vivo’s midrange V Series has been the home for making the brand’s camera innovations more accessible. While that is still the case this year, one trend I’m seeing is bigger batteries on phones regardless of price segment. While its higher-end V50 has a 6000 mAh battery, the vivo V50 Lite 5G ups that with a bigger 6500 mAh battery! Is that all this phone has to offer? Find out in my review.
Disclaimer: I got the vivo V50 Lite 5G with 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage in Fantasy Purple. The review unit arrived on May 19, 2025, and I unboxed it on May 20, 2025. I’ve been using the V50 Lite 5G as my main Android phone for a week.
Unboxing Experience
Like most phones, we get a typical unboxing experience with the V50 Lite 5G. From the included jelly case to the 90W FlashCharge power adapter, you get everything you need along with the phone.
The Basics
The one thing I love about what vivo is doing with its V Series is blending design without much compromise. While I’m not a fan of the glossy frame, its flat sides and thin profile (at 7.79 mm) make the phone easier to hold, and the buttons are clicky enough. I’m also glad to see two speakers for that stereo effect when watching videos or playing games. They’re not the loudest I’ve heard, but the quality is good enough for casual use.
The V50 Lite 5G has a 6.77-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 2392 x 1080. Its display has a local peak brightness of 1800 nits and supports the DCI-P3 color gamut. The best thing I can say about the display is how there is little to complain about. While the display isn’t bright enough under direct sunlight, you can pretty much use the phone in most cases.
How is the Battery Life?
One aspect of the vivo V50 Lite 5G that impressed me the most is its battery. It’s already good on paper with a 6500 mAh batteryand 90W FlashCharge fast charging. I already expected the phone to last a full day with moderate use, but I didn’t expect the current PCMark Work 3.0 battery test results to be this good with 22 hours and 54 minutes!
It’s one thing to check benchmarks and it’s another to experience that in real life. With the V50 Lite 5G, I honestly had days where I wouldn’t need to charge the phone! When I do charge it, it takes more or less an hour to get a full charge from 0%.
Does the V50 Lite 5G Perform Well?
The variant I’m reviewing has 8GB of RAM + 8GB of extended RAM, 256GB storage, and uses the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor. This phone runs Funtouch OS 15 based on Android 15. Being a V Series phone, I expected the V50 Lite 5G to be a solid performer. Turns out, this was the part that needed compromise.
While we’re a far cry from really slow phones, don’t expect this phone to handle e-sports mobile games at max settings or more graphics-intensive games. Playing Pokémon TCG Pocket and Pokémon UNITE is mostly good enough for me, but Genshin was a struggle unless I tone down the graphics and frame rates.
The overall user experience of using Funtouch OS 15 is mostly okay. While the UI itself feels slow, the phone itself isn’t that slow.
How are the Cameras?
The vivo V50 Lite 5G has a dual rear camera system consisting a 50MP Sony IMX882 main camera and an 8MP ultrawide camera. It also rocks a 32MP front camera for taking high-quality selfies. Supporting the rear cameras is vivo’s Aura Light to serve as a fill light for those challenging low-light shots. Talking about specs on paper is nice, but are the photos any good? Let’s check them out!
Click on the photos for full-resolution versions.
For the most part, photos shot on the V50 Lite 5G’s main camera are generally good enough for most scenarios. Color reproduction is good and the details are sharp in natural light. While there isn’t a dedicated telephoto camera, its 2x zoom photos are good enough for sharing on social media. Low-light shots are okay, but I would pick and choose my battles there as the results can vary.
While shots from the 8MP ultrawide camera are perfectly fine, the color reproduction can take a hit. Don’t even bother taking low-light photos even with the included Aura Light.
The bokeh effect continues to be vivo’s strength whether you’re using Portrait mode or not. My photo of the red flowering plant on the left seems to highlight that strength well.
A standout camera of the V50 Lite 5G is its 32MP front camera. In fact, all the cameras of this phone do a good job with handling people’s faces. This has been vivo’s strength for years and I’m glad that even an affordable V Series phone kept that quality.
Should You Buy the vivo V50 Lite 5G?
The vivo V50 Lite 5G is a midrange phone that stands out with its battery life, charging, and cameras. Other features like the display and speakers are good enough, but this phone isn’t for you if you’re looking for a gaming powerhouse since the Dimensity 6300 can’t handle more graphics-intensive games in higher settings.
This phone is for those who value a big battery and good enough camera performance. I guess vivo’s V Series continues to impress me even today.
Pros
- A nice matte back and a nice Fantasy Purple color
- Good AMOLED display and loud enough speakers
- A 6500 mAh battery that lasts you more than a day coupled with fast 90W charging
- Good 50MP Sony IMX882 main camera and 32MP front camera
Cons
- Glossy plastic frame can show fingerprints and scratches easily
- The MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor performs fine, just not good for the price
- Funtouch OS 15 feels slow, even if the phone itself isn’t
- An 8MP ultrawide camera that can’t hang with the main camera
The vivo V50 Lite 5G is priced at P16,999 for the 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant and P19,999 for the 12GB RAM + 512GB storage variant. It is available in the Titanium Gold, Fantasy Purple, and Phantom Black colorways. You can get one at your nearest vivo Concept Store or authorized dealer nationwide. It is also available online via vivo’s e-commerce partners Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop.