Vivo S2 Review: specs and features, camera quality test, gaming benchmark, user opinions and photos

Vivo S2 – A Pursuit of Beauty

It's hard to deny the excellent designers at the Chinese company Vivo. The manufacturer strives to make even relatively inexpensive smartphones stylish and memorable, like flagships. Today's review subject is no exception. But does the beautiful shell conceal a future hit? Let's find out.

The new device's appearance has earned numerous compliments. Perhaps the only signs of cost-cutting are the plastic side bezels; the material is clearly inferior in durability and tactile feel to metal. However, it boasts IP69 water resistance, and the tempered glass back panel barely picks up fingerprints or scratches. The attractive horizontal camera cluster and minimal display bezels with a built-in fingerprint scanner also look stunning. The 6.59-inch AMOLED panel with a 2800x1260 resolution greets buyers with excellent image detail and impressive smoothness at a refresh rate of 120 Hz. Color reproduction issues are eliminated, and peak brightness is increased to 3000 nits.

The technical specifications could be better. The energy-efficient MediaTek Dimensity 7360 CPU, 8 GB of RAM, and Mali G615MC2 GPU score a meager 650,000 points in the AnTuTu benchmark. This result may be sufficient for casual users, but it's not suitable for gamers. Achieving a stable 30-40 frames per second in resource-intensive games like Genshin Impact is only possible by reducing graphics settings to medium or even lower. But at least you won't have to worry about power outlets very often. The battery capacity has increased to 7000 mAh, easily achieving 12-15 hours of screen-on time. Wireless charging has been retained for flagships, but the wired alternative now offers 80W of power. 40-50 minutes of charging will ensure the battery is fully charged. Storage options include 128 or 256 GB, though the latter is recommended due to the lack of a MicroSD card slot.

Photography capabilities are decent, but generally standard for the class. The only auxiliary module is a basic 8-megapixel wide-angle lens, which will be challenging to capture a high-quality, artistic shot. However, the 50-megapixel main sensor from Sony with hybrid stabilization is already capable of handling even evening photo sessions. It's a shame there's no dedicated telephoto lens to make capturing distant objects easier. Stereo speakers, NFC contactless payments, 5G modem support, and a reasonable price round out the gadget's list of advantages. Ultimately, the device doesn't impress with its power or features, but it does find its audience thanks to its well-designed exterior, battery life, and high-quality AMOLED display.