Month: May 2022

The Vivo V23 is an affordable mid-range phone with a dual selfie camera and colour-changing design, but it’s not enough to help it stand out from the pack

The Vivo V23 is the cheaper of a pair of phones in the V23 series, the latest in the company’s line of smartphones focussed on selfies and style.

With that in mind, the V23 shares the exact same dual selfie camera as the more powerful V23 Pro, along with its unusual colour-changing design, though this time it’s wrapped in an iPhone-esque square frame.

Design and build
Colour-changing finish
iPhone-style square edges
Glass rear
The Vivo V23’s design stands out in a couple of obvious ways.

The first is the colour. Yes, you can buy it in black, but more interesting is the ‘Sunshine Gold’ finish, which looks gold most of the time but shifts to a striking deep turquoise when the glass catches the light thanks to a UV-reactive finish. It’s a novelty, but a very clever one, and likely to appear in more phones this year – Realme has already appropriated the tech for the Realme 9 Pro phones.

Even the fact that the phone’s rear is encased in glass in a highlight, because at this price you’re much more likely to find plastic-bodied phones elsewhere. Yes, glass is more fragile – so you may see it as a downside – but it helps make the V23 look and feel far more expensive than it is.

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It’s not quite the same situation in 2022, partly because there’s a GT 2 Pro model as well. While that is arguably more of a flagship (it costs £699), the GT 2 get much of the same hardware and features for £150 less.

It doesn’t have the LTPO 2.0 display with its variable refresh rate down to 1Hz, and uses the older Snapdragon 888 rather than the Pro’s newer Gen 1 chip, but for many people, neither of these things matter.

In fact, the GT 2 is a more well-rounded, better value for money option in many ways. However, if you already own a Realme GT, this new model isn’t going to tempt you to upgrade.

Design & Build
‘Paper-like’ biopolymer rear
Bigger and heavier than before
Still not waterproof
In terms of design, it’s nearly impossible to tell the two new phones apart. The GT 2 and GT 2 Pro share almost identical dimensions and styling, so this isn’t a typical case of the Pro model being larger.

Perhaps more importantly, the vegan leather option from last year’s Realme GT 5G with its striking yellow colour is gone in favour of a ‘paper’ design. Realme has once again partnered with Japanese designer Naoto Fukusawa, who worked on the GT Master Edition, to create a biopolymer – yep, that’s another one to add to phone vocabulary – that resembles paper.

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Small handed phone users rejoice, the Xiaomi 12 is one of the most compact flagships around with some impressive specs, but it’s by no means perfect

Now without the ‘Mi’ branding, the Xiaomi 12 series has been given a global launch and the regular model is now smaller and more aligned with Samsung’s Galaxy S range than before. Can Xiaomi win the flagship Android race, though?

Like the Galaxy S22, the Xiaomi 12 offers a much more compact option, leaving the 12 Pro for those that want something bigger – and with more impressive specs.

Starting at US$749, the Xiaomi 12 has a lot going for it including its display, performance, speedy charging and, to an extent, its photography skills. However, some big downsides such as battery life, lack of waterproofing and software peeves mean a rival might be a better choice.

Design & build
8.16mm thick
180g
No IP rating
The Xiaomi 12 is tiny. Well, by modern standards anyway, and especially when I’ve become accustomed to the hefty size of the Pixel 6. Even so, it’s like jumping into a time machine to 2017 and the release of the Galaxy S8.

These two phones have a lot in common and I’m not just talking about the footprint of the handset, although they are very similar. The Xiaomi 12 has a similar metal frame that tapers down to a thin strip on the sides to accommodate the curved display.

It’s 2022 so the screen-to-body ratio is obviously much better and things like a triple rear camera array make it heavier.

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The Samsung Galaxy A52s is a mid-range phone that makes compromises in the right areas, but it still faces fierce competition from other brands

The Samsung A52s is the follow-up phone to the mid-range A52, which was released back in spring 2021. Whilst it is nearly identical to its sister handset in its exterior appearance, it has an upgraded chipset which Samsung claims improves the performance and battery life.

But how does this translate to daily use? I have spent some time with the mid-range Samsung Galaxy A52s, seeing how it fairs and compares to rivals of a similar price, including this phone’s successor, the A53 5G. Our device sample was supplied by Box.

Design and build
Design doesn’t match the high standards of rivals
IP57 rating
Four colours on offer
To keep costs down, mid-rangers always have sacrifices when compared to flagship models. For the A52s, this is in the build quality. It is quite bland and feels cheap in your hand, like the standard A52. The bezel around the screen is also quite thick, so it doesn’t feel as slim or sleek as other phones. The upside is that at a weight of 189g, this phone is lightweight and easy to port around.

I tested the black model, but you can also get it in purple, white and mint. The rear s plastic rather than glass and picks up fingerprints quite easily.

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The Redmi Note 11 range receives one more addition, and it’s the best of the series, with Xiaomi adding eye-watering charging capabilities to the Pro+

Not content with offering no less than four other Redmi Note 11 models this year, Xiaomi has also treated us to the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G.

With the new 11S 5G, the Redmi Note 11 range has no less than six models to choose from. The Pro+ 5G on test here is now the top-spec option and adds headline features such as 120W HyperCharge meaning you can fully charge the phone in just 15 minutes, according to Xiaomi.

All still without breaking the bank thanks to a starting price of £369 and you’ll be able to get it in May. So, how does it compare to its stablemates, as well as other affordable phones?

Design & Build
Square-edged design
Face unlock feature
Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
IP53 rating
In terms of its appearance, it’s hard to distinguish the Pro+ 5G from the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G, which is actually a good thing. It means the Note 11 Pro+ 5G treats the user to squared-off edges, a tidy rear camera module and a shimmering plastic back.

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