vivo S19 Review: Impressive Cameras and Long-Lasting Battery

The vivo S19 was recently released in May 2024, entering the competitive flagship smartphone market. On paper, this phone promises impressive specifications that could make it a worthwhile contender.

Design and Display

The S19 sports a large 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1260×2800 and a high refresh rate of 120Hz. This gives the screen crisp details and buttery-smooth scrolling. It also gets very bright, reaching up to 4500 nits of peak brightness. The phone has a glass front and back with a plastic frame. At 163.6 x 75.7 x 7.2 mm, it’s a fairly big phone but only weighs 193g. The screen takes up around 89.6% of the front, leaving slim bezels all around.

Cameras

Camera performance is a key selling point of the S19. Both the main and selfie cameras come with a high resolution of 50MP. The main camera has an f/1.9 aperture and optical image stabilization for clearer shots. An 8MP ultrawide camera is also included for wider group shots or landscapes. On the front, the 50MP selfie camera with dual-LED flash should take excellent self-portraits. Video recording tops out at 4K 30fps on both cameras.

Performance and Battery

Powering the S19 is the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset with up to 16GB of RAM for smooth multitasking. Storage options include 256GB and 512GB configurations. The massive 6000mAh battery is a major highlight, supporting 80W fast charging which vivo claims can fill the battery from 0-50% in just 20 minutes. This should easily last over a day of normal usage.

Pricing and Availability

The vivo S19 is currently only available in select markets where it is priced at around 320 euros. For the price, you’re getting a phone with a flagship-level camera and battery specs through a mid-range processor. If fast charging, long battery life, and photography are priorities, the S19 deserves consideration. However, more real-world testing will be needed to determine if its performance can truly compete at this level.