Review: vivo Y73

By Sylvester Sy
14 Min Read
vivo Y73

Leading global tech brand vivo is making more creative possibilities with its newest addition to the Y series smartphone phone: the Y73. The new vivo Y73 is the brand’s latest upper entry-level smartphone that is equipped with a 6.44-inch AMOLED screen with FHD+ resolution, Helio G95 chip, a 64MP main rear camera, and a 33W flash charge technology. 

Luckily, I got my hands on the new Vivo Y73. Honestly, I was super excited to explore and use its latest features when I got the package. It’s been years since I got to review a vivo smartphone. Finally, I’m ready to share my impressions of this latest upper entry-level smartphone from vivo.

Unboxing/Accessories

The vivo Y73 comes in a white-and-blue box that features the phone’s model printed on the front of the box and a big vivo logo at the lower portion of the box.

vivo Y73 - Unboxing
What’s Inside The Box?

Inside the box, you will find the vivo Y73 handset, 33W wall charger with flash charge technology, USB Type-A to USB Type-C data/charging cable, 3.5mm wired earphones, transparent silicone case for protection, paper documentations and the SIM ejector tool.

vivo Y73 - 33W wall charger with flash charge technology
33W wall charger with flash charge technology

Honestly it’s really nice to see that vivo still includes a charger, a pair of earphones, and a silicone case inside the box when most brands nowadays no longer have these accessories out of the box.

Build Quality/Design

The vivo Y73 features a 6.44-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a waterdrop notch and slim bezels around the edges on a slim glass body and plastic back panel with an AG coating on top. The overall thickness of the Y73 is reduced by 6% compared to its predecessor, resulting in a more stunning 7.38mm ultra sleek design. The phone is also super lightweight, weighing only 170 grams. This device is a fingerprint smudge magnet. Good thing vivo also included a transparent silicone case that we recommend using since the device is also a bit slippery to hold.

As mentioned earlier, the vivo Y73 has a 6.44-inch AMOLED screen with FHD+ resolution display with 570 nits max brightness that produces vibrant and detailed images with decent brightness. Unfortunately the vivo Y73 only has a 60Hz refresh rate but having an AMOLED display at 60Hz is still great for watching video streaming content like Netflix in HD video quality. In fact we tried checking its widevine security level and it has a L1 security level which is the highest level of security meaning this device is capable of playing video content at the highest possible resolution.

vivo Y73 - Netflix widevine security level
The vivo Y73 has a L1 widevine security level meaning it is capable of playing video content at the highest possible resolution.
vivo Y73 - watching videos
Great for watching video streaming content like Netflix in HD video quality.

It also has a triple card slot for 2 nano-SIM cards and a dedicated microSD card slot. We also noticed that the card slot has rubber around to help prevent water and dust.

vivo Y73 - triple card slot
On the left side is a triple card slot for 2 nano-SIM cards and a dedicated microSD card slot up to 1TB (Terabyte = 1000 Gigabyte)
vivo Y73 - volume rocker and the power button.
While on the right side is the volume rocker and the power button.
vivo Y73 - speaker grille, USB Type-C port, microphone, and a 3.3mm audio jack.
The bottom part of the phone has a speaker grille, USB Type-C port, microphone, and a 3.3mm audio jack.

Camera

The vivo Y73 uses a triple-rear camera setup with a 64-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.79 aperture, a 2-megapixel depth camera, and a 2-megapixel macro camera with f/2.4 aperture for each. It also has a LED flash. On the front, there’s a 16-megapixel selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture mounted in a waterdrop notch.

vivo Y73 - triple-rear camera setup
vivo Y73 uses a triple-rear camera setup
vivo Y73 - 16-megapixel selfie camera with f2.0 aperture mounted in a waterdrop notch
16-megapixel selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture mounted in a waterdrop notch

We tested the camera in a nearby museum here in San Juan and we noticed that the camera was capable of taking quality shots. I was honestly surprised with the quality of the images taken with this phone considering its price range. The vivo Y73’s camera app is stocked with various camera modes that includes HDR, Live Filter, Beauty Mode, Time Lapse, Eye-tracking, and so much more. 

The shots were really amazing in day time as you can see on our sample shots of this white hibiscus flower one thing that really surprised me was the macro mode. I’ve tried a lot of smartphones before with macro mode and so far the vivo Y73 has the best macro shot I’ve seen. The details are amazing. I can easily compare the shot with a regular smartphone with a macro lens attachment. I can’t wait to try this on my future travels.

We also took a photo of this wall mural outside in full screen aspect ratio, the color accuracy was really good.

vivo Y73 - a photo of this wall mural outside in full screen aspect ratio
a photo of this wall mural outside in full screen aspect ratio

We then tried testing the camera indoors as you can see on the sample images below shots were taken in a dimly lit room and since flash photography is not allowed inside you will need a good camera to take good photos inside. The vivo Y73 did not fail me as it was able to take quality images even in a dim light environment. I must say I’m really impressed with the images.

