Last July, vivo Philippines unveiled its latest affordable mid-range smartphone under its Y series model with the vivo Y36.
The vivo Y36 is a budget-friendly phone with several top features. It includes a 50MP main camera, a large display with a 90Hz refresh rate, fast charging technology, and an attractive design that appeals to Gen Z and young millennials.
With the broad set of spec-wise features, the phone is perfect for users who love to play games or content creators to share their post-worthy photos and videos.
The vivo Y36 has a price tag of Php12,999 now available in all vivo concept stores nationwide. You can also get the vivo Y36 thru its online e-commerce channel partners on Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok.
Here’s our hands-on review of the vivo Y36.
Unboxing
The box of the vivo Y36 comes in a simple all-white packaging box made of thick cardboard-type material in a matte finish.
The top cover of the box has an enlarged UV laminated vivo logo and the model’s name printed using a silver foil embossed effect. On each side of the box, you’ll spot the vivo logo again, and at the back is the product USPs with other information (IMEI, certification marks, company info, etc.)
Opening the box, you will immediately see the vivo Y36 and underneath it the included accessories.
Summing up everything on the box you have the following contents:
- Vivo Y36 unit
- Clear Protective Case
- Quick Start Guide
- Warranty Card
- 44W FlashCharge Adapter
- USB-A to USB-C Cable
- SIM Ejector Tool
- Screen Protector (Pre-Applied)
Design
The vivo Y36 comes in two attractive colorways in Meteor Black and our review unit the Glitter Aqua.
The phone has a slim profile with a thickness of 8.07mm and weighs 202 grams.
At first sight, the vivo Y36 is already an attractive phone with its sleek looks and elegant design.
Instead of flat sides, it integrates a 2.5D curved edge design for a comfortable hold, which makes it look good and the feel of the phone more acceptable.
The cover panel is made of durable polycarbonate material covered with fluorite AG glass making it scratch resistant and enhancing the effect of a crystal-like glossy surface. It somehow hides our fingerprint marks not to be seen at the back.
You will instantly see a pleasing texture and shimmery effect that glitters at the back. vivo calls it the Golden Ripple process inspired by natural scenes like a flowing ripple of shimmering water on a lake that reflects on the AG glass.
The top left corner has a square-type camera module with the rear camera arranged vertically, sporting a dual ring design. You’ll also spot a LED flash and the words “Aspherical Lens High Resolution” printed there.
Another added aesthetics to the camera module is vivo’s Fantasy Frame. It’s a thin strip situated all-around the camera module, when tilted sideways beams a rainbow holographic-like effect.
There’s a vivo logo at the lower left corner of the phone.
On the right side, you have the volume rockers and the power/sleep button.
The left side is completely clean, no buttons whatsoever.
The bottom side holds the microphone, USB-C port, speaker grille, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
A secondary microphone and SIM card tray are placed on the top edge.
On the front, the bezels all around the display area are thin except for the bottom chin area is a bit raised. The front camera gets a punch-hole design that is cut out separately at the center of the screen.
The vivo Y36 has a level of protection with an IP5X and IPX4 rating from dust and water splashes.
Display
The vivo Y36 has a large 6.64-inch Full HD+ display using an IPS panel with a maximum refresh rate of 90Hz. The screen has a resolution of 2388 x 1080 pixels and 650 units of brightness.
Screen refresh rate can be set to 60Hz to reduce power consumption or go with a Smart Switch mode to automatically select the appropriate screen refresh rate according to your usage of the phone.
It has a high 240Hz touch sampling rate for a more responsive screen-to-touch input which for a standard mobile game device should do just fine.
With 650 nits brightness, the display is very visible for indoor use even in bright environments. It slightly struggles a bit when used outdoors in direct sunlight.
It has an eye protection feature to display warmer colors reducing the emission of harmful blue light and preventing eye fatigue. You can also enable the Dark Mode option for users to easily read on low light scenarios for less eye strain and helps them fall asleep.
In general, the display of the vivo Y36 has good viewing angles with details, color reproduction is vibrant, smooth, and responsive.
Performance
Under the hood, the vivo Y36 is powered by a 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 octa-core processor. The chipset features Kryo 265 cores divided into two clusters with clock speeds up to 2.4GHz and supports 4G LTE.
It has an Adreno 610 for the GPU operating at 750MHz.
Storage offers a 256GB capacity but if you need more space, you can expand it up to 1TB via a dedicated MicroSD card slot.
