Vivo’s mid-range T Series has taken a big leap forward this year. We reviewed its base variant last month and rated it highly because of its massive 7,300mAh battery pack, 5,000 nits ultra-bright display, and versatile Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor. While these are pretty impressive specs, Vivo has made a few tradeoffs to keep the device’s price in check. The most notable ones are the lack of an ultrawide sensor and a secondary speaker. The newly introduced Ultra variant adds not just an ultrawide sensor in the mix, but also a periscope telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. Its design and aesthetics are similar to its predecessor. We used the smartphone for a week to find out if it justifies the Rs 38,000 price tag. Here is our in-depth review of the Vivo T4 Ultra.
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In This Article
Vivo T4 Ultra Review: Design and Display
Here’s what you get inside the Vivo T4 Ultra’s retail box:
- Smartphone
- 90W power adapter
- USB Type-A to Type-C cable
- Plastic cover
- SIM ejector
- Quick start guide
- Warranty card
Vivo T4 Ultra’s design doesn’t stray too far from last year’s T3 Ultra (our review here). This design language was established by the Vivo V40 Pro. The T4 Ultra has a sleek profile despite packing a 5,500mAh Li-ion battery. Its glass back panel curves gently into the frame and has a smooth matte finish. The oval-shaped camera module is slightly larger than the one on last year’s model. The Dynamic Light (previously known as Aura Light) has also increased in size and is no longer sectioned off in the camera array. The Vivo lettering can be found in the bottom left corner of the back panel.
The glossy frame houses the volume rocker keys and the side button on its right edge. The SIM tray, primary microphone, USB Type-C slot, and primary speaker are positioned on the bottom edge. The secondary speaker grille and noise cancellation microphone find their way to the top of the frame. The left edge is completely buttonless.
The 6.67-inch curved AMOLED display has a 120Hz refresh rate. In High Brightness Mode, this display can hit 1,600 nits. While playing HDR content, it can reach a peak brightness of 5,000 nits. There are no legibility issues with the screen in bright outdoor conditions. The touch response is smooth, and the optical fingerprint scanner is snappy. Even though the screen is curved towards the edges, accidental touches are not a common occurrence. The slim bezels around the display are uniform on every side.
During the review period, we used the Vivo T4 Ultra as our primary media streaming device and were very happy with the viewing experience. The AMOLED display produced detailed and crisp visuals with punchy colours. There is a nifty ‘Visual Enhancement’ tool in settings that optimises the colour and contrast of images for more vivid display effects. The dual speaker setup produces a mediocre audio output. It isn’t loud enough to overcome the background noise of ceiling fans and ACs. Furthermore, it lacks a pronounced low end.
Surprisingly, Vivo T4 Ultra is rated IP64 for protection against dust and water. Its predecessor, the T3 Ultra, had an IP68 rating. The decision to downgrade the water resistance capabilities of the smartphone is an absurd one, especially when it is priced at Rs 38,000.
Vivo T4 Ultra Review: Performance and Cameras
The Vivo T4 Ultra is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chipset. It comes in 3 RAM (LPDDR5) + storage (UFS 3.1) configurations:
8GB + 256GB: Rs 37,999
12GB + 256GB: Rs 39,999
12GB + 512GB: Rs 41,999
On the Geekbench 6 app, the smartphone racked up 2,192 points in the single-core test and 7,243 points in the multi-core test. These benchmark numbers translate well in everyday use. The smartphone handles basic tasks like texting, emailing, calling, web browsing, media streaming, photo editing, and navigation with absolute ease. Multi-tasking on this device is a breeze as well. We were able to shuffle among 6-7 apps without encountering any lag or delay. The haptic motor is a little blunt and takes away from the general usage experience.
A smooth and enjoyable gaming performance is one of the underrated facets of the Vivo T4 Ultra. The MediaTek 9300+ chipset proves its worth while handling gaming titles like Call of Duty and Asphalt Legends Unite. We did not experience any lag or frame drops in the gameplay. BGMI players can unlock a 120fps frame rate on this device. The 43.62cm² vapour chamber does a good job of keeping the device’s internal temperature in check.
Software duties on the Vivo T4 Ultra are handled by the Android 15-based Funtouch OS 15 out of the box. As is the case with Funtouch OS on midrange devices, there is a lot of bloatware to be seen here. The ‘Apps’ and ‘Games’ folders on the home page and app drawer are advertisements for the V-Appstore. Vivo’s OS is also notorious for pushing pesky notifications throughout the day.
