Last year’s vivo V30 Pro grabbed attention with its advanced portrait photography features, Now, with the release of the vivo V40 Pro, the brand has set the bar even higher. Priced at approximately $599, this device promises improvements in both design and functionality. After spending three weeks using it, we’re here to answer the big question—does the V40 Pro live up to its V-series legacy? Let’s dive into the full review to find out.
Vivo V40 Pro Review
Design and Build Quality
The vivo V40 Pro maintains the signature design aesthetics that the V series is known for, but this time with a few notable changes that set it apart. At first glance, you’ll notice the phone’s familiar curved sides, similar to its predecessor, but a refreshed design approach ensures the V40 Pro has a unique identity. The buttons and ports are thoughtfully positioned, offering satisfying tactile feedback with each press.
A significant design change is the rear panel, especially the camera housing. The new design features a two-part camera island: the top section has a circular shape housing two lenses and the iconic Zeiss logo, while the lower half contains the telephoto lens alongside an intelligently placed Aura Ring Light. This layout not only looks sleek but adds functionality to the photography experience.
We had the opportunity to test the device in a striking new color, which comes with a wavy pattern on the back that gives the phone a distinctive look. It’s a bold yet elegant design choice that makes the phone stand out from the crowd.
Despite having a sizable 5500mAh battery, the Vivo V40 Pro is among the slimmest smartphones in its class at just 7.58mm thick. Vivo has achieved excellent weight distribution, making the phone feel light and comfortable to hold for extended periods. In terms of build quality, vivo uses a cushioning structure inside the phone to protect internal components from accidental drops or external shocks. Additionally, the phone features an IP68 rating, which adds water and dust resistance, making it more durable.
The use of Schott α glass on the front adds another layer of protection against scratches and drops. The middle frame is made of plastic, which might not feel as premium as metal, but it contributes to the phone’s overall lightweight feel without sacrificing durability.
Display and Audio Experience
One of the standout features of the vivo V40 Pro is its 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED display, which boasts a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. This display supports 10-bit color depth, offering up to 1.07 billion colors. Whether you’re watching videos, playing games, or simply browsing, the display remains sharp and vibrant.
Users can manually adjust the screen refresh rate between 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz to balance battery consumption and performance. With a 300Hz touch sampling rate and an impressive 1000Hz instant touch sampling rate, the screen is highly responsive, ensuring a smooth user experience, whether you’re gaming or swiping through social media feeds.
For those who are concerned about eye strain, the vivo V40 Pro comes equipped with a 2160Hz PWM dimming feature that helps reduce blue light exposure. In addition, there are several color modes to choose from, such as standard, professional, and bright color, each catering to different preferences. The eye-protection mode further filters blue light, making extended screen time more comfortable.
The display’s maximum brightness is 1800 nits, which is plenty bright for outdoor use. Even under direct sunlight, the screen remains legible, making it ideal for users who spend a lot of time outside. vivo claims a peak brightness of 4500 nits, but in our testing, we found the real-world performance to be more than satisfactory without verifying that extreme level.
Content consumption on this screen is a delight. Watching high-definition shows and movies feels immersive, thanks to the vivid colors and excellent contrast. We tested the phone while streaming Netflix and YouTube, and it performed exceptionally well. The phone supports Widevine L1 for HD streaming and HDR10, HDR10+ content, but it doesn’t come with Dolby Vision support, which some of its competitors offer at this price point.
As for the audio, the vivo V40 Pro includes a stereo speaker setup. The bottom-firing speaker works in tandem with the earpiece speaker, but the audio output is average at best. At higher volumes, the sound lacks depth, with noticeable distortion in the highs and a lack of punch in the lows. If you’re particular about audio quality, you might find the speaker performance somewhat underwhelming.
Software and Customization
Running on Android 14 with vivo’s proprietary Funtouch OS 14 skin layered on top, the vivo V40 Pro offers a user-friendly interface with plenty of room for customization. One of the biggest upgrades with Funtouch OS 14 is the increased level of personalization. Users can now customize kinetic wallpapers, choose between different lock screen clock styles, and even select from a variety of fonts to give their device a personal touch.
vivo has also committed to providing three major Android OS updates and four years of security patches, ensuring that the phone remains up-to-date and secure for a long time. While the interface is clean and easy to navigate, the phone does come pre-loaded with several apps and bloatware, which might be annoying for some users. The good news is that most of these apps can be uninstalled if they’re not needed.
