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MagyarVivo V40 SE 5G review - An affordable mid-range smartphone with eSIM support
Possible competitors compared
Rating | Version | Date | Model | Weight | Drive | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74 % | v8 | 07/2024 | Vivo V40 SE 5G SD 4 Gen 2, Adreno 613 | 191 g | 256 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.67" | 2400x1080 | |
| 84.6 % | v7 (old) | 10/2023 | Motorola Edge 40 Neo Dimensity 7030, Mali-G610 MP3 | 170 g | 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | 6.55" | 2400x1080 | |
| 86.1 % | v7 (old) | 03/2024 | Xiaomi Poco X6 Pro 5G Dimensity 8300-Ultra, Mali-G615 MP6 | 186 g | 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash | 6.67" | 2712x1220 | |
| 85.9 % | v7 (old) | 05/2024 | Samsung Galaxy A35 5G Exynos 1380, Mali-G68 MP5 | 209 g | 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.60" | 2340x1080 |
Please note: We have updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here.
Case and connectivity - Plastic/glass mix on the Vivo V40 SE
The Vivo V40 SE 5G—the SE stands for Style Edition—comes in two colors: Crystal Black and Leather Purple. The latter features a faux leather back. Although the phone's frame looks like metal, it is actually made from plastic. Even so, this doesn't influence the Vivo phone's otherwise overall high-quality feel.
The V40 SE is a little more angular, but it still feels nice to hold. All gaps are both close-fitting and even, and the device only creaks minimally when twisted. The front is protected by Dragontrail DT-Star2 Plus glass. The hybrid card slot can accommodate either two nano-SIM cards or, instead of a second SIM, a microSD card.
Although it's nice that you can optionally expand the Vivo phone's storage, the slot is unfortunately very slow. The USB port also didn't boast any high transfer rates during our copying test (13.44 MB/s).
| SD Card Reader - average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A35 5G (Angelbird AV Pro V60) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (7.7 - 77, n=85, last 2 years) | |
| Sony Xperia 10 V (Angelbird AV Pro V60) | |
| Vivo V40 SE 5G (Angelbird AV Pro V60) | |
Cross Platform Disk Test (CPDT)
Communication, software and operation
At best, the Vivo V40 SE 5G can access mobile data via the modern 5G network. Wi-Fi 5 is supported for local internet connection—we noted stable data rates around the expected level in combination with our Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 reference router. However, this is by no means fast.
The V40 SE's telephone features also include Wi-Fi calls and VoLTE. Its call quality is good when held up to your ear, but its noise suppression quickly reaches its limits with loud ambient noise. Up to eight eSIM profiles can be saved on the smartphone.
Google Android 14 is used as the device's operating system, over which Vivo runs its own FuntouchOS 14. The V40 SE is set to receive two major updates, i.e. up to Android 16, and another year of security patches. These will initially be distributed on a monthly basis and later (not defined in more detail) on a quarterly basis.
The phone's ERM vibration motor provides haptic feedback that is easy to feel and is not too loud—however, it is possibly a little too soft. The optical fingerprint sensor fitted into the display offers good recognition rates and unlocks the smartphone quickly and reliably. The same applies to the less secure facial recognition which uses the front-facing camera.
| Networking | |
| Vivo V40 SE 5G | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 |
|
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 |
|
| Motorola Edge 40 Neo | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz |
|
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz |
|
| Xiaomi Poco X6 Pro 5G | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 |
|
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 |
|
| Samsung Galaxy A35 5G | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 |
|
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 |
|
Cameras - The Vivo V40 SE with a good main sensor
The Vivo V40 SE 5G's front-facing camera takes good selfies, but videos can be recorded in Full HD (30fps) at best.
The triple camera relies on a main sensor from Samsung and features a full 50 MPix resolution—it uses pixel-binning technology to ensure good-looking pictures even in low light. This works surprisingly well considering the phone's price and its photos are pretty impressive in daylight. The two additional lenses are an ultra-wide-angle lens and a dedicated macro lens. Both deliver rather mediocre quality.
