Vivo T3 5G Introduction:
In our review of the Vivo T2 5G last year, we referred to it as a ‘competent sub-Rs. 20K contender. At the time, it had hardware that competed with rivals. Fast forward to April 2024, and we now have its successor - the Vivo T3 5G with a much better processor in the form of Mediatek Dimensity 7200 chipset, a tweaked AMOLED screen that supports a higher refresh rate for fluid visuals, and a larger battery as well, while still managing to keep the price under Rs. 20K. Vivo T3 5G is a complete budget phone below Rs.20000. It brings one of the fastest chipsets for this budget too, along with a pretty shell design, a bright screen, and an improvement in battery life when compared to its predecessor. Still, the phone is expected to ship with a ton of pre-installed apps and 2 major software releases may not necessarily be enough for consumers attracted to this segment.
Vivo T3 5G Design:
Vivo T2's changing color rear panel ring a bell? Vivo ditched that form though for more stable colors with the Vivo T3. Not that the Vivo T3 looks boring. You are offered in Cosmic Blue and Crystal Flake colors, each with its special pattern on the back panel. The crystal flake, as the name would suggest, is an irregular unit with a pattern that looks almost like crystals depending on where you can see it in general.
The frame is flat with chamfered edges, which in truth seems to be the default design trend for phones this year. It generally feels like a well-built phone, even with some weight when you hold it. It is heavier at 188 grams rather than its predecessor's weight of only 172 grams.
Vivo T3 5G Display:
As for the screen, it is a 6.67-inch AMOLED display on board of course, and with Full HD + resolution (2,400 x 1,080) and refresh rate at up to 120 Hz in this case. The peak brightness on this phone is 1800 nits, exactly like the iQOO Z9 5G and that's good for its price tag. The display is bright enough to remain visible in direct sunlight and has very good viewing angles. Also, content like Netflix behaves sharply and clearly while streaming.
Vivo T3 5G Camera:
The Vivo T3 makes it look like there is a triple rear camera system here, but what you get are just two cameras at the back. The Vivo T3, meanwhile, houses a 50MP Sony IMX882 primary camera with OIS and a portrait-dedicated secondary lens of the same duo. The third lens is a flicker sensor, intended to eliminate the light flickering effect during video recording. The same goes for the IMX882 sensor that we saw on the IQOO Z9. It takes good daylight shots with plenty of details and very nice colors.
One thing I liked was the performance of the primary camera in low light with some good light sources. Ditto for selfies in daylight which perform well through the 16MP front-facing camera. The photos are crystal-clear, with stunning exposure and unbelievable color reproduction. Below shot is a comparison of both the Vivo T3 and the Tecno POVA 6 Pro to get an idea of how it performs in camera. The only thing good about the camera was that it took more true-to-nature colors with a nicer bokeh in the background compared to the Vivo T3.
Vivo T3 5G Performance:
You are looking at the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 chip which is amongst one of the most powerful scores you will find in a sub-Rs 20,000 phone and it makes its debut with Vivo T3. In benchmarks, the chipset performs excellently. We see it with the iQOO Z9 5G and we now have a Vivo T3 5G received at an AnTuTu result of, which is much better than the Redmi Note13 powered by Dimenity 6080 (453,839) as well.
The Vivo T3 5G glides through common tasks like browsing social media, checking emails, and multitasking between apps without an issue. We also found the iQOO Z9 5G gaming partner, the Dimensity 1200 to be one of our most reliable mobile bomber screens at high settings in Call of Duty Mobile (Very High) with consistently smooth gameplay when that slider sits just short of max volume.
Even as a power hogger with the Dimensity 7200 chipset, the major chunk of a bar comes down by just 6 percent over half an hour.
Vivo T3 5G Battery:
The Vivo T3 5G is supported by a gigantic 5,000mAh battery cell (with another included contrasted with the Vivo T2). This puts the newer phone ahead relatively, which is not just due to a larger battery but also an efficient chipset. The Vivo T3 5G lasted a commendable 15 hours and 16 minutes in our PCMark Battery test, with the device offering slightly above-average battery life for its class. With a 30-minute YouTube session, only 4 percent of the battery was used. This is good for a full day and then some under moderate use. This is translated to you needing a top-up by nighttime on heavier usage days. Again, it has 44W charging for the Vivo T3 5G here and it will take about one hour and 10 minutes to charge from dead up to full.
Vivo T3 5G Software:
The phone boots up Android 14 out of the box with Funtouch OS 14 custom skin. While you get the regular set of Google and Vivo apps, it comes preloaded with several third-party applications like Netflix, Snapchat Candy Crush Agoda Truecaller Which results in a lot of pre-loaded apps once you set your phone up, though the majority can be removed without too much trouble.
The Vivo T3 5G will hopefully manage to stay relevant in the smartphone industry with just two major Android upgrades despite a system-on-a-chip that at this point is already outdated. For context, phones in this segment like the Realme Narzo 70 Pro are now touting '3 years of major software updates'.
Vivo T3 5G Conclusion:
The Vivo T3 5G is a safe phone to get under Rs. 20,000 price in India. It does well at many things with a pretty design, AMOLED display, and better battery life over the original. However, the SoC is one of the quickest you are going to find in this segment and that should be two reasons why you will have second thoughts before checking out other middleweights for yourself along with a 50MP sensor that manages great photos during daytime.
But Vivo is limiting itself to two major software upgrades, which is less On top of that, comes Funtouch OS - complete with a hefty amount of bloatware you won't ever want to have. Although the battery and charging on Vivo T3 are average at best, the Tecno POVA 6 Pro (review) offers clear improvements in both these departments. The Vivo T3 5G is a decently powerful phone right now at under Rs. 20,000 if these aspects do not trouble you much.