5G is already a reality in several cities in Brazil, and cell phone manufacturers are starting to focus on this technology in their portfolios. This is the case of ZTE, which brings good entry-level specifications to the ZTE Blade V41 Vita, with some cuts so as not to increase the price too much.
Canaltech received the device for testing, and I bring below my in-depth impressions of a few days of use. In summary, despite delivering good performance, battery life for up to two days and an interesting technical sheet, the cell phone fails in a few points.
pros
- Good specs for the price range
- Battery for up to two days
- 5G support
cons
- Screen with low contrast and low maximum brightness
- Bad quality of selfies in some cases
Design and Construction
- Dimensions: 168.0 x 77.5 x 7.98mm
- Weight: 186 grams
ZTE highlights the thin thickness of the Blade V41 Vita, but the truth is that it is not much less thick than most intermediaries. It’s almost 8 millimeters, about 0.4 mm less than a regular Moto G. And that at the cost of 500 mAh less battery.
Overall, the phone is somewhat reminiscent of the iPhone. However, it is taller and less wide than the iPhone 14 Pro Max due to the difference in screen ratio. The straight sides closely mimic the style of Apple’s most current smartphones.
But the rear is quite different. The painting has a cool light effect, with a vertical stripe running alongside the cameras. The photographic module, incidentally, is interesting, with two large circles that house the main lens, on top, and the two auxiliaries, on the bottom.
The Blade V41 Vita has a fingerprint reader on the side, next to the power button. At the bottom, a USB-C connector and a P2, for headphones. The device is constructed with plastic on the sides and back, and glass on the front.
During the tests, I noticed that a small bump appeared on the back cover, close to where the processor is located. I realized this right after running the first benchmarks on the device, while assessing whether it had warmed up. It could just be a problem with the unit that arrived at the canaltech.
Screen
- Size: 6.6 inches, 104.9 cm² of area, ~83.7% occupancy;
- Panel technology: IPS LCD;
- Resolution and Aspect Ratio: Full HD (1080 x 2408 pixels), 20:9;
- Approximate Density: 400 pixels per inch;
- Extras: 90 Hz.
The idea of the ZTE Blade V41 Vita is to save on some aspects to offer a good experience in others. And one of the points where the manufacturer chose to cut costs was the screen, with an IPS LCD panel, technically inferior to OLED.
But that doesn’t mean the device is bad for playing videos. This type of panel has a slightly lower contrast than OLED and also does not achieve such intense brightness. That is, in addition to black in a dark shade of gray, it can be a little bad to use on the street.
The Full HD resolution and 90 Hz refresh rate are as expected for the price range. Overall, you get a good display, which could be a little better with an OLED panel.
Configuration and Performance
- Operational system: Android 12 under MyOS 12;
- Platform: MediaTek Dimensity 810 (6nm);
- Processor: Octa-core (2x 2.4Ghz Cortex-A76 + 6x 2.0GHz Cortex-A55);
- GPU: Mali-G57 MC2;
- RAM and storage: 6/128 GB.
With the Dimensity 810, the Blade V41 Vita offers performance similar to some entry-level mid-range models, such as the tcl 30 5g and Poco M5. However, only the first of these two also has 5G, one of the differentials of the ZTE cell phone.
That is, it is an entry-level smartphone with 5G, in a way. And with good performance, capable of running even slightly more demanding games like Asphalt 9 and PUBG Mobile with good competence.
The fact that it brings 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage is a bonus. That is, there are characteristics of an entry-level 5G smartphone, but the Blade V41 Vita is slightly above the most basic specifications in the category.
Usability
The MyOS interface used by ZTE has no significant changes for clean Android 12. There are some visual changes, and some features are added. But the use is basically the same, quite intuitive and without major inventions.
I just noticed a few issues. There are incorrect translations on the system screens, but nothing too serious as far as I’ve noticed. Furthermore, the Blade V41 Vita already comes with some pre-installed games that consume part of the internal storage.
Remembering that, in this case, uninstalling these applications does not free up so much space, since they return when doing a factory reset.
Main camera outdoors with cover
Felipe Junqueira/Canaltech
cameras
- Main: 50 MP, f/1.8 aperture, autofocus;
- Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4 aperture;
- Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4 aperture;
- Selfies: 8 MP, f/2.0 aperture;
- Videos: 1080p at 30 fps (maximum).
