It has just been a bit over a month since vivo launched its V50 Lite, and now, we have the more budget-friendly vivo Y29 in the Philippines. We mentioned the V50 Lite as the new vivo Y29 also has a massive 6,500mAh BlueVolt battery, meaning it’s a smartphone that should deliver for nonstop gaming!
While there have been plenty of vivo Y-series devices over the past years, the Y29 might just be the most interesting. After all, this is a phone with a starting price of below PHP 10k that promises to be a great gaming partner when it comes to both battery life and performance. That’s not the only thing the phone excels in though, as the phone should also stand the test of time thanks to its sturdy build. Plus, it should also perform well for years to come thanks to its processor and memory configuration.
All of this while having a price tag that’s easy on the wallet. In case you need more convincing though, here’s a breakdown of why the new vivo Y29 is a top-tier gaming partner in the budget segment.
A Massive 6,500mAh Battery for Uninterrupted Gaming
Of course, we have to start with the phone’s battery. As mentioned above, the vivo Y29 features a huge 6,500mAh battery. For reference, many budget and even mid-range phones only have 5,000mAh batteries. Given that a 5,000mAh battery can give you all-day battery life in medium use, the Y29 should easily last for even a day of heavier use with no issues. In fact, we played games on the vivo Y29 for a couple of hours, and its battery life was still well over 60%.
That means, even if you game for hours on end, the phone should still have enough juice. Plus, even if you start a new match at like 20% or so, your game won’t be interrupted as the phone will still give you plenty of usage time even at that charge. As such, the vivo Y29 promises to be a great match for any gamer who loves to go on marathon gaming sessions.
For more of an idea of what to expect, we ran a battery benchmark (3D Mark for Android) on the phone. Here are the results:
As you can see, the vivo Y29 got 24h 15 min, a seriously impressive score as it means it can last for 24 hours of continuous use.
Aside from battery life, vivo’s BlueVolt battery tech also means that it will retain 80% of its capacity for up to 5 years. Thanks to this, even if you stick with the Y29 as your main phone for years, you’ll still enjoy all-day battery life.
To top it off, the Y29 has 44W FlashCharge technology, meaning charging the massive battery from 0 to 100% won’t take ages. There’s also the fact that just charging it for a few minutes should give you hours of life.
Stereo Speakers that you can Boost to 400%
Whether you’re gaming or watching movies/shows, the vivo Y29 should be a great device thanks to its large 6.68-inch display with a 120Hz Refresh Rate, as well as its stereo speaker setup. Yes, this phone has stereo onboard speakers, meaning you get a better gaming experience on the audio side.
What’s more, if you need an extra boost in volume, the phone can reach up to “400%” via its Audio Booster feature. This is particularly helpful when you’re gaming as you won’t miss out on audio cues while in a match. After all, these audio cues are quite useful when it comes to giving you an idea of where enemies are in an FPS or MOBAs.
Snapdragon 685 Chipset with 8GB + 8GB RAM Delivers Good Gaming Performance
Having a long battery life is great and all, but that’s all for naught when it comes to gaming if it doesn’t have a proper processor. In that regard, the vivo Y29 should be a capable gaming device thanks to its Snapdragon 685 chipset. This SoC has plenty of power for everyday use, as well as for playing today’s popular MOBAs and FPS titles.
In our experience with the vivo Y29, the phone performs well when playing games like League of Legends: Wild Rift and Call of Duty Mobile. When it comes to graphics quality settings, the phone can handle these titles at around Medium to High, all while holding a steady framerate.
We also noticed that the Y29 does not have any issues when it comes to heating as the phone did not become uncomfortably warm even after over an hour of gaming. This tracks as we have found that in long-term use, Snapdragon-powered phones have fewer heating issues. This is also great news for battery life in the long term as battery health is retained for longer thanks to proper cooling.
Along with gaming and battery health, the phone should also run fast and snappily at all times thanks to its 8GB of RAM plus 8GB of Extended RAM. This feature essentially “borrows” some of the internal storage as RAM so that the phone doesn’t slow down, even when you have plenty of apps open.
SGS Five-Star Drop Resistance and an IP64 Rating for Extra Protection
Whether you’re playing games or just using the phone every day, chances are that you’ll eventually drop it by mistake, even if you’re extra careful. For some phones, a bad drop might cause irreparable damage. Thankfully, that won’t be the case with the Y29 as it has an SGS Five-Star Drop Resistance and Military Grade durability.
This means you can drop the phone onto the ground with no issues, even without its case. We don’t recommend you do the same, but we did try to drop this phone on hard surfaces like a table or the floor, and it emerged without a scratch. For extra peace of mind, though, it’s still recommended to put a case on this phone, so it’s a good thing it comes with a free clear case with an anti-drop design.
As a bonus, the phone also features IP64 dust and water resistance. This means the Y29 will survive both drops, as well as accidental water splashes and rain. If you’re using the phone outdoors and a rain shower suddenly pours, this is a nice phone to have.
The vivo Y29 is also a Capable All-Rounder
While this phone is billed as a great gaming partner, it’s also quite a capable all-rounder, thanks in part to its cameras. The vivo Y29 has a 50MP + 2MP dual rear camera setup, as well as an 8MP selfie shooter. Even though it’s a budget phone, the Y29 should be able to capture good landscape photos in the daytime, as well as nice low-light shots when using the Night Mode.
What sets it apart compared to other budget phones is its Dynamic Light module. Located below the camera, this light can be set to automatically flash while charging, when notifications pop up, or when music is playing.
Finally, the phone won’t disappoint when it comes to everyday use. That’s because its Snapdragon 685 chipset and 8GB + 8GB Extended RAM configuration mean it performs well for all sorts of uses, ranging from productivity, light content creation, and online meetings.
vivo Y29: Price and Availability in the Philippines
Based on its specs and features, the vivo Y29 is a smartphone that might just shake up the budget smartphone segment, especially for those who value nonstop gaming. After all, not only does it have a massive battery that makes it capable of more than all-day gaming, but it also packs a durable build, along with a capable chipset for daily use and a nice main camera. Plus, it packs stereo speakers that you can boost to 400% (to make for an even better gaming experience) and a nifty Dynamic Light for notifications.
Best of all, we have its price. The vivo Y29 is priced at PHP 8,999 for the 8GB+128GB model. Meanwhile, the 8GB+256GB variant has a price tag of PHP 10,999. Both variants’ storage can be expanded up to 2TB through a micro SD card.
The vivo Y29 will be available in vivo stores, kiosks, and online platforms such as the vivo e-store.