Vivo Y55 5G – on a tight budget from Telstra (smartphone review)

If you only have $299 to spend and are happy to be locked into Telstra, then the Vivo Y55 5G may be the phone for you.

To be clear, the Vivo Y55 5G is a Telstra pre-paid mobile device. It only works with a Telstra SIM card. An unlocking fee applies for use with a non-Telstra SIM card. When you buy online, you must commit to a Telstra plan. Regrettably, Telstra does not show you the available plans upfront (for any pre-paid mobile), so you don’t know what you are committing to. Note this is a single sim version, and it is also currently at Big W for $249 on a Telstra plan.

Apart from that it is a decent phone with a 5000mAh battery and 18W charger, 6.58” FHD+ screen, MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC, 4/128GB/microSD, Wi-Fi 5 AC, BT 5.1, NFC, and 50+2+2MP rear camera.

Australian review: Vivo Y55 5G 4/128GB, Single sim Model V2127

Australian website	Vivo Y55 5G Product page
Price:	$299 on a Telstra pre-paid plan (unlocking fees apply)
Colours	Starlight Black
From	Telstra and Big W
Warranty	2-years ACL from approved retailers
Country of Origin	China
Company	Vivo is part of what is arguably the world’s largest smartphone company – BBK. Along with its siblings (with quite a lot of rivalry), including OPPO, realme, OnePlus, iQOO – they make more phones than Samsung and Apple.
More	CyberShack Vivo news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.

There is a five-minute overview first and all test results in a table at the end.

First Impression – solid glass slab – Pass

The Vivo Y55 5G is a solid 164 x 75.84 x 8.25mm x 188g phone. The front is an Incell IPS screen (no screen protection rating), the frame is plastic, and the rear is a plastic glass-like, finger-print-resistant finish.

Power and volume controls are on the right. A rectangular camera hump is on the rear. Overall, it is a pleasing effect worthy of a more expensive device.

Screen – 2408 x 1080, 402ppi, 20:9, 8-bit 16.7m colours 60Hz Incell IPS – Pass

No specifications are given, and at this price, we don’t test screen brightness, contrast, colour gamut etc. It is unusual to see an FHD+ screen at this price. While it claims HDR10+, HLG, and HDR that simply means it downscales that to the screen’s capability. It has L1 Widevine for HD SRD streaming content.

There is no screen protection rating, so take care and get a screen protector if you can.

The screen has a softer, translucent cool blue tint due to its Incell design. It is focused on battery saving, and you may need to disable auto-brightness and set it to around 80%.

Processor – MediaTek Dimensity 700 – Pass

The MediaTek Dimensity 700 is its entry-level 5G chip in a range that includes the 800, 900, 1000, 8000-series and 9000-series. It is why you can have a $299 phone, and there are a few trade-offs.

For example, its modem/antenna is really for city/suburban use where you have good tower coverage. Photo AI post-processing is limited, and we noticed lags between screens when under load. It is not a gamer’s device.

Its closest Qualcomm Snapdragon comparison is the SD480 5G, but its ARM Mail-G57 MAC GPU performs above that.

Despite being a 7nm chip, it throttles by 15% after 15-minutes. That is not bad, but it is not exactly a fast chip in the first place. It starts at 156,114 GIPS, averages 143,937 GIPS and drops to 125,203 GIPS.

4GB LPDDR4X RAM is about the minimum, although it can swap an extra 1GB from storage. 128GB is fine, and there is a dedicated microSD slot to 1TB. CPDT sequential read/write was 491/238Mbps reflecting slower UFS 2.2 flash. Similarly, the SD card achieved 44/24Mbps, which is half the read/write speed we expected. Still, it is not an issue for an entry-level phone. External USB-C is 2.0 and maxes out at 26/16Mbps with OTG enabled.

Comms – Wi-Fi 5 AC, BT 5.1, and NFC – Pass (able)

It should have scored better here as this level of tech is not usual at this price. But Wi-Fi signal strengths were poor, and BT transmission distance is about 10m (should be 30).

Where most phones have a -20-30dBm 5Ghz signal strength at 2m from the test Netgear Nighthawk AX11000 router, this had -47dBm (way too high) and 433Mbps (normal). At 5/10m this had increased to -75/91dBm, both of which are considered unusable. Again, this reflects the MediaTek SoC and antenna system.

Phone – 4 and 5G – Pass for city use – Pass(able)

You guessed it – the modem and antenna system hold this phone back. It found the nearest Telstra tower at -86dBm and a reasonable 2.5pW. But it could not find the next three towers as most Qualcomm-based phones can. This is strictly for good reception areas in the city and suburbs where there is good tower coverage.

