ZTE Blade V10 Vita Review – A Sweet Revival For The Mid Range

Some time last week I reviewed a new ZTE budget Android smartphone which is the Blade A7 2019. This week, I’m bringing you the big brother to the A7 which is the ZTE Blade V10 Vita which packs the same internal power with something extra in the bag.

I bring you the new ZTE Blade V10 Vita, made for those who needs an affordable smartphone but packs a little extra features. My first impression of the Blade V10 Vita is that it feels comfortable to hold in one hand and feel solid with its plastic body.

Design and Specifications

The Blade V10 Vita comes with a large enough 6.26″ IPS HD display with a little U-shaped notch in the middle. Thankfully it doesn’t come with a huge notch because then I will not like it.

Now here’s the key specifications for the ZTE Blade V10 Vita.

Platform	Unisoc Octa-core 1.6GHz ARM Cortex-A55 CPU PowerVR Rogue GE8322 GPU
OS	Android 9 Pie
Size	157.1 x 75.8 x 8.1 mm
Display	6.26” HD + 19:9, 2.5D Curved Edge Screen
Weight	150g
Camera	8MP AI Front Camera with Flash 13MP PDAF + 2MP AI Dual Rear Camera with Flash
Battery	3200 mAh (Non-removable)
SIM mode	Hybrid Dual SIM (4FF – Nano)
Interface	3.5mm Audio Jack, Micro USB 2.0
Memory	64GB eMMC + 3GB DDR3 RAM Micro SD expansion slot (up to 256GB) – SIM slot 2
Others	BT 4.2 / Wi-Fi 2.4G 802.11b/g/n / Fingerprint / GPS / Accelerometer Ambient Light / Proximity / Compass / Gyroscope

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Just like the previously reviewed Blade A7, this Blade V10 Vita also comes with the same Unisoc SoC as the brain of the device but with a bigger RAM of 3GB and twice the storage space of 64GB. The extra RAM helps a little bit with the power boost especially in gaming. More of that later.

As usual, on the right side is where the volume rocker is located while the power button sits below it. On the right side, there’s the SIM and MicroSD card slot and there’s an audio jack at the top. At the bottom, you can find the micro USB port, speaker grille and microphone.

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At the back, there is a dual camera setup which is a 13MP main shooter and the 2MP AI and depth sensor camera. The LED flash is located below the dual camera setup. You can also find the fingerprint sensor smack in the middle of the back for easy unlocking. There’s a good sensitivity on the fingerprint sensor whereby it took only a few miliseconds to unlock the phone.

On the front end, the selfie camera is located within the U-shaped notch and it is a 8MP AI camera setup. The display is bright and vibrant. I will consider this as a full screen display because it has minimum bezel around it. And the overall look and feel of this Blade V10 Vita is just right, in my opinion.

Other things you can find in the box are earphones, the micro USB cable and 2-pin charger head and also the warranty/manual book. It also comes with a frosted surface silicone case, which actually looks good.

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Usage and Performance

When I use the Blade V10 Vita, I can go on the whole day with a full charge. It comes with a 3200mAh battery which is 300mAh lesser than the Blade A7 2019 but it last just a long.

It runs on the latest Android Pie version 9 and comes with a standard “vanilla” launcher like most AndroidOne devices. Like I said before, I prefer this launcher than any other sometimes-too-complicated launchers. I believe in keeping things simple, even in life. So a simple UI and UX like this works really well for me.

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Most of the apps installed are Google’s native apps but ZTE has included three additional apps for you to use. The three apps are Game Assist – to boost the power for that extra push for gaming, Private Space – for a little data and document privacy and the third app is ZTE Cares – basically a support app for your ZTE phone.

As for the performance part, the Blade V10 Vita does quite well. It performs well on day to day usage and you will not face any problems with social media or productivity apps. The basic stuffs will just fly by quickly on the new Unisoc SoC in this V10 Vita. The processor is farely new but it is already showing some good results in the entry and mid level segments.

Now a test on Antutu 3D Benchmark reveals that the V10 Vita scored similar to the Blade A7 2019 which is at 76810 (74412 on the Blade A7). This I believe, aid by the extra 1GB of RAM that managed to edge the Blade A7 by the tip of the nose. But the Game Assist app does help a little bit when I run my usual PUBG Mobile game on it.

Now a test by running PUBG on the V10 Vita surprised my a little bit. Althought the graphic settings is set to the lowest for the V10 Vita, the overall PUBG gaming experience is not bad. I played a few games on this Blade V10 Vita and I’m quite surprise that this entry level smartphone can still produce enough power to run the game. So PUBG is playable on the Blade V10 Vita.

Camera

Nowadays, people are looking for that Instagrammable photos and for that, we are leaning towards a need for a smartphone with a good or at least a decent camera performance. But not many of us has the luxury of getting a flagship smartphone that focuses on great camera performance. The Blade V10 Vita is that affordable camera that you can get that produces decent photo quality for your Imstagram posts.

What I like about the Blade V10 Vita main camera is the tracking ability whereby it detects and “follows” your subject in portrait shots. All this are done with its AI function. Not only it tracks your subjects’ facial, but it also calculate the ambiance to balance out the colour and sharpness.

I’ll just post some photos here for you to see…

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I don’t have much problems with the camera performance because some of the shots are quite good especially when you have good lighting. Like I said before, if you have a person as a subject in focus, the AI function will track the face of your subject to keep it in focus while the person is in motion. This is great when you’re trying to capture photos of children who simply won’t sit still for a photo.

Sometimes the camera will over expose the highlights a little bit but still usable. Close up shots are surprisingly good and taking that close up photos of food for your Instagram post will be really nice with this phone.

A little hit and miss but mostly the camera performs well above par.

Conclusion

I have been using this Blade V10 Vita for a little over 2 weeks now and I am liking more each day. The screen size is just right and thanks to the full screen setup, the phone doesn’t feel that big while handling it in one hand. Daily usage performance is good. I still have tons of storage space left even after I’ve installed all my usual essential apps. Yes, the 64GB of storage is more than enough without needing an additional memory card.

I think the new ZTE Blade V10 Vita is a reliable phone to get if you’re looking for something new and out from the norm. The dual camera setup is commendable, and photos are Instagram worthy. The battery will last you the whole day and maybe more. Gaming is fine on the V10 Vita so at least you can keep yourself entertained when you’re feeling bored.

So if you’re looking in to getting the new ZTE Blade V10 Vita, it is priced at only RM599 and is available for purchase here.