The Vivo V40e was launched in India towards the end of September and is the most affordable option in the lineup, which also includes the standard V40 and the V40 Pro. Therefore, I believe that the ‘e’ in the name stands for ‘economical’, but I bet Vivo would not agree with me. The V40e is a mid-range smartphone whose main selling point is its design and a claim that it’s the slimmest smartphone with a 5,500mAh battery. Vivo also states that the phone is a pro at taking portrait photos thanks to the Aura light.

At a starting price of Rs. 28,999, the Vivo V40e sounds like a good deal for something specifically looking for a phone with a large battery, slim design, and taking plenty of portrait photos. Is it, though? Read on to find out.

Vivo V40e Design: Visually pleasing

• Dimensions – 163.7 ×75 ×7.49mm
• Weight – 183g
• Colours – Mint Green, Royal Bronze

You do get a sleek and stylish phone as advertised. The Vivo V40e is just 7.49mm thin and feels slimmer thanks to the curved edges on the front and back. The corners are rounded, and you get a glossy plastic frame. The top and bottom are flattened, though. You’ll also find the pill/keyhole-shaped camera module with the top oval protruding out and the lower unit sitting flush with the Aura Light LED at the back. We reviewed the Royal Bronze unit, which has a matte finish rear plastic panel and doesn’t have any patterns. The panel is prone to fingerprints and scratches, though, so it’s best to protect the phone with a case.

The phone is just 7.49mm thick despite having a 5,500mAh battery

The phone has the right amount of weight, and it feels like it costs more than it does. The right edge houses the volume and power buttons. There’s a microphone, loudspeaker, SIM tray, and a USB Type-C port at the bottom, whereas the top houses another microphone. The V40e also gets an IP64 rating, and I did find a rubber seal inside the SIM card tray.

Vivo V40e Display: Big and curvy

• Size – 6.77-inch, full-HD+ resolution
• Type – AMOLED, 120Hz
• Protection – SCHOTT Xensation Up glass

On the front, the phone has a large display with curved sides. Other than making the phone feel slimmer than it actually is, the curved sides also make the side bezels appear thinner. The bezels are also uniform on the top and bottom. The panel is plenty bright for indoor use, and it’s also usable outdoors, as long as it’s not a super bright day.

The display supports a 120Hz refresh rate

As for refresh rate, the display gets up to 120Hz support with a Smart Switch option available as well. You can switch between 60Hz or 120Hz as well. The display supports HDR10+ and offers three colour modes – Standard, Professional, and Bright. There’s also an SGS low blue light certification available on the phone. All of the above make the display on the Vivo V40e an excellent option for watching content and playing games.

The in-display fingerprint scanner sits low

The display also offers an in-display fingerprint scanner, which, apart from a few failed attempts, was fast and worked well during my time with the phone.

Vivo V40e Software: Smooth but bloated

• OS – Android 14
• UI – Funtouch OS 14
• Latest security patch – October 1

The Vivo V40e runs Android 14-based Funtouch OS 14 out of the box, and I received several updates during the review period. Vivo has promised to provide three years of OS updates and four years of security patches. The software experience is like most other mid-range smartphones from Vivo. You get a lot of third-party apps from the get-go, but luckily, these can be uninstalled. There’s also the Vivo V-Appstore and a few other Vivo apps, such as the Browser, that keep sending notifications and can’t be removed.

The Aura Light at the back can be used for notifications

However, you will find some useful features on the phone. An AI eraser tool is present in the Gallery app, and it works decently. You also get an AI Photo enhancement feature that is claimed to unblur, beautify, and reduce noise. However, it did an okay job in reality. You also get features such as a Smart sidebar to make use of the curved display, Dynamic light that uses the Aura light to show notifications, Ambient light effect that uses edge lighting for notifications and acts as a light show when playing music, and more.

The software experience on the phone is mostly smooth, but the unwanted notifications from the built-in apps are quite annoying.

Vivo V40e Performance: Good enough

• SoC – MediaTek Dimensity 7300
• RAM – 8GB LPDDR4X
• Storage – Up to 256GB UFS 2.2

The MediaTek Dimensity 7300 on the V40e is an octa-core 4nm chipset that is paired with the MediaTek NPU 655 and an Arm Mali-G615 GPU. When it comes to regular usage, I did not notice any lag. Apps open fast, multitasking isn’t a task, and animations throughout the UI are smooth. The camera app also works flawlessly, and there’s no major shutter lag. Overall, this phone is easy to recommend for day-to-day tasks.

Gaming isn’t a problem on the phone, and it doesn’t heat up a lot either

I ran a couple of benchmarks to compare it with phones in a similar price bracket, and the numbers showed that the Vivo V40e offered lower performance in most cases. Of course, you must keep in mind that these benchmarks shouldn’t be taken at face value, as real word usage will vary.

The phone also performed decently when playing games and didn’t overheat even after a 45-minute session of BGMI. I played BGMI with HDR graphics and Ultra frame rate and did not notice any major lag. I also played Genshin Impact and COD with medium settings, and they worked fine mostly.