Battery – 5000mAh and 18W charger inbox – Pass+

The brightest part of this device is the battery. In our video loop (50% brightness/sound/aeroplane mode) it got 18 hours. PC Mark 3 Modern Office Battery Life was 25 hours and 50 minutes (odd as this is usually lower than the video loop) and Accubattery 18 hours (spot on with the video loop).

The charger 9V/2A/18W charger takes two hours for 0-100% – reasonable.

Summary – a two-day device.

Sound – mono PASS

It has a mono earpiece for calls and a mono down-firing speaker for hands-free. The maximum volume is 84dB. It is not fair to compare mono devices to stereo as the focus must be on clear voice – not music.

It has a 3.5mm 3-pole earphone/mic port. It is fine for hand-free with dual mics offering some noise-cancelling.

Sound-wise it is Mid centric for clear voice. It is missing all the important bass so that this is muddy and missing all the important treble, so there is little character and directionality. In short, it is dull and thin for music

Use BT earphones if you listen to music.

Build – very good – Pass

While it lacks toughened front glass, the build quality is very good. It has a plastic frame and back. It has no IP rating.

Android 12 – Pass+

We expect Android 12, and we got it. The Funtouch OS12 seems a light tough over Android, and it is free of bloatware. It has Vivo alternatives to Google Apps.

We understand (but cannot confirm) that security patches will be released for three years from the handset release.

Vivo Y55 5G camera – pretty good in day and office light – Pass+

This is teg typical 50+2+2MP rear camera setup using the Samsung S5KJN1 sensor. It bins to 12.5MP finished image after MediaTek AI post-processing. That is not strong, but it does help low-light shots.

• 1X Day (well, a slightly overcast one): Primary sensor – the colours are slightly over-saturated (we all like that) with good dynamic range. Good details in the background, shadows, and highlights.
• 2X Day: Primary sensor – the foreground is fine, but the background shows too much noise
• 5X Day: Primary sensor – forget it
• 10X Day: Primary sensor: as per 5X
• Ultra-wide: N/A
• 50MP – 1X no AI post-processing is good on detail and has slightly more natural colours
• Macro: The primary sensor can take macro shots at 4cm. It is OK, but it is critical to get the focal length correct
• Indoor office light: Colours and focus are off. It is as if its focusing on the background.
• Bokeh Depth: A 2MP sensor helps for bokeh shots. But it has blurred the foreground and sharpened the background. This occasionally happens with other similar camera setups.
• Dark <40 lumens: The standard (not night mode) is overly noisy, and the camera is struggling.
•  Night mode improves the detail, saturates the colour, and removes a lot of noise
• Selfie: The MP selfie has natural skin tones and details and a range of filters to enhance any image.
• Video (we are not video experts): You can shoot at 1080p@30fps with some EIS (Electronic Image Stabilisation crops the image to the horizon) for a reasonably stable image.

Overall camera summary: Excellent day and office light camera but not strong on zoom, bokeh or low-light.

CyberShack’s view – Vivo Y55 5G has decent quality and performance, punching above its price

We know that the price is subsidised by locking you into Telstra (on indeterminate conditions and prices), so this handset is worth more than you are paying up front.

Overall it has everything you need, and we don’t expect more for the price.

Competition

The 2022 Motorola g51 5G – well-priced, well-featured 5G (review) is $349 and really the pick of the lower-cost 5G with a Qualcomm SD480+, fast Wi-Fi 5 AC, far stronger phone reception, Qualcomm Bluetooth codec suite and the same rear camera setup as the Vivo Y55 5G.

OPPO has the A54 and A74, but these are 2021 models.

Vivo Y55 5G

Brand	Vivo
Model	Y55 5G
Model Number	V2127
Price Base	4/128
Price base	$299
Warranty months	24-months ACL
Tier	entry level 5G
Website	Product Page
From	Locked to Telstra
Country of Origin	China
Company	Vivo is part of what is arguably the world’s largest smartphone company – BBK. Along with its siblings (with quite a lot of rivalry), including OPPO, realme, OnePlus, iQOO – they make more phones than Samsung and Apple.
Test date	1-18/07/2022
Ambient temperature	9-15°
Release	Feb-22
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	From Telstra only. Avoid different ram configurations.

Screen

Size	6.58″
Type	IPS LCD
Flat, Curve, 2D, 3D	Flat with slightly curved edges
Resolution	2408×1080
PPI	401
Ratio	20:9
Screen to Body %	83.80%
Colours bits	8-bit 16.7m colours
Refresh Hz, adaptive	60Hz fixed
Response 120Hz	120Hz 5-finger, 180Hz 2 finger
Nits typical/test	Not specified – about 400 nits
Nits max/test	Not specified
Contrast	Not specified – expect 1200:1
sRGB	Not specified – colour accuracy is not expected at this price
DCI-P3	Not specified
Rec.2020 or other	Not specified
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	Not specified
HDR Level	Claims HDR10+ but downmixed to the panels SDR capability
SDR Upscale	No
Blue light control	Yes
PWM if known	Unlikely
Daylight readable	Not for direct sunlight
Always on Display	No
Edge display	No
Accessibility	Usual Android features
DRM	L1 for FHD SDR playback
Gaming	No
Screen protection	Not specified
Comment	Adequate screen with a cold tint. No screen adjustment.

