Vivo V1 Max: Impresses with specs, but crosses Rs 20,000 price mark

If you want a great deal in an incredibly slim smartphone loaded with fairly impressive specifications, you could place your bets on Chinese handset maker Vivo Mobile Communication’s second model in its ‘V’ series – the Vivo V1 Max. 

Packed in a slim metallic body at 6.79-mm thickness with curvaceous corners, the phone has a 5.5-inch IPS display with a high-definition 1280x720-pixel resolution, sporting the stylishly-designed volume rocker and power buttons on its right side. 

Under its hood is a 1.4-GHz Snapdragon octa-core processor, paired with 2GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory with provision to support microSD cards of up to 128 GB. V1 Max runs Android 5.0 Lollipop with Vivo's FunTouch 2.1 OS layer, which is highly-customisable and assures smooth functionality of the device. 

 

What is interesting in V1 Max is the notification bar (also called the status bar), which unlike in most smartphones, could be accessed by dragging your finger upwards from the bottom towards the top of the home screen. This, I presume, was done deliberately to help navigate while using the one-handed keyboard feature etc. 

The dual-SIM, 4G LTE device is equipped with a 5-megapixel (MP) front camera sans any LED flash, which is a disappointment and could be rated as ‘just-average’ as the pictures came out dull and pixelated. However, its 13-MP rear camera stole my heart, which delivered sharp and clear pictures even in low-light conditions. 

Besides regular options like normal, HDR, panorama and night, V1 Max’s rear camera comes with a PPT mode, and an in-built ‘Face Beauty’ app that enables brightening up poorly-lit pictures and also changes your pictures’ tone and detail, on a single click. 

Vivo V1 Max is packed with a powerful 2720-mAh battery. When I played the graphically-intense game ‘Dungeon Hunter 4’ for almost one hour, it sucked up only 20 per cent of the battery juice, allowing me to stay powered for the rest of the day. 

Final verdict: Though offering 4.4 out of 5 stars for its design, performance and spectacular features, Vivo V1 Max leaves an impression that it’s over priced at Rs 21,980, and could have been offered in the sub-Rs 20,000 price point. 

Key specifications

Display: 5.5-inch HD IPS

OS: FunTouch OS 2.1 based on Android 5.0 Lollipop

Processor: 1.4 Ghz octa core

RAM: 2 GB RAM 

Storage: Internal 16 GB, expandable via microSD card (up to 128 GB cards supported)

Camera: 13MP primary and 5MP secondary

Battery: 2,720-mAh