Vivo T3 Lite Review After 30 Days: Is Vivo’s Cheapest 5G Phone Worth Your Money?

The Vivo T3 Lite 5G starts at Rs.10,499 for the base variant with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage in India. The 6GB+128GB variant retails for Rs.11,499.It is available in Vibrant Green and Majestic Black on the Vivo India website and Flipkart.

The Vivo T3 Lite packs the following items inside the box:

• Phone
• Box
• Case
• USB Cable

Before we talk in detail about the Vivo T3 Lite 5G, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

• Display: 6.56 inches IPS LCD with 90Hz refresh rate
• Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 6300
• RAM & ROM: 4GB RAM 128GB Storage, 6GB RAM 128GB Storage
• Software: FunTouch OS 14 based on Android 14
• Rear camera: 50MP+2MP
• Selfie camera: 8MP
• Battery: 5,000mAh
• Weight: 185 grams
• Dimensions: 163.6 x 75.6 x 8.4 mm

The Vivo T3 Lite has a plastic build design and a matte finish on the back. The Vivo T3 Lite 5G is available in two colours: Vibrant Green and Majestic Black, and I have the former for review. The company also bundles a transparent TPU case which improves the phone’s grip.

The back features a dual camera setup accompanied by an LED flash. This is housed in a vertical camera module with a shimmery finish that distinguishes it from the rest of the phone.

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The rest of the phone remains clean except for the Vivo branding in the bottom left corner. Despite the large screen, the phone weighs only 185 grams and is just 8.4mm thick.

Regarding ports and placements, the volume rockers and power buttons are on the right. The left remains largely empty except for the SIM card slot.

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The speaker grill is at the top while the rest is clean.

Similarly, you get the USB-C port,3.5mm headphone jack, and microphone are at the bottom. The Vivo T3 Lite has an IP64 rating for protection against splashes of water and dust.

The Vivo T3 Lite sports a 50-megapixel primary Sony camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. In addition, there is an 8-megapixel selfie shooter.

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During the day, the 50-megapixel camera can take some good shots with plenty of details and adequate lighting. However, it sometimes misses the exposure, which is understandable given the phone’s budget price. Budget phones generally have barely usable cameras, and the T3 Lite continues this trend, although the output can sometimes surprise you.

When it comes to low-light shots, the phone can take some good shots in indoor lighting, but the magic fades away as soon as you get outside. There is a noticeable graininess present in the images, and turning on the night mode reduces it to some extent.

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This lack of detail or sharpness is particularly evident in objects like trees or wires that struggle to keep them in focus.But this is again something you will notice on most budget phones so nothing extraordinary here.

The 8-megapixel selfie camera can take some great shots with natural skin tones and details. Vivo can fine-tune the primary camera and the selfie camera with future updates. The front and rear cameras can shoot videos at up to 1080p at 30 FPS. Overall, the Vivo T3 Lite is a decent performer, given that most budget phones only have an acceptable camera output in this price range.

The Vivo T3 Lite packs a massive 5,000mAh battery with 15W charging support, but no charger is included in the box. This is disappointing because most consumers in this segment are price-conscious, and purchasing a charger separately will only affect their buying decisions.Even some more cheaper devices I have reviewed provide a charger in the box but the Vivo T3 Lite doesn’t.

The 5,000mAh battery can easily last a day due to the 720p resolution, which is suitable for casual usage. My usage includes scrolling through Instagram reels, taking pictures, watching TV shows, and browsing online.

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However, the 15W charging means the phone requires around 2 hours to charge, so it’s better to charge it fully overnight. Moreover, you will need to buy a PD charger since the company does not provide one in the box, which adds to the overall cost of the device.

The Vivo T3 Lite sports a 6.56-inch HD+IPS LCD screen with a 90Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 840 nits. The phone has a teardrop notch that looks dated in 2024, with sizeable bezels surrounding the screen.

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Despite the huge screen, these bezels and LCD panels will remind you that you are using a budget smartphone. During the day, the screen is easily visible indoors; however, you will need to struggle to view it outdoors due to the 840 nits of peak brightness. There is also Eye Protection mode and Adaptive Brightness to adjust the brightness and protect your eyes.

Thanks to the large screen, content consumption remains as I enjoyed watching Mirazpur Season 3 on Amazon Prime Video. However, I did miss the punchy blacks and punch-hole cutout that some of the other phones offer in this price range.

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There is also support for a 90Hz refresh rate, which results in a smooth and fluid scrolling experience. You can switch between Standard (60Hz), High (90Hz) and Smart Switch which automatically adjusts the refresh rate based on your usage.

For security, you get a fast and accurate side-mounted fingerprint sensor. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack and microSD card slot for expansion. In addition, there is a mono speaker at the bottom of the phone, which is loud enough to fill an entire room.

The MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor powers the phone, paired with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of eMMC 5.1 storage. This is the same chipset found in phones like the Lava Blaze X, Realme Narzo N65, and the Oppo A3 Pro 5G.

The phone runs smoothly during day-to-day usage, and there are barely any lags or stutters. I tried opening multiple apps in the background, such as Instagram, YouTube, etc. It easily handles all of them, and you also get virtual RAM support up to 6GB.

When it comes to intensive tasks like gaming, you can play BGMI at Smooth graphics and Ultra frame rate (40 FPS). Moreover, there is also a dedicated game mode with plenty of options including Vivo’s 4D vibration which gives haptic feedback in when shooting in BGMI. Similarly, you can play Call of Duty Mobile at Medium graphics and High frame rate (60 FPS).

Regarding benchmarks, the phone scored 730 in the single-core test and 1751 in the multi-core test. Furthermore, it throttles to 93 per cent in the 15-minute CPU throttling test and has a stability score of 99.2 per cent in the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test. In the AnTuTu Benchmark, it achieves a 408391 score and a score of 14209 in the AnTuTu storage test. Overall, the Vivo T3 Lite is a great performer for the price, and you can even enjoy games on it at 60 FPS.

The Vivo T3 Lite runs on FunTouch OS 14 out of the box, based on Android 14. However, the device’s update policy is unclear, but you can at least expect one OS update in the future.

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Similar to other budget phones, you get plenty of bloatware apps like Candy Crush, Amazon, EasyShare, Facebook and more. Thankfully, you can easily uninstall these apps from the Settings. Apart from these preinstalled apps, you also get dark patterns and unwanted notifications.

The rest of the FunTouch 14 experience is excellent, as you get various unique features such as split screen, small window, and a smart sidebar. Furthermore, features like S-Capture, Smart Motion, Quick Action, and action mapping for the power button exist.

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However, one thing worth noting is that app opening and closing animations are missing, which might be jarring to some users. This is likely to reduce the load on the processor and keep the app opening and closing times quick.