How many times have you tried capturing Malaysia’s Golden Hour or sunset and the photo did not match what your eyes saw because the skies looked flat, the colors felt fake, and the exposure went crazy?
Because in real life, Golden Hour is magical, but on smartphone cameras, it is usually not. And that is why exactly vivo partnered with Tourism Malaysia to launch this – the vivo V70, built around one idea – that Malaysia’s Golden Hour is now on this phone.
But here’s the real question. Is this just marketing? Or did vivo actually build a phone that understands light, mood, and distance properly?
So, in this review, I’ve tested everything – the ZEISS lenses, including the awesome telephoto, the new 4K 60fps video recording, the metal frame, 6,500 mAh of battery, AI tools, signal performance, software longevity, and more.
And by the end of this review, you’ll know whether or not the vivo V70 truly captures Malaysia’s Golden Hour or sunset, or if Golden Hour still only belongs to your eyes.
Design
Before the cameras, let’s talk about their design because this is the first time that the V series feels like it stepped into the flagship territory because you now get a 6-series aerospace aluminum frame, not plastic dressed as metal because this is actual metal and you will feel it immediately. It is dense, solid and cool to the touch.
The camera module is also redesigned too with a floating layout and faceted highlight finish which looks very clean and intentional. And the camera bump is just 3.29mm. But there still is a wobble if you type the phone on a surface, especially towards the bottom right.
Then the back finish is what vivo calls the Sunset Glow Design, which uses micron level particles etched into the glass for very soft reflection. Translation? Well, it looks very premium and of course it resists fingerprints. Not completely, but so much better than a typical glass back, especially a glossy one.
Then durability wise, it has an IP68 and IP69 rating, 10-Facet Drop Resistance and with the metal camera cover for the added protection and the IP rating also means that there’s no issue when it comes to rain, accidental splashes, you’re totally fine and a pocket height drops are also fine too.
So yes, the upgrades on the vivo V70 are not so much on the cosmetic updates but it is a structural upgrade, but the real question is that, does the display match this entire tone?
Display
The display is nice and flat, you get a 6.59-inch 1.5K OLED flat display with 459 PPI. So, the text looks crisp. Photos stay very detailed, especially when you zoom into the portrait shots taken on the phone.
Skin textures also look very natural looking when it comes to the colors. And the edges also do not fall apart. But most importantly, 459 PPI mentioned earlier actually surpasses most phones within this class like the Google Pixel A series or the OnePlus Nord series and even edges past some of the more expensive devices like the baseline Samsung Galaxy S25.
And this time around, it also comes with ultra thin bezels that are slimmer than competitors within this class, which makes the front look even more premium. They’re also 1.07 billion colors, 100% P3 coverage, which means watching videos on this phone just looks very accurate.
Colors are not overcooked. Skin tones look right, and brightness-wise, it has 1800 nits global and up to 5000 nits of peak brightness. So under a Malaysian sun or anywhere you are, which has a lot of very bright sun, it stays very readable and also very nice to view at.
You also get a 120 Hz refresh rate, so scrolling feels very fluid and gaming feels very responsive too.
Then there’s also the Motion Prompts where if you get dizzy scrolling in Grab, which happens to me most of the time or all the time. This phone shows subtle motion dots along the side to help your eyes align with the movement where I honestly wish that most Android phones thought about this particular feature.
Then unlocking the phone also feels super snappy thanks to the 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. So it works even if your fingers are wet. So, if you just finished makan (eating) and your hands are a bit oily, you are still unlocking the phone, not dancing your hands with the phone.
But a good display is only good if it doesn’t fry your eyes, right? Well, the good news is that this phone has a SGS Low Blue Light Certification, 2160 Hz of PWM dimming at low brightness and DC dimming at higher brightness, which basically means that less flicker at night.
Perfect for when you cannot sleep and you decide to doom scroll yourself to sleep, which actually is counterproductive because you still can’t sleep.. but yeah.
Camera
Alright, now let’s talk about the cameras because there is:
- a 50MP ZEISS OIS main camera with a Sony IMX766 sensor,
- an 8MP ultra wide camera,
- a 50MP ZEISS Super Telephoto Lens,
- and the selfie camera is also a 50MP ZEISS camera.
But the real star here is actually the Telephoto Lens. Why? Because it has a 50MP ZEISS Telephoto Lens, and this uses a Sony IMX882 sensor which has a 1/1.95-inch sensor.
So it is the largest telephoto sensor within this particular class and a big sensor obviously means better light. So Golden Hour and indoor stage shots look cleaner.
