vivo V50 Lite Review – Exceptionally Thin Phone With Massive 6,500mAh Battery Tested

Following on from the recent launch of the vivo V50 in Malaysia, the brand hasn’t been idle and have just launched its more affordable sibling the V50 Lite  that’s intended as the successor to the earlier vivo V40 Lite with a number of improvements including one of the largest batteries ever crammed into a phone. At launch, vivo has even added the slogan ‘Charge Once, Stay Powered for Days’ as a testament to its sheer endurance.

We managed to get a sample for field testing ahead of launch and after taking it for a whirl, here’s our vivo V50 Lite review where we share if their workhorse phone is worth your money.

vivo V50 Lite Review – Build and Design

Belying its modest price point that starts from RM1,199 and up depending on which RAM/storage configuration you go for, the vivo V50 Lite looks surprisingly premium. You get your choice of Phantom Black, Fantasy Purple and in the case of our vivo V50 Lite review sample, a shade of Titanium Gold which translates to a slightly muted metallic gold finish with shinier metallic bronze trim on the side frame and button.

The backplate features the dual cameras as well as the Aura Light LED flash in a raised oval-shaped housing with the vivo logogram vertically emblazoned just below the camera housing.

The sides of our vivo V50 Lite review sample have a shinier metallic finish and are especially prone to smudges and fingerprints, requiring frequent wipedowns. The left and top side being otherwise bare and the right hosting a power button and volume rocker while the base hosts a USB-C port, a SIM card tray and a grille for one of the two speakers that form a stereo pair.

Up front, the vivo V50 Lite has a 6.77-inch FHD+ resolution AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a quoted peak brightness of 1,800 nits while featuring relatively slim side and top bezels though the bottom one is somewhat thicker than the rest while lends it a respectable 94.2% screen-to-body ratio. Of note is that vivo has also integrated reinforced Shield Glass as well as what they refer to as Diamond Anti-Drop Film onto the display for added resistance to nicks and drops. 

The top section of the display hosts a single 32MP camera inset in a tiny punch hole along with a tiny slit for the earpiece which also houses the second speaker while the bottom quadrant of the display features an under-display fingerprint reader. As a nice touch, vivo has also thrown in a free pre-applied screen protector on the display for good measure.

Aesthetically speaking, the finish looks rather posh from a distance though it does have a tendency to collect smudges. Fortunately, the entire chassis itself has a fairly respectable IP65 dust and resistance rating which allows it to survive jets of water and heavy rain though it is not intended for immersion into water. 

Looks aside, the vivo V50 Lite is built to be surprisingly durable and has a MIL-STD-810H durability rating as well as SGS Five-Star Drop Resistance certification to survive modest drops on account of a series of shock absorbers built into its internal chassis to cushion and protect critical components in the vent of impact.

While this level of durability has been seen in many competing devices, the vivo V50 Lite stands out on account of the fact that it’s just 7.79mm thin while packing an absolutely massive 6,500mAh BlueVolt battery which is easily one of, if not the largest batteries ever mounted in a smartphone while remaining as slim, if not slimmer, than many competing models. This combination of slimness and toughness against everyday mishaps makes the V50 Lite an impressive example of smartphone engineering.

@hitechcentury We unbox the all new vivo V50 Lite 5G that will be coming soon to Malaysia and check out what’s in the box ahead of our review! #vivo #vivomalaysia #vivov50lite #tech #fyp #hitechcentury @vivo_malaysia ♬ Aesthetic – Tollan Kim

In keeping with their tradition of offering value, our vivo V50 Lite review sample, which is indicative for units sold in Malaysia, comes with a generous array of extra gear. Not only do you get the aforementioned pre-applied screen protector but you also get a 90W fast charger and a protective case bundled with the phone on top of the obligatory USB-C cable. Rounding things off in the list of kit is a SIM eject pin and the usual quick start manuals and warranty paperwork.

vivo V50 Lite Review – Performance and Benchmarks

Astute readers will note that a 4G-only variant also exists in other regions but for Malaysia, with the primary difference between both versions being the use of a different Snapdragon 685 processor for the 4G-only version. Only the 5G-capable variants are sold in Malaysia. 

In terms of specifications, our vivo V50 Lite review sample comes with a fairly solid array of specifications ideal for a midrange phone with a Mediatek DImensity 6300 processor running the show. For Malaysia, a more affordable base variant with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage is available as well as a 12GB RAM/ 512GB storage variant as the best specced model. Our vivo V50 Lite review sample is in the middle of both the base and high-end variant, featuring

12GB LPDDR4X RAM that can be further augmented with up to 12GB of virtual Extended RAM off the onboard 256GB of storage. 

Regardless, all versions run Android 15 with their own FunTouch OS 15 overlaying it that also adds in a smattering of AI functions including Google Gemini accessed via holding down the power button and Circle to Search with Google. 

Here’s how our vivo V50 Lite review sample stacks up on paper:

 

Price	RM1,199 (8GB RAM/256GB), RM1,399 (12GB RAM/256GB), RM1,599 (12GB RAM/512GB)
Display	6.77-inch AMOLED, 1,080 x 2,392 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate, 1,800 nits peak brightness
Processor	MediaTek Dimensity 6300
OS	Android 15 w/ FunTouch OS 15
Memory	12GB LPDDR4X RAM w/ 12GB Extended RAM / 256GB UFS 2.2 storage [review sample]
Cameras	50MP w/ Sony IMX882 sensor + 8MP wide angle + Aura Light flash[rear] 32MP [front]
Battery	6,500mAh BlueVolt battery w/ 90W Flash Charge
Size/Weight	163.8 x 76.3 x 7.79mm /197g

