Despite making some of the best camera phones over the last several years, Vivo still might not be a name familiar to many in the Western hemisphere. Vivo’s previous top-end phones have rarely made it outside of Asia, with the brand focusing on more budget devices in Europe. However, that is on its way to improving with the Vivo X300 Ultra, which will be launching in select European markets.

And the X300 Ultra arrives as another serious best camera phone contender. It brings a top-end 35mm main camera, a 14mm ultrawide, an 85mm telephoto, 8K video, 4K up to 120p, 10-bit Log recording, Dolby Vision, powerful stabilization, and optional 200mm and 400mm telephoto adapters that make the whole setup feel closer to a camera system.

That does not mean it is an easy recommendation. The price is high, and the full setup only gets more expensive once the optional accessories are added. But in stills, it is one of the most enjoyable camera phones I have used this year, and when it comes to video, it might be the first Android phone I have tested that feels like a genuinely convincing iPhone rival.

Specifications

Price & Availability

Despite this being the widest release yet for a Vivo Ultra phone, that still doesn't include the US or the UK; however, European buyers can get their hands on the phone. The kicker is that it is almost certainly too expensive to really recommend. The phone is launching for €1,999, which is a huge premium over devices like the excellent Xiaomi 17 Ultra and Oppo Find X9 Ultra.

It’s not like the price is completely unjustified. The 35mm main camera, 85mm telephoto, and 14mm ultrawide are all serious modules that produce fantastic photos and the best video I have seen from a phone.

But as good a phone as the Vivo X300 Ultra is, I am just not sure I can justify paying the same as a decent camera system, which, try as it might, the X300 Ultra does not outcompete. Optional accessories like the photography case and telephoto lenses that make this phone a truly great alternative to cameras push the full creator setup considerably higher.

Design

The Vivo X300 Ultra is a good-looking, if very minimalist, phone. I tested the black version, and while it is clean and understated, it is also a little too simple for a flagship Ultra phone. Other colors and finishes, particularly the green and white options, look more interesting, but even then, I am not convinced the X300 Ultra has the kind of design identity that immediately screams “top-tier camera phone.”

Overall, the design feels a little uninspired. But that is not to say it feels uninteresting – it does not. The phone has a very premium finish, feels really nice and solid in the hand, it has IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance, and a large 6.82-inch flat display, but visually it does not feel as special as its camera hardware deserves.

The camera bump is very large, around the same diameter as the Oppo Find X9 Ultra and Xiaomi 17 Ultra, but it is noticeably deeper. The phone is slightly top-heavy with that big camera bump, but it is still relatively well balanced. A minor complaint, but the hard edge and overall size of the camera island also meant it caught slightly on my jeans pocket. A more tapered edge would help it slide in and out more easily.

Vivo has not added a dedicated camera button, which I don’t mind at all, as I rarely, if ever, use them. I think they often exist more for chasing Apple than for practical shooting. You can double-tap volume down to open the camera, which is enough for me. I would, however, have liked a separate action button for a quick setting such as alerts, translate, or flashlight, as we have seen on Apple, Oppo, and Honor phones recently.

The display is a beautiful display; it’s a 6.82-inch 2K Zeiss Master Color Display that sports a 144Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, SGS Low Blue Light certification, and TÜV Rheinland flicker-free certification. It is a large, sharp, smooth screen, and Vivo’s eye comfort features are welcome for long editing or shooting sessions.

Accessories

The real design interest comes from the optional camera kit. I am really not a fan of the shiny silver finish. It is certainly eye-catching, but I would much rather it were more discreet while I am shooting. The disappointment is that the case itself feels a bit plastic and cheap, especially compared with Oppo’s new Find X9 Ultra camera case. There was also some minor wobble on the case’s ring mounts and handgrip, which adds to the slightly less premium feeling. At this kind of level, I would like a little more polish.

So Oppo and Xiaomi’s cases might look and feel better, but I think Vivo’s is the most functional. The diamond-pattern grip is nice and grippy, and the deep handle makes the phone feel far more like a real camera. The manual controls are also genuinely useful, with zoom, flash, exposure compensation, record, and a two-stage shutter button all available.

I tested both the second-generation 200mm and new 400 lenses; both the teleconverter lenses themselves feel much more premium than the case they slot into, with solid metal bodies and mounts. I do wish, like the case, they came in black option as well as the silver. They are large, especially the 400mm equivalent lens, but still nowhere near the size of a real 400mm camera lens and smaller than Oppo’s new 300mm accessory.

The 67mm filter attachment is a major plus; it makes the X300 Ultra much easier to take seriously as a video phone, because ND filters are essential for controlling shutter speed in bright conditions with camera lenses fixed apertures. Vivo has also partnered with SmallRig to produce a Pro Video Rig Kit with control buttons, a grip handle, a back plate, a cooling fan, cold shoe mounts, and 1/4-inch mounting – although I unfortunately don't have this to test out.

Camera Performance

The Vivo X300 Ultra’s camera system is unusual because it does not follow the standard phone camera formula. Instead of a very wide main camera around 23mm or 24mm, Vivo has gone for a 35mm main camera. I actually like 35mm as a native focal length. It can be a little harder to work with in tight spaces, and it is a big jump from the 14mm ultrawide, but it gives photos a more natural and pleasing perspective.

The 35mm lens is dubbed by the marketing department as the “Zeiss Documentary Camera”. With 1-inch sensors in phones seemingly falling out of fashion again, it uses a 200MP Sony LYTIA 901 sensor, with a still pretty large 1/1.12-inch format paired with an f/1.85 aperture. The lens also gets a Zeiss T* coating to reduce ghosting and flare.

In practice, the main camera quality is very good. Sharpness is strong, there is lots of detail, and the 50mm and 70mm equivalent crop options hold up really well, with no perceptible loss in quality to my eye anyway. I like the look of Vivo’s images in the Zeiss natural color mode; lighting is well balanced with colors looking true-to-life. If you are looking for a little more pop, then there is also a vivid mode (which is actually the default camera style), as well as numerous other styles to stylise images or attempt to mimic film with some mixed results.

However, Vivo’s processing is still a little too sharp and HDR for my taste. Vivo does include a Raw Lighting setting, which, when switched on, should reduce some of the sharpening, HDR, and other processing that makes phone images look, well, processed. Raw lighting does make a welcome difference; I do prefer the overall feel of images with this setting on, although it doesn’t magically make images look any less like they are shot on a phone. I think Xiaomi's Leica Authentic profile or Oppo's Hasselblad Master Mode both do a better job of making photos look a little more camera-like.

