Vivo Y16 Review: Redefining The Essentials with a New Design

January 15, 2023, 08:52 AM
by Shahriar Rabab

UNB News
Publish- January 15, 2023, 08:52 AM
Shahriar Rabab
Update- January 15, 2023, 09:14 AM

Vivo Y16 Review: Redefining The Essentials with a New Design

vivo brings budget phone Y16

The Vivo Y series has been the epitome of budget smartphones since its inception. In fact, this was one of the first lines introduced by Vivo. Over the years, the budget proposition combined with great camera hardware has allowed the Y models to become uber-popular in the South Asian region. Their latest iteration, the Y16 has been around for quite some time now, having launched on 1st September 2022. Here’s our detailed take on the Vivo Y16 Smartphone.

Key Specifications of Vivo Y16

Design and Build Quality

The Y series from Vivo has always been about experiments, at least in their design department. Every year, the brand has reinvented its design elements to be completely different from its predecessors.

The Y16 is also no different. The Y15 had a vertical strip camera housing with a fingerprint sensor on the back. However, on the Y16, Vivo used a rectangular camera housing with two large sensor cutouts. It's almost reminiscent of the iPhone 13 design, albeit with larger housing. The fingerprint has also been moved from the back of the device to the side.

Its dimensions are 164 by 75.6 by 8.2 mm. Coming to the build specifications, it’s a completely plastic phone with plastic frames and a glass front. At 184 gm, the device feels considerably lightweight. But due to the even balancing of the internals, it feels quite sturdy to hold in hand. There is no wobble whatsoever which is typically seen on plastic-built phones. The build quality is durable in and out.

Moving from the textured back, the power button is mounted on the side, which doubles as the fingerprint scanner. All the additional bells and whistles like micro SDXC, headphone jack, and Type C ports are present on the Y16.

Overall, the Y16 didn’t reinvent the wheel here. It ensured that everything on par with the budget segment is present on the device, making it a complete package.

The Display

Before moving on to the display specifications, one thing that will surely bother anyone is the large bezels all around. It’s not exactly a deal breaker but it's out of place by 2022 standards. The thick bezels around the water-drop camera cutout and the chin is something many competitors in this price segment has been done with. It's time Vivo should cut down thickness too.

The display itself on the Y16 is a 6.51-inch HD+ (720 by 1600 pixels) IPS LCD panel. The choice of LCD, as well as HD+ in this price segment, is understandable. The display resolution features a 20:9 ratio with ~270 PPI density.

Even though the specs are mediocre at best, the panel does a decent job of reproducing color. The content looks crisp and sharp with a warm undertone to them. viewing angles are also great on the device which is another plus point.

Will it be a content consumption king? Not by a long margin, but it will surely get your daily fix done. And that is exactly what Vivo has aimed the Y16 to be.

The Camera

The camera on the Y16 may sound like a step down considering it comes with a dual camera setup. The previous Y15 came with a triple camera module. Even though you’re getting two sensors, the main work is carried out by the primary 13 MP (f/2.2) shooter. The secondary camera is a mere 2 MP (f/2.4) macro lens which is as good as nothing.

We tested the camera at different lighting conditions and unsurprisingly, it performed the best in outdoor and bright light conditions. Color reproduction is decent but the dynamic range and the edge detection on the portrait shots are a hit or miss. Sometimes it can capture perfect details other times the main subject comes out a bit soft.

The situation is similar indoors and with artificial lights. There are no escaping grains and noises here and the included flashlight works well only for close-up subjects.

The videography is limited to 1080P at 30 fps. The front camera is also a generic 5 MP (f/2.2) shooter which provides passable results.

Overall the camera system on the Y16 is decent. It's nothing remarkable nor does it stand out from its competitors. Rather it’s something that will get the job done for casual social media posting.

Processor and Performance

The choice for budget processors has always been going to MediaTek. The Y16 also stays true to that with the Helio P35 processor based on a 12 Nm architecture. The octa-core processor has a 4 2.3 GHz Cortex-A53 and 4 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53 core design.

It’s the same old story with the Y16. You’re getting a processor that is designed for day-to-day usage with a focus on lighter tasks. If you’re going to use the device for social media or YouTube, the Vivo Y16 will fly.

But that doesn’t mean it can’t handle games. We ran 2D as well as graphics-intensive games like Asphalt 9, COD, and PUBG on the Y16. As long as you keep the graphics settings low, you will get a smooth frame rate without any drops. Though one gripe would be that the device gets pretty hot after 30-odd minutes.

Overall, the processor on the Y16 is designed to be the perfect casual daily driver. And it delivers on that through and through.

Battery and Charge Time

The Vivo Y16 has been equipped with a 5000 mAh battery. Given the processor and the display, this should easily last you a day’s usage on a single charge. There is also a 10W fast charging with the device. It’ll get your device from 0 to 100 in a little over 2 hours.

Official Price of Vivo Y16 in Bangladesh

The Vivo Y16 is officially available in Bangladesh in the 4/64 GB variant. The price of the device is 15,999 BDT.

Verdict

The Vivo Y16 with its display, camera, and processor has priced a tad above its competitors. This pricing would’ve been justified if it featured exceptional performance across the board. But the Y16 manages passable performance in each department with the camera being its saving grace.

There are other better options at this price point but if you’re a Vivo loyalist or looking for something reliable with a durable build, then the Vivo Y16 is an easy choice.