Vivo Malaysia has just launched the V20 SE. And it’s a mid-range device, following the higher end X50 Pro that came just before. Prior to the event, I spent some time with the phone to get some quick thoughts of it.
On the front, there’s not much to help the Vivo V20 SE to distinguish itself from the crowd. Beyond the water drop notch at the top and the slight chin at the bottom, it looks pretty much like any other midrange Android device. As you’d expect from a phone of this price range, there’s no fancy curved edge screen here either.
It’s pretty much the same story too in use. In the short time that I had with the device, the user experience is familiar to that of the many Vivo devices that came before the V20 SE. The phone’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chipset and 8GB of RAM help keep the scrolling experience on the 6.44-inch Full HD+ display a smooth one. There’s also a fingerprint sensor underneath.
It feels great in hand, and is also a little on the light side too. Which shouldn’t be surprising, considering it weighs only 171g. You’ll likely be able to keep it in your hand for longer than you need to before your wrist feels the strain. And with the 4100mAh battery, you’ll be able to keep using it for quite some time.
Things are pretty much the same story on the sides, for better or worse. The power button and volume rocker is on the right side. The left side is clean, and this is because the SIM tray is located at the top instead.
At the bottom of the Vivo V20 SE though, things look familiar, but for a good reason. Here, we see a USB-C charging port, the speaker grille, and the 3.5mm audio jack.
At the back, you’ll see the camera island housing the triple camera setup. These consists of the main 48MP unit, accompanied by an 8MP camera and another 2MP camera. There’s an LED flash here as well, which is something we’ve come to expect from pretty much any phone in the market now. The edges are curved, which helps with comfort when it’s in your hands.
Overall, the Vivo V20 SE looks and feels a lot like a phone in the lower mid-range segment. And it comes with a price tag of RM1199 that reflects its components more accurately too, at least when compared to the higher-end devices by the brand. Which makes it look like a fair pick when you’re looking for a phone within this price category.
