Vivo V40 vs Vivo V30: What’s the difference?

Vivo clearly distinguishes its X-series and V-series, but with the launch of Vivo V40 and Vivo V40 Pro, the Chinese smartphone maker brought features seen on its flagship lineup to the V-series. Back in August, when Vivo launched the V40 series, they came equipped with a thinner design, Zeiss cameras, and IP rating that were staple for the X-series.

As Indian consumers increasingly invest in premium smartphones, the Vivo V40 series has emerged as a great option in the sub-Rs 50,000 price segment. However, how does it stack up against its predecessor? Is Vivo V40 really different from V30? Let’s find out in our detailed comparison of these two devices.

Vivo V40 vs V30: The battle of the V-series smartphones

As per a Counterpoint Research report, Vivo was the leading smartphone brand in India during the third quarter of 2024. It led the volume share and was the third major brand in value share. The Vivo V-series is aimed to help the company expand its value share as premiumisation becomes the theme in India’s smartphone market.

Vivo V40 vs Vivo V30: Design and display

While both Vivo V30 and V40 use a plastic frame with a glass back, the former is lighter at 186 grams and also thinner by 0.1mm. The difference is obvious when you look at the back of these devices. The Vivo V40 has an oval cutout for the cameras while the V30 has a rectangular layout. The Zeiss camera branding on the V40 makes a statement in this price segment.

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While Vivo V30 comes in andaman blue, peacock green, and classic black colours, the V40 is being offered in ganges blue, lotus purple, and titanium grey colour option. The design is not a huge departure but the small iterative changes speak volumes of the premiumisation of V-series.

Both Vivo V30 and V40 feature a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz. While the V30’s display peaked at 2,800 nits, the V40 goes up to 4,500 nits of peak brightness. Both are well-designed smartphones with large displays producing deep black, rich colours, and easy to read under direct sunlight.

Vivo V40 vs Vivo V30: Hardware and software

One area where the Vivo V40 doesn’t differ much from its predecessor is in terms of the processor under the hood. Both Vivo V30 and Vivo V40 are powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chip. This is an octa-core chip with one Cortex A715 core clocked at 2.63GHz, three Cortex A715 cores clocked at 2.4GHz, and four Cortex A510 cores clocked at 1.8GHz.

This is a midrange chip producing a decent performance for both everyday tasks as well as gaming when paired with an Adreno 720 GPU. Vivo V30 comes with either 8GB or 12GB of RAM and an option for 128GB or 256GB storage. Vivo V40 comes with up to 12GB RAM and 512GB storage and they both run Funtouch OS 14 based on Android 14 with promised update to Android 15.

The meaningful hardware difference comes in the form of a larger 5,500mAh battery with 80W wired charging support on the V40 while the V30 settles for a 5,000mAh battery. The V40 also has IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, which is much more assuring in terms of ingress protection than the IP54 seen on the Vivo V30. Both support Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 but lack NFC.

Vivo V40 vs Vivo V30: Cameras

The camera is one of the main reasons to consider the Vivo V40 over the Vivo V30. If we only look at numbers, they both have dual 50MP rear cameras and a single 50MP selfie shooter but the real difference comes in how Vivo uses them. For one, the Vivo V40’s main 50-megapixel shooter is not as wide as its predecessor.

It has a f/1.9 aperture and optical image stabilisation to deliver Zeiss-style portraits. There are a total of 7 types of Zeiss bokeh effects including B-Speed style bokeh, planar style bokeh, distagon style bokeh, sonar style bokeh, biotar style bokeh, cine-flare portrait, and cinematic style bokeh.

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While you can use these portrait styles at focal lengths ranging from 24mm to 50mm, the Zeiss collab also extends to video to deliver features like cinematic style video with focus transition. There is a 50MP ultrawide camera and the flash, called Aura Light by Vivo, delivers up to 33 per cent higher brightness. At the front, you get a 50MP camera for selfies and there are AI features to tweak your photos. 

Vivo V40 vs Vivo V30: Pricing

Vivo V40 starts at Rs 34,999 for the base model with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. The variant with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage retails for Rs 36,999 while the 12GB RAM variant with 512GB storage will set you back by Rs 41,999. While it is a fair bit of money, the premium price seems to be justified when one takes into account the Vivo V30 starting at Rs 29,999 for the 8GB RAM variant with 128GB storage.

With the Vivo V40, you are getting a smartphone that not only looks premium but also delivers a premium experience. It has a camera setup that delivers an experience found only on more premium phones from Vivo. Vivo has tuned the camera to take advantage of AI and its overall performance make it a great device under Rs 40,000.