There’s also a 3x optical zoom and it goes up to 100x zoom digitally as well. The periscope structure also means that you zoom without pushing through a crowd so you don’t be that annoying concert guy.
Then, AI Stage Mode is also exclusive within this particular class perfect for live performances.
And finally, there’s also 4K 60fps video recording, first time in a V series, so you can get a smoother motion when taking videos.
Then, as for the Portrait Mode, you can go from 23mm all the way to 100mm. But of course, the 85mm ZEISS Portrait was one of my personal favorites.
And if you wish to go to 100mm, you’ll get stronger close-up emotions.
But the ZEISS Natural Color keeps it real, especially when it comes to Golden Hour shots. looking very nice and warm, but not too orange, moody, but not muddy. Because the lenses meet ZEISS standards, the look stays consistent across the focal length.
Performance
But the performance was also very unheard of for this particular price of a phone because not only comes with the LPDDR5X RAM, but it also has UFS 4.1 storage compared to UFS 2.2 on the previous vivo V60.
All of which means that apps open faster, multitasking feels instant, and loading games or exporting 4K videos and large galleries are all feeling very snappy.
It also has a 4,200 sq mm vapor chamber, the largest ever on a V series, which is why after 2 hours of gaming continuously, it doesn’t feel like it’s being throttled.
The gaming test on COD Mobile was near 60 fps, Honor of Kings around 60 fps, and Genshin Impact was at medium high settings.
But a super underrated feature for any smartphone these days is of course the signal or the call quality strength because after all this is still a phone right? Because if the signal sucks, what’s the point of having this particular phone?
Well, this has the Dual-Bridge Signal Concurrency which means that your calls connection is more stable even in a crowded place like concerts or stadium. vivo says that this has up to 48% improvement in low frequency remote areas and up to 33% faster large uploads in crowded environments. Now, I don’t have lab equipment to measure that, but in real world use, signal stability feels very legit.
Then, there’s also the Snap-Up Engine, which is like a temporary resource prioritization. And this would come in very handy, for example, if there’s a flash sale on Shopee or Lazada at 12:00 a.m. with limited stocks and a lot of people really refreshing the particular app.
So instead of the background apps or system processes randomly spiking during that session, the phone allocates more processing and network priority to that particular session. Hence, there’s less micro lag and more stable connection when you use the phone or for that matter that particular app as well.
Battery
But none of that matters if your phone dies before sunset, right? Because this phone comes with a 6,500mAh of BlueVolt battery, which once again is the largest within its class, up to 40 hours of video playback, and around 11 to 12 hours of gaming.
There’s also a 90W FlashCharge where the charger comes inside of the box. And this means that quick topups are very easy. There’s also bypass charging during gaming, which was really great because this powers the phone directly instead of consistently cycling the battery. So, there’s less heat and of course less long-term stress.
And the semi solid battery tech allows it to operate very reliably from -20°C to 40°C. And on top of that, vivo claims that after 1,700 cycles, it will still retain about 80% of capacity. So, this is roughly about 5 years of typical use. So, this isn’t just about lasting today, but lasting years.
Software
Next, let’s talk about the OriginOS 6 software because ever since it was introduced globally on the vivo X300 series, it feels so much cleaner and more refined.
The Origin Island shows realtime info at the top like food delivery, timer, music, so there’s less app switching. And then there’s the Copy and Go feature that lets you drag text or images onto the Origin Island.
And from there, it suggests the relevant apps instantly. It even has the very unique Suggestion Island that learns habits like the car time suggest navigation or even getting quick prompts before scheduled meetings.
Of course, since it’s the year 2026, you can expect tons of AI features like the AI search with Gemini to find files by content, AI creation to help expand a photo, AI Captions that give transcriptions, translations, and summaries as well.
Then, from a photography perspective, the AI Magic Weather helps when the skies do not cooperate, especially here in Malaysia where the weather is gloomy most of the time. There’s also the AI Magic Landscape that enhances the lighting and tone. And there’s the AI Erase, the AI Image Expander, and the AI Magic Move where all of these features are built in. No need for any extra apps.
But above all, the most awesome software feature is the vivo Office Kit because it connects to a Windows or even a Mac as well to transfer files and even mirror control.
And on top of all of that, there are 4 generations of OS updates and 6 years of security updates. So that is longevity at its best.
Conclusion
So, going back to the question, if this is really built for Malaysia’s Golden Hour or sunset or any other country’s Golden Hour? And was this just marketing?
Honestly, no.
Because this phone is tuned for mood and distance. And this is not just a mid-range phone with good cameras or just strong specs. It’s a phone that was built with clear intent, and that intent shows when you actually use this.
[Watch the full video on YouTube here]
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