Review Verdict: The vivo Y73 feels more like a toned-down version of the V21e that launched in the Philippines last year. While it scrimps down on some features, the Y73 does offer a good set of features for under Php 15k–especially when you consider its processor of choice.
Pros
- Premium design
- Great camera performance (main and selfie camera)
- Capable processor
Cons
- Very similar to the V21e
- Only 60hz refresh rate
- No ultra-wide-angle camera
vivo Y73 Philippines Specs:
- Helio G95 processor
- 8GB RAM
- 128GB UFS 2.1 storage (expandable via MicroSD)
- 6.58-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display
- 64-megapixel f/1.8 main camera with PDAF, 2-megapixel f/2.4 macro camera, 2-megapixel f/2.4 depth sensor
- 16-megapixel f/2.0 selfie camera
- LTE, 4G
- WiFi, Bluetooth 5.1, in-display fingerprint scanner
- 4000mAh battery
- 33w fast charging
- Android 11, FunTouch OS 11
It’s better late than never, as vivo finally made the Y73 available in the Philippines several months after it was launched in India. It’s the most premium Y-series phone vivo has released to date–in fact, it feels more like a more affordable sibling of the V21e. Is this slender mid-range phone still worth considering despite all that delay?
Design
Once you put the Y73 and V21e side-by-side, you’ll notice that they practically are the same. The camera module layout is identical for both phones, along with the unique diamond pattern on the AG Glass panel for the Diamond Flare Colorway. The Y73 could have easily passed as the V21 Lite–but for some reason, brands want to confuse buyers with multiple model names across different smartphone lines.
Since it shares the same frame as the V21e, the button and port location are also the same: yes, you still get a headphone jack despite being a thin and light phone.
Display
Like its overall design, the Y73’s display is a familiar affair as it uses the same 6.44-inch AMOLED panel that has a Full HD+ resolution, a notch for a lower-resolution 16-megapixel snapper, and an in-display fingerprint scanner.
The 60hz refresh rate does feel dated as more affordable phones are offering at least 90hz, but there’s no question that you are getting a top-notch AMOLED panel on the Y73. In fact, this is the first Y-series phone we remember that uses AMOLED instead of IPS–but then, the Y73 could easily pass for a V21 Lite.
As expected, colors are vibrant and blacks are deep, making the Y73 great for content consumption. You also get Widevine L1, so you can enjoy those Netflix shows in Full HD.
Cameras
The camera section is where things start to differ between the V21e and Y73. While the Y73 uses the same 64-megapixel main camera and 2-megapixel macro camera, it swaps the V21e’s ultra-wide-angle camera for a rather useless 2-megapixel depth sensor.
While that limits the shooting options you get on the Y73, it thankfully still has 4K video recording–a feature that is omitted on a number of its rivals in the mid-range segment.
Since you have the same main camera, the Y73 has generally good camera performance in most lighting situations. Colors do come out a bit saturated at times, but details are well preserved and not oversharpened. The same can be said for the 16-megapixel selfie snapper–it may not be like the V21e’s astounding 44-megapixel snapper, but still gets the job done.
Internals and Battery Life
Another big difference between the V21e and Y73 is the processor of choice, as the latter uses an Helio G95 instead of a Snapdragon 720G that’s present on the former. While the Helio G95 uses an older 12nm process, benchmark numbers show that it performs better than the Snapdragon 720G when it comes to GPU-intensive tasks.
Because of that, the Helio G95 has a better edge when it comes to gaming. With Genshin Impact, the Helio G95 is one of the few mid-range SoCs that default the game’s graphics to medium settings without getting an overclocked warning (the game defaults to low with any Snapdragon 720G-powered phone).
While we could not use Gamebench to verify frame rates due to the restrictive nature of FunTouchOS, we played the popular RPG in medium settings and did not notice any hiccup or unusual phone heating from around 30 minutes of gameplay.
The drawback of using the Helio G95, however, is with battery life. Using the same 4000mAh cell used on the V21e, we recorded 13 hours with PCMark’s battery test, which is a good three hours less than what we got with the V21e and its Snapdragon 720G processor. Topping up the battery should be fast with its 33w wired charging.
Wrap up and Conclusions
Our review of the vivo Y73 made us feel that the brand decided to bring over a trimmed-down version of last year’s V21e to the Philippines with downgrades on the cameras and a different processor. Despite that, the Y73 is a competitive 4G-only mid-range phone for under Php 15k–especially if you realize that a number of phones at the under Php 15k price range omit 4K video recording.
One reason why people might hesitate buying the Y73 is that the V21 5G is now priced at under Php 20k–for a Php 5k premium, you get OIS on both the main and selfie cameras, a higher resolution selfie shooter, a 90hz display, and a 5G-ready processor.
vivo Y73 Review Price Philippines
The Y73 is priced at Php 14,999 and is available at vivo’s official Lazada and Shopee stores, and in authorized vivo retailers nationwide.
