Vivo V17 vs Xiaomi Redmi K20: Battle of the mid-rangers

Vivo has just launched Vivo V17, the younger brother to Vivo V17 Pro that launched in September this year. The new smartphone comes with the same Snapdragon 675 SoC that runs on the Pro version and also has the same screen size.

The V17, however, comes with a bigger battery (4,500mAh), and a different camera set up on the back (48-megapixel, 8-megapixel, 2-megapixel, and 2-megapixel). The phone comes with a single camera on the front (32-megapixel) housed in a punch-hole module. Vivo has dropped the pop-up front camera mechanism for this model.

Priced at ₹22,990, Vivo V17 is set to take on a range of under ₹25,000 smartphones including Samsung Galaxy A50s and Xiaomi Redmi K20.

Going strictly by price, the closest competitor to Vivo V17 is Xiaomi Redmi K20 that is currently available for ₹21,999 for the 6GB/64GB variant. Here's how they face off:

Price

The Vivo V17 hits stores at ₹22,990 on December 17. The smartphone is available in only one configuration - the 8GB, 128GB variant.

Xiaomi K20, on the other hand, is available in 6GB, 64GB, and 6GB, 128GB models, priced at ₹21,990 and ₹22,999 respectively.

Design, display

Vivo V17 has a 6.44-inch E3 Super AMOLED screen with full HD+ resolution. It has a plastic frame and an in-display fingerprint sensor. Vivo V17 is available in two colours - Black (Midnight Ocean) and White (Glacier Ice).

Xiaomi Redmi K20 comes with a 6.39-inch AMOLED display and a full HD+ resolution and a 91.9% screen-to-body ratio. There is also the in-display fingerprint sensor and a plastic frame in this device too.

The smartphone comes in three colours - Flame Red, Glacier Blue and Carbon Black. The Flame Red and Glacier Blue feature the exquisite flame patters along the edges which gives this phone its signature look.

Camera

Vivo V17's 32-megapixel front camera is housed in a punch-hole setup and is among the smallest cutouts we have seen to date.

One the back, the Vivo V17 has a 48-megapixel main shooter with a wide f/1.8 aperture and phase detection autofocus, an 8-megapixel ultra wide-angle camera, a 2-megapixel dedicated macro sensor, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor in an L-shape, housed in a rectangular module on the top left of the device which also houses the flash.

Xiaomi Redmi K20 has a 20-megapixel pop-up selfie camera which gives more real estate to the display as compared to Vivo V17.

The Redmi K20 has three cameras on the back - a main 48-megapixel shooter with an f/1.75 aperture and the Sony IMX582 sensor, an 8-megapixel telephoto lens and a 13-megapixel super wide-angle lens. These are all stacked vertically in the centre along with the flash. The K20 also has the 3D curvature design which makes it nicer to hold in hand thanks to the curved edges.

Performance

Xiaomi Redmi K20 is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 730 SoC whereas V17 runs on Snapdragon 675 processor. The Redmi K20 here has an obvious edge over the V17, the SoC under its hood is faster and more performance intensive. Also, there are cheaper phones in the market right now that ship with the Snapdragon 675 chipset, such as Samsung Galaxy M40 (₹17,999), Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro (₹13,080 for 128GB) and a few others from Vivo's own stables.

However, the V17 Pro comes with more in-house storage and an option to expand it by another 128GB at the max with a microSD card if you so desire. The Redmi K20 comes in the 64GB and 128GB options only.

The Vivo V17 has a 4,500 mAh battery with an 18W fast charge support while the K20 comes with a 4,000 mAh battery and also supports 18W fast charge and Quick Charge 3.0.

On the software front, Vivo V17 runs Funtouch OS 9.2 based on Android Pie while Xiaomi Redmi K20 runs MIUI 10. Vivo V17 comes with an optimised game mode, however, it might not be able to compare with what Redmi K20 delivers.

Take away,

Vivo V17 might have some specs where it beats Xiaomi's Redmi K20, such as battery size and camera. The Xiaomi phone scores big in the other departments such as better chipset, better design, more screen real estate etc, making it a better and cheaper option under ₹25,000. Also, the Redmi K20 looks SO much better than the V17.