It comes with 8GB RAM which can be boosted using the Extended RAM 3.0 technology. This will allow multitasking performance to be smooth while keeping more background apps running actively stable. It also has a RAM Saver that can free up more space and prevent the apps from overcrowding.
The phone features an Interface Preserver to quickly wake up apps still running in the background and access it immediately. vivo claims that as of the moment, it is currently only available for around 100+ apps on its whitelist.
The sound quality on the vivo Y36 is pretty decent you get clear vocals, and good mid and high tones. The bass needs a little improvement on this part.
It comes with an audio booster feature allowing the phone to increase the volume by more than 100%. This is a good feature if you need to focus on the speaker’s voice in a noisy environment or want to amp up the sound of your music.
For mobile gamers, the vivo Y36 has built-in game features with Ultra Game mode and Multi-Turbo that can improve your gaming experience letting you enjoy smooth and uninterrupted game plays.
The Multi-Turbo function automatically activates every time you start any game. It has a series of boosters to optimize the CPU, RAM, GPU, touch, thermal management, and network connection to reduce stutters and lags in games.
Ultra-Game mode exposes the game sidebar when you swipe sideways from the top left corner. It brings out some shortcut functions to further enhance your gaming performance.
Camera
In the camera department, vivo Y36 has a dual-camera shooter on the back panel. It consists of a 50MP main camera with an f/1.8 aperture and a 2MP depth sensor with an f/2.4 aperture for portrait mode.
For selfies, the front camera offers a 16MP with an f/2.0 aperture.
On the camera app, you have a generous number of shooting modes with Night, Portrait, Photo, Video, 50MP, Pano, Documents, Slo-Mo, Time-Lapse, Pro, Double Exposure, and Live Photo.
At the top end of the viewfinder system, you have the flash modes, HDR, and settings for the camera app.
You have 1x and 2x zoom switch options on the viewfinder with a digital zoom going as far as up to 10x. The front camera has no zoom switch but, depending on the shooting mode, it will have either the style filter, beauty filter, or adjust your depth of field.
Both cameras have face detection for the subject to be in focus and well exposed.
On the viewfinder system, you can opt to turn on the Level to check if your photo is perfectly aligned; a Stabilization to lessen shaky hands; and the Framing Lines to compose your shots.
The vivo Y36 has a Night mode to assist users in capturing clear photos during low-light conditions. It improves the details, color, less noise, and repairs between the light and shadow of your photos.
Add more creativity on your portrait shots with style filter, color filter and light effect
For great closeup shots, the Portrait mode is an ideal shooting mode to create a nice blurred background effect for the subject to stand out giving your photos a dramatic look. The aperture can be adjusted to the amount of bokeh you want from a value between f/0.95 to f/16. There are also five bokeh filters (default, hearts, stars, butterfly, and cherry blossom) for the camera app to automatically make the blur effect for you.
With good lighting, the images captured on the main camera of the vivo Y36 look great. They have an amount of detail, the colors look natural without too much saturation, and the contrast is pretty decent.
1x Photo mode, Outdoor, Sunny Weather
2x Photo mode, Outdoor, Sunny Weather
1x Photo + Night Breeze Color Filter , Outdoor, Cloudy Weather
1x Photo mode, Indoor, Ambient Lighting
10x Zoom, Outdoor, Cloudy Weather
Using Double Exposure mode to take two great photos and combine them artistically in one shot
Our sample night shots produced average results as the images are processed bringing down the level of noise. However, the quality becomes a bit soft which lessens the detail of the photo.
1x Photo mode, Outdoor, Low light
2x Photo mode, Outdoor, Low light
It can shoot good selfies during well-lit conditions, with details, natural skin tones, and exposure. You can add more creativity to your selfies with the available color filters, light effects, beauty enhancers, or adjust the bokeh.
Selfie, Outdoor, Sunny Weather
Portrait Mode + Rainbow Light Effect, Outdoor, Cloudy Weather
Portrait Mode, Outdoor, Cloudy Weather
The vivo Y36 makes use of its Aura Screen Light feature to brighten up the subject when taking a selfie in low light or no light situations.
The front camera can also provide clear video calls for your online meetings or virtual class.
The vivo Y36 can record video up to 1080p with available frame rate at 30fps with its main camera, or 720p at 30fps/60fps if you’re more into saving storage space.
