Vivo’s Turbo Series is the most expansive one in its catalogue. Currently, the T3 range comprises 5 variants – T3, T3x, T3 Lite, T3 Pro, and T3 Ultra. The ‘Ultra’ variant is the newest addition to the series and, as the name suggests, rocks cutting-edge specs and puts forward a solid performance. It is currently priced at Rs 31,999, making it the most expensive offering in the T3 range. We got our hands on the smartphone earlier this month and have been using it for the last week. Here is our in-depth review of the Vivo T3 Ultra.
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In This Article
Vivo T3 Ultra Review: Design and Display
Here is what you get inside Vivo T3 Ultra’s retail box:
- Smartphone
- Power adapter
- USB Type-A to Type-C cable
- Opaque plastic cover
- SIM ejector
- Warranty card
- Quick start guide
Vivo’s design strategy for its T3 Series closely resembles what its sister brand, iQOO, has done on its Z9 Series. Both OEMs draw from a common pool of design ideas. The T3 Ultra follows the design language established by Vivo V40 Pro and later implemented by iQOO Z9s. Similarly, Vivo T3 Pro and iQOO Z9s Pro share the design language of iQOO 12.
The sleek profile of the Vivo T3 Ultra immediately bumps its in-hand feel. The smartphone weighs 192g and is just 7.6mm thick. The glass back has a matte finish and curves towards the edges. It houses an oval-shaped camera module which contains primary and ultrawide lenses along with the ‘Aura’ light. The Vivo branding can be found in the bottom right corner of the glass panel. There are two colour variants on offer – Lunar Gray and Frost Green.
The curved frame of the smartphone houses the volume rocker keys and the side button on its right edge. The SIM tray, primary microphone, USB port, and primary speaker grille are positioned on the bottom edge. Up top lies the secondary microphone. The earpiece of the smartphone functions as its secondary speaker.
The 6.78-inch curved AMOLED display on the T3 Ultra has a 120Hz refresh rate and can reach a peak brightness of 4,500 nits. The display hits its peak brightness under direct sunlight. We did not face any legibility issues when we used the smartphone in bright outdoor conditions. The touch response we got from the display was very smooth. Being an AMOLED panel, this display produced stunning deep black shades. The overall vibrancy and punchiness of the colours were very pleasing to the eye as well.
We used the Vivo T3 Ultra as our primary media consumption device throughout the review period. While the display has HDR10+ support, the Netflix app does not support HDR capabilities on the device. However, the content viewing experience is top-notch across OTT platforms like Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, Netflix, and more. The images produced on the display are detailed, sharp, and flaunt rich colours. What really ties the bow on the viewing experience is the dual speaker output. The T3 Ultra can get loud without drastically losing the audio quality. We did not feel the need to put on headphones even amidst significant background noise.
The Vivo T3 Ultra carries an IP68 rating, which earns it an extra point from us. We like to see midrange smartphones take ingress protection seriously, and the T3 Ultra shines in this regard. It can survive being submerged up to 1.5m for 30 minutes.
Vivo T3 Ultra Review: Performance and Cameras
Being the top-spec variant in the series, the Vivo T3 Ultra gets the MediaTek Dimensity 9200+ SoC under its hood. This chipset ranks just below the Dimensity 9300 processor in MediaTek’s 2024 lineup. The T3 Ultra is available in three RAM + storage configurations – 8GB + 128GB (Rs 31,999), 8GB + 256GB (Rs 33,999), 12GB + 256GB (Rs 35,999).
On the Geekbench 6 app, the T3 Ultra scored 1,815 points in the single-core test and 5,135 points in the multi-core test. These numbers translated pretty well in its daily performance. We did not face any roadblocks while carrying out routine tasks like emailing, instant messaging, video calling, and web browsing. The apps loaded quickly and the smartphone was able to optimise background apps quite well.
Vivo T3 Ultra’s gaming performance is quite underrated compared to its peers. The Dimensity 9200+ can easily handle games like Call of Duty Mobile and Asphalt Legends Unite in medium and high graphics. We did not experience any unwanted stutters and frame drops. Its Vapor Chamber Cooling System does a decent job managing the internal temperature but the glass back panel gets significantly warm when you hit the 1-hour mark.
