Vivo Y17 Hands-on

The newest member of Vivo’s Y series, the Y17, arrived in the Philippines recently. Different from the other smartphones in the lineup, the Y17 has a sizeable screen and a massive battery capacity. Check out what else makes the Y17 stand out from its other Y siblings!

The Y17 has an HD+ display measuring at 6.35-inches. Located at the upper center of the screen is a water drop notch where the 20MP shooter resides. Apart from the slightly broad chin, the rest of the bezels that surround the screen are pretty slim. The smartphone feels pretty firm in the hands, and its rounded edges make it comfortable to hold.

Turning it over the rear, we’re greeted by what Vivo dubs as a “mirror finish”. The smartphone appears to have a glass construction, however, it’s actually made of plastic. Still, the glossy plastic rear collects an abundant amount of fingerprints and smudges. Vivo does provide a clear case in the box in case you’re not a fan of smudges.

Situated on the rear is the triple camera setup, consisting of a 13MP main + 8MP wide-angle + 2MP depth shooters. The lenses protrude slightly from the rear but it doesn’t make the phone wobble on surfaces. The cameras are arranged together vertically, accented by a gold lining, and the LED flash can be found right below them. A fingerprint scanner can also be found on the phone’s rear.

On the right, we have the volume and power buttons. They’re both pretty clicky, well-positioned, and are easily reachable even with just a hand.

On the left side, one can find the SIM tray slot and the dedicated microSD card slot.

There’s nothing at the top of the Y17, while the bottom is crammed with the 3.5mm headphone jack, a micro USB port, a microphone, and a single downward-firing speaker. It would have been nice if Vivo equipped this smartphone with a USB-C port instead of a micro USB one.

Powering up the Y17 is a MediaTek Helio P35 processor, with PowerVR GE8320 GPU running alongside it. The device sports 4GB RAM, 128GB of storage, a hefty 5,000mAh battery capacity capable of 18W dual-engine fast charging, and runs on Android 9 Pie. We’ll be running this phone for a full review, so stay tuned for that.

Vivo Y17 specs:

6.35-inch HD+ (720 x 1544 px) 19.3:9 IPS display, 268ppi
Octa-core 2.3GHz MediaTek Helio P35
PowerVR GE8320 GPU
4GB RAM
128GB internal storage
13MP F2.2 PDAF (main) + 8MP F2.2 (wide-angle)+ 2MP F2.4 (depth) triple rear cameras
20MP f/2.0 front camera
4G LTE
Single SIM or Dual SIM
WiFi 802.12 b/g/n
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS, A-GPS
FM radio
Fingerprint scanner
Android 9 Pie
5000mAh battery with 18W fast charging
159.4 x 76.8 x 8.9mm
190.5g
Mineral Blue, Mystic Purple

The Vivo Y17 is priced at PHP 12,999USD 222INR 18,778EUR 211CNY 1,613 and can be purchased nationwide.