactive smartphone

While my unit doesn’t come with the new S-Pen, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is the first S-series smartphone that’s capable of supporting it.

As a creative who’s been fond of the Note series, the S-Pen is, no doubt, a greater way to interact with your phone — regardless if it’s scribbling, digital painting, or even as simple as decorating your Instagram story.

The longer and thicker S-Pen might just be comfortable enough — which was something I wasn’t used to with the Note 20 Ultra’s shorter and slender S-Pen. To make it better, it also has a 9-millisecond (9ms) latency that will feel like you’re writing on a paper.

There’s also the latest Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) support. Lost your Galaxy Buds? It’ll be easier to locate with the SmartThings app. There’s also the Samsung Galaxy SmartTags which you can attach on bags, luggages, and even car keys so you can track them wherever, whenever.

Ultra-Grade Cameras and Features

On paper, the S21 Ultra has some beefy camera sensors: a 108-megapixel f/1.8 wide (main) camera with Phase-Detection AF and OIS, as well as a 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide sensor with a 120º FoV (Field of View) that’s also found on other S21 smartphones.

What makes it stand out than the rest of the S21 line are the two 10-megapixel telephoto cameras: one that’s capable of 3x optical zoom, and another that reaches up to 10x optical zoom, both with Dual Pixel technology and OIS for clearer zoomed shots.

The problem with last year’s S20 Ultra is how wobbly it is when using the zoom function. But because of better sensors and stabilization, the S21 Ultra now has a zoom lock feature where it focuses on a subject from a distance without the camera preview getting distorted.

Other than the 8K UHD/24fps support, 4K/60fps comes standard regardless of what lens you use for video recording. Even the front camera supports it so vloggers can edit and upload videos in 4K.

While the dual shot mode has been around since the Galaxy Note 3 where it simultaneously takes a photo/video both from the front and rear cameras, Director’s View is more of an improvement with better configurations to choose from.

Other than the single view, you also get the classic split mode, and even a PiP (Picture-in-Picture). But the biggest addition is the ability to effortlessly switch between the wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto lenses.

Ultra-mazing 108MP camera

The ultimate star of the show is the wide camera that’s capable of shooting 108-megapixel photos. If we’re going a bit technical, the S21 Ultra packs the latest ISOCELL HM3 sensor by Samsung with a larger sensor and improvements in dynamic range, autofocus, and low-light. It’s an update from the HM2 and last year’s HM1 of the S20 Ultra and Note 20 Ultra.

With the presence of natural light, one would always expect that the latest smartphones will take great photos. It’s always the software processing techniques that differentiate the camera quality of one smartphone to another.

Over the years, Samsung is known for boosting the saturation of the photos it takes — and the S21 Ultra does the same. While it may look good on the eyes of many, it sometimes goes overboard with all the camera processing and algorithm just to make a natural, “bland” scene into something lively and vivid that looks artificial.

For most users, this isn’t a bad thing. If the camera software does all of the job, it means less time for them to process it. But for a serious shooter like me, I’d prefer flatter shots and adjust what’s needed after the shots were taken.

Other than the color test, I also tested how the camera performs when it comes to food. Most Android smartphones I’ve tried tend to over saturate and over sharpen food shots. Fortunately, the images above look more natural.

Even my issue with Note 20 Ultra’s weird radial blur on close-ups are gone. But if you want that extra-dramatic blur effect, Food Mode will help.

Ultra-bokehlicious portraits

I also tried using the main sensor with manual mode. The shots above clearly show that the S21 Ultra is capable of producing top-notch, DSLR-like bokeh.

From the perspective of my friend who uses an iPhone Xs Max, she was astounded with how the S21 Ultra performed using the Portrait Mode.

Other than the wider view, background on both shots look creamy with a clean segmentation between our hair strands — something most Android phones and older iPhones can’t do properly.

Ultra-wide sensor

Just like on the Galaxy S21 and S21+, the S21 Ultra features the similar 12-megapixel Ultra-wide camera. It’s capable of shooting wider shot perspectives just like the building I captured above.