Processor

Brand, Model	MediaTek Dimensity 700
nm	7
Cores	2 x 2.2Ghz and 6 x 2.0Ghz
Modem	MediaTek
AI TOPS	Estimate 7 TOPS
Geekbench 5 Single-core	545
Geekbench 5 multi-core	1600
Like	Similar to SD 480 5G
GPU	Mali-G57 MC2
GPU Test
Open CL	1441
Like	Similar to SD 7325G
Vulcan	1468
RAM, type	4GB with 1GB swap
Storage, free, type	128GB UFS 2.2 (97GB free)
micro-SD	Up to 1TB
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps	491
CPDT internal seq. write MBps	238
CPDT microSD read, write MBps	44/24 mountable
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	26/16 OTG
Comment	Fit for purpose. Not for gamers
Throttle test
Max GIPS	156,114
Average GIPS	143,937
Minimum GIPS	125,203
% Throttle	15% acceptable
CPU Temp	50°
Comment	Average thermal management and as expected for a MediaTek SoC

Comms

Wi-Fi Type, model	Wi-Fi 5 AC (poor signal strength)
Test 2m -dBm, Mbps	-47/433
Test 5m	-69/433
Test 10m	-75 to -91/433
BT Type	5.1 (limited range due to low signal strength)
GPS single, dual	Single
USB type	USB-C 2.0 480Mbps
Alt DP, DeX, Ready For	No, Wi-Fi casting and Chromecast
NFC	Yes
Ultra-wideband	No
Sensors
Accelerometer	Yes -combo with Gyro is very sensitive
Gyro	Yes -pseudo performed by the SoC
e-Compass	Yes
Barometer
Gravity
Pedometer
Ambient light	Yes
Hall sensor
Proximity	Yes
Comment	Wi-Fi 5 AC signal is quite weak and almost unusable at 10m (strong variations). The Auto-screen rotation is very sensitive, and you should disable it.

LTE and 5G

SIM	Hybrid single sim (Telstra) shared with microSD
Active	Only one active at a time
Ring tone single, dual	Single
VoLTE	Carrier dependent
Wi-Fi calling	Carrier dependent
4G Bands	1, 2, 3,4, 5, 7,8, 12, 17, 20, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, ,41
Comment	All Australian 4G bands
5G sub-6Ghz	N1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 78
Comment	All Australian sub-6Ghz and low-bands
mmWave	N/A
Test Boost Mobile, Telstra
UL, DL, ms	23.1/14.3/39ms
Tower 1 -dBm, fW or pW	86/1 to 2.5pW (solid signal strength for city/suburbs)
Tower 2	No
Tower 3	No
Tower 4	No
Comment	This is strictly a city and suburbs phone and reflects the low-cost MediaTek SoC and antenna design.

Battery

mAh	5000mAh
Charger, type, supplied	5V/2A/10W or 9V/2A/18W in box
PD, QC level	PD capable – Overcharge protection may influence results
Qi, wattage	No
Reverse Qi or cable	No
Test (60Hz screen)
Charge % 30mins	27%
Charge 0-100%	2 hours
Charge Qi	N/A
Charge 5V, 2A	6.5 hours
Video loop 50%, aeroplane	18 hours
PC Mark 3 battery	25 hours 50 minutes (Acccubattery shows 18 hours)
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	580.4 min (9.67 hours) 1333 frames
GFX Bench T-Rex	669.7 min (11.16 hours) 2825 frames
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	5 hours (Confirmed by Accubattery)
Watt full load	322-400
Watt idle Screen on	899
Estimate loss at max refresh	N/A – Fixed refresh 60Hz
Estimate typical use	Two days at typical use
Comment	18W charger is OK, and 2 hours charge time for a low-cost 5G is pretty good. The screen is set for aggressive dimming to prolong battery life, and we found the results too dim.