The main camera can also only record videos in 1,080p (30fps). There is no optical image stabilization (OIS).
Image Comparison
Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.
Main cameraMain cameraUltra-wide angle5x zoomLow light
Display - Bright 120 Hz AMOLED on the V40 SE
The Vivo V40 SE's AMOLED screen proved to be very bright during our test and it achieved an average brightness of around 1,200 cd/m² when depicting a full white display with the ambient light sensor activated. When showing an even distribution of light and dark surfaces (APL18), it even managed 1,944 cd/m². If you control its brightness manually, you will have 499 cd/m² at your disposal.
The display's color reproduction is largely natural, with only a few blue tones resulting in visible deviations perceptible by the naked eye. Thankfully, this should never get in the way during everyday use.
The OLED screen flickers at 476 Hz at minimum display brightness, but it has a fairly flat amplitude. Even so, sensitive people may face some discomfort.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 97 %
Center on Battery: 1206 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 2.3 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.95
ΔE Greyscale 2.9 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
98.8% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.23
| Vivo V40 SE 5G AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.7" | Motorola Edge 40 Neo pOLED, 2400x1080, 6.6" | Xiaomi Poco X6 Pro 5G AMOLED, 2712x1220, 6.7" | Samsung Galaxy A35 5G Super AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.6" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | -13% | -21% | -48% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 1.67 ? | 1.6 ? 4% | 1.69 ? -1% | 3 ? -80% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 1.62 ? | 1.1 ? 32% | 1.4 ? 14% | 1.831 ? -13% |
| PWM Frequency | 476 | 120.4 -75% | 120 -75% | 240 -50% |
| Screen | 1% | 23% | 5% | |
| Brightness middle | 1206 | 966 -20% | 1034 -14% | 904 -25% |
| Brightness | 1199 | 957 -20% | 1035 -14% | 912 -24% |
| Brightness Distribution | 97 | 97 0% | 96 -1% | 97 0% |
| Black Level * | ||||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 2.3 | 1.87 19% | 1.1 52% | 2.1 9% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 5 | 4.34 13% | 1.9 62% | 2.8 44% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2.9 | 2.5 14% | 1.4 52% | 2.2 24% |
| Gamma | 2.23 99% | 2.272 97% | 2.22 99% | 2.1 105% |
| CCT | 6626 98% | 6582 99% | 6674 97% | 6478 100% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -6% /
-4% | 1% /
8% | -22% /
-13% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1.62 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.8345 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.7895 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 6 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.1 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 1.67 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.888 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.7805 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 5 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.1 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 476 Hz Amplitude: 22.47 % |  | |
The display backlight flickers at 476 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) . The frequency of 476 Hz is relatively high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering. However, there are reports that some users are still sensitive to PWM at 500 Hz and above, so be aware. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17263 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
Measurement series with fixed zoom level and different brightness settings (The amplitude curve at minimum brightness looks flat, but this is due to the scaling. The info box shows the enlarged version of the amplitude at minimum brightness).
Performance, emissions and battery life
The Vivo V40 SE uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2, which has access to 8 GB LPDDR4x RAM. The RAM can be expanded by an additional 8 GB vRAM if required.
The SoC is based on a modern 4 nm structure width and the CPU's clock rate is slightly higher than that of the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1, which results in a small speed boost. The same can't be said for graphics calculations, as the Adreno 613 is actually slower than the Adreno 619 of its predecessor's SoC. The focus here seems to be more on saving energy.
The phone's surface temperatures only rise above 40 °C under constant load—we noted this on parts of the front. Thankfully, the entry-level SoC's performance was not throttled at any point, even in the stress test.
The Vivo V40 SE's two speakers deliver a usable but somewhat limited sound at a medium volume but distort audibly depending on the pitch. If you turn the smartphone up all the way, this effect is amplified. It supports a broad range of Bluetooth audio codecs.