Night photos are very good. The X300 Ultra retains lots of detail and rarely needs to kick into long exposure mode to produce a usable result. That said, night images can show slight oversharpening, and Vivo’s processing tries a little too hard to brighten the scene rather than allowing natural depth in the shadows. I often found myself dragging exposure compensation down to make my photos a little more atmospheric.

I am never really a fan of an ultrawide camera, but the 14mm ultrawide is one of the best I have used on any phone. This is made all the more important as the jump from 14mm to 35mm is significant, and on a weaker ultrawide, that would leave a real gap. Here, the 50MP sensor gives enough quality that you can crop into ultrawide images somewhat without losing too much detail – although don’t expect miracles.

The lens also controls aberrations and color casts really well, which is also not usually a strength of most ultrawides, and it is one of the cleanest I have seen on a phone. Vivo says the ultrawide uses Zeiss T* coating, Multi-ALD low-reflection coating, and Super Blue Glass.

The 85mm telephoto lens is outstanding, and despite the 35mm giving it a very good run, it's the standout stills camera for me. It features a 200MP sensor, with a 1/1.4-inch size, APO optics, and what Vivo says (and I’m inclined to agree with) is gimbal-grade stabilization. All this translates into images that are sharp and detailed, with great lighting and color.

Macro is excellent too. Vivo uses the 3x lens for macro rather than the ultrawide, which gives the right perspective for close-up work. The blur looks pretty genuine, more like a proper camera than the distorted ultrawide macro modes used by some rivals.

Portrait mode is one of the best on any phone right now; it did really well cutting out subjects, although it still had some minor issues with flyaway hair. The results looked natural, and what I liked most was that Vivo softened the edges in a way that made the transition to the background look more like natural falloff rather than a computational cutout that can make the subject look composited onto the background.

Zooming in, the 170mm crops are excellent and look optically close to lossless. Beyond 170mm, the X300 Ultra relies on in-sensor cropping and then generative AI to boost longer-range images. Vivo’s SuperZoom is among the best in the business; up to around 600mm images without too much complication are sharp and natural-looking, although lots of detail does start to look squiggly. After this, you can see the effects of AI kicking in with a more smoothened texture and loss of fine detail. It is very good, although it is still outclassed by the optical power of the Oppo Find X9 Ultra’s 10x lens.

Where the Vivo fights back is with its teleconverter accessories; it's not the only brand to be pushing these add-on lenses, but as one of the first to really go hard on these accessories, it has the most developed system. Oppo’s new telephoto lenses is good, but the brand has yet to settle on a mount that works across phone models, and in the camera, the telephoto can’t be used in all modes, which are two frustrating limitations that thankfully the Vivo doesn’t share.

The 200mm (2.35x) and 400mm (4.7x) equivalent lenses are excellent. The optics from both are outstanding, and they make the X300 Ultra feel much more like a modular camera system than a normal phone. You can go to 800mm using in-sensor cropping, and the results are still impressive, although there is some minor sharpening detail visible in textures such as fur and hair. Stabilization with the telephoto adapters is excellent. I do not have the steadiest hands, but even at 800mm, I was getting sharp and shake-free photos.

The camera app is one of my favorites, although it might be a little overwhelming to some. There are a lot of modes, and some of them have varying levels of usefulness, but most are tucked away in the “more” menu (or can at least be moved there to clean up the clutter).

I really like how many shortcuts Vivo lets you keep on the screen, with four icons at the top and three on the side for quick settings. You can also have none if you prefer a clean viewfinder screen. The AI will occasionally pop up with suggestions to change modes, which can be useful, though it also adds to the sense that there are perhaps too many options.

Video

Video performance is where the X300 Ultra really comes into its own. This is the best Android phone I have used for video, and it is finally a real challenger to the iPhone’s dominance. Video is clean and crisp, dynamic range is excellent, and footage from the sensors looks genuinely professional. You do not get the same depth as a larger-sensor camera, of course, but results can still look cinematic.

The Pro Video mode is packed with useful tools, including LUTs, full manual controls, audio levels, waveforms, and histograms. You can even use Pro Video mode with the telephoto adapters. The X300 Ultra is capable of 4K 120p 10-bit Log video across the rear cameras, as well as APV 422 encoding, ACES workflow support, and custom 3D LUT monitoring. The one caveat from my use is that LUTs are preview only in-camera, with no option to burn them directly into final footage, so this needs to be done in post.

Stabilization for video is outstanding. The X300 Ultra has additional modes with horizon lock and an ultra-steady mode, and both are very effective. It gets closer to gimbal-level stabilization and is on par with a lot of action camera stabilization I have used for heavy action. Panning is smooth, without the jerkiness you get from systems trying too hard to fight the movement, and static handheld shots are rock steady.

There are also a couple of minor modes and options I want to shout out. The built-in teleprompter is a great addition, and I wish more phones did this. I also really like how easy it is to see and swap which microphone you are using to record; not every brand makes this clear, and it can be a huge annoyance.

Phone Performance

The X300 Ultra uses the latest and greatest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, supported by Vivo’s Pro Imaging Chip VS1+. The VS1+ imaging chip is designed to handle image pre-processing, raw processing, noise, sharpness, dynamic range, and faster image output.

In my own testing, the X300 Ultra scored 3632 single-core and 10619 multi-core in Geekbench, with 3DMark scores of 6620–4299, which puts it among the best Android flagships right now.

More importantly, it feels extremely fast in real use. The Snapdragon processor flies through day-to-day tasks, but more relevant is that it is excellent for video editing and photo editing. I noticed no meaningful slowdowns when scrubbing through video or exporting 4K footage.

OriginOS 6 is slick, enjoyable to use, and easy to navigate – and a bonus for MacBook owners who use Android; it is also now compatible with AirDrop. OriginOS still has a bit of its own identity, but the big negative, though, is bloatware. There was a lot installed out of the box, and while I can forgive that on budget phones, it cheapens the experience on something this premium.

The AI Suite is very comprehensive, with AI retouch, expand, re-color, eraser, and UHD tools. Most do a good job. The eraser is particularly good at recognizing people, and for quick edits, it is genuinely useful. There are still some obviously AI-looking artifacts, especially when using Gen Expand, where the generated content does not quite match the resolution of the cameras. In a way, it’s a compliment to the imaging hardware that the cameras are so good that the AI fill has a hard time keeping up.

Battery life is excellent. The 6600mAh BlueVolt battery got me through around a day and a half with normal use, although heavy video shooting cut into that quite a lot. Vivo says the battery supports 100W wired FlashCharge and 40W wireless charging, and that the phone includes bypass charging with smart temperature control for intensive use. In my charging test, the phone reached 37% in 15 minutes and 61% in 60 minutes using PD charging.