The ultra-wide sensor also helps capture more elements and details in outdoor shots like these.

Ultra-zoomed shots

In tight situations, there’s got to be a use for telephoto zoom lenses. If one isn’t enough, Samsung doubled it for better and clearer shots from afar.

In the first set, the HDR (High Dynamic Range) and AWB (Auto White Balance) were both consistent throughout the lenses — something most Android manufacturers fail to do. I tested the superiority of the S21 Ultra’s cameras up to its maximum focal length.

Since I’m an architecture dilettante, I tried zooming in close to the building. At my surprise, the window looked sharp and clear enough after the preview.

: Ultra-wide

: Wide

: 3x Zoom

: 10x Zoom

: 30x Zoom

In the second set, I saw these playful Chow Chows roaming around the grasses with their hoomans.

Zooming in as close as 30x digital zoom helped me capture one while his/her tongue is sticking out. But if we’ll look closely, the shot has a weird noise reduction that sits between camera grain and software smoothening.

Let’s move straight ahead to the third set, I tried using both the 3x and 10x telephoto lenses.

The HDR was pretty dull in the wide shot and it’s less green in the first three modes. Meanwhile, zooming in to 10x looked more lively because of the saturation boost.

Finally, this last set was taken in my favorite park. Again, the wide angle lens had an inconsistency, this time in exposure. Unlike the HDR problem from the last photo, that can be corrected through post-process.

Zooming in as close as 10x gives us clear details of the metallic tree. Zooming in further at 30x is acceptable. 100x zoom is barely usable.

As bonuses, these macro shots were taken in a windy environment. While it may not be as clear as what you get from a DSLR, Galaxy S21 Ultra’s long zoom capabilities are clearly commendable for producing the right amount of exposure, contrast, dynamic range, even if it displayed some hints of over-sharpening.

Ultra-clear night shots

It wouldn’t be a camera test without testing how it performs under low-light scenarios.

Regardless of what camera lens you’re using, Night Mode works on both the Ultra-wide, wide, and telephoto lenses.

Of course, without Night Mode, shots look blotchy, smudgy, with a lot of dark shadows and blown-out highlights. But with Samsung’s Night Mode, it fixes not only the Dynamic Range, but also the exposure and contrast of the image — especially in situations where there are less night light available.

With night mode turned off, the convenience store sign was barely recognizable. But with the magic of Samsung’s image processing, it was able to fix all the colors and details in the image.

But unlike the previous Huawei flagships, the S21 Ultra maxes out night zoom at only 10x. The Mate 30 Pro I used in 2019 was capable of zooming in on the moon as close as 30x.

Ultra-detailed selfies

Unlike its younger siblings, the Galaxy S21 Ultra packs a larger 40-megapixel front shooter with a dedicated ultra-wide view. Other than the less-smeared faces with retained face artifacts, the front camera can also shoot in Portrait Mode that works just like how the rear cameras perform.

As another bonus, here’s how the Galaxy S21 Ultra Phantom Black will look like if you’re planning to flex it in your future mirror selfies 😂

Is the Galaxy S21 Ultra your Ultimate GadgetMatch?

Priced at PhP 69,990 for the 12GB/256GB model, the Galaxy S21 Ultra simply isn’t for everyone. If you’re the type of user who has the purchasing power and clearly knows that you want the best of everything in a smartphone, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is the ultimate smartphone you can buy right now.

You might be considering to buy the iPhone 12 Pro Max instead. That’s a fine option if you’re the type of user who’s locked in Apple’s ecosystem. But if it doesn’t bother you to try something new in the Android world, the S21 Ultra might just be a better option.

I know what you’re thinking. There’s still the existing S20 Ultra and Note 20 Ultra that both cost a little less. They still have a great set of display, specs, and cameras at a lower price. But if owning what’s new in the market today is an important buying factor for you, look no further and pick the S21 Ultra — unless you want to wait for a quirkier follow-up of the Galaxy Z Fold2 and the Z Flip.

