What is the Vivo Y29?
New mid-range smartphones have been as soon as information. Now they’re a procession. One after one other, manufacturers shuffle them into shops with the identical sameness of hatchbacks being rolled off an meeting line. The solely actual query is: will you care whether or not this one has 4G or 5G, or 2 rear lenses or 3?
Vivo thinks it has a solution with the Y29. On paper, it’s the high canine in a three-phone Y-series lineup that additionally contains the Y19s Pro and the Y04. In observe, it’s much less a present pony and extra a workhorse, designed to present you much less motive to return to the store inside two years.
The centrepiece is the 6,500mAh BlueVolt battery. While most mid-range telephones nonetheless hover round 5,000mAh, vivo’s additional 1,500mAh looks like turning up with a full tank ay a race the place everybody else is half full. An added promise from Vivo of 5 years of battery well being implies you’ll not need to nurse it like an ageing pet after the primary yr. In idea, it is a telephone that might nonetheless ship a full day’s use after half a decade.
Vivo can also be making an enormous deal of the gadget’s “anti-drop armour design”, which sounds prefer it belongs to a navy catalogue. And it does. The gadget comes licensed with MIL-STD-810H affect resistance and SGS drop resistance. Add IP64 mud and water resistance, and you’ve got the smartphone equal of a bakkie that also begins on a Monday morning after a weekend tenting within the Drakensberg. Vivo throws in a strengthened TPU case as if to underline the purpose: that is pre-emptive injury management.
All of that is wrapped up in what vivo calls the 7-star high quality promise. It is much less mystical than it sounds and extra like a contract: one-time free repairs for unintentional injury within the first yr, ensures of easy efficiency for 50 months, and long-life assurances on the battery. The sturdiness guarantees are unproven in observe, however we’ll control its longevity.
The remainder of the spec sheet is strong however unflashy. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 processor is not going to have avid gamers reaching for his or her wallets, however it handles social apps, streaming, and on a regular basis multitasking with out wheezing.
The draw back of the Snapdragon 685 is that it’s a 4G chipset, that means there isn’t a 5G modem in-built. That makes it a mid-range gadget positioned extra on battery life, sturdiness, and storage moderately than on next-gen connectivity.
However, A 120Hz show is a shock deal with, providing easy scrolling and gameplay that punches above its weight on this value bracket. For customers coming from older mid-range telephones, it’s going to really feel like swapping from gravel roads to tar.
Storage and reminiscence are beneficiant sufficient at 256GB and 8GB RAM, the brand new baseline for mid-range respectability. That means fewer nights agonising over which movies to delete when storage notifications begin piling up. The design, although, performs it secure. It is clear, shiny, and forgettable.
Context is every part. This Y-series is Vivo’s bread-and-butter play for South Africa, protecting the model seen. But the larger story lies within the wings: the X300, due for launch in China subsequent month, will outline how critically Vivo might be taken within the flagship race. The X200, launched right here in January, holds the fort, helped out by the Y29, whereas anticipation builds for the heavy artillery nonetheless to return.
How a lot does the Vivo Y29 value?
The Y29 retails at R7,999 in South Africa, positioning it within the sharper finish of the mid-range section. It is broadly out there by main carriers and retailers.
Why must you care about the Vivo Y29?
The Y29 reframes the mid-range pitch from “more megapixels and flashier features” to “a phone you won’t have to bin in two years”. It might not make headlines just like the forthcoming X300, however it units a regular for sturdiness and after-sales guarantees in a section that often cuts corners on each.
Tony Shi, common supervisor of vivo South Africa, put it in company phrases: “Our mission is to blend innovation with dependability. We believe that durability shouldn’t be exclusive to high-end smartphones.”
What are the most important negatives of the Vivo Y29?
- Snapdragon 685 processor lacks energy for demanding gaming or artistic apps.
- It helps solely 4G connectivity
- Design does little to face out in a crowded discipline.
What are the most important positives of the Vivo Y29?
- Massive 6,500mAh battery with longevity assurances.
- 120Hz show brings premium smoothness to the mid-range.
- 7-star high quality promise provides actual worth in after-sales help.
* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx, editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za, and creator of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI – The African Edge”.