The V30 series is finally complete in the Philippines with the arrival of the V30e. vivo has been making the effort to make even its most affordable V series variant as feature-packed as possible at an under Php 20k price point. We were happy with what the V29e had to offer, and we think the V30e is just as good.

After using it for more than a week in the Philippines and Dubai, we explain why the V30e is a decent mid-range phone:

Water splashes is no longer an issue. One of the most-requested features on the V series is an IP rating, and vivo gave the V30e an IP64 rating. This makes the V30e safer against water splashes compared to the competition, as its IP rating means that the V30e is tough enough against being submerged into water accidentally. 

Having an IP rating makes the V30e at par with most mid-range phones in the Philippines, and also makes it another compelling option for users who are looking for a reliable device especially with the upcoming rainy season. 

 

Beautiful curved display. While vivo has made curved displays exclusive to the standard V series, the V30e is finally not left behind since you’re getting a gorgeous 120hz curved AMOLED panel that has the same stellar image quality as what we experienced on the V27.

We love the V27’s display, and the same can be said with the V30e, as we appreciate the vibrant colors and deep blacks it delivered when we used it to binge on our favorite TV shows and KPop music videos. 

 

Large and efficient battery. Don’t let the V30’s svelte frame fool you: it actually packs a huge 5500mAh battery inside, which is an impressive feat on vivo’s end. What’s even better is its battery life: with a score of 24 hours in PCMark’s battery benchmark test, the V30e is the most power-efficient phone we’ve tested in 2024. 

To give you an idea how great the V30e’s battery is, we were using it for taking photos while we were in Dubai, and FunTouchOS’ excellent power management was able to stretch the V30e’s battery for 2 days without us needing to charge. Topping up the battery is quite fast too thanks to its support for 44w charging.

 

Better main camera features. While some may complain that the V30e axed OIS on the main camera and downgraded the selfie camera with a 32-megapixel sensor, the V30e gets a better main camera with the 50-megapixel IMX882.

Compared to the 64-megapixel sensor used on the V29e, the V30e’s main camera took more detailed photos with better color accuracy especially at night.

One of the much-requested features for the Vxxe series is the ability to shoot 4K video, and the V30e finally gets that feature. This makes even the most affordable V30 good enough for content creation.

 

Updated internals. Aside from a more modern Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor, the V30e’s 256GB internal storage is also expandable, allowing you to add as much as 1TB via MicroSD. The Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 is an upgrade over the Snapdragon 695 used by its predecessor, and it’s evident with gaming, as we were able to run titles like Genshin Impact comfortably even when we bumped the graphics settings to high. It also has better thermal management, as the V30e ran Genshin Impact well while being less warm compared to its predecessor.

 

The vivo V30e is priced at Php 17,999 and is available in Lazada, Shopee, TikTok Shop, and authorized vivo stores nationwide.