The notch trend shot to fame after Apple debuted iPhone X last year and soon, it was adopted by Android smartphone makers across price segments.

Now, the waterdrop notch trend is catching up and handset makers are going almost bezel-less without compromising on the status bar space.

However, it is still debated whether the water-droplet style notch is aesthetically better than the traditional notch design.

This design essentially houses the selfie shooter only while other components such as the earpiece and sensors are usually placed on a slim cut-out at the top of the screen.

Chinese smartphone player Vivo is the latest to introduce this design in its V11 Pro.

The device has been launched in India for Rs 25,990 and comes with a fingerprint sensor that is integrated into the display, like the premium Vivo NEX and Vivo X21. Here's our review of the V11 Pro.

Vivo has built a reputation of successfully bringing the under display fingerprint scanning technology to the masses with "X21" and "NEX" smartphones.

Vivo V11 Pro is no different and it is the cheapest handset in the market to offer an in-display fingerprint sensor at this price point.

In fact, the curved rear with the polycarbonate (glass-finish design) ensured that the phone was comfortable for single-handed use. Not using metal and glass makes the device incredibly light and durable as well.

The right side houses the power button and volume rockers which are made of metal.

The 6.41-inch "Halo FullView" screen takes up most of the front and the bottom bezels are even slimmer now, while the water droplet style notch at the top leaves almost all of the status bar for users.

In terms of design language, the V11 Pro definitely scores over Xiaomi's Poco F1.

The AMOLED screen made sure the display was bright and vivid with a good saturation and contrast ratio.

The images and text looked sharp on the AMOLED display panel, which is essential for having an under display fingerprint scanner.

According to Vivo, the smartphone comes with the fourth generation in-display fingerprint scanner, which is faster.

We, however, did not see a noticeable difference between the fingerprint sensor in Vivo NEX and this device.

The 12MP+5MP primary camera comes with dual pixel autofocus but lacks optical image stabilisation (OIS).

We especially liked the auto HDR mode which resulted in crisp and well-balanced pictures with the right amount of exposure of dark and bright areas.

Just like the Vivo X21, the V11 Pro was quick to fix focus on the subject. The primary snapper also handled low-light photography quite well.

The 25MP front snapper took some great portrait shots. It can, thus, be safe to say this is the best selfie camera in this price segment.

Another high point of the smartphone is its 3400mAh battery which lasted a day and a half on a single charge.

The company's own FunTouch OS 4.5 based on Android 8.1 Oreo is customised but, thankfully, that doesn't result in performance lags. Day-to-day activities and multi-tasking was smooth on the device.

What does not work?

It was disappointing to see a Micro-USB port instead of a future-proof USB-type C port on the smartphone.

While Vivo may have mastered the in-display fingerprint sensor, it is still a little sluggish when compared to rear-mounted fingerprint scanners.

Conclusion: Vivo V11 Pro is a good recipe for an all-rounder smartphone. To sum up, it is a good mix of performance and value.

First Published:Sept 26, 2018 4:36 PM IST