Vivo X100 series, Vivo X100 and X100 Pro are now available to the international market, one month after its launch in China.
Lenses are important, even in tiny smartphone cameras. Vivo appears to concur, as evidenced by the fact that the Vivo X100 and X100 Pro, the company’s new flagship smartphones, strongly emphasise lens upgrades. On November 13, they made their debut in China, and now Vivo is bringing them to other countries along with matching 6.78-inch 120Hz OLED panels.
Southeast Asian countries, such as those in India and Indonesia, will be able to purchase the X100, while European markets will be able to purchase the more expensive X100 Pro. Not surprisingly, neither of the devices will be available in the US.
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The improvement on the Vivo X100 series
The X100 Pro, like the X90 Pro before it, has a 50-megapixel one-inch primary camera, which is a large sensor by smartphone standards. According to Vivo, “Optical Precision Calibration” has been used to ensure “consistent sharpness and quality.” Additionally, the 50-megapixel telephoto camera on the X100 Pro has an increased optical magnification of 4.3x, up from 2x on the previous model. It has the new APO designation, which is what Zeiss uses to identify lenses that are intended to lessen chromatic aberration. Additionally, a floating lens element is present to facilitate close-up shooting using the tele lens; no, it doesn’t actually float.
The X100 sports a 64-megapixel 3x optical telephoto lens in addition to a more conventional 50-megapixel 1/1.49-inch primary camera sensor. Although the lenses on both smartphones have Zeiss coatings, there is no floating element present. Both phones use 50-megapixel ultrawide cameras with a secondary image chip; however, the Pro sports the most recent V3 sensor while the X100s sports an older V2, making 4K cinematic portrait video possible.
The top Dimensity 9300 chipset from MediaTek powers the X100 and X100 Pro. The “lesser” model in the majority of other flagship series has a smaller screen. Vivo, on the other hand, employs the same 6.78-inch OLED panel with a refresh rate of 120Hz. Additionally, they are each equipped with an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. Therefore, the camera differences mentioned above are the main ones.
When I tested the Vivo X90 Pro’s camera earlier this year against the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, it performed admirably. The large image sensor approach, which offers benefits including improved baseline noise performance and more realistic bokeh, is what the business is staying with.
The drawback
However, because of its astute computational processing and more-pixels-more-better philosophy, Samsung was still winning most of the time. It’s encouraging to see Vivo putting more emphasis on lens quality; in my tests, the X90 Pro displayed significant aberrations that severely compromised some of my photos. In any event, a rematch between the X100 Pro and the apparently impending Galaxy S24 Ultra won’t be happening too soon.
Under the embargo, Vivo refuses to disclose pricing information for Europe. However, it did reveal that the X100 Pro will retail for HK$7,998 in Hong Kong, which is equivalent to approximately €937 or $1,024. In contrast, the non-Pro X100 would set you back HK$5,998 (or roughly $768 or €702).