Final Verdict

The Vivo X300 Ultra is not the most ultra-looking phone, but it is one of the most compelling ultra phones I have used. Vivo has built something that ticks nearly every box on my wishlist. The main camera is excellent, the ultrawide is one of the best around, the 85mm telephoto is outstanding, and the teleconverter system gives it a practical reach that most phones cannot touch.

What really separates it, though, is video. The X300 Ultra is not just good “for an Android phone”; it is a genuine contender for best video on any phone full stop. The stabilization, Pro Video mode, LUT support, 4K 120p options, teleprompter mode, and accessory compatibility make it a phone designed for pro video workflows. As a video-first phone, the X300 Ultra is exceptional and the strongest contender to an iPhone for serious video creators.

There are still a few frustrations. I think Vivo’s image processing still leans slightly too sharp and bright, the design is generic, the camera bump is huge, the bloatware is unwelcome, and the shiny silver camera kit isn’t to my tastes – but mostly the lack of availability and exceptionally high price make it so difficult to recommend when options like the Oppo Find X9 Ultra and Xiaomi 17 Ultra are so so good.

Alternatives

Physics dictates that a camera phone can never be as good as a high-end conventional camera. This is the conclusion reached by Marques Brownlee in a recent YouTube video where he presents his thoughts on the Oppo Find X9 Ultra: Oppo's latest flagship, which pushes the boundaries of what's possible from a phone camera.

Taking that conclusion in isolation, you'd be forgiven for thinking Brownlee is not impressed by the Find X9 Ultra, but it's quite the opposite. He is very complimentary about the phone's incredible versatility, from its quad-camera array (plus additional color spectrum sensor), to its uncanny ability to help you take great shots, time and time again.

I personally use a Find X8 Pro as my daily phone and can concur with Brownlee: even though the Find X8 Pro's tech is now 18 months old, it's still an awesome camera phone that produces incredible images, even in scenarios where most phones would struggle.

But what of the assertion that it's physically impossible for a phone to ever be as good as a high-end, 'proper' camera? I lab test cameras for a living, from relatively mundane compact cameras, right up to full-frame and medium format powerhouses. If you judge a good camera to be one which provides the highest possible resolving power, while also giving the lowest possible image noise and the widest single-exposure dynamic range, then a big sensor (and in turn, big pixels) are paramount. My lab results verify this correlation, with cameras like the medium format Fujifilm GFX 100 II reigning supreme for detail capture. Bigger is better, and biggest is best. Judged purely on these traditional performance metrics, it's true: a camera phone can't compete. But here's the thing: does it need to?

The case for the camera phone

We could actually flip Brownlee's physics argument on its head, in favor of the camera phone. For the conventional camera to compete with (or better) a phone’s image quality, it must be physically larger, but that in turn makes it increasingly more inconvenient. Sure, if you're a committed photographer and are happy to lug around a dedicated camera and lenses, then credit to you. But like it or not, you're now in a tiny minority.

The goal for most people is to get the best possible image quality in the most convenient package, and it's this compromise that the camera phone nails so perfectly. While a phone-captured image won't match the fine detail of a photo from a full-frame or medium-format camera (even if the phone has a 200MP sensor), when you're viewing your shots primarily on the phone itself, who cares?

What's far more important than something like outright resolution (and as Brownlee points out) is the ability to get the maximum number of great-looking photos from the minimum number of shutter button presses. Judged on this metric, even a $5000+ pro camera cannot come close to the hit rate of a phone like the Find X9 Ultra. The immense processing power of a camera phone means it can compensate for user error, as well as the phone's camera hardware limitations. As a case in point, Google re-used the same image sensor for four consecutive generations of Pixel, yet image quality still noticeably improved each year.

Image processing is key here: it can take what would otherwise be a mediocre-looking image and turn it into a vibrant, detailed shot with incredible dynamic range, all without you doing a thing. This is noticeable on my Find X8 Pro: there's a split second where you see the initial, rather bland image upon immediately reviewing a photo, then the processing does its thing and boom, you're hit with a stunning image. The difference is most obvious when shooting at focal lengths exceeding the phone's native optical zoom. Then AI is employed to add fine detail where there would otherwise be none. At this point an image goes from being enhanced to partially fabricated. But again, I'd argue that this doesn't need to be a problem. Unless you're very familiar with the subject matter, you'll never know that the texture AI has applied to a certain portion of the image doesn't match the actual texture of the real subject. After all, photographs are most often used as memory aids, and to effectively fulfil this purpose they don't have to be exact emulations of the source material.

So is there still a place for 'proper' cameras?

This entirely depends on what you want a camera for. If you simply want to take photos, then stick with a phone. It has made a dedicated camera obsolete for this purpose, for the reasons above. However, if you want to learn or practice photography, as a hobby or a profession, then a phone is still no match for a 'real' camera.

For hobbyist photographers, the vastly superior ergonomics and plethora of physical controls you get with a camera like the Fujifilm X100VI or OM System OM-D E-M10 IV will make your shooting experience far more immersive and therefore more enjoyable. Phone manufacturers like Oppo, Xiaomi and Vivo have tried to improve their flagship phones' ergonomics with optional add-on grips, but even these can't match the level of physical control you get with a dedicated enthusiast's camera.

Then there's the professional photographer. A key requirement for the pro is to record not just attractive images, but also to achieve faithful subject depiction. When it comes to sports, reportage, or nature photography, a large part of these photos’ appeal (especially in the age of AI) is their authenticity and accurate representation of the moment or subject. These are scenarios where eye-popping dynamic range or AI-fabricated elements are at best jarring, and at worst wholly inappropriate. Sure, premium camera phones do have manual modes and Raw capture that'll give you more honest subject reproduction, but phones rely so heavily on image processing to compensate for their small image sensors that disabling this trickery will noticeably reduce image quality.

If you want both high image quality and accurate, trustworthy subject depiction, then a high-end dedicated camera is still the tool of choice. In these scenarios their bulk, potential inconvenience and complexity become almost irrelevant: it's the camera’s ability to record a moment as accurately as possible, without autonomously applying its own spin, which matters most. And it's this authenticity, rather than just physics, which gives a high-end camera unrivalled appeal.

I’ve long been a fan of Vivo’s phones for their Zeiss co-engineered cameras, so the launch of the Vivo X300 Ultra has me very excited. This is the first time Vivo has given one of its Ultra-series imaging flagships a proper international debut, even if “global” still, frustratingly, stops short of the US.