Software
The vivo Y36 runs on Funtouch OS 13 based on the latest version of Android 13.
The whole user interface is intuitive offering a seamless and user-friendly interface.
It has a few pre-installed apps like Lazada, Shopee, Spotify, TikTok, Google services, and vivo’s very own proprietary apps. It has an FM Radio app if you want to listen to your favorite local FM stations as long as you connect your headphones.
The Funtouch OS has a range of customization options, you can change its wallpaper, UI color, font style, and more should you wish to enhance your phone.
When someone needs to borrow your phone, App Pinning is a useful function to keep your sensitive data secure. It allows you to keep a specific app in view only or stop all user actions on that app until you unpin it.
Other notable features on the Funtouch OS 13 is a hidden album to hide selected photos for privacy and accessibility features for those who need to set up the phone independently.
Biometrics and Connectivity
To authenticate the identity of the user trying to access the phone, the vivo Y36 features two biometric options with a fingerprint reader and face unlock. Both biometrics provide a safe authentication and quickly open the phone.
The screen lock is still there should you need an extra added layer of security. You can choose between swipe, pattern, PIN, or a complex password.
As for connectivity, the phone supports Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, OTG, FM Radio, Wi-Fi (Dual-band), and a USB-C port for charging or data transfer.
It supports two dual nano SIM to seamlessly accommodate and manage your personal and professional contacts.
Battery
It is equipped with a bigger 5000 mAh battery with support for fast charging technology with the included 44W FlashCharge power adapter.
Charging the phone from 12% to 100% took us only 58 minutes just nearly an hour which is still pretty good. The device is able to last for a day with moderate use like updating our social media, browsing the internet, answering emails, and watching videos on TikTok. If you’re a light user, the device could last up to the next day. Still, the battery may vary depending on your usage.
There’s a battery-saver option that can help limit power consumption. It will change certain settings to conserve battery power extending usage on the phone.
There’s no wireless charging however, it was able to charge the charging case of my earbuds so, definitely, it offers a reverse wireless charging capability.
What We Like
- Nice-looking Design
- Fluorite AG Glass
- Dust and Water Resistance
- Large Vibrant Display
- 240Hz Touch Sampling Rate
- Extended RAM Up To 8GB
- Expandable Storage Up To 1TB
- Good Cameras
- 5,000mAh battery
- 44W Fast Charging Technology
What We Want
- Ultra-wide Camera
- Stereo Speakers
- 1080p at 60fps
Conclusion
The vivo Y36 is a fascinating mid-range phone with an eye-catching design, good performance, a reliable camera, smooth UI, and excellent battery life with support for fast charging technology. Not to mention the considerable price point that this phone is getting at Php12,999 only.
So far, the vivo Y36 is a pretty decent all-around device for watching your favorite videos, content creation, scrolling through your social media apps, social learning, or engaging in your best-loved gaming apps.
There are a few downsides to the phone, it has no ultra-wide camera if you need to capture more scenes; no stereo speakers, and an available 60fps for the 1080p resolution for a smoother video recording. However, if you’re not too keen about the specs and looking for a very reliable phone, then the vivo Y36 might be the one for you.
vivo Y36 – Full Specifications
- Price: PHP12,999
- Colors: Glitter Aqua, Meteor Black
- Display:64-inch FHD+
- Panel Type: LCD
- Refresh Rate: 90hz
- Resolution: 2388 x 1080 pixels
- Brightness: 650nits
- Touch Screen: Capacitive Multi-Touch
- Touch Sampling Rate: 240Hz
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 680
- Clock Speed:4GHz
- GPU: Adreno 610 GPU
- RAM: 8GB
- Storage: 256GB (Expandable up to 1TB)
- Rear Camera: 50MP f/1.8 + 2MP f/2.4 + 2MP f/2.4
- Front Camera: 16MP f/2.0
- Video: 1080p @ 30fps, 720p @ 30fps/60fps
- Battery: 5,000mAh
- Fast Charging: 44W FlashCharge
- OS: Funtouch OS 13 Global
- IP Rating: IP5X, IPX4, Anti-Scratch
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, OTG, FM Radio, Wi-Fi 2.4GHz/5GHz
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, E-Compass, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyroscope
- Location: GPS, Beidou, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
- Network: 2G, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE
- Card Slot: 2 nano SIM + 1 microSD
- Dimension:06 x 76.17 x 8.07mm
- Weight: 202g
