After surpassing the first half of 2025, vivo continues with their one and lonely V-series model initiative.

While China’s S30 Pro mini was unveiled first as the X200 FE for global markets, the vivo V60 is simply the rebadged version of the S30.

Complex product portfolio and confusing naming scheme aside, it’s great to see that the Chinese brand still brings their wonderful midrange offerings outside their homeland towards consumers that need it more than just daunting entry-level choices or harder to obtain flagships.

But, how does the new V-ranger perform after extensive use? Here’s my take on the vivo V60 after 60 days.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

Visually, the vivo V60 doesn’t differ much from its predecessor.

Once you place (or hold) them side by side, the overall look and feel of the vivo V60 is barely indistinguishable.

Looking closely, the only notable difference is their revamped camera cutout. Other than that, its Aura Light module is visibly smaller — despite being branded as “Portrait 2.0.”

Don’t diss it though as it’s actually brighter. There’s even an extra camera circle up top — more on that later.

That said, there’s nothing wrong with the design of the vivo V50.

Flipping to its front, those rounded corners are more comfortable to hold in contrast to the sharper edges found on the older V-phones like the V40 and V30.

Its micro-curved display also makes more sense when navigating the phone via gestures.

There’s enough tactility without the sharp feeling when swiping through edges of conventional flat screens.

Speaking of, the displays aren’t any different.

It still packs the similarly-sized 6.77-inch AMOLED display of the V50. Then again, I don’t have complaints as it’s already superior-looking for the category it belongs to.

It’s worthy to note though that brightness output has been upgraded to 1500 nits (HBM) and 5000 nits (peak HDR). That’s in contrast to 1300 and 4500 nits of the vivo V50.

Sad to say, vivo’s aging optical under-display fingerprint scanner still remains.

Speaking of, the loud and proud stereo speakers are also here to stay — which I truly enjoyed during my banging bathroom sessions.

They are not just loud, they sound fuller than regular phone speakers with enough separation between highs, lows, and mids.

With shower in mind, dual IP68 + IP69 rating are here to stay.

Thrice the ZEISS

For the first time in forever, vivo finally brings a triple camera system to the base V-model.

	vivo V60	vivo V50
Wide	50MP f/1.88 Sony IMX766 1/1.56” sensor	50MP f/1.88 OmniVision OV50E 1/1.55” sensor
Ultra-Wide	8MP f/2.2 OmniVision OV08D10	50MP f/2.0 Samsung JN1
Periscope Telephoto	50MP f/2.65 Sony IMX882 3x Optical Zoom	—
Selfie	50MP f/2.0 Samsung JN1	50MP f/2.0 Samsung JN1

To be precise, the presence of that 3x periscope shooter isn’t something in my bingo card this 2025. But, who am I to complain?

    

Without a doubt, these periscope samples look better than what its predecessor can take with its measly 2x in-sensor zoom based on the power of the 50MP main camera.

Speaking of, the main (wide) cameras may look similar in numbers. However, vivo changed the sensor to a Sony unit this time.

Honestly, taking 2x digitally-zoomed shots here looks more decent compared to its predecessor — despite having a similarly-sized sensor.

Bad thing or not, its ultra-wide lens was downgraded from a Samsung-equipped 50MP to an 8MP OmniVision sensor.

The obvious sharpening can be seen once you zoom or crop in. Minus the presence of natural light, it gets worse — even with the Night Mode enabled.

Still, it still looks nice for those Gen-Z selfies.

The only thing similar are their front-facing cameras — which is coincidentally alike to the ultra-wide sensor of the V50.

Aura-fied Portraits

While already here, the vivo V60 is truly enjoyable for capturing picture-perfect moments.

With the signature ZEISS Style Bokeh, it gives the best of both vivo’s imaging and ZEISS’ color calibration plus lens imitations when shooting through Portrait Mode.

Fortunately, it’s not limited to human subjects as I was able to use it pretty much to adorable pets around.

There’s even the magic of Aura Light — a feature very exclusive to the V-series.

Not only the X-models don’t have it. The X200 Pro I use doesn’t have a flash toggle when taking photos through its more intricate Portrait Mode.

And while we’re at it, Aura Light is more preferable than using that harsh flash unit.

vivo’s special-made soft ring light clearly illuminates subjects better without overexposure and avoidance of blown-out highlights.

ZEISS Color Changes

There are also some changes in its native camera app.

At first, I thought the ZEISS Color Profiles were scrapped. That’s until I discovered it was moved towards the lower right part together with extra film-like looks: Classic negative (NC), Positive film (CC), and Clear blue (VB).

The vivo V50 (and even the X200 series) got those modes at the upper part.

With all that aside, here’s how the vivo V60 performed in various modes and color looks.

Experience-wise, there’s no single color profile that’s best for all.

Having to choose the most suitable one will still depend on what type of look and feel you’re trying to capture for your snaps.

Persistent Periscoproblem

The periscope shooter of the vivo V60 is far from being flawless.

One persistent problem I encounter is when I try shooting subjects (like food) at a closer distance.

Whenever I tap 3x focal length and beyond, the unit struggles to focus right after selecting the camera’s focus on the actual subject.

When it’s finally able to lock in that much needed focus, the quality seems like it was taken with a 10MP camera, having all that abundance sharpening happening while lacking detail altogether.

This doesn’t happen when using the periscope lens of other phones like the X200 Pro I daily drive. However, this isn’t also exclusive to the vivo V60.

The fact that I’ve experienced it in periscope telephoto shooters of some midrangers and even flagship devices might mean that it’s hardware-related — sensor, lens elements, periscope structure. Only the engineers (and true hardware nerds) know.