As you’d expect from an Ultra phone, the X300 Ultra puts photography front and center. Vivo is calling its camera system the Zeiss Master Lenses Collection, built around a triple-prime setup with 85mm, 35mm, and 14mm equivalent focal lengths. Which immediately makes this phone feel a little different from rivals, as instead of the usual 24mm-first approach, Vivo is leaning into focal lengths that will look more familiar to photographers.

The standout for me is the 35mm Zeiss Documentary Camera. That is a noticeably narrower field of view than the 24mm-equivalent main cameras found on most flagship phones, but 35mm is one of photography’s most loved focal lengths for street, travel, and documentary work. Vivo says it is designed to offer a more natural, human-eye-like perspective, and it pairs that lens with Sony’s LYTIA 901 sensor in a large 1/1.12-inch format, with support for 200MP direct output. It still does not quite match the sheer sensor size of some 1-inch rivals, but on paper, it looks like one of the most interesting main cameras on any phone right now.

The 85mm Zeiss Gimbal-Grade APO Telephoto Camera also sounds incredible. It uses a 200MP sensor, with Zeiss APO standards, and adds a Zeiss T* coating plus Super Blue Glass to reduce flare and ghosting. Vivo is also promising 3-degree gimbal-level OIS and up to 60fps AF tracking in Snapshot mode, which could make this one of the most capable telephoto cameras on a phone yet for shooting fast-moving subjects like wildlife, sports, or concerts.

Rounding out the rear cameras is a 14mm Zeiss ultra-wide, which Vivo describes as an “industry-leading main-camera-grade ultra wide-angle” camera. I am not usually the biggest ultra-wide shooter, but this is one area where phone makers still too often ask users to accept obvious compromises in image quality. Vivo is clearly pitching this as something more serious.

And, as we’ve started to see from a few recent Chinese launches, Vivo isn’t stopping with the cameras built into the phone. The X300 Ultra supports two optional telephoto adapters: a new 400mm equivalent Vivo Zeiss Telephoto Extender Gen 2 Ultra and a lighter second-generation 200mm equivalent extender. The 400mm option is the more eye-catching of the two, with Vivo calling it a breakthrough in magnification, optical performance, stabilization, and structure. It is co-engineered with Zeiss, uses a Kepler-inspired optical design, and supports 200MP optical output. Meanwhile, the 200mm extender has slimmed down from 210g to 153g, which at least makes the whole idea a little more practical.

These external lenses still sound slightly wild, but they are also one of the few genuinely fresh ideas in smartphone photography at the moment. After seeing more brands experiment with modular long-lens add-ons, I am increasingly convinced they are more than a gimmick.

The X300 Ultra is also pitching itself as a video powerhouse. The X300 Ultra supports 4K 120p 10-bit Log video and 4K 120p Dolby Vision video across all rear cameras, which is the sort of spec sheet that will immediately catch the attention of serious creators. There is also a new Pro Video mode, support for custom 3D LUT monitoring while shooting in Log, and compatibility with ACES workflows, which makes the X300 Ultra feel more deliberately aimed at professional video users than most phones.

Vivo has gone even further with an optional SmallRig Pro Video Rig Kit, which includes an expandable cage, cold shoe mounts, quick-release ports, dual-hand grips, physical shutter and zoom controls, plus a cooling fan for longer recording sessions. It is undeniably niche, but it shows Vivo is thinking about building a broader ecosystem around the phone for people who actually want to shoot seriously with it.

Vivo is also introducing an all-new color science system, built around a 5MP multispectral sensor with 12 color channels and an upgraded flicker sensor. The company claims this helps it deliver more accurate color and tonal rendering, while also offering film-inspired color styles and deeper manual control for both stills and video.

Away from the cameras, the rest of the phone reads like a flagship. The X300 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, alongside Vivo’s VS1+ imaging chip, and backed by a substantial 6600mAh battery with 100W wired and 40W wireless charging. It also gets a 6.82-inch 2K ZEISS Master Color display with up to 4,500 nits local peak brightness, plus IP68 and IP69 durability.

The Vivo X300 Ultra will be available in 16GB/512GB and 16GB/1TB configurations, and comes in black and a two-tone white mabled or soft green finish. On paper, at least, this looks like one of the most ambitious camera phones of the year, and one that should be on the wishlist of any serious phoneographer.

"It's not the gear, it's the photographer," a phrase that's often debated, but in many genres, still rings true. Especially now that camera phones have come further than ever – packing 50MP sensors, computational photography, and even variable apertures – yet are still underestimated by many photographers.

This award- winning series, shot entirely on smartphones, proves just how capable they really are – even when the camera is a decade old...

Kuanglong Zhang has been named the overall winner of the 15th Annual Mobile Photo Awards (MPA), impressing judges with a striking portfolio captured exclusively on smartphones – with models from 2016 to 2023.

15th Annual MPA winner

The jury praised his work for its "diverse palette and a deeply convincing, impressive range of subject matter", pointing out Zhang's eye for color, framing, and detail.

Zhang's work highlights just how much creativity and skill can be captured with older phones, smaller sensors, and the device we carry every day – even if it no longer should be a surprise that award-winning images can be created on smartphones...

Zhang was thrilled to hear the news of his international victory and stated, "...Winning this award truly means so much to me.

"I'm really looking forward to growing alongside the MPA, and to inspiring people around the world to discover mobile photography – and to see that phones are more than capable of creating images that are both warm and full of heart, with a beautifully crafted feel."

The camera phones

Zhang's winning images were captured using a mix of older and newer smartphone cameras – from early single-camera systems to modern multi-lens flagships.

1. Huawei Mate 60
Released primarily in China in 2023, it is the most advanced device in Zhang's lineup. The Huawei Mate 60 features a 50MP main camera and variable aperture (f/1.4-4), offering a level of manual control rarely seen in smartphones.

2. Oppo Find X6 Pro
Launched 2023, the Oppo Find X6 Pro is a China-exclusive flagship with a 50MP triple-camera system built for high-end imaging performance.

3. Vivo X60 Pro+
A top camera-focused phone, released in 2021. The Vivo X60 Pro + was co-engineered with Zeiss. It features a quad-camera setup. 48MP ultra-wide lens, and advanced gimbal stabilization.

4. OnePlus 9RT 5G
A China-first release in 2021, followed by a wider global rollout in 2022, the OnePlus 9RT 5G packs a 50MP Sony IMX766 main sensor and is known as a "flagship killer".

5. iPhone 11 Pro Max
The iPhone 11 Pro Max launched back in 2019, and its specs only tell half the story. As highlighted in our review, "it's the real-world results from this triple-camera phone that matter". It features a versatile triple-lens system with 12MP sensors.

