vivo V25 review: Funtouch OS takes the fun out of this very capable midranger

Chinese smartphone maker vivo has been making some interesting choices with its newest smartphones. Last month, the company launched the V25 Pro's younger sibling, the V25.

As I noted in my V25 Pro review, vivo has started making some really good photography-focused smartphones, and the V25 is no different. It offers solid cameras, robust battery life and sports a vibrant, colour-rich 6.56-inch AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and support for HDR 10+. The screen also has a peak brightness of 1300 nits, which makes it more visible in bright daylight.

The V25 is powered MediaTek Dimensity 1300 chipset and comes in two variants — 8GB RAM and 128 GB storage, and 12 GB/256 GB.

The back is made of frosted glass, which, just as on the V25 Pro, changes its colour when hit by ultraviolet rays.

The V25 has a 64-megapixel primary lens on the back, an 8 MP ultrawide lens and a 2 MP macro camera. On the front, there's a 32 MP camera for all your selfies.

The primary lens does a great job capturing nice photographs with just the right amount of saturation.

(Image: Vijay Anand)

(Image: Vijay Anand)

The V25 comes with a 4830 mAh and can go from 0-45 percent in 10 minutes, and 0-71 percent in 30 minutes using the in-box 66W charging brick.

I can't speak to these exact details, but the phone does charge rather rapidly. While you can get a at least day's worth of juice in about 20 minutes, the phone warm enough to the touch to make your palms sweat. But that is to be expected when a phone is fast-charging.

But get it up to 100 percent, and you will not have to worry about charging it at least until next day — that has been my experience, at least, with my review unit; your mileage may vary depending on your usage. With medium-to-heavy usage, I would frequently end the day with around 30-40 percent charge left.

This, unfortunately, is the most frustrating part with the V25, just as it was with the V25 Pro. vivo's Funtouch OS 12 — the company's Android skin — leaves a lot to be desired. Despite the 120 Hz display, there is a noticeable lag while scrolling, the animations judder and all of this takes away from the experience of using what is otherwise a pretty good smartphone.

Like I noted in my V25 Pro review, if you can live with — or ignore — the software shortcomings, then, at around Rs 28,000, the vivo V25 is a good buy. But if you want a superior software experience on a vivo smartphone, then you might want to try the X80, which, while priced nearly at  twice as much as the V25, offers a buttery smooth experience, and has smashing cameras.