The V40 Pro also introduces some interesting AI features, particularly in the camera department. The AI Eraser and AI Photo Enhancer tools work well, allowing users to remove unwanted objects from images and enhance old photos with ease. While generative AI tools might be absent, vivo’s focus on practical AI features still adds value to the overall user experience.
Performance and Benchmarking
At the heart of the vivo V40 Pro is the MediaTek Dimensity 9200+ chipset, one of the top-tier processors in the market right now. It comes with an octa-core configuration, including one Cortex-X3 core clocked at 3.05GHz for heavy tasks, three Cortex-A715 cores at 2.85GHz for mid-range processing, and four Cortex-A510 cores at 1.8GHz for lighter tasks. This setup ensures the phone can handle a variety of activities smoothly.
The phone comes in two RAM variants—8GB and 12GB—offering flexibility for users who need different levels of performance. During daily use, the vivo V40 Pro was a smooth operator. Whether scrolling through apps, watching videos, or playing games, the phone never stuttered or lagged. We put the phone through its paces with some demanding games like Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile and Genshin Impact, and the performance was stellar, even at high settings.
In benchmark tests, while the vivo V40 Pro may not claim the top spot in single-core tests, it truly excels in multi-core performance, making it ideal for multitasking and complex operations. Thermal management is impressive as well.
The phone remains relatively cool even during extended gaming sessions, ensuring that it’s always comfortable to hold.
When we tested its performance under stress, the V40 Pro maintained about 70% of its peak performance, performing slightly better than some of its rivals in the same price bracket. For casual users, the phone’s performance will likely exceed expectations.
Camera Capabilities
Camera performance is one of the areas where the vivo V40 Pro truly shines. Equipped with a versatile array of lenses, including a 50MP main sensor with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), a 50MP ultra-wide sensor, a 50MP portrait sensor, and a 50MP front camera, this phone is a photographer’s delight. All of these cameras are fine-tuned by Zeiss, ensuring exceptional image quality.
One of the biggest improvements is the updated Aura Light, which now adjusts its color temperature based on ambient lighting, ensuring more natural-looking photos in any setting. Whether it’s daylight or nighttime, the vivo V40 Pro delivers consistent, high-quality results.
Portrait shots, in particular, are outstanding, thanks to features like the “Portrait Lens Kit” that offers different focal lengths for diverse portrait styles. The Zeiss-inspired bokeh effects add a professional touch to your photos, with options for different bokeh shapes.
In terms of daylight photography, the V40 Pro excels with vibrant colors, excellent dynamic range, and sharp details. Ultra-wide shots retain the same color consistency as the primary camera, ensuring that your photos look cohesive even when switching between lenses. In low-light situations, the V40 Pro continues to impress. While photos without Night Mode can appear a bit soft, turning on Night Mode recovers much of the sharpness and detail, producing images comparable to daylight shots.
On the video front, the vivo V40 Pro supports 4K recording at 60fps and comes with OIS for smooth, shake-free videos. It also includes a Festival mode for capturing lively festival scenes with vibrant colors.
Whether you’re a casual photographer or someone who takes their photography seriously, the vivo V40 Pro is well-suited for both.
Battery Life and Charging
The vivo V40 Pro packs a massive 5500mAh battery, one of the largest in this price range, ensuring long-lasting battery life. During our tests, the phone easily lasted a full day of heavy use, including gaming, video streaming, and social media browsing. In the PCMark battery test, the vivo V40 Pro lasted an impressive 14 hours and 2 minutes.
The device supports 80W fast charging, and vivo claims you can fully charge the battery from 0 to 100% in just 50 minutes. Our testing confirmed this, making the V40 Pro one of the fastest-charging phones in its segment. This ensures that even if you’re in a hurry, you won’t have to worry about your phone running out of juice.
Conclusion: Is the vivo V40 Pro Worth It?
The vivo V40 Pro offers a compelling mix of design, performance, and camera features, making it a strong contender in the mid-range smartphone market. Priced at around $599, it delivers excellent value with its stunning display, powerful MediaTek chipset, and versatile camera setup. The battery life is another major plus, allowing users to enjoy their phones for longer periods without frequent recharges.
However, the phone isn’t without its drawbacks. The pre-installed apps and bloatware can be an annoyance, and the sound quality from the speakers leaves something to be desired. That being said, these are minor complaints in what is otherwise a fantastic package. If you’re looking for a stylish, powerful, and feature-packed smartphone, the vivo V40 Pro is definitely worth considering.