6. iPhone 7
The iPhone 7 is the oldest smartphone on the list and was launched in 2016! Its highest camera features a 12MP sensor with a fast f/1.8 aperture – still capable of producing award-winning images in the right hands.

To discover all category winners and for more information, visit the Mobile Photo Awards website.

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Vivo has offered the first official look at its next flagship imaging powerhouse at MWC 2026 in Barcelona – the X300 Ultra – and crucially, it has hinted that this time the Ultra model will be heading to more global markets.

For now, the design is still under wraps, and the X300 Ultra is only showing behind a camera case at Vivo’s booth, but the X300 Ultra has teased some key camera info as the company looks to build on its growing reputation for top smartphone photography.

The headline feature is a new 400mm equivalent Vivo Zeiss Telephoto Extender Gen 2 Ultra, its longest mobile telephoto extender yet at a whopping 400mm. Like previous lenses, this new model is again co-engineered with Zeiss and designed to meet APO standards to combat chromatic and spherical aberrations. Vivo says the lens supports the full 200MP readout from the sensor, and using all those megapixels, can stretch to a huge 1600mm optical quality zoom using in-sensor cropping. Vivo also says the lens is backed up by “gimbal-grade OIS” and motion-tracking autofocus.

Vivo has also previewed a pro camera cage for the X300 Ultra, complete with cold shoe mounts, dual-hand grip, physical shutter and zoom controls, and even an integrated cooling fan for sustaining high-resolution recording.

Perhaps the biggest news, though, is availability. Vivo has stated that the X300 Ultra will launch to a more international audience than its previous phones – a significant shift for a brand whose most adventurous camera phones have often been limited to China.

In a statement from the company, it says, “Vivo’s presence at MWC 2026 underscores its steadfast commitment to engaging more deeply with the global mobile ecosystem and competing at the forefront of the premium segment”.

In DCW’s review of both the Vivo X200 Ultra and Vivo X300 Pro, we found Vivo’s telephoto cameras amongst the best in the Android world – delivering incredible detail with a polished, almost proper camera-like feel. The X300 Ultra looks set to double down on that, and I for one can’t wait to try it out.

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Vivo’s V series has always sat in that interesting middle ground, not quite flagship, not quite budget, but designed to offer a slice of premium experience at a more accessible price. The Vivo V70 continues that tradition, bringing triple Zeiss co-engineered cameras and a redesigned look for a phone that feels more high-end than previous generations.

Although if you look beyond the new style and a slight bump in screen resolution, you might be a little underwhelmed, as there isn't really a huge amount of hardware updates to separate it from last year's V60.

The headline remains the same 50MP Zeiss Super Telephoto camera with a periscope structure and a 1/1.95-inch sensor as featured in the V60, but it's still something you don’t always see at this level. The V70 also introduces 4K 60p video to the V series and more AI options for portrait photography scenes.

After spending time shooting, editing, and living with it, here’s how it really stacks up.

Vivo V70: Specifications

Vivo V70: Price & Availability

The Vivo V70, like most of Vivo’s output, will only be coming to select markets in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, which is a shame for a compelling mid-range option. Converted, it works out around $450 for the 8GB+256GB version and US$550 for the 12GB+512GB version.

The closest competition is perhaps the Xiaomi 15T, which also squeezes in three cameras for roughly the same price. Compared to other rivals like the Pixel 10a or OnePlus 15R, Vivo leaps ahead in telephoto capabilities.

If you’re thinking of upgrading from the V60, however, the gains aren’t that dramatic, but you might be tempted by the swish new design.

Vivo V70: Design

The V70 might look a little familiar if you’ve been keeping one eye on phone releases over the last few months, with an eerily similar design to the recent OnePlus 15 and Oppo Find X9 Pro. Of course, no one really owns phone design, and those phones both borrow from other models, but it is interesting that Vivo chose to follow in such a similar style so close to those releases.

Regardless, the V70 looks and feels great – and I think much better than the V60. Picking it up, it does feel more expensive than it is.

I’ve been using the “Golden Hour” version with the Sunset Glow design. It’s really not personally my taste – I tend to prefer more understated matte finishes – but I can absolutely see the appeal. The etched glass catches the light beautifully, and it genuinely stands out in a sea of grey slabs. If that’s too bold, Alpine Gray, Sandalwood Brown, Canary Yellow, and Authentic Black offer more restrained options.

The aerospace-grade aluminium frame gives the V70 a reassuring solidity and feels good in the hand. The matte rail also blends seamlessly with the same metallic camera module.

The camera island sits neatly in the top-left corner, which keeps it out of the way of fingers, and it now houses all three lenses and the halo ring light in one unified block, which I prefer over the design of last year's phone that kicked the ultrawide off on its own.

At 157.5mm tall and under 195g, it’s marginally smaller and lighter than many current flagships. For anyone who finds today’s ultra-sized devices a bit unwieldy, this is a nice compromise.

The display is a 6.59-inch 1.5K AMOLED panel at 120Hz. It’s bright, colourful and sharp – not class-leading, but very good for the price, and a noticeable bump in resolution and quality over the V60. The flat screen with rounded corners is a big win for me. I’ve never loved curved displays, and this feels practical and modern.

There are multiple colour modes: Natural (my preferred setting), Professional (a touch warm and muted to my eye), and a more vibrant option if you like punchy tones. You can also manually tweak the colour temperature, which I appreciate.

Durability is another highlight with IP68 and IP69 ratings for water resistance, and a 10-point drop resistance. Vivo even includes a clear silicone case in the box. While I’m not usually a fan of clear cases as they tend to yellow over time, the case is good quality and a welcome inclusion.

Vivo V70: Camera Performance

• Wide camera: 50MP, 23mm equivalent, 1/1.56"
• Telephoto camera: 50MP, 73mm equivalent (3x), 1/1.95"
• Ultrawide camera: 8MP, 15mm equivalent

The 50MP main camera is very good. Images are sharp and detailed without excessive artificial sharpening. HDR is well controlled, and skies stay realistically blue. In low light, quality dips slightly, as you’d expect, but Vivo’s Night mode does a solid job. I consistently came away with usable, balanced images without that overprocessed look some mid-range phones suffer from.

There are quite a lot of color tuning options available in the native camera app. Zeiss colour tuning was my go-to. It delivers more natural tones than the default Vivid mode, but if you prefer bolder colors, then that is the one to go for. There are also several stylised options, including film-inspired looks that don't really look like film, but they do add an easy way to stylize photos without having to do any editing.

