Best selfie phone? Vivo V17 Pro review: dual pop-up front cameras a world first

Are your selfies lacking detail … and people? As if being armed with a 32 megapixel front camera wasn’t enough, Vivo has also put a dual selfie camera on its new handset, the V17 Pro. It pops up mechanically, putting the phone in the same ballpark as the Oppo Find X and Oppo Reno phones. Do not underestimate it. An all-screen design without a notch cut-out is the smartphone designer’s dream come true. Add to that a reflective all-glass body, and the V17 Pro really looks the part, though it’s perhaps not as alluring as the Vivo Nex 3 and its “waterfall screen”. Design and hardware Like all smartphone makers, Vivo is always trying for a “world’s first” tag, and achieves that on the V17 Pro with its motorised dual-lens selfie camera. Watching it go up and down in such a precise and sure-footed manner is impressive. There’s no wobble, which is good news for anyone worried about investing in a smartphone with moving mechanical parts. The selfie camera has wow factor, and it also enables the V17 Pro’s notch-less 6.4-inch display. The screen goes right to three edges (there’s a slightly larger gap to the lower edge) though it lacks the curved edges of pricer handsets. Turn the handset over and halfway up the back of the phone four lenses are strung-out, with an LED flash in the centre. Surrounding those cameras is a shiny all-glass “crystal sky” material that glints in the light. It weighs 201g and is 10mm deep, a little more than some phones of this class, but it is ergonomically well-weighted and easy to hold in one hand. The weight is a result of its huge 4,100mAh battery, which lasts a full day (though lacks wireless charging). To call the V7 Pro’s pop-up selfie cameras futuristic is probably going too far, but if you hate phones with a notch on the front for a selfie camera, you’ve come to the right place. The screen has a 20:9 aspect ratio – as found on ultrawide computer monitors – just like the Samsung Galaxy A70 and OnePlus 7T. Its Ultra FullView 2340 x 1080 pixel display impresses, particularly on colour. Movies look great on the big screen, with plenty of contrast and HDR colour adding a slice of reality. Viewing angles are great, too, so it’s easy to share a movie. There are also lots of customisation choices for the display, such as dark mode and colour temperature adjustments. Software and features The display also houses fingerprint sensor tech, which works quickly, though that selfie camera does come into play if the fingerprint tech fails. After three attempts, it pops-up to face unlock. For those used to face unlock as standard, it might seem a step back. The V17 Pro’s unique selfie camera does pretty well. It’s got a 32MP camera (also able to take full HD videos) and an 8MP super wide-angle lens, both of which autofocus quickly after their uprising. As on previous Vivo phones, standard selfies are a little unreal-looking, and there are plenty of ways you can up the ante. As well as bokeh background blur, there’s an endless slew of “beauty” editing options that offer to shrink your head, make you thinner and taller, and even change the space between your eyes. Before you even get to that stage there’s a “posture” slider of images of suggested ways you should pose. It’s actually really useful if you’re bad at selfies. The best thing about standard selfies on the V17 Pro is that they’re pretty good in low light, while there’s also a “moonlight flash” to gently light up faces in the dark. Then there are its ultra-wide-angle selfies. Able to capture a 105-degree field of view, it’s a boon for anyone who only ever takes “wefies” rather than selfies, though they have the same slightly over-processed look. Performance and battery life Despite the popup selfie camera taking the headlines, the V17 Pro’s best hardware is its rear cameras. Its 48-megapixel primary sensor produces well saturated, sharp images with plenty of pop, whlie following suit are a distortion-free 8MP 120-degree wide-angle lens and a 13MP telephoto lens whose 2x optical zoom mode impresses (even if its 10x digital zoom does not). The bokeh effect added by the camera’s depth sensor also works a treat, as does its night mode in low light. Fitted with a slightly older Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor, the V17 Pro was never going to offer ultimate performance. However, during the test it loaded apps, played games and surfed the web without any lag or freeze-ups. Conclusion Three of my favourite features on the V17 Pro are its suite of faultless front cameras, a dedicated Google Assistant button on its side, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on its top. Sometimes it’s the simple things. Dimensions: 159mm x 74.7mm x 9.8mm Weight: 201.8g Display: 6.44-inch 1,080 x 2,340 OLED panel Battery: 4,100mAh OS version reviewed: Android 9 with Funtouch 9.1 on top Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 AIE Main cameras: 48-megapixel f/1.8 sensor, 8-megapixel f/2.2 wide-angle lens, 13-megapixel telephoto with 2x optical zoom, 2-megapixel depth sensor Front cameras: 32-megapixel f/2.0, 8-megapixel wide-angle lens (both motorised pop-up) Memory: 8GB RAM, 128GB ROM Price: starting at €599 (US$668)