With a 50 MP main sensor, the Blade V41 Vita manages to deliver a pretty decent job in photography. The device has a good dynamic range, and generally compensates bright areas well so as not to blow out, while still showing details in dark regions.
The macro already has a slightly lower dynamic range, and has more washed out colors. But it also manages to offer a satisfactory job, especially if we consider that it is only 2 MP. For social networks, you can take very interesting photos with this secondary sensor.
The third camera only serves to help with portrait mode. It’s not a perfect crop, but with patience you can get good, professional-looking photographs.
Selfies and video recording
It’s the front camera that’s the biggest problem. It is possible to take good selfies with the Blade V41 Vita, but you need to be careful with the lighting. The dynamic range isn’t the best, and you can end up with a face that’s too bright on one side and lacking in detail on the other.
The worst is in video recording. It seems that HDR just doesn’t work on moving pictures, especially the front view. Also, the cell phone is limited to Full HD resolution.
Videos recorded with the Blade V41 Vita
Sound system
An intermediate cell phone that borders the entry category would hardly have stereo sound. And the Blade V41 Vita is no exception to the rule, with a mono audio system, whose output is at the bottom of the device.
It’s not impeccable sound quality, but overall it’s worth the expense. Higher volumes have a little distortion. The focus is on the mids, without much damage to the highs and lows, at least.
The device has a headphone jack and can also be used with Bluetooth headphones and speakers.
Battery and Charging
- Battery capacity: 4500mAh;
- Recharge: 22.5W wired.
The Blade V41 Vita does not have 5,000 mAh like most current intermediaries. There are only 500 mAh less, and the device has good energy efficiency to deliver usage time close to that of its competitors.
In the video playback test, the device had a prediction of almost 17 hours straight on Netflix. And that’s always connected to Wi-Fi (no downloaded videos) and with the screen brightness at 50%.
As for actual use, with apps like YouTube, Google Chrome, Instagram, Twitter and some games, the ZTE device has increased its usage expectancy. There were more than 20 hours, which indicates more than a day away from the socket, since the average screen time of Brazilians is greater than that of the test.
At Canaltech, we test with 3h40min of screen time in 6 hours. By our test, the ZTE Blade V41 Vita can handle more than 12 hours of screen time without recharging. That is, about two days away from the socket considering the average use of Brazilians, which stood at 5.4 hours in 2021, according to the State of Mobile report.
Usage and recharge times
- Netflix: up to 16.7 hours
- Actual Usage: approximately 20.7 hours (consumption of 4.8 pp/h)
- Recharge:
In about 15 minutes, 25% loaded. It got close to 50% in half an hour, and then it took another hour to get to 100%. Total approximately one and a half hours to complete the charge.
Direct Competitors
Considering the proposal and performance of the Blade V41 Vita, I can name four main competitors for it: TCL 30 5G, Motorola Moto G62 5G, Samsung Galaxy M23 5G, and Poco X4 Pro 5G.
With the exception of the TCL model, all can deliver better performance. Of the four, I consider the Galaxy M23 the best value for money, as it has the best cameras, in addition to the most powerful processor.
However, it is difficult to find any for less than R$ 1,400. The ZTE smartphone can be imported for less than R$1,100, and if you’re lucky that the tax isn’t the maximum, it might pay off to bring the Blade V41 Vita from China.
ZTE’s cell phone interface is called MyOS and has few changes
Ivo Meneghel Jr/Canaltech
ZTE Blade V41 Vita: is it worth it?
If you like the whole process involved in importing a cell phone, the ZTE Blade V41 Vita is worth it. Otherwise, there are just as good — or even better — options in a similar price range in Brazil. With the bonus of a 12-month warranty.
The proposal of a good, beautiful and cheap cell phone is fulfilled. Despite some problems, such as the camera not being the best — but at least it’s not bad. And also the screen, whose IPS LCD panel helps to lower the final price, but has the disadvantage of having less contrast and lower maximum brightness.
However, the Blade V41 Vita is a good phone. I just hope that if you choose to buy it, you won’t have a problem with the bulge on the back cover like the unit I tested.