Where the Funtouch OS 15 truly shines is its customisation options. You can choose from a wide range of dynamic effects for the fingerprint icon and animation, home screen panel transition, USB insertion animation, charging animation, and more. There is an exhaustive library of AOD faces onboard as well. The native wallpaper library needs some more exciting options.
When it comes to AI features, Funtouch 15 OS is lagging behind its contemporaries. The AI Note Assist tool can summarise and translate your notes. It also offers to improve the layout of a body of text and extract to-dos from it, but these features need more work. The AI Transcript Assist does a decent job of transcribing voice memos. The native gallery app has an AI eraser that does a good job with small objects with replaces bigger ones with absurd additions instead of erasing them completely. Google’s Circle to Search is also present on this device, and works like a charm. Vivo has promised 3 major OS upgrades and 4 years of security patches for the T4 Ultra.
The T4 Ultra packs a 5,500mAh Li-ion battery – a significant step down from the 7,300mAh Si/C unit on the base model. It lasts a day with moderate to heavy use. However, unlike its younger sibling, the Vivo T4 Ultra didn’t amaze us with a 2-day backup during the review period. The 90W power adapter provided in the box can fully charge the smartphone in under an hour.
Vivo T4 Ultra’s superior camera performance is its bread and butter. Its rear camera array houses a 50MP Sony IMX921 primary shooter, a 50MP Sony IMX883 periscope telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and an 8MP ultrawide sensor. Up front, a 32MP selfie shooter is nestled inside a punch-hole cutout.
The 50MP primary shooter takes detailed and vivid images in outdoor daylight conditions. These images showcase brilliant colours and amazing dynamic range. In limited lighting conditions, the smartphone does a great job of brightening the subject and getting rid of the noise in Night Mode.
The 8MP ultrawide camera takes decent images in outdoor daylight conditions. The images are softer than the ones taken with the primary shooter, but they retain the tasteful colour profile. In limited lighting conditions, some noise manages to creep in even with the Night Mode turned on. However, the smartphone does a good job of lighting up the subject.
The 50MP periscope telephoto camera kicks in when you hit 3x zoom in the camera app. You get clear and detailed images up to 10x zoom. Once you go past that mark, the smartphone relies more on its photoprocessing chops to resolve the images. You can hit up to 100x zoom on this smartphone. It is great for zooming into distant billboards.
The periscope telephoto lens comes in clutch in portrait mode as well. There are 5 zoom levels for portraits: 1x, 1.5x, 2.2x, 3.7x, and 4.3x. The smartphone does an incredible job of separating the subject from the background and applying a tasteful background blur. In limited lighting conditions, the Dynamic Light works beautifully as a fill light and helps in capturing great portraits.
The 32MP front-facing camera takes good selfies. The final results are ‘social media’ ready with the application of skin tone and texture correction effects. The selfie camera and primary shooter can record 4K and 1,080p videos at 30 and 60fps. Meanwhile, the telephoto lens can record 1,080p videos at 30 and 60fps, and 4K videos at 30fps. Lastly, the ultrawide sensor can only shoot 1,080p videos at 30fps.
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Verdict
The Vivo T4 Ultra is an exciting smartphone in the sub-Rs 40,000 price bracket. We recommend it to users who prioritise a good camera system over everything else. The 3x periscope telephoto lens is a great addition to this smartphone’s camera module. Not only does it capture excellent zoomed-in images, but it also comes in clutch while taking portrait shots. The 50MP primary shooter is very reliable in different lighting conditions.
The MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chipset under the hood of this smartphone puts up a versatile performance. The smartphone is reliable for everyday tasks, and does a great job of optimising background apps when you’re multitasking. Its gaming performance is nothing to scoff at either. Our only big complaint lies with the smartphone’s dust and water resistance capabilities. Compared to last year’s IP68-rated Vivo T3 Ultra, the IP64 rating of the T4 Ultra is a significant downgrade.
Vivo T4 Ultra Pros
- Excellent camera performance
- 3x periscope telephoto lens
- Bright display
- Cool design
Vivo T4 Ultra Cons
- Lacks an IP68 rating
- Base model has a bigger battery
- Needs more AI features
