Vivo iQOO U5e Smartphone Review – The Vivo iQOO U5e is a great phone in the mid-range segment as it brings lots of subtle features that generally users need from the phone. From the reports, it is clear that the phone is currently exclusive to the Chinses smartphone market. But on the other hand, we can’t confirm whether the company will release this phone to other markets. However, one thing is clear the phone is the rebadged version of the Vivo Y33e in China, June 2022.
The iQOO U5 lineup first phone released last year and it was quite appealing for the user’s needs, then company reduce the features and increase the price to release the iQOO U5x, which more or less becomes an average entry-level phone. Following this, the smartphone makers launched the Vivo iQOO U5e to dominate the affordable smartphone market in China. So, let’s find out more in the detailed review of the Vivo iQOO U5e smartphone.
Table of Contents
Vivo iQOO U5e Smartphone Review
Highlights
- The device comes with a 6.51-inches IPS LCD panel that can easily render 720p resolution.
- A Dimensity 700 chipset handles performance aspects precisely and also grants 5G connectivity.
- As for the software layering, the phone brings the latest Android 12 club with Origin OS Ocean skin.
- A standard 13MP dual camera setup appears on the back panel, while the 8MP selfie lens is seen on the front display.
- Finally, the Li-Po 5000mAh battery department is powered by an 18W fast charging speed.
Design and Display
The company provides a refreshing design layout on the Vivo iQOO U5e with a glossy back panel and square camera module placement. Aside from this, the device is available in a variety of shade options from which you can choose anything that appeals to you the most. The iQOO U5e includes basic Silver and Blue color variants. Both of them are looking quite fabulous and interesting.
Even though, it’s a plastic build the phone doesn’t look cheap or outdated compared to other brands. Following this, it’s worth noting that the phone only weighs around 193 grams so it won’t feel that heavy while holding the phone in a single hand. Furthermore, the side frame is thin and also holds side mounted fingerprinter scanner for security purposes.
But at the same time, there’s no doubt that the company doesn’t render IP rating support on this phone. Anyway, the front display has thin bezzles with a drop notch 6.51-inches IPS LCD panel. With this panel, you will obtain HD resolution and decent colors while watching content. But sadly, the brightness levels are low and you will get a hard time using it in outdoors.
Memory and Internal
Usually, the iQOO phones are performance-centric, and the same goes for the Vivo iQOO U5e as it brings subtle performance with the 7nm MediaTek MT6833 Dimensity 700 chip. Through this chipset, you won’t notice any particular problem with your daily activities, and also play causal games without any problem. Aside from this, the phone also supports sufficient power to render a smooth experience.
Unlike the affordable 5G phones, here you don’t comprise the performance or software section. As for the software layering, the latest Android 12 interface comes with Origin OS Ocean, which has a native Chinese apps ecosystem and lots of customization traits that will help the users to adjust the interface according to their needs. But at the same time, there are bloatware apps noticed in the software interface.
Though, if you have used Vivo phones previously, you might know about some of the pre-install system apps, while most of the third-party applications can be removed. Finally, let’s move toward the storage options that you will get from Vivo iQOO U5e. It includes standard 128GB internal space with UFS 2.1 memory type and 4GB to 6GB RAM support.
Camera
The Vivo camera result most often comes out great as the company invests a good amount of time in image processing. In the case of the Vivo iQOO U5e, the device arrives with an impressive native camera app that offers lots of modes, filters, and many more things. As far as the camera specs are concerned, the smartphone makers provide a pretty average setup of a 13MP primary lens with a 2MP macro lens.
Moving to the front display section, you will notice an 8MP water drop-notch selfie camera. With this camera module, the camera results are expected to be dull and noisy. But the primary camera setup proves most of the allegations wrong with vibrant colors, decent saturation, and sharp contrast in the daylight photos, while the lowlight photos are presentable.
However, the same thing can’t apply to the selfie camera as you will notice a drastic drop in the image processing, and noise is pretty much visible in the lowlight photos from the selfie camera. But at the affordable price range, the overall image quality is good enough. As for video recording, the phone support 1080p video recording without any hassle.
Battery and Others
In recent years, having a Li-Po 5000 mAh battery capacity is common and the phone optimizes the battery life properly to render up to 5 hours of screen time. And even then, roughly 14% battery will still be left. Moreover, the company also added an 18W fast charging support for the Vivo iQOO U5e, which will make sure the phone is refueled within an hour and a half.
In terms of the extra features, the phone offers quite a decent sound output, while giving crips and clear experience with a 3.5-mm jack port. Overall, you are getting all of the latest sensors and features that are necessary. Last but not least, the Vivo iQOO U5e cost around $194 (Rs. 15,999) approx for the starting variant, which is a mediocre deal according to the price-to-value ratio.
Vivo iQOO U5e Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Vivo iQOO U5e smartphone.
| Specifications | Vivo iQOO U5e |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | June 2022 |
| SIM | Dual SIM |
| Dimensions | 6.46 x 2.98 x 0.33 inches |
| Weight | 193 g |
| Size | 6.51 inches |
| Display | IPS LCD 20:9 ratio ~270 PPI density |
| Protection | No |
| Resolution | 720 x 1600 pixels |
| OS | Android 12, Origin OS Ocean |
| Chipset | 7nm – MediaTek MT6833 Dimensity 700 |
| CPU | Octa-core 2×2.2 GHz Cortex-A76 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55 |
| GPU | Mali-G57 MC2 |
| Card slot | microSDXC |
| RAM | 4GB, 6GB |
| Internal | 128GB UFS 2.1 |
| Camera | 13 MP (wide), PDAF 2 MP (macro) LED flash, HDR, panorama Max – 1080p@30fps |
| Selfie | 8 MP (wide) Max – 1080p@30fps |
| Loudspeaker | Yes |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 5.1, A2DP, LE, aptX HD |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS |
| NFC | No |
| Infrared port | No |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, USB On-The-Go |
| Sensors | Side-mounted fingerprint, accelerometer, proximity, compass |
| Battery | Li-Po 5000 mAh Fast charging 18W |
| Colors | Blue, Silver |
| Expected Price | $200 (Rs 16,000 in India) approx. |
Conclusion
After going to a different aspect, the Vivo iQOO U5e smartphone is underlined as an average phone that will sooner or later be forgotten by the users. The reason for that is there are several ranges in the same price range every day. Apart from being released with the new chipset, there’s nothing exciting about this phone. On the same note, the phone is exclusive to Chinese smartphones at the time the phone is reviewed.
But if we overlook the flaws for a moment, the phone got enough storage support, good camera quality, and decent battery life. You can purchase this device if it’s available in your country only when its have some discounted price. As for alternative options, we would suggest you check out the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11R which has almost the same features but costs comparatively less.
