Previously premium features have been trickling down to mid-range and even entry-level devices at a steady pace, and the new vivo Y18 can definitely attest to that. The phone was quietly listed by vivo onto its Indian website without any fanfare, and it comes with a premium-looking design on the back, which employs a 3D micro sculpting process in the Gem Green variant, which carves silver ripples into the rear plate. Combined with a nm scale coating the result is a gem-like texture, hence the name of the colorway.
There’s also the more subdued Space Black, which has a subtle ‘starry night’ look to it when you peek closer. The Y18 also comes with stereo speakers, and an IP54 rating for dust and splash resistance, as well as a 50 MP main rear camera.
vivo Y18 official images
It has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor embedded into the power button, and what vivo bills as the segment’s brightest display, topping out at 840 nits in High Brightness Mode. That doesn’t sound like much for an OLED panel, but this is an LCD so the feat is quite outstanding. You also get “genuine eye protection” certified by TUV.
The screen is a 6.56-inch one with 90 Hz refresh rate and 720×1612 resolution. The phone is powered by MediaTek’s Helio G85 SoC, paired with 4GB of RAM and 64/128GB of expandable storage. The selfie shooter is 8 MP, and the Y18 has a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 15W wired charging. The phone runs Android 14 with vivo’s Funtouch OS 14 on top and measures 163.63 x 75.58 x 8.39 mm and weighs 185g.