Probably the only Android brand that has a consistent design philosophy across price brackets — affordable to flagship — is Vivo. One look and you will probably purchase any of the company’s recent launches. And Vivo Y73 is no exception. Clean design, light and sturdy. But it’s not about judging a book by its cover or the title. Do the innards of the Y32 deliver? Let’s find out.

Four hits and a miss

That the Y73 is one of the best-looking phones you can lay your hands on is an understatement. Aim for the Diamond Flare variant which has a rear panel that can be free of smudges, allowing you to do away with a back cover. The camera module is shaped out of the same design philosophy we see in more expensive models, like the Vivo X60. At times, I get the feeling that the phone was made for the offline segment where customers walk out of the shop carrying the best-looking phone. Recently, Xiaomi too made a good attempt at designing a pleasant-to-the-eye device, the Mi 11 Lite in which design and camera shapes the price point. It’s the same case here. But, the phone scores only nine out of 10 in the design segment because of the waterdrop, dewdrop or whatever-drop notch on the front. It’s very 2019.

Helping it nudge competition is the camera. Once again, Vivo has had a good year when it comes to camera. Yes, it’s slightly on the saturated side but hey, it’s okay. Instead of making most users reach for the photo editor, the camera does it naturally. There’s really nothing wrong with the main 64MP sensor. Point, shoot, and post it on Instagram. The dynamic range is quite good and so are some of the filters.

But where the phone takes a hit is the absence of a wide-angle lens while retaining 2MP bokeh and 2MP macro sensors, which are good but useless because these results can be achieved through computing power. Here’s a phone that even shoots 4K videos very well, even at night and has good stable performance but why leave out the wide-angle lens?

The third winning point is the MediaTek Helio G95 processor, which is not the fastest of chips but it’s good enough for day-to-day activities and playing games. There were no issues during the 10 days we experienced the phone.

Equally impressive is the 6.44-inch Amoled FHD+ screen. The blacks are inky, the screen gets bright and the colours pop. It’s a great screen for watching streaming content.

Should you buy it?

Some may say the battery could have been bigger than the 4,000mAh one that powers the device. It’s sufficient to last a day and inside the box is a 33W fast-charger, which does its magic efficiently. If you have been a Vivo phone user and looking for a device for a family member who doesn’t mind the absence of the ultra-wide lens, then go for it. The price one is paying is for design. So you have to decide how important a factor that is. There is some bloatware, which can be uninstalled and just be careful while agreeing to the terms while using the device the first time. Otherwise, there is a decent amount of customisation available on Funtouch OS 11.1. Vivo Y73 is anything but a boring black brick; it’s a snazzy blower.

More about the smartphone

Pictures taken using the Vivo Y73 come out slightly oversaturated but it’s good for social media

Device: Vivo Y73

Price: Rs 20,990 (8GB+128GB); supports micro SD

High notes

• No-compromise design

• Good build quality

• Very light

• Instagram-worthy output from the main snapper

Muffled notes

• Ultra-wide camera missing

• Teardrop notch is very 2019

You can also look at Mi 11 Lite, Realme 8 Pro, Samsung Galaxy M31s