Thanks to its 5,000 mAh battery, the Vivo smartphone achieved very good runtimes of over 17 hours in our Wi-Fi test (150 cd/m²). Using a cable, the V40 SE can be charged at up to 44 watts, and one full charge takes around an hour. The battery is also said to be particularly long-lasting and should still have a residual capacity of 80 % after four years.
| PCMark for Android - Work 3.0 | |
| Motorola Edge 40 Neo | |
| Xiaomi Poco X6 Pro 5G | |
| Samsung Galaxy A35 5G | |
| Average of class Smartphone (4609 - 21385, n=191, last 2 years) | |
| Geekbench ML | |
| 0.6 TensorFlow Lite CPU | |
| Average of class Smartphone (246 - 1342, n=34, last 2 years) | |
| Vivo V40 SE 5G | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 () | |
| 0.6 TensorFlow Lite GPU | |
| Average of class Smartphone (123 - 1478, n=33, last 2 years) | |
| Vivo V40 SE 5G | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 () | |
| 0.6 TensorFlow Lite NNAPI | |
| Average of class Smartphone (186 - 3410, n=29, last 2 years) | |
| Vivo V40 SE 5G | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 () | |
| Vivo V40 SE 5G | Motorola Edge 40 Neo | Xiaomi Poco X6 Pro 5G | Samsung Galaxy A35 5G | Average 256 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | 29% | 221% | -39% | 6% | 60% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 956.35 | 1004.4 5% | 3824.7 300% | 529.32 -45% | 898 ? -6% | 1729 ? 81% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 808.91 | 930.9 15% | 3642.57 350% | 270 -67% | 700 ? -13% | 1338 ? 65% |
| Random Read 4KB | 201.11 | 279.5 39% | 355.7 77% | 244.24 21% | 226 ? 12% | 266 ? 32% |
| Random Write 4KB | 181.2 | 284.1 57% | 467.74 158% | 62.59 -65% | 235 ? 30% | 292 ? 61% |
Temperature
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 41.3 °C / 106 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 39.7 °C / 103 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 29.8 °C / 86 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
3DMark Wild Life Stress Test
Speakers
Vivo V40 SE 5G audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (91.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 28% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (5.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 5% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 6.1% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (4% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (19.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 25% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 67% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 37%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 46% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 47% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Samsung Galaxy A35 5G audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (90.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 23.6% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (6.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 7.9% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (6.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.5% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (18% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 12% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 81% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 37%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 33% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 59% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Runtimes
| Battery Runtime - WiFi Websurfing | |
| Vivo V40 SE 5G | |
| Average of class Smartphone (476 - 3244, n=201, last 2 years) | |
| Xiaomi Poco X6 Pro 5G | |
| Samsung Galaxy A35 5G | |
| Motorola Edge 40 Neo | |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - The Euro smartphone is impressive but has a few minor flaws
Vivo's V40 SE 5G is an affordable lower mid-range smartphone—plus, it is the official smartphone of UEFA Euro 2024. Within its price range, Vivo has managed to create a successful overall package that stands out in particular with its very bright display, expandable storage, eSIM support, good main camera and long battery life.
The Vivo V40 SE 5G is a successful total package inside an attractive case.
However, our test also showed that both its USB port and its microSD card slot are comparatively slow. The same can also be said for its installed SoC: the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2. Although the system's speed is good, the chipset quickly reaches its limits when gaming. Despite its bright display, HDR is also not supported, although it features a DRM certification.
Strong alternatives to the V40 SE include the Galaxy A35 or the Nothing Phone (2a).
Price and availability
The Vivo V40 SE 5G has an MRSP of around US$320. At the time of writing, it is not available to purchase from any US online retailers.
Please note: We have updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here.
Vivo V40 SE 5G
-
07/02/2024 v8
Daniel Schmidt
Total Sustainability Score: Transparency
The present review sample was made available to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or a shop for the purposes of review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review.
Price comparison