Consider the Galaxy S21+ if you wanna keep the same material and specs minus the cameras and curved 2K display. If you want the less fancy stuff, go for the Galaxy S21, Note 20, or even last year’s Galaxy S20 FE (unless you can wait for the S21 FE successor).

For more pre-order options, freebies, and discount information of the Galaxy S21 series in the Philippines, head over to our pricing and availability article.

Gaming

ROG G700 review: The best prebuilt PC you can get off the shelf

This PC will make you stop worrying about specs.

Published

October 28, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

The last time I touched a PC was 2014.

At the time, I’d just finished moving houses. While my old house had space for a desk and a fairly decent PC for its time, I opted for a smaller workstation because I was confident that laptops were the future.

Now, more than ten years later, I wish I didn’t dismiss PCs so readily. Thanks to AI, the price of a new PC has reached new levels of absurdity today. It’s not easy to stock up on components anymore.

So, it was like a very heavy blessing falling down from heaven and crash-landing on my lap when the ROG G700 arrived on my doorstep. It’s my first PC in over a decade, and, wow, what a return.

A box with everything you need

The art of building a PC takes a lot of effort these days. You’ll need a command over every little detail that every single component can do. Obviously, you also need to time the market for better prices.

That said, the ROG G700 is not for the minmaxers. It’s a fully built tower you can — gingerly — pick up from the shelf and play on just as soon as you get home.

It’s perfect for people like me. Now, if I had the time and the money, I’d definitely make a little more effort to explore every single detail. However, as someone returning to the PC world after a decade, this prebuilt PC is more than enough to dip my toes back into it.

It is quite the package, though. The tower is 9.45 inches wide by 20.05 inches long. It’s also 18.88 inches tall. If you have a small space, you might struggle to find a space for this behemoth.

Plus, it weighs 40.39 pounds. If you live up a flight of stairs, you’d better not skip leg day. Even then, it was scary to handle this tower, knowing how much hardware I was holding up a few feet from the ground.

A clean design for gamers

Usually, I’m not a fan of heavy gamer aesthetics. As much as I identify as a gamer, I prefer keeping that part of my identity lowkey from how I look. I don’t go for all the edgy angles and the RGB lighting.

But the ROG G700 is one exception to my rule. Even then, it’s not that huge of an exception.

The ROG G700 exudes that gamer aesthetic, but it’s still pretty clean. The chassis has subtle grilles that ease cooling. The main panel is transparent that peeks into a cleanly organized system with heavy ROG visuals. The brand’s logo is peppered throughout the system. The RGB lighting, though bright at times, was easy to get used to.

Personally, I liked how clean the internals are organized. It always hits the right part of my brain when I see something well put together.

Additionally, though it could use a tiny bit more, the G700 has an ample number of ports well situated at the back and up top. When I was setting everything up, I had enough space to make sure I didn’t end up with wire clutter. My workstation was clean at all times.

The 2026 machine

Now, let’s get into the performance. With the highest configuration, the ROG G700 goes up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, up to a 16GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 GPU, 32GB RAM, and 2TB of SSD storage. All thing considered, this is a very powerful machine for today’s world.

If you’re not down on particulars and just want something off the rack, this is more than enough. I tested the G700 on this year’s games like 007 First Light and Forza Horizon 6. Both games performed without a hitch. In fact, I appreciated both games a lot more than when I played them on older laptops. The graphics were absurdly crisp without sacrificing a smooth performance.

Also, as a hard multitasker, I love alt-tabbing even while I’m playing. While other setups usually complain, the G700 doesn’t really care. You can run a Twitch stream, play a YouTube video, or have Spotify open in the background, all while playing an intensive game. This is a machine that tells you to leave your worries at the front door because it can handle everything.

If anything, it can get too powerful. Despite the cooling system with a tri-fan intake, the tower still gets hot with heavy loads. After an hour on 007 First Light, my room started getting much warmer. Though you won’t get performance dips, all that heat is coming your way.

Is the ROG G700 your GadgetMatch?

As someone getting back into PCs, the ROG G700 is a powerful off-the-shelf prebuilt PC. Now, do you need all this hardware for day-to-day gaming? Probably not. But if you don’t want to worry if your rig can do certain things, get the ROG G700.

