Vivo’s affordable phone duo add Zeiss imaging for pro-grade portraits
Vivo V40 and V40 Pro dilute down top-tier camera tech
Big-name camera and lens brands are becoming a familiar sight on the backs of top-tier smartphones, but the mid-range phone world hasn’t seen quite as much love. Vivo is looking to change that, by bringing Zeiss imaging to both versions of its affordable V-series for the first time. The Vivo V40 and Vivo V40 Pro also manage to squeeze in absolutely huge batteries into impressively svelte bodies.
The V40 was officially revealed back in June, but now the closely related V40 Pro completes the line-up. Both phones bring back Vivo’s trademark fill flash for their rear cameras, which promise more flattering photos than last year’s V30 Pro. That’s because despite being smaller, the LEDs shine significantly brighter here.
There are 50MP sensors all round, with the V40 getting a Samsung-supplied, optically-stabilised main snapper and ultrawide secondary. The V40 Pro gets its lead lens from Sony, and adds a dedicated telephoto good for 3.5x optical zoom, along with an ultrawide. Both phones get 50MP selfie cams with wide fields-of-view, too.
Zeiss has again supplied its lens knowhow, with bokeh blur effects meant to mimic expensive DSLR glass, plus colour grading and contrast handling that should make your portrait shots truly pop. That should put them in good stead to compete with the likes of the Google Pixel 8a and Honor 200 Pro for class honours.
There’s little to separate the two phones on the design front, with 6.78in AMOLED screens up front (complete with 3D curved glass) and a selection of glass rear panels, each with their own distinct texture-effect finish. You can pick up up either in Meteor Blue, Moonlight White and Stellar Silver colours, while the jazzier Nebula Purple and Sunglow Peach are exclusive to the V40.
At 7.58mm they are ever-so-slightly thicker than last year’s efforts, but only by a few tenths of a millimetre. These are still size zero smartphones, yet still pack in 5500mAh batteries. That’s comfortably 10% more than you’ll find in most mid-range rivals, and you can top up at a speedy 80W over USB-C, too.
Both phones get a 6.78in AMOLED screen with 2800×1260 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and whopping 4500nits peak brightness, along with HDR10+ support and dual stereo speakers – a first for the V-series.
Vivo has hedged its bets on performance. The regular V40 gets a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset, 8 or 12GB of RAM, and 128, 256 or 512GB of storage. The V40 Pro goes for MediaTek power instead, with a Dimensity 9200+ CPU, 8 or 12GB of RAM, and 256GB or 512GB of internal memory. Both should be perfectly punchy mid-range handsets, based on my experiences with the same chips in other phones.
Vivo has been knocking it out of the park recently, with the X100 Pro delivering some of the best cameras on any phone I’ve used in 2024, and the X Fold3 Pro proving the firm can compete with foldable class leaders on high-end hardware. There’s even rumours that the upcoming Vivo X200 series will make its way to more European countries. If the V40 duo can impress for less, it’ll definitely be a brand to watch – even if regional availability is still a mixed bag. So far only India has been confirmed, with exact pricing still TBC.
I’ve got both the Vivo V40 and V40 Pro in for testing. Stand by for full reviews.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
