The vivo V60 is the kind of phone that quietly makes you take more pictures. It does that not by flashy gimmicks but by handing you tools that actually make photography easier and more rewarding. Co-engineered with ZEISS, its headline feature — a 50MP ZEISS Super Telephoto camera — is the clearest statement of intent: this is a phone built for people who want telephoto portrait results without lugging a DSLR. For 20- to 35-year-olds who value creative control, events coverage and strong social output, the V60 is a very persuasive package.

Point the camera at a distant subject and the first impression is detail. The telephoto uses the flagship Sony IMX882 sensor with a 1/1.95-inch base and an f/2.65 aperture, allowing up to 100x reach when you need it. At everyday zooms it produces crisp, high-contrast images with surprisingly little fuss. Shot at 50MP, the telephoto pulls in texture and highlights that usually belong to much more expensive gear; from festival stages to candid street portraits, you get usable files with real presence.

vivo didn’t stop at long reach. The ZEISS Multifocal Portrait system expands the phone’s portrait toolbox with 85mm and 100mm focal lengths alongside the familiar 23mm, 35mm and 50mm options. The 85mm is the sweet spot for outdoor portraits — it balances subject and background naturally — while the 100mm gives cinematic closeups with pleasing compression and subject isolation. ZEISS color science helps too: skin tones and tonal transitions are handled with restraint, so images look polished without looking overprocessed.

If you want creative toys, the V60 brings practical ones. AI Four-Season Portrait lets you apply convincing seasonal moods — winter in Manila is now a button away — while AI Magic Move and AI Image Expander let you rearrange compositions and widen frames with minimal effort. These are not mere filters; they lower the barrier to making images that feel editorial. For young creators who post, edit and iterate on the fly, these features are invitation and accelerator in one.

Hardware that supports daily life is as important as hardware that makes pretty pictures. The V60’s 6500mAh BlueVolt battery is a revelation in ordinary behavior: heavy streaming, social media, maps and photo sessions across a day or two are handled without anxiety. In my testing it took days before the battery nudged low-power mode. When you do need a top-up, 90W FlashCharge is impressively quick — 25 percent in around 20 minutes — so short breaks yield real runtime.

Performance is clean and unfussy thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4. The phone feels snappy in everything from long social sessions and multitasking to heavier gaming. vivo’s software and the chip partner well: apps open fast, transitions are smooth, and I experienced no freezes or jarring slowdowns while using the device as my primary work and entertainment hub.

Ruggedness is no afterthought. With IP68 and IP69 ratings the V60 can shrug off rainy commutes and dusty concert grounds. Build and ergonomics are pleasant — a quad-curved display that reads premium without being delicate — and the stereo speakers are lively enough for casual media consumption.

For anyone who treats a phone as a daily camera, the V60 is a rare mid-premium that genuinely raises the baseline. It asks you to create more and worry less: better long-range optics, useful AI, battery that lasts and performance that keeps up. It is a phone that becomes part of your routine — my television, doom-scrolling machine, radio, email workhorse and camera — and never got in the way. For a simple man who only complains when something is truly wrong, there was nothing to complain about.

Available in Berry Purple, Summer Blue and Mist Gray, the vivo V60 comes in 12GB+256GB priced at Php 28,999 and 12GB+512GB at Php 30,999. Pre-orders are open until 12 September. Enjoy up to Php 2,500 discounts and over Php 8,000 worth of freebies when you pre-order.

If you want a telephoto portrait machine that doubles as an all-day power phone, the V60 deserves serious consideration.