If you have the money, that is.

Being a powerful machine, the G700 comes with a hefty price tag. When it was launched, the machine started at PhP 179,995. Now, with prices of RAM steadily climbing, prices are likely higher today. Plus, you need good peripherals to maximize this PC, so expect to spend a lot more. Overall, it’s very expensive, but at least you’re getting your money’s worth on the investment.

For that, the ROG G700 gets a Swipe Right and a Super Swipe for being a powerful machine you can get today. It is, however, a Swipe Left if you’re looking for cheaper options that won’t break your bank.

Gaming

HP OMEN Max 16 review: Gamer-maxxing in deep black

Peripherals deemed necessary to max this out

Published

October 23, 2026

Gab Orlina

It’s not every day that you come across a machine that looks good and plays even better. Oftentimes, subtle aesthetics take a back seat to sheer performance and power. Whenever a gaming machine looks sleeker, it seems to lack the power to push it forward. Simply put, you can’t have the best of both worlds these days.

But what if you could have it all? Not just money, fame, and other fortunes, but also a machine with everything you’re looking for! Gone are the days of wanting only power to keep you playing all day or wanting to look good while playing. On paper, this is what the HP OMEN Max 16 promises: the best of both worlds.

Unboxing a beast inside

When you first take it out of the box, the HP OMEN Max 16 looks unassuming in its overall design. It’s bulky yet sleek in its Shadow Black colorway, with nothing too fancy or flashy while powered down. From the outside, the machine screams premium, even though its dark color can attract more visible dirt than lighter finishes.

Opening it up reveals a 16-inch OLED display with a peak refresh rate of 240Hz, seamlessly connected to a base with a full-sized keyboard and a large trackpad. The bright, seemingly anti-glare display makes colors pop when watching or editing videos on the go.

Furthermore, HP places the ports in convenient spots along the rear and sides of the laptop. This makes it incredibly easy to set up and manage external peripherals while providing more room for ventilation under heavy loads.

Of course, the device’s biggest features lie in the hardware powering it from within. An Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, 32GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA RTX 5090 Laptop GPU should give you an idea of how well this machine can perform. It’s also a great combination for demanding productivity tasks and creative work!

Power that AI can only hope to replicate

The HP OMEN Max 16 lived up to many of our expectations in terms of performance. From startup to shutdown, it delivered on what its hardware promised. You can watch videos for longer, edit photos and videos to your heart’s content, and enjoy casual gaming without slowing down. Furthermore, the wide display gives you plenty of space to accommodate all these activities.

When you step up to more competitive gaming, the machine doesn’t miss a beat. Most titles deliver high frame rates regardless of the quality or performance settings you choose. With more advanced visual settings enabled, the RTX 5090 does a fantastic job of keeping supported games within a solid 40–50 FPS range. Pair it with a high-refresh-rate OLED display, and you get crisp details and faster input response to help you get ahead in ranked games all day long.

If there’s one thing to complain about, it’s the extra optimization required through the OMEN Gaming Hub. Features such as network prioritization, automatic power-mode switching, and system optimization are useful, but you’ll need to spend time configuring them during initial setup. The laptop also comes with OMEN AI, which promises to maximize FPS with a single click. However, it was only okay at best.

Runs longer, cools off smoother

Surely, a gaming laptop this bulky and powerful can’t last that long on battery, right? Well, the HP OMEN Max 16 averages around three hours of battery life during intensive gaming, which gives you a decent amount of playing time. For general use, battery life extends to around five and a half hours with Balanced power settings. It holds up reasonably well if you forget to bring your charger.

When you do have the massive 330W charger with you, charging doesn’t take too long either. During our tests, a full charge took two hours, with charging progressing slightly faster when we left the laptop idle. Charging the battery to 50% took around 20 minutes, giving you enough juice to squeeze in another game!

Another factor in prolonged use is how the device expels hot air through its sides and rear. We touched on this earlier, but it bears repeating: the laptop provides plenty of ventilation through its vapor chamber and multiple external vents. Instead of directing heat toward the keyboard, it pushes hot air through the vents, where it can hit your hands or peripherals. At least the keyboard stays cooler, right?

