VIVO Y21T gaming smartphone from Vivo Philippines gave me a good surprise, because after almost a month of using the gaming phone, I can say that this is the best midrange gaming phone that is available out in the market. And not just as a gaming device, but also good for social media, photography, and the battery performance is very impressive.
So read my review and user experience below and see what you can expect if you plan to buy the VIVO Y21T gaming smartphone
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Its been a long year since I first tried a VIVO smartphone, btw my wife owns a VIVO V17 since its launch, I think thats the last phone that I tried in a store in Makati and I am amazed with its camera specs and wide angle of the front and rear cam, I told her that she buy it because she loves to take selfies and photo with the family. I didnt get a chance to try her phone if its good for gaming, but I think its not because its already an old model.
But Im suprised that VIVO launched their midrange level of a gaming smartphone on this VIVO Y21T model, I have tested and review some mid range phone before and Im a bit disappointed that some of those brand did not work well with the camera, but here with the VIVO Y21T, the camera is good for photography or selfie, its one of the best feature for me that is not for gaming.
Also the expanded RAM feature is one of the coolest feature of this phone, it gets a bite size of the internal storage and turn it as an additional RAM. This VIVO Y21T normally use a 4GB RAM but with the new feature it can expand up to 5GB if it needs more memory in running some apps.
TECH SPECS OF VIVO Y21T
6.51-inch LCD Display
1600x720 resolution
Capacitive multi-touch
CPU - Snapdragon 680 Octa-Core 2.4Ghz
OS- Funtouch OS 12 (Based on Android 11)
Adreno GPU 610
5GB RAM
128GB Storage
LPPDR4X & UFS 2.1
Fast Memory Processing
Extended RAM 2.0
This 4GB phone has a memory trick up its sleeve. Up to 1GB of your idle ROM space can be used as extended RAM to make switching between apps even smoother. Feel free to download your favorite apps and run them without lags.
Rear camera - 50MP, 2MP, 2MP
Front camera - 8MP
Rear camera - Night (front and rear), Portrait, Photo, Video, Pano, Live Photo, Slow Motion, Time-Lapse, Pro, Documents, 50MP
Dual Nano-Sim + 1 micro SD slot
4G Ready
WIFI - 2.4GHz / 5GHz
USB Type C
Fingerprint sensor supported
Virtual gyroscope
5000mAh battery
18W fast charging
Multi-Turbo 5.0
vivo Multi-Turbo 5.0 enhances network connection, system processor speed and power-saving performance to a whole new level. A cooling solution across four components6 keeps Y21T cool even in intense combat. -
4D Game Vibration
Game Picture-in-Picture
Do Not Disturb
Esports Mode
Ultra Game Mode
Ultra Game Mode has been newly updated to give you a fuller sensory gaming experience. Play,enjoy and win in cooler style and with more fun.
available in color - Midnight Blue and Pearl White
SRP - PHP 10,997
INSIDE THE BOX OF VIVO Y21T
Inside the box of a VIVO Y21T --
contains:
1. VIVO Y21T unit
2. Jelly case
3. Manuals
4. Charging brick
5. USB Type C cable
6. SIM tray pin ejector
It does not include any earphones and buds
THE VIVO Y21T
And here's the body of the VIVO Y21T, all I can say is that the Midnight blue color is really beautiful, and it kinda glows when light reflects on it.
I like the edgy side of the body of the VIVO Y21T and its a bit heavier, maybe because of the big battery inside. But the built is good and looks durable. Make sure you use the jelly case for protection from accidental falls on the floor.
THE CAMERA - VIVO Y21T
The Rear camera - very impressive on the 50MP and 2MP x 2 rear cam. I tried shooting some sample and I just learned that I enjoyed shooting on the normal camera mode and not the 50MP mode.
Why? because the filter and beauty AI are disabled when on 50MP
The front camera is very visible at the top of the screen of the phone. No issues actually for me.
But I do like that there's a dew drop notch style, and its easier to look at the camera when taking selfies or shooting a vlog on the front camera. It means you know where to look on the camera.
And here's what it looks like when the camera is on black display. Still visible and you can look at the front cam so easily when you take selfies.
