32-megapixel pop-up selfie camera is biggest ever on a phone: Vivo V15 Pro first impressions
- With a 48 megapixel triple-lens back camera array and the monster pop-up selfie camera, this handset takes great photos for a mid-tier phone
- It also has some good software and features, but the phone feels cheap
Vivo is a phone brand that’s been pushing the boundaries of selfie camera resolution, arguably beyond what even the most selfie-obsessed users would ever think they’d need. Two years ago, the Shenzhen-headquartered brand released the V7, which had a then-unheard-of 24-megapixel selfie camera. This week Vivo tops that with a 32-megapixel front-facing camera on the just announced V15 Pro.
This is the first front-facing camera with this high a megapixel count to make it into a mobile phone, and it the pop-up variety that elevates from the device’s top chassis only when needed, just like the company’s first Nex phone from last year.
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This design, of course, frees up the screen to be notchless, and the 6.4-inch OLED panel spans almost the entire face of the phone save for a bit of a chin bezel.
Despite the headline-grabbing selfie cam, the main camera system around the back doesn’t necessarily take a back seat – it is a triple-lens array with a Sony IMX 48-megapixel sensor, the same one used in the Honor View 20, along with an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens and a depth sensor.
That’s a lot of megapixel prowess packed into one device that isn’t even the company’s flagship, and selling in Southeast Asia mainly, the V15 Pro is clearly a mid-tier device.
Megapixel count, however, isn’t the sole factor in determining photo quality – image sensor size and, increasingly, software processing play larger roles – but so far images taken with the Vivo V15 Pro are impressive for a mid-tier handset and can hold its own against the top dogs that cost twice as much.