Is this your GadgetMatch?

At PHP 229,990, the HP OMEN Max 16 is a sleek-looking machine with incredible power under the hood. Despite its initial bulk, it delivers impressive performance for both casual and competitive gamers. Inside and out, it packs plenty of hardware and features to let you tailor the experience to your needs.

If you’re looking for a gaming laptop with decent battery life, this is a solid choice, but don’t expect it to last half a day. Of course, you wouldn’t use this machine entirely on its own, even if the unboxing experience might suggest otherwise.

Peripherals such as the HyperX Cloud Alpha Air and Solocast 2 Pro can further enhance the experience.

Overall, this is a Swipe Right for its features, performance, and premium design. However, if you don’t have an infinite money glitch to buy it right now, you’re better off saving up for this beast of a machine!

Reviews

vivo V80 review: Good phone, tough sell

A capable travel companion

Published

October 19, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

The vivo V80 is a capable midrange smartphone with a versatile camera system, excellent battery life, and a display that works well even in bright daylight. However, some camera quirks and its asking price give you a few things to think about.

vivo V80 specifications

Component	Specifications
Display	6.59-inch AMOLED, 1.5K (2750 × 1260), up to 144Hz, 5,000-nit local peak brightness
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, 4nm
RAM / storage	8GB RAM; 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage options vary by market
Rear main camera	50MP Sony LYTIA 700V, OIS, f/1.88
Telephoto camera	50MP Sony IMX882, OIS, 3× optical zoom, up to 10× digital zoom
Ultra-wide camera	8MP, 115° field of view
Front camera	50MP autofocus, f/2.0, 92° field of view
Video	Front and rear cameras support 4K at 60fps
Battery	7,200mAh typical capacity; 90W FlashCharge
Charging	Advertised 50% charge in 30 minutes; Multi-Scenario Bypass Charging
Operating system	OriginOS 7, based on Android 17
Durability	IP68 and IP69 water and dust resistance
Build	Cold-carved glass back, aerospace-grade metal frame
Dimensions / weight	157.52 × 74.33 × 7.69mm; 203g
Security updates	Six years of annual security updates, according to the launch materials

A pretty face, but nothing fancy

The vivo V80’s design goes from “wow” when you first unbox it to subtly eye-catching the more you use it.

I used the phone primarily with a case, although I didn’t feel like I needed one. Overall, it has a plastic-like feel. Nothing I would call premium, but it doesn’t feel cheap either. It’s par for the course for a base-model midranger.

It’s light and easy to hold. I’d say it feels like your prototypical base-model midranger, just with a poppy back design.

A travel buddy with a few quirks

I took plenty of photos during my trip to Hanoi, Vietnam.

It’s worth noting that the phone received around three updates during my testing. Some of these included camera improvements. If there’s some unevenness in my experience and the resulting photos, I would attribute it to this.

Overall, though, the vivo V80 is a serviceable travel companion. I took plenty of food photos, and this is one of the few phones where I genuinely preferred Food Mode over the regular camera settings.

It made the many satisfying Vietnamese dishes I had during this trip look even more appetizing.

The camera can be quite hit or miss in certain lighting conditions. One thing I noticed is that it tends to brighten scenes more than I would like. My advice is to adjust exposure compensation between -1 and -3 when the situation calls for it. This can help keep scenes from looking too bright, but you don’t need to change the setting for every shot.

Beyond exposure issues, I also noticed considerable lag when opening the camera after the phone had been idle. There’s a noticeable wait before the camera app becomes usable.

This could mean missing the moment, which is crucial when taking photos. The solution is to stay ready, although a software patch to address this wouldn’t hurt.

Despite those two issues, I enjoyed taking photos with the vivo V80. More samples below.

Quaint little cafe

vivo Textured

I realized I was shooting mostly in Vivid mode so I tried textured for a while. Here are the results.

