Vivo V7 – The Selfie Star That Still Shines Bright

Introduction

The Vivo V7 might look like just another mid-range phone, but it packs enough charm to make a great first impression. With its tall FullView display, stylish design, fast performance, and a 24MP selfie camera, this compact device screams “made for selfies.” Fun fact — it even carried the title Official Smartphone for the FIFA World Cup 2018.

Vivo launched both the V7 and V7+, but the difference between the two is minimal — the Plus version only gets a slightly larger 5.99-inch screen and a slightly bigger battery. Still, Vivo’s focus on camera performance, design, and user experience remains strong in both models.

We already tested the V7+, so we had high hopes for the smaller V7 — and it didn’t disappoint.

Design

The Vivo V7 looks and feels premium, even though it’s made of plastic. The metallic finish is convincing enough to fool anyone into thinking it’s aluminum. Vivo deserves credit for nailing the design, especially in this price range.

The phone’s 5.7-inch FullView display with an 18:9 aspect ratio gives it a modern look and offers a more immersive experience for apps and videos. Some older apps may still show black bars, but that’s more of a software issue than the phone’s fault.

Display

Vivo was one of the first brands to bring a tall, near bezel-less display to budget smartphones. The V7’s 5.7-inch IPS LCD panel with 720×1440 resolution delivers decent clarity at 282ppi. It’s not the sharpest screen out there, but for its price, it’s perfectly fine for watching videos and browsing.

Brightness is quite good — the screen can reach up to 470 nits, and with deep blacks, it achieves an impressive 1:1593 contrast ratio. Colors are generally accurate, though the display leans a bit bluish out of the box.

Battery Life

The Vivo V7 is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery, which offers solid day-to-day performance. It ships with a 5V/2A charger that takes about 3 hours for a full charge and gets you 25% in just 30 minutes.

In endurance tests, the V7 scored 77 hours, which is decent but not class-leading. It performs well for web browsing and calls, though video playback drains the battery a bit faster.

Software

Running on Android 7.1.2 Nougat with Funtouch OS 3.2, the Vivo V7’s interface borrows some cues from iOS — like swiping up from the bottom for quick settings and skipping the traditional app drawer.

Funtouch adds several handy features, including:

• App Clone for dual accounts on apps like WhatsApp or Facebook
• Smart Split for multitasking
• Face Unlock and Fingerprint Unlock, both fast and accurate

Face Unlock works almost instantly in “Fast” mode, though it can be tricked with a photo. The more secure mode is slower but safer — though not quite at Face ID levels yet.

Performance

The Snapdragon 450 powers the Vivo V7, backed by 4GB of RAM. Despite being a 4-series chip, it’s quite efficient, built on a 14nm process similar to the Snapdragon 625.

This octa-core processor (1.8GHz Cortex-A53) delivers about 25% better performance than its predecessor and is paired with the Adreno 506 GPU, which handles casual gaming with ease.

Day-to-day performance is smooth — multitasking, browsing, and even light gaming feel snappy. Vivo clearly optimized Funtouch OS well for this hardware.

Camera

Now to the star of the show — the cameras. The 16MP rear camera does a good job with sharp daylight shots and decent detail. But the 24MP selfie camera is where the Vivo V7 truly shines.

With a f/2.0 aperture and AI Beautify mode, the front camera delivers stunning selfies with soft background blur and excellent color tones. The camera app is simple and intuitive, offering modes like:

• Professional Mode (manual controls for ISO, shutter speed, focus, and white balance)
• Bokeh Mode for portraits
• Face Beauty with adjustable levels

While there’s no front flash, the screen flash works surprisingly well for night selfies.

Verdict

The Vivo V7 is a classic mid-ranger that knows exactly what it’s doing — delivering style, reliable performance, and excellent selfies. The compact size makes it more comfortable to use than the V7+, and the camera experience is consistently strong.

Sure, the battery could be bigger and the display sharper, but overall, the Vivo V7 gets the basics right — and then goes the extra mile for selfie lovers. If you want a dependable, great-looking phone that captures stunning portraits, the V7 is still a solid pick.