vivo phones, even entry-level ones, always had great battery performance in our tests. That’s even before silicon-carbon batteries were a thing. Thanks to the new tech, the new vivo Y29 4G has a huge 6,500mAh capacity, and we’re expecting longer hours on a single charge. The vivo Y29 4G has a starting price of just Php8,999, making it one of the cheapest phones to have this much battery capacity. But is that enough? How well does it deliver in terms of performance, display quality, photography, and more? We’ll give you the answer in our full review. vivo Y29 4G Specs Android 15, FuntouchOS 15 Dual SIM, Dual Standby 6.68-inch HD+ IPS display, 1608 x 720 pixel resolution, ~264ppi 120Hz refresh rate 1000-nit peak brightness 2.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 octa-core processor 8GB RAM Adreno 610 GPU 256GB internal storage, expandable via microSD 8-megapixel front camera 50-megapixel (f/1.8, PDAF) + 2-megapixel (depth sensor) rear cameras, LED flash Stereo speakers, Hi-Res a...
vivo phones, even entry-level ones, always had great battery performance in our tests. That’s even before silicon-carbon batteries were a thing. Thanks to the new tech, the new vivo Y29 4G has a huge 6,500mAh capacity, and we’re expecting longer hours on a single charge.
The vivo Y29 4G has a starting price of just Php8,999, making it one of the cheapest phones to have this much battery capacity. But is that enough? How well does it deliver in terms of performance, display quality, photography, and more? We’ll give you the answer in our full review.
vivo Y29 4G Specs
- Android 15, FuntouchOS 15
- Dual SIM, Dual Standby
- 6.68-inch HD+ IPS display, 1608 x 720 pixel resolution, ~264ppi
- 120Hz refresh rate
- 1000-nit peak brightness
- 2.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 octa-core processor
- 8GB RAM
- Adreno 610 GPU
- 256GB internal storage, expandable via microSD
- 8-megapixel front camera
- 50-megapixel (f/1.8, PDAF) + 2-megapixel (depth sensor) rear cameras, LED flash
- Stereo speakers, Hi-Res audio
- IP64 dust and water resistant
- Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
- HSPA+, 4G LTE
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
- NFC
- USB-C
- Dimensions: 165.7 x 76.3 x 8.2mm
- Weight: 204g
- Colors: Espresso Brown, Marble White
- 6,500mAh non-removable battery, 44W wired charging
Design and Build Quality
Similar to a lot of other vivo phones we’ve seen before, the vivo Y29 4G has a sleek and elegant design despite its budget price tag. The Marble White color option we’re reviewing has marble-like carvings behind a glass-like surface.
It’s prone to fingerprint marks, but barely noticeable due to the elaborate marble design. If you want a more subtle and dark look, go with the Espresso Brown variant that has a smudge-free surface.
The device is relatively thin at 8.2mm for a device with a 6,500mAh battery. It’s not the lightest at 204g, but not the heaviest we’ve tested.
It has a flat frame for a good grip when taking pictures or watching movies in landscape. Unlike other flat-frame phones, the sides and edges have been curved and smoothened out, so it stays comfortable.
vivo took the time to ensure it’s durable, too. The vivo Y29 is IP64 dust and water resistant, which means it can withstand water splashes, getting caught in the rain, or accidental water exposure.
vivo Y29 4G also received SGS 5-Star and MIL-STD-810G certifications for drop resistance. Plus, it uses SCHOTT glass that’s 64% more drop-resistant than its predecessor.
vivo has pre-applied a screen protector and included a clear case in the package for extra protection. It’s clear so it won’t hide the gorgeous back panel design of the white unit.
Taking a tour, we have a 6.68-inch HD+ screen on the front with a punch-hole for the 8-megapixel selfie camera. As with most IPS phones, the bottom bezel is thicker than the other three sides, but that’s not a big deal, at least for me. And to be honest, the punch-hole makes things cleaner.
The top is clean, while the bottom has the loudspeaker, USB-C port, and a microphone.
Left side has a hybrid SIM slot for two nano SIM cards or one SIM and a microSD card for storage expansion.
The right side has the volume controls, which are nice and clicky. We also have the lock/power switch that doubles as the fingerprint scanner. It’s tactile, too, but could be protruded a little higher.
A large camera island is placed on the back with a bearable bump. It holds the 50-megapixel main camera, depth sensor, the LED flash, and the Dynamic Light that shines different colors when you receive notifications, low on battery, and when charging.
The vivo Y29 4G has a sleek design, comfortable build, and reliable durability. That’s more than what you can ask for from a budget smartphone.
Display and Audio
The vivo Y29 4G has a 6.68-inch HD+ display with a 1608 x 720 pixel resolution, ~264ppi, 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, 1,000-nit peak brightness, and TUV Rheinland Eye Protection certification.
While colors, dynamic range, and screen brightness are passable for the price, having only HD+ resolution is a big bummer. The majority of phones in this segment already have a sharper FHD+ panel.
But despite having a low-resolution screen, the vivo Y29 4G is surprisingly equipped with stereo speakers. Personally, I think it would’ve been better if it got a FHD instead. Anyway, it has a 400% volume booster mode, which can get very loud and can really fill up a room. Stereo separation is also audible, albeit audio clarity could benefit from a clearer treble and fuller bass.
Hardware and Performance
The vivo Y29 4G is powered by a 6nm 2.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 octa-core processor, with 8GB of RAM, and an option between 128GB and 256GB of expandable storage. Disappointingly, the chipset doesn’t have 5G connectivity.
vivo Y29 4G Benchmark Scores
Performance is decent for the price. Not good, but usable. Social media, online shopping, taking pictures, and other easy and light apps ran fine, but with a few lags here and there. Definitely not the best choice if performance is the top priority, but it’s not too bad either.