While I’m not THAT nerdy to determine the specific issue that hinders me to take zoomed shots at the minimum, it still bugs and bums me every time I wanted to take a closeup shot of something using the dedicated periscope camera.

The clear fix is to clearly avoid shooting at a very close minimum distance.

That said, that same zoom lens does its job without frills when shooting objects from afar.

Rodneil, my senior colleague, even brought it to 한소희 (Han So Hee)’s grand fan meeting last September.

For the proximity and the distance, you get stills that are post-worthy.

That’s also thanks to the Stage Mode feature that’s previously exclusive to vivo’s X-series flagship line.

Film Trim

In this era where film slash digicam aesthetics are the trend over professionally-looking phone snaps, V60’s Film Camera mode comes in very handy.

Being able to mimic Instax (or Polaroids) makes memory-making more memorable — at least in my eyes.

Although this was already a feature found in the last V-teration, V60’s flexible use of wide, ultra-wide, and dedicated zoom lenses made me use this feature more than last time.

With several film filters alongside various film designs and adjustments such as noise and blur, it feels like I got a subscription-based film app for free that comes native with the device itself.

Even if these are just digital copies, the overall aesthetics of the picture you captured makes it more nostalgic than just shooting one with vivo’s regular watermark.

And if you’re adamant about the persistent periscope problem I argued above, the same thing happens in this mode.

But hey, at least I got to use that Aura Light as a compensation to make my takes feel more like they’re actually shot on a film camera.

Ups and Downs

Within that six-month refresh cycle, the vivo V60 has promising notable hardware upgrades other than just its periscope telephoto.

Those include the newer Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 SoC announced last June 2025 and an even bigger 6500mAh BlueVolt Si/C battery. For context, vivo V50 has Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 and 6000mAh.

While those might look like minuscule improvements to most of you, my experience says otherwise.

Hardcore games such as Racing Master was able to run in Ultra-High graphics.

On the other hand, HoYoverse’s Zenless Zone Zero run on Low settings by default. Yet, the V60 maintained a stabler frame rate and response time in contrast to how the vivo V50 did.

Moreover, that 500mAh bump means I get to play games for longer periods without any battery anxiety especially when I’m nowhere near a plug outlet. That newer generation Snapdragon chipset might have also helped to make endurance longer and more efficient.

Powering up Performance Mode through vivo’s Game Mode sidebar, you can go past its native limits and trick the game to run smoother with several software optimizations. Of course, at the expense of heat and battery life.

For a full day of moderate to heavy use, the vivo V60 still has some left in the tank — around 8 to 15 percent.

In days where it’s lightly used or just staying in idle, it lasts for days.

And the moment it completely dies down, its bundled 90W FlashCharge adapter can quickly juice that tank up.

	1st Attempt	2nd Attempt
START TIME (From 0%)	9:33AM	10:01PM
3 minutes	1%	1%
5 minutes	5%	1%
10 minutes	15%	5%
15 minutes	22%	13%
20 minutes	30%	21%
30 minutes	46%	38%
45 minutes	71%	62%
1 hour	95%	85%
1 hour 5 minutes	98%	93%
1 hour 10 minutes	—	98%
END TIME	10:41AM 1 hr 8 mins	3:26AM 1 hr 14 minutes

For a capacity this massive, it’s understandable that it takes more than an hour to fully fill the phone.

If wireless charging feature is a huge dealbreaker for you, the vivo V60 unfortunately still doesn’t have one.

Is the vivo V60 your GadgetMatch?

The vivo V60 variant I have (12+512GB) retails for PhP 30,999.

Another variant with less half the storage retails for PhP 28,999 / SG$ 699 / INR 40,999. There’s even a smaller offer (8+256GB) at PhP 27,999 / MYR 1899 / INR 38,999.

Considering all the various configurations and great stuff listed above, it’s a midranger wonder definitely worthy to Swipe Right.

If it isn’t clear, the vivo V60 offers six upgrades worth considering: a newer chipset, faster and stabler graphics performance, bigger battery, longer endurance, and, heck, even a brighter display.

Last but definitely not the least, that extra periscope shooter is definitely the cherry on top.

Competitive Competition

The vivo V60 isn’t the only phone that boasts a combination of great hardware and software goodness.

Case in point: The realme 15 Pro is vivo V60’s closest and clearest competitor.

That similar PhP 30,999 price tag gets you the same 12+512GB config and chipset plus a larger 7000mAh battery — with the clear absence of a periscope shooter.

The HONOR 400 Pro is also a close call.

For PhP 2,999 more, you get a flagship-level Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. In return, you get an extra telephoto (not periscope) unit. Albeit, a smaller 6000mAh battery.

Considerably, the TECNO CAMON 40 Premier is a clear destroyer.

For a shockingly affordable price of just PhP 21,999, you get a very capable camera system — periscope lens included. That’s if you don’t mind having MediaTek’s Dimensity 8350 Ultimate (that’s frankly still very capable), a smaller 256GB storage, and an even lower 5100mAh battery.

If you’re coming from the vivo V50 or V40 (or even the V30 Pro), it’s clearly not something worth upgrading — not unless you badly needed that periscope shooter and even more battery capacity.

Those who own older V-phones like the V30, V29, V27, V25, V23 (you get the idea), this is a significant update worthy to upgrade. All that camera pizazz and ZEISS-tras the V60 offers are just way ahead than what they all have.

Having to use vivo’s V-series over the years, they’ve come far enough not just in hardware, but also both in software and even imaging. You just have to consider the inconsistencies I’ve brought up to say how that will affect you and your purchasing decision.