OS duties on the Vivo T3 Ultra are handled by Android 14-based Funtouch OS 14. Vivo has promised 2 major OS upgrades and 3 years of security of patches for this smartphone. Out of the box, there is a fair of bloatware on the phone, but it can be easily uninstalled. The general interface of the smartphone is very intuitive and easy to get used to. But what really separates the Funtouch OS from its peers is the range of customisation options for different elements like Always On Display, lock screen, home screen, app icons, fingerprint animation, page effects, and more.
Vivo T3 Ultra is one of the few midrange smartphones this year to come with AI features. The ‘AI Photo Enhance’ option analyses the environment and makes real-time adjustments to bring the best out of your pictures. Once you’ve shot a picture, you can use the AI eraser in the native gallery app to remove unwanted objects from the image. This tool still needs some work as it is nowhere close to the Magic Eraser offered by Google.
The 5,500mAh battery pack on the T3 Ultra can last an entire day on a full charge. We were able to get up to 7 hours of screen time on the device. Our daily usage consisted of tasks like gaming, web browsing, video calling, instant messaging, navigation, and content viewing. With more conservative usage, we were able to push the phone to 1.5 days before needing to plug it into a charger. With 80W fast charging on board, it took us just 50 minutes to fully charge the device.
The rear camera module on this smartphone comprises a 50MP primary shooter and an 8MP ultrawide lens. The Aura Light sits just below the camera cutout. The colour temperature of this light can be adjusted from the Camera app. The 50MP selfie camera is housed inside a punch-hole cutout on the display. Unlike the V40 Series, T3’s camera system is not tuned by Zeiss.
The 50MP primary shooter takes good pictures in outdoor daylight conditions. We were pleased with the colour accuracy and contrast level showcased by the images. The camera managed to expose the sky clearly and attribute life-like colours to it. The images are well-detailed and do not look overprocessed. The dynamic range and sharpness of shadows are decent.
Images taken with the 8MP ultrawide sensor were on the softer side, but their colour composition redeemed the minor lack of detail. There is a visible shift in colours when you compare the results with the primary shooter, but we don’t mind it too much. They do not look faded or ‘washed out’ by any means.
In limited lighting conditions, the primary shooter lets in some grain but does a good job of illuminating the subject. We were also happy with the colours it assigned to the subject despite having very little scene info to work with. There is a visible loss of detail, but the overall results are passable for a midrange smartphone. However, the quality of shots taken with the ultrawide lens takes a big hit in limited lighting conditions. The images are visibly grainy and dark. We’d suggest sticking with the primary camera while shooting pictures at night.
We were very impressed with the T3 Ultra’s portrait shots. The smartphone did an excellent job of detecting the edges and separating the subject from the background. It applied the perfect amount of background and assigned rich colours to the subject. This amazing display doesn’t surprise us as Vivo has a remarkable reputation when it comes to portrait photography.
The 50MP front-facing camera took good, detailed selfies while keeping skin tone and texture correction to a minimum. What we like about this sensor is that it can take wide (0.8x) selfies as well. The primary shooter and selfie camera can record 4K videos at 30 and 60fps.
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Verdict
The Vivo T3 Ultra finds itself in a unique spot due to its price overlap with the V40. The latter’s entry-level variant is priced at Rs 34,999. Meanwhile, the top-spec T3 Ultra variant fetches Rs 35,999. The T3 Ultra has the same design and chipset as the V40 Pro. This works massively in its favour as its everyday performance blows the V40 out of the water. When it comes to photography, the T3 Ultra puts up a good performance but falls a little short of the V40 due to an average ultrawide lens and the lack of Zeiss tuning.
If you prioritise everyday performance, the T3 Ultra is one of the best midrange smartphones out there. The Dimensity 9200+ chipset under its hood can handle demanding gaming titles with ease. 80W fast charging support is another big plus. All things considered, the T3 Ultra offers better value for money than the entry-level V40.
Vivo T3 Ultra: Pros
- Clean design
- Sleek profile
- Great performance
- Fast charging
Vivo T3 Ultra: Cons
- Needs a better ultrawide lens
- Contains bloatware