THE BODY OF VIVO Y21T
Lets check the body of the VIVO Y21T
- Its easy to hold and the size is just right, I was hoping that their gaming phone is on 7 inches screen display, but its not, I tried using it for gaming and Im happy with their size of 6.51 inches screen.
1. VIVO Y21T unit
2. Jelly case
3. Manuals
4. Charging brick
5. USB Type C cable
6. SIM tray pin ejector
It does not include any earphones and buds
THE VIVO Y21T
And here's the body of the VIVO Y21T, all I can say is that the Midnight blue color is really beautiful, and it kinda glows when light reflects on it.
I like the edgy side of the body of the VIVO Y21T and its a bit heavier, maybe because of the big battery inside. But the built is good and looks durable. Make sure you use the jelly case for protection from accidental falls on the floor.
THE CAMERA - VIVO Y21T
The Rear camera - very impressive on the 50MP and 2MP x 2 rear cam. I tried shooting some sample and I just learned that I enjoyed shooting on the normal camera mode and not the 50MP mode.
Why? because the filter and beauty AI are disabled when on 50MP
The front camera is very visible at the top of the screen of the phone. No issues actually for me.
But I do like that there's a dew drop notch style, and its easier to look at the camera when taking selfies or shooting a vlog on the front camera. It means you know where to look on the camera.
And here's what it looks like when the camera is on black display. Still visible and you can look at the front cam so easily when you take selfies.
THE BODY OF VIVO Y21T
Lets check the body of the VIVO Y21T
- Its easy to hold and the size is just right, I was hoping that their gaming phone is on 7 inches screen display, but its not, I tried using it for gaming and Im happy with their size of 6.51 inches screen.
Below the body - you can find here the:
- earphone jack, small hole for the microphone, USB Type C slot, and 4 holes for the speaker
btw, the speaker is not that loud, but when it comes to gaming, it sounded so loud.
On the left side, its just plain side of the VIVO Y21T
Top of the phone - you find here the SIM tray
Btw thats a DUAL nano SIM with + 1 micro SD slot
A very impressive added feature to expand your internal storage
On the right side of the VIVO Y21T is the volume rocker + the power button, which also act as the fingerprint scan
GOOGLE SERVICES
A must mention when reviewing some phones, and yes the VIVO Y21T is equipped with the Google Services app.
FACIAL RECOGNITION FEATURE WITH MASK ON
This is the best feature ever! I can unlock the VIVO Y21T via facial recognition and it can unlock even if Im wearing a face mask. It means that my facial feature are scanned properly and also my eyes matches so perfectly.
Its my first time to try this that a phone can unlock even with face mask is on the phone user.
THE CAMERA SETTINGS OF VIVO Y21T
On my early test with the VIVO Y21T, Im a bit unimpressed with the camera mode for photography and also video
For photography, the colors are very plain and a bit weak. Im not sure why, and it also applies on the 50MP mode during photography. And also on video recording, it lacks the video stabilization on both camera. But I noticed that the rear camera shoots better video because it has a 50MP specs vs. the front camera with 8MP specs.
Here's the camera mode of the VIVO Y21T
Im not happy with the colors of the photos after shoot.
but.....
I discovered that the color filters of the VIVO Y21T is very useful,
its so clean and the colors are beautiful for rear and front camera
I always use the filters - Grapefruit and Night Breeze, because it adds more saturated photo and its very lively when you post it on social media. There are times that I edit the photos on Snapseed to add more depth and colors, but with the filters like the Night Breeze, the photos pops out and no longer need to edit it with an app.
If you plan to use the VIVO Y21T for photography, I suggest you explore the filters.
There's no 4K for video mode, but thats okay, Im happy with the 1080P 30FPS resolution for video recording, just make sure you set the video mode to 1080P for better quality.
The HDR and AI feature works well too, its best to use it with the filters and light
THE FILTER CAMERA OF VIVO Y21T
I mentioned earlier about the filters, here's a close up look of my selfie using the Night Breeze photo filter.
And here's my fave camera features -- the Light Effect.
And here's the result - the Light effect added more depth and also bokeh mode on the front camera during selfie photo mode.
