As you have known it earlier, Vivo has launched the Vivo Y66 before the launch of the Vivo V5 Plus IPL edition. It was nothing special but with the only 16MP selfie camera with the Moonlight flash as they call it. The phone can rather be called the toned-down version of the flagship Vivo V5 phone, with a few hits and misses alongside.
The Vivo Y66 was launched on 17th of March with a 5.5-inch 720p display, a 16MP front camera with moonlight flash, and 32GB internal storage with 3GB of RAM. It is powered by the MediaTek’s MT6750 bundled with Mali T860 GPU. Under the hood is a 3000 mAh non-removable battery. Regarding the design, the Y66 is a complete clone of the Vivo V5 if not for the fingerprint sensor and different antenna lines. All this packed into a Rs. 14,990 package. You should’ve gone through it if you have tried buying offline retailer stores. So, do you think it is worth buying this? Read my review below.
Design
As mentioned above, the Vivo Y66 is not much different from the Vivo V5. It feels good holding it in your hand with such a premium feeling. The metal uni-body with curved edges gives you a perfect grip while holding it in your hand. However, at times, I found it slipping off from my hand when used without the Silicon transparent case that was provided along with the handset.
Now, talking about the structure, the buttons are also places at the same places as on the V5. The power button is placed just below the volume rockers on the right side of the phone. On the left is the SIM card tray which allows a Micro SIM card in the first slot and a Nano SIM or MicroSD in the second slot. Talking about the top and the bottom, there’s nothing on the top and at the bottom is the Micro-USB charging point, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and the speaker grill on the bottom right. All these just like the Vivo V5.
On the front screen, there is a speaker for calls in the middle of the top, left to it is the 16MP camera sensor and the right to it are the proximity sensor, and the Moonlight LED flash. Below, you’ll find the three touch-capacitive buttons, and at the back, the 13MP camera along with the LED flash is placed on the top left corner.
Concluding on the design, it feels and looks so premium same as the Vivo V5 does. But, I suggest you to not consider this device only for the design.
Display
Every smartphone user knows what to expect from a 720p display on a 5.5-inch screen. To talk about, the 5.5-inch display has 267 PPI density. But even with a 720p display, the color reproduction, the viewing angles, and the brightness levels are pretty good. At first, when used, I mistook it for a 1080p display which I got know later that it’s a 720p display. Coming to a conclusion, the display I should say is okay but not up to a great extent.
OS and UI
If you have used any Vivo phone before, you should already know that these phones on their own custom OS, that is the FunTouch OS UI running on the Android 6.0 out of the box. Sadly, we can’t expect any Android version updates anytime soon. It is the same with any of the phones that run on the custom UI of their makers. Talking about the FunTouch, they have many personalizations integrated with the smooth usage. It is smooth and easy to use interface with customization options. But the only problem comes up with the OS updates. If it is kept aside, the UI is buttery smooth and has a few themes from which you can choose from.
Coming to the UI features, it has many gesture features, split window, one-handed mode, and super screenshot. Out of the box, you get the Google’s stock apps package, a couple of FunTouch OS apps such as Music, Video, themes, manager, and email. You also a get the vivoCloud app in which you can backup your data on the cloud, EasyShare app, some tools such as Compass, Recorder, Notes, and FM Radio. Facebook, WhatsApp, WPS Office, and UC Browser are the other apps that are installed on the device out of the box.
Performance
The Y66 has an Octa-core MT6750 processor bundled with Mali T860 GPU and 3GB of RAM. When talking about gaming, I’m not a good judge here as I have not played any heavy graphic games but only some small games such as the Hill Climb Racing and other such stuff. So, as per my normal gaming, it did perform well, and there was no extreme heating issue faced. You won’t even feel any heat when using the phone, say it’s for gaming, browsing, or multi-tasking, it didn’t get heated up at any such situation when used indoors. When outdoors, the phone does get a little heated up by any usage. And that it is summer, you know what to expect from it.
Can conclude that the Y66 is not that bad regarding gaming and any multi-tasking, thanks to the 3GB RAM and octa-core processor. I suggest you not to buy this if you are looking to play some heavy games.
Battery life
Camera
You know if it is a Vivo device, the camera would always remain as a highlight. The Y66 has a 16MP selfie camera with Moonlight flash. The rear camera is the same 13MP sensor that we find in the V5. The front camera comes with a f/2.0 while the rear comes with f/2.2 which is not a big deal if you are looking for great selfies compromising on the rear camera. So, just talking about the camera, you won’t find it any hard even in low light if you want to take selfies, thanks to the Moonlight flashlight. Coming to the rear camera, it struggles a bit in the low light, but it’s not that bad at all.
Check Vivo Y66 Camera Samples
The videos output are also good on both the cameras. Both front and back cameras support shooting videos up to 1080p. The camera app has beauty mode, panorama, night mode, manual mode, time-lapse, and slo-mo video mode. Concluding, both the cameras perform good enough, but the front camera is the only reason you will want to buy this phone.
How’s the connectivity?
The Y66 supports LTE and HD voice (VoLTE) with which you can use your Jio SIM without any installation of third-party apps. It is equipped with Bluetooth 4.0, supports OTG, and has GLONASS and GPS. It doesn’t have NFC and any IR Blaster or receiver. During my one week of usage, I didn’t find any connectivity issues and the call quality is also good. Also, the Wi-Fi hotspot works pretty fine and the device does not lose much battery even when using the phone on Hotspot. So, that’s it for the connectivity and nothing is wrong with it.
Final Verdict
Are you looking for an exceptionally good selfie camera while compromising on fingerprint sensor and performance? If you can extend your budget for a few more thousand, I suggest you buy the Vivo V5 instead of this. I personally feel that this phone is not worth the price they are selling this at (Rs. 14,990) if not for it’s design and the selfie camera. I have even got a couple of OTA updates but it never was an Android upgrade. So, hope Vivo works about this and roll out the latest version of Android.
If you are looking for a phone at this price, there are a couple of other phones such as the Redmi Note 4 and the Honor 6X if the pro-selfie camera is not your priority. If you are on the tight budget and want that pro selfies, then the Y66 is the one for you. However, I suggest you not to buy this phone and by extending your budget, go for the Vivo V5.
