Vivo T4 Review: Nearly Perfect

Beyond the curtain, entering the ring, the Vivo T4 (aka iQOO Z10) tries to woo buyers wary of their money, coaxing them to spend more for a little bit of mid-range magic. Starting at Rs. 20,000, these offers promised a convincing reason to pay more. But below Rs. 25,000, the battlefield remains an incredibly aggressive one, a digital colosseum where only the most aggressive survive. The T4 is certainly capable of a few credible punches but not quite enough to snag its crown and, more or less for them, just a little short.

Vivo T4 Design

The T4 is not just a mid-range phone; it embraces and owns this persona. Design-wise, it borrows from the high-end Vivo X200-series and lifts itself, even just a bit, above the mundane. But the T4 does go way beyond an easier reference; it has unique elements that truly make it stand out as a truly charming device for its price.

The Vivo T4’s curved mid-frame compliments its quad-curved display, giving it a slim overall appearance

Indeed, the phone weighs just 199 grams, with its edge measuring a barely 7.9mm thin, certainly not just a slim phone, but indeed, study in all sleekness. The secret: the curves. The mid-frame is made of polycarbonate and curves quite aggressively, while the display is immersive thanks to it being quad-curved, as is the rear, which is also fashioned out of quad-curved polycarbonate. The design details look gorgeous every way you turn them, all the while breathing that sense of lightness. Mere slim is not enough to describe what it looks like; itfeelsimpossibly thin.

With such a gargantuan 7,300mAh battery, the Vivo smartphone is truly a runner. Though eau-de-vie cannot be stolen, beauty goes beyond skin deep. Encased in a fortress of IP65 rating, this one just mocks the dust while daring to take on a dance in the rain.

The greasy back, while matte to the touch, unfortunately kept attracting all sorts of fingerprints. Our review unit featured the gorgeous Phantom Grey beauty that is almost white and did a bit of camouflage for the smudges, which could then be easily overlooked.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always been into design details when it comes to stuff like rear camera modules. The barely-there plastic ring is a blessing because it shields the module from the worst scratches on delicate surfaces, like wooden tables; good thing, too, lest your fingers get a good scrape when using the phone for support.

Aside from that, I cannot help appreciating the thoughtful design that has gone into the camera module at the back. The delicate plastic ring is purposeful; it preserves the finish on tender surfaces such as wooden tables and keeps your fingers from getting badly scraped when they brace on the phone.

Vivo T4 Performance

The all-quarter curved display-one design that shouts contemporary sophistication with a flourish-is the Vivo T4. However, when shall we enter the “curve” being a double-edged knife? Take a walk outside, and the sun’s glare may very well distract. However, all considered, the phone’s price tag makes it so that Vivo, quite generously, includes that rarely found full HD+ AMOLED display. It received HDR10 certification, meaning its brightness can peak strangely up to 5,000 nits when under sunlight or simply mesmerize you. So glare, please go ahead.

The Vivo T4 has quad-curved, 120Hz AMOLED panel

The phone is glistening with its display, while a tinny, bottom-firing speaker seals its value. It is all about treble and distortion when you crank it to the maximum volume setting. Funtouch OS is equipped with a so-called 200% “Audio Booster” enhancement, but you can hardly hear a difference. Prepare to be let down – there are a slew of other systems with really rich and satisfying sound, many of which are much cheaper.

Built atop Android 15, the software is typical Vivo – but with a twist, indeed. Beneath it lies a whole treasure of customization options, with some very practical AI tools that are actually useful in real life. In day-to-day usage, the phone walks like an athlete; no jittering and no lag, utmost responsiveness. The fingerprint scanner is lightning-fast and absolutely dependable; it’s almost as if you have a personal key that never fails in a moment.

Vivo’s Funtouch OS 15 is based on Android 15

The Vivo T4 performs as expected for this class – in the typical sense, it is just another candidate amid devices of similar price tags. The playing field has, however, witnessed a game-changer: the Poco F6. While the benchmark scores for the T4 reflected those of its opponents (see chart below), the Poco F6 flaunted a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC, thus throwing all comparables out of competition and giving rise to a whole new level of competition.

Benchmark tests are purely synthetic, and so, they aren’t real-world tests of raw performance. But gaming is.

Call of Duty: Mobile on a cheap phone? Challenge accepted! So, I willingly went into CODM on a humble device, expecting a pixelated slideshow of sorts. Shockingly, the game auto-configured “Very High” graphics with max frame rates. That was a real diamond in the rough with a smooth early-grant gameplay flow. The frames did not count down to rock-perfect stability, but I managed to dash through scores of matches for more than 45 minutes without any fear of overheating. Out of curiosity (and with the will of getting smoother gameplay), I set it to “Ultra.” While visuals did get sharper, those 90fps moments I so desperately wanted to enjoy remained out of reach. Still, a very nice experience!

The Vivo T4 has only one user-accessible rear-facing camera

Never let its sleek design fool you. Talking about a wolf in sheep’s clothing for its camera description. The oversized rear module is prominent, while the triple-lens power system is suggestive. Or, in reality: There is just one single usable 50-megapixel camera. Could we say style first, and here is very much style over substance?