The Dimensity 6300 processor is intended for midrange phones with an eye towards power efficiency and comes with a 5G modem as standard. When subjected to benchmarks with the default 12GB Extended RAM virtual memory which is also the maximum allowable allotment, our vivo V50 Lite review unit got the following benchmarks:

3D Mark Steel Nomad Light	149
3D Mark Steel Nomad Light Unlimited	150
3D Mark WildLife Extreme	378
3D Mark WildLife Extreme Unlimited	366
Geekbench 6 Single Core	756
Geekbench 6 Multi Core	1,954
Geekbench 6 OpenCL	1,444
Geekbench 6 Vulkan	1,451
Geekbench AI (CPU quanticised)	868
Geekbench AI (GPU quanticised)	206
PCMark Work 3.0 Performance	9,105
PCMark Battery Life	31 hours 26 mins

In terms of overall performance, the vivo V50 Lite and its Dimensity 6300 processor with its generous amount of RAM make it a capable workhorse for daily tasks expected of a phone as well as casual gaming duties. It isn’t going to break any speed records but multitasking is a smooth affair and it was able to smoothly handle web browsing on Chrome, texts as well as the odd game of PUBG or Call of Duty Mobile and Genshin Impact on the default low settings.  

While it isn’t a speed demon by any measure of the word, the vivo V50 Lite proves to be rather stable thanks to the power efficient Dimensity 6300 chipset. In the 3D Mark Steel Nomad Light stress test, it had a 98.7% stability rate with a stable, if low best and low loop score with temperatures maxing out at 35℃ which is relatively cool running as phones go.

Even in extended gaming sessions, our vivo V50 Lite review sample remained comfortable to wield two-handed in PUBG for hours on end without issue. Perhaps the only quibble here is that rather than the latest WiFi 6 standards, the phone is capped at WiFi 5 connectivity though this is more than made up for with 5G support. 

Where the vivo V50 Lite gets an edge over contenders in its price point is the addition of AI capabilities including Google Gemini as well as Circle to Search with Google lends it extra versatility especially in today’s AI-dependent world. The phone also has AI Screen Translation as well as Live Text translation of images and documents for quick translations.

In terms of service life, the vivo V50 Lite officially offers up to three years of OS updates all the way to Android 18 and four years of security updates which keeps it secure and safe until 2029 which is decent for a midrange model.

The AMOLED display offers good clarity and colour rendition with decent visibility under direct sunlight. The quoted 120Hz refresh rate is primarily when navigating the menus, which appreciably makes for a smooth navigation experience though most games and YouTube are locked to 60Hz which is an app related limitation. 

Where our vivo V50 Lite review sample stands out though is its provision of stereo speakers which offer a decent level of clarity for what you pay for and, in particular, offer almost absurdly loud volume thanks to its 400% Volume Audio Booster tech that ramps up the audio to impressive levels, making it ideal to share your taste in music, or lack thereof with anyone within a dozen paces.

Where the vivo V50 Lite knocks things out of the ballpark is its battery life. Not only does it feature one of the largest battery capacities mounted in a phone, it also has fast 90W charging too. Packing a 6,500mAh battery in a chassi that’s just 7.79mm thin, the phone has phenomenal endurance that trumps many flagship phones too. 

Combined with its efficient chipset, our vivo V50 Lite review sample was able to comfortably last two days and a bit more of normal usage for calls, texts, web browsing and social media with a bit of light gaming and videos thrown in for good measure. PCMark’s battery life test was exceptional as well with a whopping 31 hours and 26 minutes which is currently the best on test for any phone in service.

When using the bundled charger, it was able to get a full charge in just under an hour, which is quite a feat seeing the size of the battery though these speeds are contingent on using the proprietary cable and charger.

vivo V50 Lite Review – Cameras

On the imaging front, our vivo V50 Lite review sample features a modest dual rear camera array that consists of a primary 50MP F/1.8 main camera that uses a Sony IMX882 sensor paired with an 8MP F/2.2 ultra wide angle camera as well as an Aura Light flash for more pleasing portraiture.

This setup allows for lossless 2x digital zoom and up to 10x digital zoom in addition to 1080p@60fps video. The front has a single 32MP F/2.5 selfie camera that offers stills and up to 1080p@30fps video capture.

In terms of camera performance, the vivo V50 Lite’s rear cameras offer middling performance and do their best work in bright daylight conditions out to 2x zoom with any shots beyond that looking decidedly soft and grainy.

Capturing shots in dim light conditions incur significant shutter lag and the lack of optical image stabilisation (OIS) means you need either a tripod or a steady hand. While a Night mode exists, there isn’t any appreciable improvement  with shots veering on the grainy side.

If you keep your expectations modest and have a steady hand with good lighting, the rear cameras can deliver decent shots. Videos are unfortunately underwhelming which necessitates the use of a tripod. Up front, the selfie camera offers serviceable footage for video calls and the odd wefie or two.

On the bright side, the vivo V50 Lite does have an AI Erase mode that can intelligently delete objects from a photo with an image and it proved to be surprisingly competent when doing so as well as an AI Photo Enhance that sharpens and brightens up shots to make them more presentable.

Should you buy the vivo V50 Lite?

The vivo V50 Lite is a surprisingly capable phone, offering impressive battery life that rivals  many flagship phones, loud stereo speakers, 5G connectivity and AI capabilities. Add in its improved durability certification, bundled 90W charger and case along with its modest price point and you have an otherwise excellent budget phone.

While the camera performance remains modest and the OS and security update policy falls short of the competition, vivo V50 Lite remains an easy recommendation for those looking for a value-packed budget phone.

vivo V50 Lite review sample courtesy of vivo Malaysia. For more details please visit https://www.vivo.com/my/products/v50-lite-5g