Vivo Y35 Review: Impressive on All Fronts

Vivo’s Y series is the company’s lineup of its most affordable range of midrange smartphones and they have now released the Vivo Y35. The Vivo Y35 joins the family of the now official smartphone of the ongoing FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar for the second time.

Vivo Y35 series succeeds the Vivo Y33 series from last year and it has two models- a 4G and a 5G version. The 4G version we have our hands on is a much better model than its sibling. The 4G version we have has a better 1080p screen with a 90Hz refresh rate while the 5G version has a 720p screen. The 5G version has a weaker camera setup that includes a 13MP main and 2MP macro and a 5MP selfie camera while the 4G version has a 50MP main with an additional 2MP depth and 2MP macro sensor and a 16MP selfie camera. They share the same battery but the 5G model opts for 15W wired charging while the 4G version uses the much faster 44W charging.

The 5G version only beats the 4G version by using a Dimensity 700 5G chipset while a Snapdragon 680 processor powers the 4G model. It also ships with Android 13.

Now that those differences have been laid out, let’s get to what the Vivo Y35 4G is capable of.

UNBOXING

In the box is, the phone, documentation, 44W fast charger, Type-A to Type-C charging cable, earphones, and sim ejector tool.

DESIGN

vivo Y35 maintains the same build quality as its other Y series and uses a frosted anti-glare surface for its back that’s also fingerprint and scratch-resistant. We got our unit in Dawn Gold colour but you can get it in Agate Black. Vivo Y35 comes in a flat design for its edges meaning it can stand on its own.

We get the Side-mounted Fingerprint Reader embedded in the power button and the Volume Rockers on the right.

Face unlock is also present as another form of biometric.

At the top back, we have the island that houses the triple camera setup and the LED flash.

Coming to the bottom, we have the headphone jack, microphone, Type-C charging port and speaker grille. At the top is the dual nano-Sim Card slot with an additional slot for a microSD card.

Distinctive design with the Vivo Y35

Coming to the front is the 6.58-inch display featuring a notch that hosts the selfie camera. The display rocks full HD resolution at 1080p with a 90Hz refresh rate good for gaming and 550 nits peak brightness ideal for multimedia consumption.

You will love streaming shows as the screen is beautiful and sharp.

PERFORMANCE

vivo y35 rocks a Snapdragon 680 chipset paired with Android 12 and FunTouchOS 12 at the helm. There’s 8GB of RAM and 8GB virtual RAM coupled with 128GB onboard storage which you can expand to a 1TB external MicroSD card.

Powerful and efficient performance with the Vivo Y35 – No flinching or stalling

Funtouch OS comes with nice software features such as AudioBooster mode, Multiturbo 5.5 and Ultra Game mode optimizing resource scheduling and utilization efficiency to reduce lag, improve system smoothness, and improve performance stability, especially for gaming. Other features include Extended RAM and Nano-Music player.

It’s been a pretty flawless experience when it comes to performance with the Vivo Y35. There’s nothing we tried to do with the phone that it couldn’t take in its stride, which isn’t surprising given its hardware and software combination.

One qualm I have with the phone is it didn’t ship with Android 13 like its 5G version that I mentioned above. We hope it’ll get the upgrade early next year.

CAMERAS

For the cameras, the Vivo Y35 sports a triple array including a 50MP Main with a 2MP Macro and 2MP Depth. For selfies, we have a 16MP front-facing camera. Video recording is capped at 1080p 30fps for both front and main. Other features include rear video EIS, bokeh flare portrait, and Super night mode.

The cameras take impressive shots during the day and in low-lit scenarios. The pictures are good, well-detailed, sharp, right colour saturation and contrast – perfect for sharing on social media.

Its lack of 4K video recording limits its videography but this is something we’ve seen with other phones powered by the Snapdragon 680 chipset which is its main weakness.

Otherwise, photos came out really well, whatever the subject was. Vivo Y35’s camera system is among the best you’ll get as you’ll see in the gallery below.

BATTERY

Vivo Y35 ships with a 5000mAH Battery that supports 44W Fast Charging which means you can go from empty to 70% in 34 Minutes. The phone has a “Vivo Energy Guardian” feature which preserves battery health by preventing it from charging after reaching full capacity.

You can go a full day and a half on moderate use and it can pull a full day on heavy use.

VERDICT

As an entire package, the Vivo Y35 is a sleek smartphone and it did absolutely everything we wanted – from the cameras to the display, to the whole design, overall performance, insanely fast charging and battery endurance.