Familiar camera and lens brands are now a familiar sight on the backs of top-end smartphones, but the world of mid-range phones hasn’t seen quite as much love. Vivo is looking to change that by incorporating Zeiss imagery into both versions of its affordable V series for the first time. The Vivo V40 and Vivo V40 Pro also manage to squeeze absolutely massive batteries into impressively slim bodies.

The V40 was officially launched in June, but now the closely related V40 Pro completes the lineup. Both phones bring back Vivo’s signature fill-in flash for their rear cameras, which promises more flattering photos than last year’s V30 Pro. Despite the smaller size, the LEDs here are significantly brighter.

There are 50MP sensors all around, with the V40 getting a Samsung-supplied optically stabilised main sensor and an ultra-wide secondary sensor. The V40 Pro gets its main lens from Sony and adds a dedicated 3.5x optical zoom telephoto lens as well as an ultra-wide angle lens. Both phones also have 50MP selfie cameras with wide fields of view.

Zeiss has once again brought its lens expertise to the table, with bokeh blur effects designed to mimic expensive DSLR glass, as well as color correction and contrast treatment designed to really make your portrait shots pop. This should put them in a good position to compete with the likes of the Google Pixel 8a and Honor 200 Pro for best in class.

In terms of design, the two phones aren’t much different: they have 6.78-inch AMOLED screens up front (complete with 3D curved glass) and a choice of glass rear panels, each with its own distinctive texture effect finish. You can buy it in either Meteor Blue, Moonlight White and Stellar Silver, while the peppier Nebula Purple and Sunglow Peach colors are exclusive to the V40.

At 7.58mm, they’re a tiny bit thicker than last year’s models, but only by a few tenths of a millimeter. They’re still size-zero smartphones, but they still pack 5500mAh batteries. That’s a comfortable 10% more than most mid-range rivals, and you can also charge via USB-C at a speedy 80W.

Both phones feature a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen with 2800 x 1260 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and a whopping 4500 nits peak brightness, as well as HDR10+ support and dual stereo speakers—a first for the V series.

Vivo has played it safe when it comes to performance. The regular V40 gets a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset, 8 or 12GB of RAM, and 128, 256 or 512GB of storage. The V40 Pro relies on MediaTek power instead, with a Dimensity 9200+ CPU, 8 or 12GB of RAM, and 256GB or 512GB of internal storage. Based on my experience with the same chips in other phones, both should be perfectly capable mid-range phones.

Vivo has been pulling out all the stops lately: the X100 Pro offers some of the best cameras of any phone I’ve used in 2024, and the X Fold3 Pro proves the company can compete with the foldable frontrunners with high-end hardware. There are even rumors that the upcoming Vivo X200 series will make its way to more European countries. If the V40 duo can impress for less money, it will definitely be a brand to keep an eye on – even if regional availability is still mixed. So far, only India has been confirmed, with exact pricing yet to be announced.

I got both the Vivo V40 and V40 Pro to test. Get ready for the full reviews.