The 50MP Zeiss Super Telephoto with its periscope structure, though, is the star of the show, and genuinely impressive at this price. The telephoto has a native focal length equivalent of 73mm (or 3x), which is great for portraits. The 50MP resolution allows for in-sensor zoom, with options for 88mm and 141mm, which gets you a bit more distance without much of a dip in quality.

Digital zoom performance is though is also pretty strong. I was able to get usable shots equivalent to around 243mm with only a little excessive sharpening. Beyond that, the computational AI kicks in harder. At extreme zoom levels, textures become overly smooth, and digital sharpening is more obvious. But within sensible limits, this is one of the better telephoto experiences in the segment.

There is also Vivo's Stage Mode, which is designed specifically for balancing harsh spotlights and isolating performers at concerts.

The 8MP ultra-wide is clearly the weakest link. In good light, it’s fine for social use, but pixel peeping reveals muddier detail and more aggressive sharpening. The camera also sometimes produced images with a slightly different white balance than the other two lenses.

At night, it struggles noticeably more than the other two lenses. It’s usable, but you can feel where the budget constraints landed.

There is also Vivo's “Instant Camera” mode, which borrows heavily from Fujifilm's Instax Mini with image borders and stickers. You can then “print” your photos to your camera roll. Fun? Sure. Essential? Not really for me.

Macro photography is fine, it's not flagship-grade, but it's decent enough for casual use. Macro images suffer from too much computational sharpening and an occasional ethereal glow around fine detail.

There also seems to be a specific macro mode or macro indication on the phone, and the camera does bounce between lenses a little when you are trying to find the nearest focus, although the guide text tells you to move back if you're too close.

The 50MP selfie camera is sharp and clear in balanced light. It struggles a bit in backlit scenes with overzealous HDR. There are also numerous retouching options, but you can dial these down as you see fit. Portrait mode cuts out subjects well. Hair remains the usual challenge, but edge detection is solid overall.

Vivo V70: Phone Performance

The Vivo V70 runs on the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 with either 8GB or 12GB of RAM – I have the latter version for review. If that sounds familiar, then it might be because it’s the same processor as last year’s V60. Although the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 is still one of the go-to processors for most phones in this price/performance bracket.

Day-to-day performance is smooth. Apps open quickly, multitasking is fluid, and I didn’t notice any significant slowdowns. If you aren't going to push your phone with heavy editing or gaming, it's hard to argue that more powerful chips are necessary.

For upgraders, Vivo has had a bit more time to tune the phone, but benchmark improvements over the Vivo V60 are modest, with it just edging past the V60 on Geekbench's CPU testing and 3DMark's GPU tests (see below).

In my real-world tests, the V70 exported 100 RAW photos to 2048px JPEGs using Adobe Lightroom in one minute and five seconds, which is middle of the pack. It took 6 minutes and 9 seconds to complete my video export test, exporting a 10-minute, 4K 10-bit video into 1080p using CapCut. This was quite slow, and interestingly, slower than the previous model. That may improve with firmware updates, but for now, this is still solid mid-range performance, but not creator powerhouse territory.

Battery life is excellent. It has the same 6,500mAh cell as the last model, and it comfortably lasted a day and a half with general use. However, heavy filming and editing brought that under a day. For topping up, the V70 can take advantage of Vivo’s proprietary 90W FlashCharge – although whether a charger is included in the box likely depends on your market.

When charging via Power Delivery (PD) chargers, the V70 reached 30% with a 15-minute charge, 55% in 30 minutes, and was full in 61 minutes.

The V70 ships with OriginOS 6, built on top of Android 16, with Vivo promising four OS upgrades and six years of security updates. This replaces Vivo’s FunOS and is both a visual and functional improvement over previous Vivo skins. It feels more cohesive, slicker, and more modern, but there’s still too much pre-installed bloatware, and even Vivo’s VApp store and other Vivo apps' persistent notifications are a headache until you disable them.

Vivo V70: Verdict

Of the Vivo V-series phones I've tested, the V70 is the most refined to date. Yes, it heavily borrows some design cues from other phones, but I think it looks stylish, has a wealth of color options, and it feels more premium than its price tag. The spec sheet might also be a little disappointing to anyone considering this over the V60, but it has a noticeable bump in screen resolution, and still offers excellent battery life and decent long-term software support.

For photographers, this is a serious mid-range option. The Zeiss-tuned camera system is very good, the telephoto a particular standout and genuinely impressive for this class, but the overall shooting experience is consistent and enjoyable. Yes, the ultra-wide is weaker, but the other two lenses make up for its shortcomings.

If you’re upgrading from the V60, don’t expect huge performance leaps. But if you’re coming from an older device and want a stylish, photography-forward Android mid-ranger, then the V70 is a very solid choice – if you are in one of the select markets the V70 releases in.

Alternatives

It's been revealed that Vivo's next flagship camera phone, the X300 Pro, will use Sony's brand new LYT-828 image sensor. Positioned as a successor to the current LYT-818 (a sensor first used by the preceding Vivo X200 Pro), the new design is a 1/1.28-inch stacked CMOS sensor with a 50 megapixel resolution. Nothing particularly noteworthy there, but the LYT-828 has a different trick up its sleeve.

It utilizes a new Hybrid Frame-HDR (HF-HDR) technology: this takes traditional single-frame HDR using Dual Conversion Gain and combines it with multi-frame HDR during post processing. It's said that this fusion of HDR technologies enables overall dynamic range in excess of 100 dB (around 17 stops).

If true, this means the LYT-828 would become Sony's best-performing mobile image sensor for dynamic range to date. The sensor's low-power logic circuitry enables the HDR system to remain active in all shooting modes, including zooming, recording, and previewing, so the dynamic range you see in the preview is what you'll get in the final shot. The new sensor will apparently be fronted by an f/1.57 lens with a CIPA-rated 5.5 stops of optical stabilization and Zeiss T* coating.

We shouldn't have long to wait to see the X300 Pro itself, as its official launch is slated for October 13th.

Vivo's X200 Pro and X200 Ultra have both impressed us with their bleeding-edge camera tech and stellar image quality. Now Vivo has officially confirmed that its next-generation flagship camera phone - X300 Pro - is coming.

According to Vivo product manager Han Boxiao (via Weibo), the X300 Pro will use the same 200MP 85mm periscope telephoto lens we've seen in the X200 Pro and Ultra, but the sensor in this module will get an upgrade. Where the X200 Pro and Ultra used a Samsung HP9 sensor, the X300 Pro is said to feature an evolution of the HP9, called HPB: a new 1/1.4-inch sensor co-developed by Vivo and Samsung.