The phone has a dual speaker setup, which is good enough for indoor use. It doesn’t offer a lot of bass, but there is a volume booster mode that does increase the sound output. Calls and connectivity are also pretty good. Audio from the microphone and ear speaker was clear on both ends, and I didn’t notice any major network issues in my area.

Vivo V40e Cameras: Not the Pro it’s claimed to be

• Main rear – 50-megapixel, OIS, Sony IMX882 sensor, f/1.79 aperture
• Secondary – 8-megapixel ultrawide, f/2.2, 116-degree FoV
• Selfie – 50-megapixel, auto-focus, f/2.0, 92 degree FoV

You get two rear cameras on the V40e and two different types of LED flash. The Aura light is mainly meant for portrait photos, but you can use it in creative ways as a fill light. 

There are two different LED options available on the phone

The primary camera is good for daylight photos but can produce decent night results. Photos offer good details, colours, and white balance. Even low-light photos with enough lighting offer good details, albeit with some noise.

The secondary camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide, is okay for daylight photos, but you’ll see colour inaccuracy between the two rear sensors. Low-light photos with the ultrawide camera are blurry and have a watercolour-like effect.

I’m not sure why Vivo markets this as a pro camera for Portraits, as the phone doesn’t even have a depth sensor. It uses the primary camera, and you get to choose between a 1x or 2x crop. However, the results are somewhat nice, and you get a decent blur effect, but the edge detection could’ve been better. The Aura light also helps take nice portrait photos at night.

Portrait shot with Aura Light enabled

Switching over to the front, the 50-megapixel Samsung JN1 sensor with autofocus does a good job with selfies. The skin colours are mostly accurate, the colours are nice, and there’s a good amount of detail. Selfies in low-light conditions aren’t that great, though.

Moving on to video, you can record at 4K 30fps from the main rear and the front cameras. There is stabilisation available as well, which does a decent job of removing shakiness, but panning is janky. Video quality is decent when there’s a lot of light, with slightly boosted colours. However, I did notice that the dynamic range and white balance are all over the place.

Vivo V40e Battery: Impressive

• Capacity – 5,500mAh
• Charging speed – 80W
• Charger – 80W in the box

The battery performance of the Vivo V40e, as I’ve mentioned in the subheading, is impressive. The 5,500mAh battery easily lasts a day and more with regular usage. In our HD video loop test, the phone managed to last over 32 hours on a single charge. This was with the refresh rate set to 120Hz. Not a lot of phones in this price segment can manage that.

Charging is a quick affair

Charging is quite fast, thanks to the included 80W charger. A full charge from 0 to 100 percent took about an hour. It also doesn’t heat much when charging.

Vivo V40e Verdict

While the Vivo V40e is definitely not the one to get if you’re after Portrait photography, it is something I’d recommend if you want amazing battery life and a good-looking design. The Royal Bronze option is nice to look at, and the curved edges make the phone easy to hold. The phone also has a large, bright display for most conditions. Sound output is decent, the primary rear camera and the front camera are good during the day, and performance is also pretty decent.

As for alternatives, you can go for the Nothing Phone 2a Plus (Review) if you want a more unique design and better performance. The OnePlus Nord 4 (Review) is also an excellent choice if you prefer better cameras and much higher performance. There’s also the Infinix Zero 40 (Review), which offers much better performance and a good main rear camera.

Apple rolled out the stable version of macOS 15 update, also known as macOS Sequoia, to all users on Monday. However, it appears the update has created some unexpected issues for users, especially around third-party security tools. As per a report, the Cupertino-based giant’s operating system (OS) is breaking down network-based security software by Microsoft, CrowdStrike, and others. Since the security tool makers offer enterprise-grade tools, the update could have put businesses running exclusively on Mac devices at risk. Currently, the cause of the issue is unknown.

TechCrunch reports that the macOS Sequoia update has impacted the functionality of security tools developed by Microsoft, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, and other manufacturers. The publication cited a Mac-focused Slack channel where many users complained about the issue.

Gadgets 360 staff members also found Reddit multiple threads where users found that the security apps were not working after updating macOS. Some claimed the lack of support for the security tools could be because of numerous glitches in the operating system.

One user said, “Amazing it isn’t supported yet. Beta’s have been available for a while, dev builds even earlier – I assume they have a dev account. Unless something is really, really, broken on Apple’s side – there isn’t an excuse.”

The main concern with this issue is that Mac devices are used by many organisations exclusively, and issues with security systems can pose a major risk. As per the report, one CrowdStrike sales engineer mentioned in the abovementioned Slack room that the security tools will not be supported despite the company’s best efforts on day one. It is unclear whether the tool is currently supported or not.

Another Reddit user claimed that the macOS Sequoia issues are affecting apps outside of the security tools as well. The user found that almost 90 percent of the apps were suffering from issues in the M1 Max-powered MacBook Pro. “Also met the wifi issue, fully cannot access the internet even tho can connect to phone hotspot[..]if it is still like this, then tomorrow I will do nothing at work,” he added.

