Live Design S1
Vivo smartphones generally have a very elegant and beautiful design. New phones are also part of this league. Vivo S1 sports a 6.38-inch display with a dewdrop notch at the top. Vivo has given AMOLED panel in this phone. Vivo S1 comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor. The edges of the screen are very thin. But the edge of the serving is a bit wide.
Vivo S1 is available in two colors: Diamond Black and Skyline Blue. We have reviewed the Diamond Black unit. Its back is laminated and has a diamond pattern design and a gradient color finish. Depending on how the light falls, a diamond pattern appears on the back, which is very pretty to look at.
However, we did not like the material used on the rear panel of the Vivo S1. It scratches easily. Here the company should have given you Corning Gorilla Glass like Redmi Note 7 Pro (Review). Vivo S1 comes with triple rear camera setup. The camera module sticks out. But they get scratch protection from the metal edge at the edge.
Vivo has been based on a plastic frame that curves at the sides. For this reason, the grip of the phone is still good. The back panel does not slide smoothly on the frame. Vivo has given the volume rocker along with the power button on the right side of the phone. These are easily accessible. Like the Vivo Z1 Pro, the Vivo S1 also has a dedicated button for the Google Assistant.
We were disappointed to see the Micro-USB port on the Vivo S1. Because at this price, companies have started providing a USB Type-C port. The microUSB port is placed at the bottom, along with the speaker and 3.5mm headphone jack. While the SIM tray is on the left side.
Vivo S1 Specifications and Software
Vivo S1 is the first smartphone in India to come with MediaTek Helio P65 processor. Helio P65 is a mid-range processor based on a 12nm process. Mali G52 is built into the phone for graphics.
Vivo has launched three variants of Vivo S1 in India. The initial variant is with 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. The second variant is equipped with 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. The most premium variant has 128 GB of storage with 6 GB of RAM. The price of these variants is Rs 17,990, Rs 18,990 and Rs 19,990 respectively. We have reviewed the main variants of the phone. Out of the box, we got 100GB of storage. Regarding the price, it can be said that Vivo S1 will directly compete with Realme X (Review) and Oppo K3 (Review) in the market.
Vivo S1 is a dual SIM device. It has a slot for two Nano-SIMs. There is also a separate slot for the microSD card. Connectivity features of the Vivo S1 include Bluetooth 5, dual-band Wi-Fi, GPS, FM radio, dual 4G VoLTE, and common sensors. The battery of the Vivo S1 is 4500 mAh. Apart from this, an 18-watt fast charger will be available in the retail box.
Vivo S1 runs on Funtouch OS based on Android 9 Pie. That is, the user interface of the phone is completely customized. If you have never used a Vivo smartphone before, it will not be easy to understand the device. There is no app drawer in it. All app icons are on the home screen. Funtouch has a command center similar to iOS.
The Vivo phone already has a lot of unwanted apps. Like Dailyhunt, Helo, Facebook, Gaana, Amazon Shopping, PhonePe, Paytm and many more. The good thing is that unlike the Oppo A9 (Review), we did not face spam notifications on the phone.
Vivo S1 performance, battery life and cameras
The MediaTek Helio P65 used in the Vivo S1 is well suited to general use. You will never have a complaint. The smartphone launches applications quickly. You can play any game or use any app on the Google Play Store. We didn’t have to wait long to open any app. The Vivo S1 also handles battery drain very well, especially when the phone is not in use. Due to the use of 6 GB RAM variants, there was no problem in multitasking. We didn’t even have to close any background apps.
Vivo S1’s AMOLED panel comes with great viewing angles. There was no problem reading on the phone even outside. However, the speaker at the bottom does not sound very loud. Due to this, media entertainment on Vivo S1 is not that much fun. We tested facial recognition with the device’s on-screen fingerprint sensor. The on-screen scanner unlocks the phone by quickly scanning your finger. Although face unlock is not the most secure way to unlock a smartphone. But it is very fast and convenient.
PUBG Mobile ran on the Medium preset on the Vivo S1. The graphics were set to Balanced and the frame rate was set to Medium. We played this game on the phone for about 20 minutes. During this, the phone got hot and the battery consumption was 5 percent.
Vivo S1 will be known for its excellent battery life. He easily held up for about a day and a half. During this we did comparative tests. I took some photos. During this time the WhatsApp account was also active on the device. In our HD video loop test, the smartphone took 16 hours and 38 minutes. The provided charger charged the phone’s battery to 34 percent in 30 minutes and 65 percent in an hour.
Vivo has endowed with three cameras at the rear of the phone. There’s a 16-megapixel main camera with an F/1.78 aperture, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera with an F/2.2 aperture, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. A 32-megapixel selfie camera with F/2.0 aperture has been placed on the front panel.
Tap to see full size Vivo S1 camera samples
The camera app is the same as Vivo Z1 Pro. You have many modes. There are quick changes for HDR mode, Live Photo, Filters, and Aperture. There is a quick switch to switch between the normal and wide angle lenses.
Considering the price, we would say that the images taken with the Vivo S1’s camera are below average. The phone quickly focused in daylight. But we found that the photos were underexposed. The details were satisfactory. I could go read distant texts. If this scene is captured with an ultra-wide angle sensor, it results in a better exposed scene. But in this situation the details become less.
Good close-ups. The Vivo S1 locked focus quickly. The exposure was also accurate. However, the colors did not always come true. Portrait mode comes with different lighting effects. Which you can use before you touch the shutter button. The output had good edge detection.
Vivo has a separate aperture mode that is used for taking Bokeh photos. While taking portraits in this mode, we found the blur effect to be inconsistent. Edge detection was also nothing special in this mode.
The camera comes with the AI Portrait Framing feature that helps you frame a scene just right. The Vivo S1 takes the photo automatically when the frame is set.
The Vivo S1’s camera performance is average even in low light, as the phone was unable to capture details. We did not find any night mode in the camera application. This mode would probably have improved the performance of the phone’s camera in low light conditions. The details come in the selfie but the Vivo S1 overexposes the scene. You can also take portrait photos in selfie mode. In our experience, the phone was accurate in terms of edge detection.
You will be able to record videos of a maximum of 1080 pixels with the main and selfie cameras. We found that the Vivo S1 lacked video stabilization. This was shocking information considering the price.
our decision
Vivo S1 is another Vivo branded smartphone under Rs 20,000. Its design is captivating and it comes with an in-screen fingerprint sensor. The new MediaTek Helio P65 processor has been used in the phone, which is only slightly better than the MediaTek Helio P70 in some benchmark tests. Talking about processor power, Vivo S1’s performance was around the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor phone which will be available for around Rs 10,000 less than its current price.
Vivo S1 has a good battery life. But its camera performance let us down. Given the budget of Rs 19,990, you have solid options like Realme X (Review) or Oppo K3 (Review). Redmi K20 can be bought by spending a little more.