In addition to the upgraded sensor, the X300 Pro's periscope telephoto camera has been revealed to have a 5.5-stop CIPA-rated image stabilization system (up from 4.5 stops in the X200 Pro). Vivo says this is the highest-ever rating for a camera phone. Furthermore, the periscope lens is said to benefit from a ZEISS T* coating to help prevent reflections, while a fluorite glass element is employed to reduce aberrations. Finally, the X300 Pro will feature a new focus-tracking engine which is said to enable faster, more reliable subject capture, even at long focal lengths.

The X300 Pro's primary, wide-angle camera looks like it'll be based around Sony's LYTIA LYT-828 50MP, 1/1.3-inch sensor, while processing power will likely come from a MediaTek Dimensity 9500 chipset.

The Weibo post doesn't specify any potential release date for the X300 Pro, but considering the X100 Pro was launched in November 2023, and the X200 Pro dropped in October 2024, we may not have long to wait for the X300 Pro to break cover.

Vivo has announced the global launch of the V60, its latest handset co-engineered with Zeiss. An update on last year’s Vivo V50, a well-received midranger, the V60 adds a new headline act – a 50MP Zeiss Super Telephoto camera designed for portraits.

Utilizing Vivo and Zeiss’ Multifocal Portrait, the V60 can deliver portrait mode images at five classic portrait focal lengths with professional camera-like background separation and Zeiss Style Bokeh for changing the shapes and style of bokeh balls after the image has been taken to match the look of classic Zeiss lenses.

The Vivo V60 also includes a 10x Telephoto Stage Portrait – which taps into Vivo’s “Stage Style” optimization to match the challenging conditions of stage lighting, combining this with Zeiss portrait modes to conserve facial expressions, natural skin tones, and textures.

“Built with the idea of bringing professional-level portrait photography to smartphones, V60 helps users easily capture beautiful moments,” said Xun Tan, General Manager of Overseas Products at Vivo.

The hardware at the core of the imaging setup is a 50MP Zeiss Super Telephoto camera using a Sony IMX882 Ultra-Sensitive Sensor (1/1.953") behind an f/2.65 aperture. This uses a periscope design, a setup that enables more powerful optical reach without a bulkier camera bump.

The telephoto is joined by a 50MP Zeiss OIS main camera using the Sony IMX766, an 8MP Zeiss ultrawide angle camera for groups and landscapes, and a 50MP Zeiss group selfie camera. For video, 4K recording is supported on both front and rear cameras.

For even longer reach, the V60 can use Vivo’s Super Telephoto Enhancement algorithms, which use AI-powered zoom to enhance clarity from 10x up to a claimed 100x.

The V60 is also packed with other AI camera features, including AI Four-Season Portrait to change the season of any outdoor photo, AI Eraser to remove unwanted objects, AI Reflection Erase, AI Magic Move to move subjects around the frame, AI Image Expander to increase the photo canvas, and AI Photo Enhance upscaling, aimed at adding clarity to low-res or cropped images.

Beyond imaging, the V60 adds a large 6500mAh BlueVolt Battery battery, 90W fast charging, and the V series’s most durable design with an IP68 & IP69 rating. Availability begins today across Asia, with a global rollout happening soon – although which countries this is to include has not yet been confirmed.

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Vivo has been on a bit of a hot streak lately. The X200 Pro and X200 Ultra are, in my opinion, in hot contention for the best camera phones ever made.

That said, living with these phones can be a bit of a chore. They're thick, heavy beasts that prioritise camera performance over physical dimensions and portability.

If you want that flagship Vivo magic, without carrying such a sizable slab, your options are very limited. There's the Vivo X200 Pro Mini, but that's only available in China; the rest of the world is out of luck.

Now, though, the Vivo X200 FE has landed. It offers a smaller form factor, similar to the iPhone 16 Pro and Galaxy S25, but it comes with Vivo's renowned image processing and Zeiss optics, not to mention a more affordable price tag.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like this handset is quite on the same level as its Pro and Ultra siblings. The sensors are significantly smaller, and the ultrawide is only 8MP, for a start. Is this the pocketable camera flagship we've been waiting for? Or is it just a souped-up mid-ranger? I made it my mission to find out.

Vivo X200 FE: Specifications

Vivo X200 FE: Price

As usual, the global rollout for the X200 FE will be somewhat limited. It is coming to Europe, but as usual, it won't be launching in the UK or the States. It will be available in Austria, Spain, Poland, Italy, and Germany, starting from around €849.

Prices will differ outside of Europe, but it will also be available in India, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan.

Vivo X200 FE: Design & Handling

You might have noticed that the Vivo X200 FE looks nothing like the X200, X200 Pro or X200 Ultra, and there's a reason for that. In China, this phone is called the S30 Pro Mini, but since we don't get S-series phones globally, it has been folded into the flagship X-series.

The X200 FE has a completely flat front and rear, with squared-off siderails, contrasting the quad-curved displays of the other X200 devices. It looks and feels a lot more like a Galaxy S25, Xiaomi 15, or iPhone 16 Pro. It's not especially unique, but it's a formula that works, and I love the way this phone feels in the hand.

What does help the phone stand out a little more is the colour options. It's available in a range of pastel shades, which make much more of a statement than its rather anonymous competition. I have the Blue model in for testing, but there are also very fetching pale pink and pale yellow options available, as well as a more sensible black version.

Both the yellow and pink models have contrasting black siderails, and I love the way they look. The black model has black sides, too, which is to be expected, while only the blue model gets silver edges. Honestly, I think they all look superb.

The cameras, too, are placed differently from the rest of the X200 lineup. They're off to one side, shoved up in the top left of the phone. The layout reminds me of the recently released Poco F7, but unlike that phone, there are three lenses here.

The ultrawide is much smaller, and it's placed on its own next to the flash. It doesn't look as impressive as the other two lenses, and that's because it's not, but we'll get on to that later.

The box includes a TPU case that's colour-matched to the phone, which I thought was a nice touch. It could be important, too, as you're not likely to be swimming in third-party case options. There's also a factory-applied screen protector, and if my previous experience is anything to go by, you might want to leave that on, as Vivo screens tend to scuff up easily.

On the topic of durability, the X200 FE is both IP68 and IP69 rated. This means it's completely dust-sealed and it'll withstand dunks in freshwater, as well as blasts from jets of hot water - shower scrollers rejoice.

I've spent a lot of time with heavy flagships lately, and I've been using the 230g X200 as my main phone since it arrived, so switching to this was a breath of fresh air. It's only 186g, so it doesn't weigh down your pocket so much, and the more compact screen means you can reach the top of the display without straining your thumbs.

