vivo’s V40 series has been pretty solid this year, with amazing cameras and good performance. Now, after launching the regular V40 and the V40 Pro, the company has just introduced a new budget-friendly model to the lineup, i.e., the vivo V40e. The device has the same sleek design, a 50MP Sony sensor, and a massive 5,500mAh battery.

But the big question is: Has Vivo delivered a great smartphone under the 30K INR price bracket, or do smartphones like the Realme 13 Pro Plus take the crown? After testing the Vivo V40e for over a week, let’s dive into my review of the vivo V40e to see if it’s worth your money.

vivo V40e Review: Design & Hardware

If you have seen the V40 Pro, then the V40e would feel right at home. It’s sleek, lightweight, and fits right in hands, which is great as smartphones have grown massively in size recently. I received the Royal Bronze variant of the V40e, and it is spectacular. It’s easily the best color and gives the phone a unique look. Plus, the matte finish not only adds a premium feel but also helps protect the device from scratches.

The sides are made of plastic, which is pretty standard at this price point. While the frame protects the device from damage, it does pick up scratches easily, especially if you prefer using your phone without a case. Therefore, I recommend keeping the device in the included case.

On the other hand, the buttons are well-placed and easy to reach, and the in-display fingerprint sensor is both fast and reliable—I had no issues unlocking the phone, even after a workout with sweaty fingers.

The V40e’s display is protected by Schott Sensation Up glass, and the phone comes with a pre-installed screen protector. It also features IP64 dust and water resistance, meaning it can handle everyday splashes but isn’t designed for full submersion.

vivo V40e Review: Display

I’m a sucker for a good display, and the 6.5-inch Full HD+ 120Hz AMOLED panel on the vivo V40e didn’t disappoint. The colors looked vibrant, and whether I watched a movie on Netflix or scrolled through Instagram reels, the experience was great, with no complaints. Also, vivo includes a visual enhancement feature that boosts colors and contrast when watching videos on platforms like YouTube and Netflix.

One thing to note is that the display curves at the edges. While it looks sleek, it can be a bit tricky if you prefer gripping your phone tightly during use.

What really impressed me, though, was the brightness. Budget smartphones often struggle outdoors, but not the V40e. With the high-brightness mode, I had no trouble viewing content outdoors, even under bright sunlight.

As for the refresh rate, the 120Hz made everything feel incredibly smooth, whether I was scrolling through apps or navigating menus. The best part? It doesn’t drop back to 60Hz on third-party apps like YouTube, Instagram, and Gmail.

vivo V40e Review: Performance

The Vivo V40e is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chip, featuring four high-performance Cortex-A78 cores running at 2.5GHz, four efficiency-focused Cortex-A55 cores running at 2GHz, along with the Mali-G615 MP2 GPU. My review unit had 8GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage.

Speaking of performance, I ran multiple apps simultaneously, including some light gaming, and the phone handled everything smoothly. Apps loaded quickly, and I didn’t experience any noticeable lag while switching between tasks.

I also ran a series of benchmarks to test the maximum performance. First, in Geekbench’s single-core and multi-core tests, the V40e scored 1030 and 2999, respectively. Moving on to the AnTuTu benchmark, it scored 685,730 points. I also ran the infamous 30-minute, 30-thread stress test to assess thermal performance, and the device throttled to 94% of its peak performance—showing that Vivo has implemented solid cooling measures.

Moving over to gaming, I tried playing BGMI on “Smooth” and “Extreme” settings, and to my surprise, the phone performed quite well. While it’s not a gaming beast, the V40e is more than capable for casual gamers. Also, thanks to its cooling system, I didn’t notice any overheating during gameplay.

Battery Life

With its massive 5,500mAh battery, I had high expectations for the V40e—and it didn’t disappoint. I managed to get around 9 hours of screen time during a full day of moderate usage, including streaming, social media, and a bit of gaming. On lighter usage days, the phone even lasted until the following afternoon. As for charging, the 80W adapter took the battery from 20% to 80% in just over 30 minutes, which was impressive.

vivo V40e Review: Cameras

For many people, the camera is a deciding factor when choosing a phone, and the V40e might be the best in the segment. But before we go ahead, the device sports a dual-camera setup: a 50MP Sony IMX882 sensor with OIS and an 8MP ultra-wide lens with a 116-degree field of view.

In daylight, the V40e’s primary camera captures sharp and vibrant photos. I took a few pictures during an evening walk, and the colors were accurate and punchy. The level of detail in these images is impressive for a phone in this price range. However, the camera may struggle with fast-moving subjects.

Since the V40 doesn’t include a zoom lens, the primary sensor also doubles as the portrait lens, and the results were fantastic. The company has included its festive portrait filters, which add a fun touch to the photography experience. Talking of the results themselves, the portraits were sharp, had a natural depth of field, and great edge detection. While the image quality does take a hit at night, it isn’t a big issue.

UltraWide shots

The 8MP UltraWide camera is similar to what you’d expect from any other. It captures good photos in well-lit conditions with minimal distortion. However, in indoor or low-light situations, the quality drops significantly.

Nighttime shots

The V40e’s low-light performance was also quite good. The night mode helped me capture detailed shots while maintaining color accuracy. However, there’s a noticeable grain in darker areas. That said, for casual photography, it’s more than capable.

But this is not all. The vivo V40e also houses the company’s Aura lighting system, which essentially is a beefed-up flash that allows for well-lit photos in darker settings. With this, I was able to take some impressive shots where the subject was illuminated. You can also adjust the temperature of the light.

Selfies & Videos

On the front, the vivo V40e houses a massive 50MP Samsung Isocell JN1 sensor, and the selfies it took were just fantastic. The details were sharp, the colors were accurate, and the beauty mode didn’t interfere too much. Plus, the phone offers three different focal lengths for selfies, which is a handy feature.

vivo V40e Review: Software

If you’ve never used a vivo phone before, then the V40e would feel right at home with FunTouch OS 14 running on top of Android 14. The software works perfectly fine and has a lot of customization options. You can tweak everything from the themes to the icon styles, so it’s easy to personalize the phone to your liking. As for software support, vivo promises two years of software updates and three years of security patches.

Similar to its bigger brothers, the V40e also comes with several AI features, including the AI smart removal and the AI image enhancement. I put them to the test, and the results were actually pretty good. The smart removal feature removed small and large objects from photos and did a solid job of filling in the gaps. However, remember that this feature may struggle with more complex backgrounds. Meanwhile, the AI Image Enhancement proved useful for restoring old photos and revealing finer details.

Should you buy the vivo V40e?

Starting at Rs. 28,999 for the 8+128GB variant, the vivo V40e is actually a good smartphone. For the price, you get an amazing design, a bright AMOLED display, and perhaps the best main camera in the segment. While the chipset isn’t the best, the performance is adequate for almost everyone. So, if you’re looking for a phone that offers a good balance of performance and price with minimal compromises, the V40e is a great choice. You can find it on Flipkart and vivo’s official website.