Vivo’s V9 aspires to embody beauty and smarts

By Chong Jinn Xiung March 26, 2018

Packs a big screen in a compact body and high resolution selfie camera
Many AI driven features that improve performance and productivity

Vivo’s V9 aspires to embody beauty and smarts

Vivo Malaysia chief executive officer Mike Xu (far right) standing with Vivo brand ambassadors.

Vivo has unveiled its latest V9 smartphone, that features a FullView display, dual-rear cameras, AI driven features and of course, a high resolution front camera for selfies.

It is clear to see that the V9 takes inspiration from some of today’s top smartphone brands as it fits in a 6.3-inch display into a body normally made for a 5.5-inch display. Stretching the display out to a ridiculous 90% screen-to-body ratio and adopts a 19:9 aspect ratio. It even has a little notch on top.

To keep the phone looking stylish Vivo has a 3D curved back that is polished and made to ergonomically fit in the palm of your hand.

Vivo has placed a heavy emphasis on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the V9. The phone is literally peppered with AI features such as the AI Face Beauty mode that complements the 24-Megapixel front camera. It was explained that the feature works by applying camera settings that best match a user’s face based on the data collected from millions of facial images.

Users can also unlock the V9 using the front facing camera with its AI Face Access technology and even lock select apps like their gallery with the featurefor extra privacy.

Switching the camera around is the 16-Megapixel and 5-Megapixel rear cameras that is said to produce convincing ‘bokeh’ (blurred background) shots. Vivo claims another AI element, its AI Bokeh algorithm helps the camera distinguish between subject and foreground better.

Vivo also claims that the camera also takes advantage of machine learning by training its AI to apply the right settings to 18 different scenes and subjects be it people, pets or food.

Adding to that Vivo is placing a big emphasis on games as the V9 has a dedicated Game Mode. With it, notifications and calls will be placed on silent so users can fully concentrate on the game.

Even so, users can still send text and messages to their friends with a picture-in-picture mode so they don’t have to exit their game.

The feature list doesn’t stop there as the V9 comes powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 octa-core processor supported by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It is running on the latest Android 8.1 operating system with Vivo’s Funtouch OS 4.0 layered on top of it.

Vivo said the V9 will be sold at a suggested retail price of US$358.80 (RM1,399) available in two colours: gold and pearl black from March 31 onwards at all Vivo retail outlets and authorised resellers across Malaysia.

Vivo’s V9 aspires to embody beauty and smarts