That is a trait of a brand that has a goal – domination. I am so intrigued at the rate of churn out that I decided to take a closer look at what the brand is up to.
Vivo smartphones launched in January 2022 till date
Vivo Y21T went official on January 12st with a 6.51-inch LCD, matte back, Snapdragon 680 SoC, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, 50MP triple camera, 8MP selfie camera, 5000mAh battery, and 18W fast charging. It is available in Indonesia and India for around $215.
Vivo V23 and V23 Pro soon showed up just a few days later on the 5th of January. These two phones offer an exquisite design that changes colours when exposed to sunlight for up to 6 minutes. Vampire phones.
Let’s explore the V23 first. This has a 6.44-inch AMOLED display with 90Hz refresh rate, MediaTek Dimensity 920 chipset, a 50MP dual selfie camera, and a 50MP triple camera at the back.
The battery capacity is 4200mAh and it supports up to 44W fast charging. Vivo V23 comes in two memory variants – 8/128GB and 12/256GB, selling for the equivalent of $400 and $470 respectively in India.
Vivo V23 Pro has a bigger 6.53-inch AMOLED screen with 90Hz refresh rate, MediaTek Dimensity 1200 SoC, 8GB and 12GB RAM options, 128GB and 256GB storage options, a 4300mAh battery, and up to 44W fast charging.
At the front is a 50MP dual camera for Alfie’s, and it is damn good. Behind is a 108MP triple camera setup. It is unfortunate that it does not include a telephoto lens. But it remains a respectable camera phone.
The V23 Pro sells for around $520 (8/128GB) and $590 (12/256GB) in India.
On the 11th of January, another Vivo smartphone was announced. This time, it was the Y33T. It has a 6.58-inch display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 SoC, 8GB RAM, and 128GB storage.
It has a 16MP selfie shooter and a 50MP triple camera at the back. Battery capacity is 5000mAh and it charges at 18W speeds. Again, this model is available in India, and for $255.
In China, Vivi’s subsidiary, iQOO, released the iQOO 9 and iQOO 9 Pro. These are top dog premium flagship phones with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC.
These two Vivo smartphones also come with 120Hz refresh rate AMOLED screens, 4700mAh battery coupled with 120W fast charging, 50W fast wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging.
The iQOO 9 sells for between $630 and $760 in China, depending on memory configuration.
The 9 Pro has 8/256GB and 12/512GB memory options and costs from $790 to $950, depending on the option you pick. Both of them are likely to appear in other countries as well.
Vivo Y21e is next. What the company did is slap a 6.51-inch LCD display on a plastic frame that includes a 13MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, Snapdragon 680 SoC, 3GB of RAM, 64GB internal storage, 5000mAh battery and 18W charging. The price tag is $175 and is available in India. This makes it one of the most affordable Vivo smartphones so far launched in 2022.
And the company isn’t done yet. Vivo Y55 5G shows up on the 17th. As the name suggests, we are looking at a budget 5G phone. It has a 6.58-inch LCD, Dimensity 700 chipset, 5000mAh battery, and 18W charging. It costs $300.
Vivo is milking the Y21 series. We already had the Y21, Y21T, and Y21e. There’s no other reason why a Vivo Y21a shows up on the 22nd of January. Its specifications are identical to those of the Y21e.
What is different is the details of the 8MP selfie camera and the more RAM. Pricing is similar too.
Lastly, Vivo Y75 5G was announced on January 22nd as well. This comes with a 6.58-inch display (Vivo seems to love this screen size), Dimensity 700 SoC, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, 5000mAh battery, and 18W charging (another Vivo favourite).
In all, Vivo has released no less than 10 smartphones in the first month of the year alone. 8 of them are in India and 2 in China. Some of these Vivo smartphones will show up in Indonesia as well, and we won’t be surprised to see them in other countries in Asia and Europe.
Vivo does not have a strong presence in the USA at this time. While also present in Nigeria and a handful of other countries in Africa, it is a tiny presence in all these locations.
The company has some exciting products. However, many of the new phone launches we have seen this year are rehashed and minor variants of already existing models. Vivo changes one or two specs and slaps a new model name on it. It is a strategy that we have seen work (with Samsung, for example). What’s to keep it from working for Vivo?
With this strategy, there is a Vivo smartphone for everyone – every need and every price point. 2022 looks promising for the brand, and it looks like it will be hard to stop Vivo from grabbing a larger share of the Indian smartphone market.
January 27, 2022 Update: The Vivo Y75 5G is announced. It has similar specs to the Y55 5G, but with more RAM and a higher selfie camera. Vivo Y75 5G improves on the Y55 5G’s 4 GB RAM and 8MP selfie with 8 GB RAM (and 4 GB Extended RAM) and a 16MP selfie camera.
It is available in two colour schemes – Starlight Black and Glowing Galaxy, and is on sale in India (again!) for INR21,990. That is about $290 or €260. India……
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