Let’s talk about gaming. Genshin Impact, a very demanding game, ran surprisingly fine under 60 frames, but using only the lowest settings. PUBG Mobile ran incredibly well under Smooth graphics and Ultra frame rates, and Call of Duty Mobile under Very High graphics and Medium frames.
Farlight84 was not the smoothest, but still playable under low settings. Less-demanding games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Asphalt Legends Unite ran with no issues under their highest available settings.
So, if you’re wondering if this budget smartphone can game, it certainly can but only with low to medium settings. The vivo Y29 4G was able to handle all the titles we played with no major problems; we just had to settle for low to medium settings in most of them.
| Game | Graphics Settings |
| Call of Duty: Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Very High • Frame Rate: Medium |
| Farlight84 | • Graphics Quality: Smooth • Frame Rate: Medium |
| PUBG Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Smooth • Frame Rate: Ultra |
| Genshin Impact | • Render Resolution: Lowest • Visual Effects: Low • FPS: 60 |
| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | • Graphics Quality: Ultra • Frame Rate: Super • HD Mode: On |
| Asphalt Legends Unite | • Visual Quality: High Quality • Frame Rate: 60 |
Software and User Interface
The vivo Y29 4G ships with Android 15-based FuntouchOS 15. vivo hasn’t confirmed how long they will be supporting this device. Hopefully, it gets at least one to two years of security patches.
FuntouchOS is clean and intuitive, but far from the most minimalistic interfaces we’ve seen.
The LED light on the back is officially called the Dynamic Light in the settings. You can schedule the time it’s active, assign the color per app, and even adjust the brightness.
It lights up when you receive calls, notifications, and when listening to music. It also blinks red when you’re low in battery, and shows the battery level when charging.
It’s got AI features, but not as many as others have. AI Erase worked great, as well as the AI Photo Enhance. Google’s Circle to Search and AI Screen Translation is also here.
The fingerprint scanner worked accurately, but could be faster. The face unlock had no issues.
There’s an app called iManager that lets you optimize the system by scanning and cleaning the storage and unused apps. It also performs a security scan to check for vulnerabilities. There is a few bloatware installed, but they can be removed easily.
Virtual RAM expansion is also here, which borrows up to 8GB of space from the storage for a performance boost. The effect is barely noticeable, so we just let it be.
The vivo Y29 4G has a respectable user interface. Let’s hope it gets good software support in the years to come.
Cameras
The vivo Y29 4G has a 50-megapixel main camera with f/1.8 aperture and PDAF, joined by a 2-megapixel depth sensor, and an 8-megapixel camera for selfies. Sadly, it lacks an ultra-wide nor a macro lens.
For video recording, the rear camera can shoot videos at 720p@30fps, 720p@60fps, and 1080p@30fps. The front camera can shoot 720p@30fps and 1080p@30fps.
Other notable photo modes are Night, 50MP full-res, Live Photo, Portrait, and more.
We’re noticing odd colors from the daylight shots of the main camera. Reds are a little oversaturated, the rest are a little washed out, noise and grains are surprisingly present, but the dynamic range is actually decent.
Low-light shots hold up pretty well. They are usable but suffer from the same color issues that the daylight shots do.
The 8-megapixel selfie camera looks decent. It has realistic skin tones, nice dynamic range, albeit the details are a little lacking, especially with the beauty modes enabled.
While we weren’t expecting much for the price, we still wish the cameras of the vivo Y29 4G processed the photos better.
Battery and Charging
The vivo Y29 4G is equipped with a 6,500mAh battery, paired with 44W FlashCharge technology. It may not be the fastest phone around, but it got the highest battery score on any smartphone we’ve tested.
In PCMark’s battery loop test, it lasted for 27 hours and 31 minutes, which is the highest score we got on that test in any category. We also got one of the highest figures we’ve ever seen in our 1080p YouTube Video Loop test with 22 hours and 53 minutes.
Light to moderate users can easily get two to three days of use out of this device.
The 44W FlashCharge adapter is relatively fast for a device at this price. A 15-minute charge already provides 20%, with a full charge taking less than 1 hour and 30 minutes. See the full test results below:
- 15mins: 0-20%
- 30mins: 39%
- 45mins: 56%
- 1hr: 73%
- 1hr 15mins: 87%
- 1hr 27mins: FULL
Verdict
The vivo Y29 4G was not made for everyone. A lot of people will take offense at the underwhelming performance. The lack of 5G connectivity is also disappointing, especially in this era.
Adding salt to the injury is the HD+ resolution, which should’ve already been FHD+ for the price. The image processing also needs a lot of work.
Still, it would appeal to those who want an affordable smartphone with a large 6,500mAh battery — all while having a sleek design that’s not bulky to carry around.
It also comes with a decently fast charger and, as a bonus, loud stereo speakers that make up for the underwhelming display. The Dynamic Light is a nice touch, too.
Overall, if battery performance is your top priority, you may consider the vivo Y29 4G. But for everything else, there are tons of better options out there.
vivo Y29 4G pricing and availability in the Philippines
The vivo Y29 4G has a starting price of Php8,999 for the 8GB/128GB and Php10,999 for the 8GB/256GB. They are now available in tons of vivo physical stores, retailers, and online through vivo’s official website, TikTok Shop, Shopee, and Lazada.
Pros
- Elegant, comfortable design and build
- Loud stereo speakers
- Top-notch battery life
- Dynamic Light
Cons
- Only HD+ resolution
- No 5G
- So-so performance
- Image processing could be better
This article, vivo Y29 4G Review, was originally published at NoypiGeeks | Philippines Technology News, Reviews and How to's.
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