The filters also work during video mode, but the light effect is only works for photography.
If you use the filters, you can see on the screen the actual color of the subject.
And you can see that Im an avid user of the Night Breeze because it adds more saturated colors
and if you post it on socmed, the photo really pops out from the screen because of the colors.
SAMPLE PHOTO SHOTS TAKEN BY VIVO Y21T
If you use the filters, you can see on the screen the actual color of the subject.
And you can see that Im an avid user of the Night Breeze because it adds more saturated colors
and if you post it on socmed, the photo really pops out from the screen because of the colors.
SAMPLE PHOTO SHOTS TAKEN BY VIVO Y21T
First test shot -normal cam
in 50MP mode
50MP mode
50MP mode
Normal selfie mode
50MP mode
50MP mode
50MP mode
with filter
Night breeze filter
Various camera filters
My test using the Light Effect.
You can see that I pop out from the photo. I really like this camera mode of VIVO Y21T
THE VIDEO RECORDING USING VIVO Y21T
The video mode is not that good for me, I did a vlog test using the front and rear camera of the VIVO Y21T. I can say is that it is not good for vlogging, but looking at the quality, it can still be usable to tell a video story.
in 50MP mode
50MP mode
50MP mode
Normal selfie mode
50MP mode
50MP mode
50MP mode
with filter
Night breeze filter
Various camera filters
My test using the Light Effect.
You can see that I pop out from the photo. I really like this camera mode of VIVO Y21T
THE VIDEO RECORDING USING VIVO Y21T
The video mode is not that good for me, I did a vlog test using the front and rear camera of the VIVO Y21T. I can say is that it is not good for vlogging, but looking at the quality, it can still be usable to tell a video story.
The rear camera performs good when in video mode, because it has a big camera MP -- using a 50MP for recording, the front camera for video is a bit poor and grainy because it uses a 8MP, but overall it can still shoot a decent video material and for a mid range phone for gaming, the camera for video of the VIVO Y21T is quite okay. But not the best for vlogging.
I tried using my external microphone -- the Deity D3 Pro mic on the VIVO Y21T.
It works fine. But you need to use another camera app in order to activate the external mic function.
I installed Filmic Pro app and use it on one of my vlog test.
Filmic Pro is a paid app, priced around PHP 700
But if you are looking for a much cheaper app version, go check out and use Open Camera App
for external mic function on the VIVO Y21T and also in other mid range phones too.
IN GAMING MODE WITH VIVO Y21T
VIVO Y21T is the best for me in midrange gaming phones!!
Since I mentioned that the photography mode of the camera is good, then let me share you my review that the gaming mode of the VIVO Y21T is one of the best of its level of smartphones with a price range of PHP11k
Gaming is smooth on Call of Duty Mobile, Mobile Legends, PUBG, PUBG New State, Wild Rift, Sausage Man, Hyper Front, Apex Legends Mobile, Far Light 84, and Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier
I successfully installed Fortnite, it can run the game but in low graphics and 20FPS mode, I just forced the game to be installed using Tap Tap IO and it works okay, but expect to experience a lot of frame lags and sluggish movements of the animation
THE SCREEN RECORDING OF VIVO Y21T
The best feature ever!! !on a mid range phone is having a very decent screen recording mode!! It is okay if it can capture the audio using its internal mic, but the screen recording mode is a very important
feature to a gamer.
Yes, I can record my games so smoothly on a 720P video record mode. The video is clear and audio capture is fine, but for me this is the best feature of the VIVO Y21T
Thank you VIVO Y21T for adding this feature!
I've tried playing a game and stream it via Omlet Arcade. The result is good and there's no problem with it. I super love this VIVO Y21T phone now because of its screen capture and also smooth streaming capabilities using Facebook Gaming and Omlet Arcade.
SOCIAL MEDIA USE WITH VIVO Y21T
Multi tasking on some socmed apps is not a problem, There was this habit that I always do when using a phone, I always use the boost or memory flush out or memory optimizer when I use a lot of apps already, but here in the VIVO Y21T phone, I did not notice that is the function of the iManager app, I did not used it and all I do is terminate all active apps if ever I plan to use some soc meds or I should start gaming.