Will Dormann, a security researcher, posted on Mastodon that he faced issues with DNS for several apps as well as the firewall working properly on his device. So far, Apple has not issued any statement regarding when these issues will be fixed.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim could join the upcoming Galaxy S25 series of handsets. Previous reports have claimed that the “Slim” version may come with watered-down features of the base Galaxy S25 variant. Now, a new leak suggests the probable camera details of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim. The rumoured slimmer model is expected to be unveiled a few months after the launch of the flagship Galaxy S25 lineup. The Galaxy S25 series is tipped to be introduced globally at a Galaxy Unpacked event on January 22, 2025.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim Camera Details (Expected)

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim is expected to get a triple rear camera unit comprising a 1/1.56-inch 200-megapixel ISOCELL HP5 sensor, according to an X post by tipster Sanju Choudhary (@saaaanjjjuuu). The two other camera units are tipped to be 1/2.76-inch 50-megapixel ISOCELL JN5 sensors paired with an ultrawide lens and a telephoto shooter with 3.5x optical zoom.

The tipster added that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim will likely use the company’s new All Lenses on Prism (ALoP) camera technology. It is claimed to reduce the size of a telephoto shooter and help maintain a slimmer camera module.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim Launch (Expected)

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim will likely be launched in the second quarter of next year or Q2 2025, according to the tipster. This suggests that we could see the handset in the market between the months of April and June. A similar timeline had previously been suggested as well. The phone is expected to compete with Apple’s purported thinner handset, tipped to be dubbed either the iPhone 17 Slim or iPhone 17 Air.

Notably, the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, including the vanilla Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+, and Galaxy S25 Ultra, is tipped to be unveiled at a Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco, US, on January 23, 2025. Owing to time zone differences, the phone could launch in certain markets on January 22.

Microsoft Designer app, which was so far only available in preview, was released globally on Wednesday. The app is available across Android and iOS mobile platforms and on Windows desktops and is free to download and install. The Designer platform was first announced last year and has been available on the Web and via the Microsoft Edge browser for a few months. On the Web, it can be found within the Copilot platform. Interestingly, the tech giant has decided to keep the app separate from the Copilot app for Android and iOS.

Microsoft Designer App Released Globally

The company announced the launch of the app in a blog post and said, “Today we’re announcing that the Microsoft Designer app is now generally available with a personal Microsoft account, with new features that help you create and edit like never before.” Users will require a personal Microsoft account to use the Designer app.

The Microsoft Designer app is an artificial intelligence (AI) image generator that works slightly differently than standard text-to-image generators. It is powered by OpenAI’s Dall-E model. The app can create images, social posts, invitations, stickers, wallpapers, avatars, and more. Users can pick what they want to generate from the options on the home screen and type a text prompt for what they want to generate.

Alternatively, they can also pick from several templates that create the framework for the image. Users will then only have to fill in the blanks to tell the AI what needs to be created. The second method is useful for those who need some inspiration to get started. Apart from image generation, the app also uses AI to edit all images. Currently, the two available editing tools include remove background and blur background.

The free users of the app will get 15 credits per day to generate images where each image consumes one credit, unless the prompt is too complex. Per generation, users will get four variations of the image. To generate more images, users will require the Copilot Pro subscription. In India, the Copilot Pro subscription is priced at Rs. 2,000 a month per user. It also includes Copilot access in Microsoft Office apps.

Vivo has confirmed the India launch date of Vivo Y300 5G. The Chinese smartphone brand has also shared the first look of its next Y series phone through social media handles and a dedicated landing page on its website. It is teased to be available in at least three colour options. The Vivo Y300 seems to have a dual rear camera unit. It will arrive as a successor to last year’s Vivo Y200. The handset could be a rebrand of the Vivo V40 Lite which was launched in select global markets in September.

Through its X handle, Vivo India announced that the Vivo Y300 5G will be unveiled in India on November 21. As per the post, the launch event will begin at 12pm. It is teased in black, green, and silver shades.

Vivo has created a dedicated landing page on its website for the Vivo Y300 5G giving us a glimpse of the design. It houses a vertical dual-camera setup at the rear. The arrangement of camera sensors and the LED flash are quite similar to the Vivo V40 Lite, which debuted earlier this year in Indonesia. Even the teased shades of the Vivo Y300 5G resemble the Dynamic Black and Titanium Silver colourways of the Vivo V40 Lite 5G.

Vivo V40 Lite 5G Price, Specifications

Vivo V40 Lite 5G was launched in Indonesia with a starting price tag of IDR 4,299,000 (roughly Rs. 23,700) for the 8GB + 256GB option. It has a 6.67-inch full-HD+ (1,080 x 2,400 pixels) AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate, a Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 SoC paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM, and up to 512GB of UFS 2.2 onboard storage.

The handset has a dual rear camera unit, including a 50-megapixel Sony IMX882 primary sensor and an 8-megapixel ultrawide shooter. The Vivo V40 Lite 5G has a 32-megapixel front camera and houses a 5,000mAh battery with 80W wired fast charging support.

The Vivo Y300 5G is expected to have these exact specifications too when it goes official in India next week.