Vivo V3 Max Price, Specs, Features, Actual Unit Photos, Initial Impressions

Sporting a handful of features that users will find in the company's flagship X-Series, the freshly announced Vivo V3 Max is the Chinese handset maker's latest upper midrange phablet donning an official SRP of 23,980 Indian Rupees or roughly Php 16,500 with current conversion.

Vivo V3 Max

Let's talk about its design and build first. As shown in these actual unit photos, the device flaunts a unibody shell crafted from real metal - Vivo calls its 'magnelium' alloy - as well as a 2.5D curved glass face -- giving it an air elegance and sophistication.

Vivo V3 Max

At the back, you'll find of two of V3 Max's main selling points: The 13 MegaPixel camera with LED flash as well as phase detection autofocus and the top-notch fingerprint scanner that you can use to quickly unlock the phone and fire up the display, to snap selfies, and to log-in to supported applications without keying in your password.

Vivo V3 Max
One of the coolest things about this phablet is that it has dedicated RAM for the camera that allows users to launch the app in just 0.7 seconds! No more waiting for the cam to load and missing a fast-moving subject.

Vivo V3 Max

In front, there's the 5.5-inch Full HD IPS OGS display that looks great regardless of the viewing angle and large enough for comfortable thumb-typing or getting an enjoyable movie-viewing experience. On top, beside the earpiece, we have the 8 MegaPixel front cam with Ultra HD mode for selfies.

Ultra HD makes even the minutest details pop out, resulting in clearer and more crisp shots.

Vivo V3 Max
Both the volume rocker and power button are located on the right side for easy access using your thumb if you're right handset or your index finger if you're left handed.

Vivo V3 Max

At its heart, Vivo V3 Max runs its FunTouchOS-flavored Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system with a 64-Bit Octa Core Qualcomm MSM8976 Snapdragon 652 chipset that's great for gaming and running specs-intensive apps as it incorporates four ARM Cortex A72 cores clocked at 1.8GHz, four 1.4 GHz ARM Cortex A53, and a Adreno 510 GPU.

Vivo V3 Max, Smart Split
FunTouch OS incorporates Vivo's Split Screen software innovation that automatically splits the screen when you click on notifications for messages and social media updates! This is particularly useful when you're watching movies or TV series on your phablet -- so you won't have to leave the clip when you need to answer to an important SMS.

The device also has 4GB of RAM delivering stutter-free multitasking, comes with 32GB of internal storage that you can easily augment using the hybrid secondary SIM slot that also supports microSD card memory expansion, and is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery pack that supports fast charging.

The stand-out feature that Vivo Mobile high-end smartphones share is their great audio performance. And the V3 Max can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best of them in this regard as it has an AK 4375 Hi-Fi chipset that basically lets you hear more of the basses and trebles in each track -- whether you're using the earphones or the loud speaker. If you love listening to your favorite songs on-the-go, I think you'll love this smartphone.

Vivo V3 Max
Going back to the phablet's looks, as you can see, the metal band running down its sides is CNC-crafted. The shiny, chamfered edges give the smartphone an attractive finish and help make it look more expensive than it actually is.

Vivo V3 Max
Vivo V3 Max has two SIM slots - both supporting 4G LTE Cat4 connectivity. You can access them by ejecting this tray on the left panel using the included pin.

Vivo V3 Max

According to our friends from Vivo Mobile, we can expect the V3 Max to land in company's key markets around the world - including the Philippines - within this month, April 2016.

Vivo V3 Max

Off hand - having played with it in Mumbai, India - I'm thoroughly impressed with the quality of this smartphone. If Vivo Mobile Philippines can offer it to Pinoy consumers for around Php 16,500 to Php 17,000, I think I'd be inclined to recommend it.

TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST)
Name Vivo V3 Max
Type Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen)
Price Category Midrange
Dimensions153.9 x 77.1 x 7.6 mm
Weight 168 grams
Available Colors Gold
Operating System Android 5.1 Lollipop with Funtouch OS 2.5
Display 5.5 inches (~70.3% screen-to-body ratio), 1080 x 1920 pixels (~401 ppi pixel density), IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Processor 64-Bit Octa Core = Quad Core 1.8 GHz ARM Cortex A72 + Quad Core 1.4 GHz ARM Cortex A53, Adreno 510 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8976 Snapdragon 652 chipset
RAM 4 GB of RAM
Internal Storage 32GB of ROM, expandable via hybrid nanoSIM slot that also works as a microSD card expansion slot supporting up to 128GB
Camera Main: 13 MegaPixels, 4208 x 3120 pixels, autofocus, phase detection
Front: 8 MegaPixels, Ultra HD
Video Capture Front and Back: Full HD 1080p 30 frames per second for main camera
Audio and Video Playback MP3, WAV, eAAC+, FLAC, MP4, H.264
Ports microUSB v2.0, 3.5 mm audio jack
Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth v4.1 with A2DP, EDR, 3G HSPA+; LTE Cat4
GPS Yes, with GLONASS, BDS, and A-GPS
FM Radio Yes
Sensors Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Gyroscope, Fingerscanner
Network 2G GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 and SIM 2, 3G HSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100, 4G LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 40(2300)
SIM Card Type Dual SIM (micro + nano ~ TBD), Dual 4G
Battery Non-removable 3,000 mAh battery
Uptime TBD
Value-Added Features 4GB RAM, Ultra HD camera mode, Hi-Fi audio chip
Announcement April 5, 2016
Availability April 2016
Price Official: 23,980 Indian Rupees
Price Guesstimate for the Philippines: Php 16,500 to Php 17,000