Here are some of our sample shots at night:

For night photography, vivo has improved on its night mode with Super Night Selfie that brightens selfies even in dim lighting conditions, giving it a glow-in-the-dark vibe. While the AI Super Night Mode utilizes AI-supported noise reduction to perfectly capture clearer night shots.

Meanwhile, the 16-megapixel selfie camera takes high-quality images during the day. But one thing we noticed while using the selfie camera is that it softens the skin tones even if the beauty mode is turned off.

Performance

The vivo Y73 is powered by a 2.05GHz 12nm MediaTek Helio G95 octa-core processor with Mali-G76 3EEMC4 (900MHz) GPU. Just like all vivo smartphones, it also runs with the latest android 11 OS out of the box and uses the company’s own Funtouch OS 11.1 on top.

It has been a while since we last got our hands on a vivo smartphone but so far one thing we noticed is that the UI is really smooth and loading apps is fast unless of course if you are multitasking multiple apps this will surely cause some delay.

As for the audio performance, The vivo Y73 sports a single bottom-firing loudspeaker which is loud enough to watch movies without the need to connect the phone to an external bluetooth speaker. The In-Display fingerprint scanner are also quick to respond. Apps are generally quick to load, and with the 60Hz refresh rate scrolling through menus feels smooth.

For storage, the vivo Y73 is equipped with a 128GB of internal storage that is expandable up to 1TB for more storage space via microSD card slot. Hence, we highly recommend that you get a microSD card for more storage especially if you take a lot of photos.

vivo Y73 AnTuTu Benchmark

vivo Y73 scores 343661 on AnTuTu Benchmark, not bad for a upper entry-level device.

When it comes to mobile games, playing games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang or Call of Duty ran at the highest graphic settings by default and ran smoothly and I did not experience any lag. To be honest, I’ve been using this phone for almost 5 days now playing Call of Duty.

Vivo Y73 - Call of Duty Mobile
I really enjoyed playing Call of Duty with this device
Vivo Y73 - Call of Duty Mobile graphics settings
Vivo Y73 – Call of Duty Mobile graphics settings

There is also a multi-turbo mode feature that maximizes the phone’s ability to handle heavy tasks, delivering a seamless and immersive gaming experience. I’ll be honest its been a while since the last time I got my hands on a vivo device so I’m not sure if this is a new feature but all I can say about the multi-turbo feature is that I really enjoyed playing Call of Duty with this device in fact while I was testing the device I played CoD for hours and did not encounter any issues even on the highest graphics settings.

Vivo Y73 - Call of Duty Mobile multi-turbo feature
vivo multi-turbo feature

Battery

The vivo Y73 is equipped with a 4,000mAh battery that could last you one full day with moderate usage. If by any chance you need to recharge the battery you can replenish the battery fast using its 33W fast charging technology that is capable of refueling the battery from 0% to 100% would take you around 2 hours.

vivo Y73 PCMark Work 3.0 battery life
PCMark score battery life

Pros

  • 64MP triple-rear camera
  • 33W fast charging
  • AMOLED display
  • In-display fingerprint sensor

Cons

  • No 5G connectivity
  • standard 60Hz refresh rate
  • It only has 4,000mAh battery capacity

Verdict

Overall, the vivo Y73 is a great value for an upper entry-level smartphone. The performance is really good. We also liked the camera capabilities, as it was able to take really good photographs, perfect for GenZers and young millennials who love to take photos and videos for social media. The MediaTek Helio G95 offers impressive performance in all day-to-day routines and also makes it a good budget gaming smartphone.

Traveling is about the experience and the memories you make. Personally, when I travel, I always make sure to bring a camera with me to capture every moment, but sometimes it is better to bring a smartphone than a bulky camera, especially if you want to travel light. Fortunately, travelers now have a new companion that can capture all their travel memories and easily share them on social media. The new Vivo Y73 is now available in the Philippines. Starting March 12, consumers can purchase it nationwide!

vivo Y73 Specs

Display: 6.44-inch AMOLED screen w/ FHD+ 2400 x 1080 resolution at 409 ppi
CPU: 2.05GHz 12nm MediaTek Helio G95 octa-core processor
GPU: Mali-G76 3EEMC4 (900MHz)
RAM: 8GB
ROM: 128GB expandable storage via microSD card slot up to 1TB
Back Camera: 64MP f/1.79 w/ PDAF, EIS + 2MP f/2.4 macro + 2MP f/2.4 bokeh + LED flash
Selfie Camera: 16MP f/2.0
Battery: 4,000mAh w/ USB-C 33W FlashCharge
OS: Android 11 w/ Funtouch OS 11.1
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, dual SIM (nano)
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
Others: In-Display fingerprint scanner, USB-C
Colors: Roman Black, Diamond Flare
Dimensions: 161.24 x 74.37 x 7.38 mm
Weight: 170 g
Price: PHP 14,999

Price and availability

The new vivo Y73 is now available in the Philippines in all vivo stores, kiosks and partner mobile stores nationwide for PhP 14,999.

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