This phone looks like the Apple iPhone. That pretty much summed up the Vivo V3 Max for us. However, we’re tired of the cliche that comes bundled with a Chinese branded device. Vivo has lost its identity in the country owing to its quality products that just don’t get the right price.
The Vivo V3 Max is the elder brother of the V3 series and packs a strong set of hardware with a software that has potential. Priced at around Rs 24,000 the Vivo V3 Max hopes to change the brand’s image with a product that has a lot going for it.
Pros:
- Excellent build quality
- Decent front-facing camera
- Nifty Fingerprint scanner
Cons:
- Priced above its value
- Sluggish Android UI
- Average rear camera
- Mediocre battery life
What’s Good?
It’ll be unfair to say that the looks of Vivo V3 Max has left us disappointed. In fact, we like that the phone mirrors the look and feel of the iPhone. The metallic finish and the slimness of the V3 Max ensures that you don’t feel the bulging 5.5-inch frame of the phone.
Besides the aesthetics of the V3 Max, the hardware in tow is equivalent to that of Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 3. The processor is reliable, with no major heating issues to report and left us happy with the way the phone behaved during our usage.
Vivo has been actively talking up its fingerprint scanner that works really well for people fond of clicking a lot selfies. You snap at the back and get pictures that can be shared on social platforms like Twitter, Facebook etc.
What’s Bad?
On the software side, the V3 Max gets Android 5.1 Lollipop over its custom user interface (UI) which sadly falters multiple times. The sluggishness of the UI forced us to reboot the phone multiple times to counter the device going whoosh on us.
The 13-megapixel rear camera doesn’t live up to its billing. It isn’t the worst we’ve come across, but Vivo is asking too much from us at this price. We’ll prefer the Xiaomi Mi 5 or the Honor 7 for their camera instead.
And finally, the 3000mAh battery suffers from the inclusion of a 4GB RAM with an octa-core processor. Even though the V3 Max gets a full-HD resolution display, the level of power discharge is good enough to ensure that you charge it twice a day, just to stay alive in the mobile world.
Why Buy It?
If you’re good with the occasional abrasiveness of the V3 Max and like a phone with strong hold over clicking selfies, you can consider the V3 Max. However, caveats such as under-performing hardware, combined with a sluggish UI could dampen your mood on a regular basis.
Add to the fact that multiple charges during the day might become the usual order. For Rs 24,000, Vivo V3 Max has the looks but everything else for this price just doesn’t add up for us.
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