Best souvenir shop: Goi Gem

Portrait photography

Portraits weren’t my main focus during my time with the device. I only took four regular portrait shots while visiting a train-themed tourist attraction with some friends.

Lighting was a hit or miss here, too.

Time to talk games

Ha. Here we go.

I realized I can’t cop out anymore and keep saying I don’t play mobile games. To address this, I identified three games I would use in my smartphone reviews. Some may change from time to time.

Battle Cats was the most casual game I tried and probably the most fun I had playing. The phone had no trouble running it. The experience was smooth.

The same can be said about Asphalt Legends. Even when the graphics settings weren’t at their highest, the game still looked good and played well.

Wuthering Waves, meanwhile, defaulted to medium graphics settings. The game still looked decent, but you could already tell it could look better. The phone’s default settings prioritized a consistent and mostly lag-free experience. I wouldn’t push it beyond that.

I’m still on the lookout for mobile games I can include in these tests. Preferably, I’d like something that plays as simply as Battle Cats but offers peak graphical fidelity. I’m open to recommendations!

A screen that gets it right

Still Isa-holic after a few reviews

The vivo V80’s display is pretty darn good.

Even in broad daylight, I had no trouble seeing what was on the screen. I spent time at a cafe near a window in the early afternoon, watching STAYC Isa content and catching up on Doctor X: Mafia in White on Netflix.

I wanted to watch Merry Berry Love and see Imada Mio, too, but Disney+ wasn’t available in Vietnam during my trip. I settled for watching some trailers instead.

The display also performed well during gaming. I didn’t notice anything in particular that stood out, and I mean that in a good way. Everything looked and played as expected.

To me, that means the display technology worked to perfection. It delivered a clear, smooth experience without drawing attention to itself for the wrong reasons.

Two days? Maybe. One day? Absolutely

YES. Very dependable.

I had a hard time curating photos for this review because I took hundreds of them during my trip to Hanoi.

Between taking photos, testing games, doomscrolling, watching STAYC Isa content across different platforms, and catching up on shows like Doctor X: Mafia in White on Netflix, I never felt like I needed to find a plug or charge the phone in the middle of the day.

I typically ended the day with around 40–45% battery remaining. The vivo V80 can endure heavy days and likely more. Battery performance is excellent.

And you won’t feel like you’re away from the phone for too long when you finally need to charge it after a long day out. Topping it off takes roughly the time it takes to watch an episode and a half of anime, or about one episode of The Rookie. That’s around 30–40 minutes for a full charge.

The battery life and charging speeds are likely among the better ones in its class. Having both in a phone that’s relatively light and compact is quite a feat. I suppose this is the new normal for midrangers now.

OriginOS still feels a little offbeat

I’ve been using OriginOS sparingly for the last year or so. Something about it still feels offbeat to me.

Although, if you use phones from other Chinese manufacturers, you shouldn’t have too much difficulty adjusting. They all have subtle differences here and there, mostly in their icons and animations. However, the general feel will be familiar to most Android users.

Is the vivo V80 your GadgetMatch?

The vivo V80 is a good phone. It’s serviceable for mobile gaming, more than decent for everyday browsing and social media scrolling, mostly fantastic for taking photos, and capable of staying powered throughout all those activities.

The display is another highlight. It remains easy to see in bright daylight and delivers a smooth gaming experience without calling attention to itself. Meanwhile, the battery easily keeps up with heavy days of photography, gaming, and entertainment.

The kicker, like in most things, is usually the price.

Midrange phones have become harder to place of late. In a vacuum, they’re really good smartphones. But the asking price, which can be influenced by multiple factors, will give you pause.

The vivo V80 is listed at PhP 42,999 for the 8GB + 128GB model in the Philippines. In India, the same base storage configuration starts at INR 62,999. That’s quite a lot, especially for a smartphone that feels like it should be priced closer to its predecessor, which started at PhP 31,999.

It’s still a Swipe Right, but a shaky one at that. At this price point, I’m thinking I’d rather start saving up for a more premium smartphone. It’s easier to justify a higher price tag for something that performs excellently across the board and that I know I’ll use for years.