The Y70 is another one of the 4G devices that manufacturers resorted to launching in the Australian market last year once it became apparent that 5G availability for mobiles was just so much hype. Of course, by then many smartphone makers had reaped the benefits of the higher prices that those models command.

Like any other 4G Android phone in this range — the Y70 costs $449 — there is much that is good, and some aspects which are better on other models.

Taken on a normal sunny day about 11am.

The user has to compare and see what he/she needs, what kind of use they intend to put the device to, and then part with their hard-earned.

For me, there are a few aspects of the Y70 that are are plus points. The 6.44-inch 1080P AMOLED Halo Display is very clear and even at the bog standard 60Hz it stands out.

vivo, one of the three main brands from the Chinese electronics giant B.B.K. Electronics — the others are OPPO and OnePlus — has given the Y70 a thin body and it weighs 171 grammes. The skin over Android 10 is called Funtouch OS 11 and it is clean. There aren't too many excessive apps and the sharpness is noticeable.

But these days, every single Android device looks much like the previous one, The sameness of the operating system also tends to jar a bit. Which is why I often regret that Microsoft chose to give up on Windows for mobiles; at least, there would nominally have been three choices.

Portrait mode also yields good results.

Another good point about the Y70 is the charging technology. You can get to about 65% in half an hour and the 4100mAh battery is sufficient to go for a full day without any strain.

In terms of storage and memory — 128Gb and 8GB respectively — the Y70 again is more than adequately equipped. You won't need to expend any of your cash on a SD-card for additional storage.

But the SoC is an older one from Qualcomm, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, which is an 11nm octa-core processor. You can get better in this price range, that's all one has to say.

The sound isn't the best when you listen without earphones. But given that vivo has provided a good set of headphones, using those is recommended; the sound is very good through those phones.

Night shots come out clear.

The camera set-up again is so-so and nothing out of this world. Pictures taken at night come out well, while those taken in daylight are as good or as bad as the next Android model in this range.

vivo has fared well in India and Europe and hence its models may be geared towards those markets more than Australia. One could pick up the OPPO A91 for an additional $50, which is the best model I have used in this range that offers features commensurate with price.

But then the cash goes to the same manufacturer anyway, so the Y70 would have done its job if it drives you in that direction!

The Y70 is available instore and online at JB Hi-Fi, Big W, Officeworks, Mobileciti and Amazon.

BASIC

CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon 665

RAM & ROM 8GB+128GB

Battery 4100mAh (TYP)

Fast Charging 33W (11V/3A)

Colour Gravity Black and Oxygen Blue

Operating System Funtouch OS 11 (Based on Android 10)

BODY

Dimensions 161.00×74.08×7.83mm

Weight 171g

Material Plastic

DISPLAY

Screen 6.44-inch

Resolution 2400×1080 (FHD+)

Type AMOLED

Touch Screen Capacitive multi-touch

NETWORK

Network UK/FR/DE/IT/ES/PL/AU/TR

2G GSM B2/3/5/8

3G WCDMA B1/2/5/8

4G FDD_LTE B1/2/3/5/7/8/20/28

4G TDD_LTE B38/40/41（120M）

CA 1A+3A

Card Slot 2 Nano SIM + 1 Micro SD

Standby Mode Dual SIM and Dual Standby

CAMERA

Front 16 MP FF / Rear 48MP AF + 2MP AF (macro) + 2MP FF (bokeh)

Aperture "Front: f/2.0 (main)

Rear: f/1.8 + f/2.4 (macro) + f/2.4 (bokeh）"

Flash Rear flash

Scene Modes "Front: Portrait, Photo, Video, Night, AR Stickers, Pano, Live Photo

Rear: Portrait, Photo, Video, Night, AR Stickers, Pano, Live Photo, Pro, Slo-mo, AI 48 MP, DOC"

MEDIA

Hi-Fi Chipset N/A

Audio Playback WAV, AAC, MP3, MP2, MIDI, Vorbis, APE, FLAC

Video Playback MP4, 3GPP, AVI, WMV, RMVB, MKV, FLV

Video Recording MP4

Voice Recording Supported

CONNECTIVITY

Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, 5GHz

Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.0

USB Type-C

GPS Supported

OTG Supported

NFC Supported

FM Supported

LOCATION

Location GPS, Beidou, Galileo, GLONASS

Sensors

Accelerometer Supported

Ambient Light Sensor Supported

Proximity Sensor Supported

E-compass Supported

Fingerprint In-Display Fingerprint Scanning

Gyroscope Gyroscope (Entity)

IN THE BOX

Model name Y70

Earpieces Supported

Documentation Supported

USB Supported

USB Power Adapter Supported

SIM Ejector Supported

Protective Case Supported

Protective Film (applied) Supported