Sound

Speakers	Earpiece and mono down-fixing speaker
Tuning	No
AMP	MediaTek
Dolby Atmos decode	No
Hi-Res	No
3.5mm	Yes
BT Codecs	SBC, AAC – no Qualcomm aptX
Multipoint	Should support it
Dolby Atmos (DA)	No
EQ	No
Mics	2 with some noise-cancellation
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off
Volume max	84
Media (music)	80
Ring	78
Alarm	78
Notifications	85
Earpiece	55
Hands-free	Decent hands-free and has 2 mics for some wind noise reduction
BT headphones	SBC and AAC only. Decent volume and left/right separation
Sound quality
Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Slowly building from 70Hz
High Bass 100-200Hz	Slowly building
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Slowly building
Mid 4000-1000Hz	Slowly building
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flat
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flat
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Big dip then declines
High Treble 6-10kHz	Choppy decline
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Choppy decline
Sound Signature type	Mid-centric for clear voice. Missing all the important bass so that this is muddy and missing all the important treble, so there is little character and directionality. In short, it is dull and thin for music
Soundstage	Mono
Comment	Good for voice but not for music

Build

Size (H x W x D)	164×75.84×8.25
Weight grams	188
Front glass	Glass – protection not specified
Rear material	PMMA
Frame	Plastic
IP rating	Not specified
Colours	Starlight Black
Pen, Stylus support	No
In the box
Charger	5V/2A/10W and 9V/2A/18W
USB cable	USB-C to USB-A 2W cable
Buds	Yes
Bumper cover	Yes
Comment	An 18W inbox charger is perfect for 2-hour charging. Can use any USB-C PD charger

OS

Android	12
Security patch date	1/06/2022
UI	FuntouchOS 12
OS upgrade policy	No OS upgrade
Security patch policy	Three years of quarterly updates
Bloatware	Reasonably clean. Has alternatives to many Google apps.
Comment	While no OS update is expected at this price it comes with Android 12 and security patch updates.
Fingerprint sensor location, type	On power key
Face ID	Yes, 2D
Other	FunTouch OS
Comment	Very light touch over Android

Vivo Y55 5G Camera

Rear Primary	Wide
MP	50MP bins to 12.5MP
Sensor	Samsung S5KJN1
Focus	Double Super PD (PDAF)
f-stop	1.8
um	.64 bins to 1.28
FOV° (stated, actual)	(66.8-79°)
Stabilisation	MediaTek EIS cropping assistance
Zoom	10x digital
Rear 2	Macro
MP	2
Sensor	Galaxy Core GC02m
Focus
f-stop	2.4
um	1.75
FOV (stated, actual)	89
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	No
Rear 3	Depth
MP	2
Sensor	Galaxy Core GC02m
Focus	FF
f-stop	2.4
um	1.75
FOV (stated, actual)	89
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	No
Video max	1080p@30fps
Flash	Single LED
Auto-HDR	Primary lens only
	Photo, Portrait, Night, Video, 50MP, Panorama, Live Photo, Slow Motion, Time-Lapse, Pro Mode, AR Stickers, Documents
QR code reader	Google Lens
Night mode	Yes

Vivo Y55 5G Front

MP	8
Sensor	Samsung S5K4H7
Focus	Contrast AF
f-stop	1.8
um	1.12
FOV (stated, actual)	(71.5-85.5°)
Stabilisation	No
Flash	Screen fill
Zoom	4x digital
Video max	1080p@30fps
Features

Camera Comments

Comment

• 1X Day (well, a slightly overcast one): Primary sensor – the colours are slightly over-saturated (we all like that) with good dynamic range. Good details in the background, shadows, and highlights. • 2X Day: Primary sensor – the foreground is fine, but the background shows too much noise • 5X Day: Primary sensor – forget it • 10X Day: Primary sensor: as per 5X • Ultra-wide: N/A • 50MP – 1X no AI post-processing is good on detail and has slightly more natural colours • Macro: The primary sensor can take macro shots at 4cm. It is OK, but it is critical to get the focal length correct • Indoor office light: Colours and focus are off. It is as if it is focusing on the background. • Bokeh Depth: A 2MP sensor helps for bokeh shots. But it has blurred the foreground and sharpened the background. This occasionally happens with other similar camera setups. • Dark <40 lumens: The standard (not night mode) is overly noisy, and the camera is struggling. • Night mode improves the detail and saturates the colour, and removes a lot of noise • Selfie: The MP selfie has natural skin tones and details and a range of filters to enhance any image. • Video (we are not video experts): You can shoot at 1080p@30fps with some EIS (Electronic Image Stabilisation crops the image to the horizon) for a reasonably stable image.

Ratings

Features	8.5
	It has all you need and more than you expect for $299 (but that is a Telstra plan subsidised price)
Value	9
	One of the lowest-cost devices that still has reasonable build quality and performance
Performance	7
	4/128GB and a MediaTek Dimensity processor means you will accept lag times
Ease of Use	8
	It is a sell-and-forget device that you may see security updates for.
Design	7.5
	Another glass slab with no distinguishing features
Rating out of 10	8
Comment	It is one of the lowest-cost 5GH phones that still has a decent build quality.