I did not experience some sluggish moments when using multiple apps on this VIVO Y21T.
But I think my habit helped in my user experience with this phone.
I tried using my external microphone -- the Deity D3 Pro mic on the VIVO Y21T.
It works fine. But you need to use another camera app in order to activate the external mic function.
I installed Filmic Pro app and use it on one of my vlog test.
Filmic Pro is a paid app, priced around PHP 700
But if you are looking for a much cheaper app version, go check out and use Open Camera App
for external mic function on the VIVO Y21T and also in other mid range phones too.
IN GAMING MODE WITH VIVO Y21T
VIVO Y21T is the best for me in midrange gaming phones!!
Since I mentioned that the photography mode of the camera is good, then let me share you my review that the gaming mode of the VIVO Y21T is one of the best of its level of smartphones with a price range of PHP11k
Gaming is smooth on Call of Duty Mobile, Mobile Legends, PUBG, PUBG New State, Wild Rift, Sausage Man, Hyper Front, Apex Legends Mobile, Far Light 84, and Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier
I successfully installed Fortnite, it can run the game but in low graphics and 20FPS mode, I just forced the game to be installed using Tap Tap IO and it works okay, but expect to experience a lot of frame lags and sluggish movements of the animation
THE SCREEN RECORDING OF VIVO Y21T
The best feature ever!! !on a mid range phone is having a very decent screen recording mode!! It is okay if it can capture the audio using its internal mic, but the screen recording mode is a very important
feature to a gamer.
Yes, I can record my games so smoothly on a 720P video record mode. The video is clear and audio capture is fine, but for me this is the best feature of the VIVO Y21T
Thank you VIVO Y21T for adding this feature!
I've tried playing a game and stream it via Omlet Arcade. The result is good and there's no problem with it. I super love this VIVO Y21T phone now because of its screen capture and also smooth streaming capabilities using Facebook Gaming and Omlet Arcade.
SOCIAL MEDIA USE WITH VIVO Y21T
Multi tasking on some socmed apps is not a problem, There was this habit that I always do when using a phone, I always use the boost or memory flush out or memory optimizer when I use a lot of apps already, but here in the VIVO Y21T phone, I did not notice that is the function of the iManager app, I did not used it and all I do is terminate all active apps if ever I plan to use some soc meds or I should start gaming.
I did not experience some sluggish moments when using multiple apps on this VIVO Y21T.
But I think my habit helped in my user experience with this phone.
Playing videos on Youtube is one of my fave phone activity. The VIVO Y21T display is good and the speakers are just okay, video on demand and entertainment on the VIVO Y21T is very lively.
5000 MAH BATTERY TEST OF VIVO Y21T
For my battery test, I played on several games in full volume, brightness and on the highest graphics settings and FPS on each game. So I played games for 4 1/2 hours, the battery consumes up to 40%, so from 100% the battery left me with 60% remaining
Doing some math, if I play for 8 hours, I can consume up to 80% battery and it will left me with 20% remaining battery juice.
With continuous gaming, the 5000mah battery can give you up to 10 hours of non stop gaming + socmed in one day.
So take note of this battery test result if you plan to do a gaming marathon everyday.
THE REVIEW - VIVO Y21T
I super enjoyed using this VIVO Y21T in all my digital activities, Im starting to recommend this to those who are looking for an affordable midrange phone for gaming on the range of PHP 11k SRP.
Im impressed that it has a screen recorder feature -- a very decent one, and it can play the top fave mobile games, btw Star Wars Hunters can't play on this phone because it detects its a low powered phone.
But most games like COD, ML and etc. the game performs okay with the highest graphics settings. The photo camera is very good too!!! Most midrange phones dont have this, and Im surprised that VIVO included it in their specs that a mid range gaming phone must equipped a better camera for photography. The video mode is bit disappointing, but I just hope that they increased the MP of the front camera at least to 16MP
Its not a high end range phone, but the performance of the VIVO Y21T is closely to high end range already.
Its not a high end range phone, but the performance of the VIVO Y21T is closely to high end range already.