Vivo T4 primary camera samples (tap images to expand)

The default setting is just a little too aggressive in the color punch. A painter will say it added too much pigment. While the “Natural Colour” mode takes it from an oversaturation to something a little more acceptable, on the other hand, such images can sometimes end up looking lifeless; simply a dull photocopy of reality.

The dynamic range is impressive, pulling out detail from glaring highlights to murky shadows though the camera also flirts with overexposure. One would swear the images would pop right on the screen with sharpness, but a sincere look reveals softening of texture-a sort of smudging across surfaces. Beyond arm length, fine detail softens down considerably. But thank God; autofocus is lightning-fast for most shots, snappy-in-focus most of the time, so there’s no need for manual focus adjustments.

Vivo T4 primary camera samples (tap images to expand)

With the onset of darkness, the camera really comes alive. Textural imperfections of the daytime are replaced by vibrant and lucid images, thanks to Night mode. Colors roar to life, dynamic range is cast into the farthest realms, and details suddenly emerge from obscurity. But, you must exercise some patience: the beauty of nighttime is a slow unfolding. Expect to keep steady for two full seconds or more, as the camera completes its low-light alchemy and turns darkness into a smear of gorgeous colors.

Vivo T4 2X zoom camera samples (tap images to expand)

Vivo zoom? Think again before trusting it. It compromises by cropping the main camera’s sensor, and the “magic” wears off really quickly. In auto mode, the really bad results turn distantly located subjects into mushy puddles. Grab those holiday memories if blurry blobs are in vogue. Give this a miss if you really want clarity.

Portrait mode is a mixed bag. While daylight shots are passable, as evidenced below, don’t expect miracles.

Photos captured at 1X show good detail but come out a bit overexposed (tap image to expand)

Turn it to 1.5X speeds, and the magic is gone. Get ready for a grainy appearance entering-the-friendly establishment: noise and blotches are covering house, particulate details into a bigger party of blurriness. (Tap to watch the pixelated apocalypse).

Double up the zoom, would you? Quite inadvertently, the image quality comes crashing down into a dreadful void, whilst awful chromatic noise starts sneaking in like unwanted guests at your photographic Twilight party.

“With dusk setting in, image quality plummets. It simply tries to better the few levels of colour whilst obliterating noise. The result proves to be a death knell for the photos: they become flat, lack detail, and have absolutely no texture. (Tap image to see the tragic reality).”

Sunlight selfies? Perfect so much so that their edges could cut through glass. But then you click that screen flash and bam! Instant airbrush. In other words, the beauties of this camera supersede all limits to a certain degree; they smoothen you down into an almost-too-perfect version of yourself. (Click to see the transformation!)

Another sunrise is transforming the city skyline at dawn, presenting a pure and fresh taste of colors that are yet to be juiced. The dynamic range makes a stretch from intense shadow to brightest highlight. 1080p 60fps offers absolutely smooth motion and stability. For true sight-painterism, feast on 4K clarity at 30fps. As the evening cools down, colors get softened and start to have a muted tint. The camera, evident from this hour, stays steady to the beat. Noise sits restrained, but who would have thought, with diminutive light, it can give you such clean footage?

The Vivo T4’s high-capacity silicon carbon battery can easily last two days with light usage

Say goodbye to battery anxiety! With its monstrous 7,300mAh power plant, this phone laughs in the face of a low-battery warning. 37 hours 55 minutes of looping HD video is all it takes to watch a whole season of your favorite show… twice. But that was just one way to look at it. In the PCMark Work Battery test, meant to imitate real-world usage, it gave us an unbelievable 26 hours 56 minutes. My day-to-day activities include gaming, taking photos, scrolling, taking calls, and working on office stuff. Under these circumstances, I got 13 solid hours of screen time that’s two solid workdays without plugging it into a charger! Seriously, trying to drain this battery was a Herculean task. If you want to be free from a wall socket, this phone will cheer you on.

Vivo T4 Verdict

A fierce battery with Rs. 21,999 on its price tag. Yet, in the world of multi-lens wonders like the triple-camera-equipped Nothing Phone 3a (Rs. 24,999), the T4 looks very much single-lens and lonely. Choosing a single lens at this price point is a leap of faith-well, if you zoom natively, the T4 gives you gorgeous shots. Just don’t zoom; maybe it’s a nice value proposition, and your heart may very well steal away with it (and the attention of your wallet).

Mobile gamers on a shoestring budget! The Poco F6 merely roars at an unheard price of Rs. 21,999 with the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 in tow. If there happens to be a few coins lying in your couch, pick up the OnePlus Nord 4. For Rs. 27,499, it allows a performance leap that will make your game sing. Choose wisely, warrior.

Vivo T4: A missed opportunity or a stylish stamina champion? I mean, if only the battery behemoth status was traded for a telephoto lens, then this mid-ranger could have become a must-have. In its current state, the T4 works the charm with design and stamina-a worthy contender for individuals who put a premium on design and day-long battery life over zooming capability.

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