Vivo continues to make its midrange V-series smartphones tempting by giving them some of the Zeiss-engineered camera technology found in its more expensive phones. The Vivo V40 and Vivo V40 Pro are the latest, and the concentration this time is on Zeiss’ portrait mode enhancements, a feature that has impressed us recently on the top-tier Vivo X Fold3 Pro.
The Vivo V40 Pro is the most interesting of the two, and the camera specs start with a 50-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS), a 50MP wide-angle camera, and a 50MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom and up to 50x digital zoom. This camera makes the most of the Zeiss Multifocal Portrait mode and the camera’s five different focal length settings to create great-looking portrait shots.
Portrait mode works with video on the V40 series too, with a Cinematic Bokeh Video mode shooting at 4K even with the bokeh portrait effect. Another mode, called Focus Transition, automatically switches focus between two people, depending on which direction they are facing, so you can give your videos a more professional look. The V40 Pro also has a set of different fill lights for portrait shots in lowlight, including the special Aura Light that we really liked on the Vivo V30 Pro.
All this is driven by a MediaTek Dimensity 9200+ processor with 12GB of RAM, plus a 5,500mAh battery with 80-watt fast charging. The screen size is unknown at the time of writing, but it does have a 120Hz refresh rate, and is wrapped in a body that’s just 7.58mm thick. There are three colors available (Meteor Blue, Moonlight White, and Stellar Silver), but the V40 gets a pair of special colors (Nebula Purple and Sunglow Peach) all to itself.
The Vivo V40 doesn’t have quite such a high specification, coming with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor and missing out on the 50MP telephoto camera, so if you really want to get the best portrait shots, the V40 Pro is the one to get. Vivo hasn’t announced price details for either phone, but the V series sits in its midrange and the V30 Pro could be found for less than $550, so the costs should be competitive. Both have been released in India today, with other Vivo regions to follow.