Vivo X200 FE: Camera Performance

The Vivo X200 FE has three cameras on its rear: a 23mm equivalent 50MP main camera, a 50MP 70mm equivalent telephoto, and a less impressive 8MP ultrawide. Around the front, there's a 50MP punch-hole selfie snapper, and unlike the X200 and X200 Pro, this one has autofocus - something I'm always pleased to see.

As the spec sheet suggests, it's really only that 8MP ultrawide that lets the team down. It just can't match the fidelity of the other lenses, and the small sensor makes for some pretty muddy-looking images in low-light situations. It also lacks autofocus, so you can't use it for close-ups.

Thankfully, the other lenses pick up the slack, so if you rarely use the ultrawide camera, it might not matter too much. As usual, the main sensor is the star of the show, and if you want the absolute best quality from this phone, it should be your weapon of choice. The 3x telephoto is not far behind at all, but it can begin to struggle in dark situations.

The phone performs surprisingly well with digital zooms, too. It's not on the same level as its pricier siblings, but you can take usable photos up to around 20x. The software will allow you to go all the way to 100x, if you wish, and it uses AI to attempt to clean up the results. As you might expect, the images look pretty terrible at that level of zoom.

What surprised me the most, though, was the selfie camera. The front cameras on a lot of Vivo flagships have disappointed me, which is weird, because the cheaper V-series phones have some of the best selfie cameras around. Thankfully, this selfie snapper has more in common with the V50 than the X200 Pro.

The fact that it has autofocus makes it so much more suitable for group shots, and the wide angle of the lens means you can squeeze everyone in with ease. It also has a stabilisation booster for video shooting, which is something the X200 Ultra bizarrely lacks - so you could argue it's better for vlogging, too.

Another thing this phone inherits from the V-series is the Aura Light. Rather than having a single-colour LED flash, there's a bi-colour ring next to the cameras, which can either act as a flash or an adjustable continuous fill-light. It's too small to be particularly flattering, but the fact that it adjusts to match the ambient light temperature makes it look a lot better.

When it comes to video shooting, the main, telephoto and selfie cameras can all shoot at up to 4K60, while the ultrawide is capped at 1080p30. Stabilisation is great, and the microphones are decent, if a little more susceptible to wind noise than I'd prefer.

Vivo's excellent LOG profile is sadly missing here, but you can capture RAW photos, and there's Pro camera controls are very comprehensive. Of course, all the usual Vivo niceties are included, like the exceptional Vintage picture profile, Zeiss-backed modes like Natural Colour, and the Humanistic Street Photography mode.

Vivo X200 FE: Phone Performance

The Vivo X200 FE is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+, it is a slightly older processor, but it's still a flagship chip. The performance is very similar to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, but it can't keep up with newer Snapdragon 8 Elite models.

It's paired with 12GB or 16GB of RAM, both of which are more than enough for heavy multitasking, and either 256GB or 512GB of storage, depending on your configuration. I have the 12GB+512GB model in for testing, so the performance is identical to the base model, just with more room for apps and photos.

While the processor might not be the latest and greatest available, there's still ample power available for just about anything you could want to do with your phone. It feels incredibly quick and snappy, demanding games run without issue, and honestly, it's only benchmarks that show the difference between this and the 8 Elite, in actual use, they feel about the same.

The X200 FE runs FunTouch OS 15, the same software as the X200 Pro, and all recent Vivo phones in the global market. It's what I'm used to, so I felt right at home.

It's a very customisable operating system, so if you don't like the way a certain aspect looks, you can change it with ease. Most importantly, the animation style is quick and smooth, and I didn't encounter any bugs during my testing. There's a little bit of bloatware to clean up, but nothing too egregious.

Since this is a global launch, it features all of the Google-powered creature comforts we've come to expect on Android, too. There's Gemini as the default assistant, Circle to Search, and of course, things like Google Wallet and Android Auto. Normally, these go without saying, but after living with a Chinese ROM Vivo handset for a while, I was very glad to have them back in my life.

Vivo doesn't add too many AI features on top of what Google provides, but I'm fine with that. Gemini can do most of what I need anyway. Instead, the brand mainly focuses on image editing tools like an AI-powered Image Expander, Reflection Eraser, and Photo Enhancer.

One of the more unusual features is called "AI Four Seasons Portrait." Essentially, you take a portrait photo, and after the fact, you can switch seasons, adding winter snow, autumn leaves or summer sun to the scene.

It's not something I would personally use much, but it works more effectively than you'd expect. At the very least, it's a fun party trick.

Despite being a smaller handset, the Vivo X200 FE actually packs the largest battery in the X200 lineup. It's a whopping 6500 mAh cell (unless you're in Germany or Hungary, where it's reduced to 5300 mAh) and this gave me high hopes for the phone's longevity.

Unfortunately, the reality wasn't quite what I expected. After a long day in London, I managed to drain the battery before bedtime, which is what I'd expect from a 5000 mAh cell, but I was hoping for more with this mammoth battery inside.

I should note, though, that I was unimpressed with the X200 Pro's battery when it first arrived - and in the time since, it has improved dramatically. Maybe FunTouch needs some tweaking, or maybe the phone just needs to learn my habits. Whatever the case, there's a very real possibility that the battery situation will improve.

The phone charges at an impressive 90W, and this speedy charger comes included in the box, which I always like to see. There's no wireless charging, though, and I think that's a little disappointing on something billed as a flagship.

Vivo X200 FE: Verdict

I have loved living with the Vivo X200 FE. In a lot of situations, the photos look almost as good as those that I take with the X200 Pro, but it's so nice to have a slim, compact phone in your pocket, rather than a chunky behemoth. If you're intrigued by Vivo's camera prowess, but you're not the type to lug around a massive slab of phone, this could be a good entry point.

That said, the downsides are plain to see. The main point of contention is that weak ultrawide camera, which just doesn't quite make sense to me. Even Vivo's more affordable V-series phones have managed to include 50MP ultrawide cameras - it's a very strange choice for such a premium device.

There's also no wireless charging, no LOG video recording and limited international availability. If you live in the UK or the US, the only way to get one is by importing, and most won't want to go through the hassle.

Otherwise, the X200 FE is solid on all fronts. It looks and feels great, it's speedy, has a massive battery and quick charging, and there's eSIM support, too. The starting price of €850 seems a little high, to me, but if you want that Vivo camera magic in a smaller package, that's the price you'll need to pay.

Alternatives

Vivo has taken the wraps off the Vivo X200 FE, a phone that distills some of the best of the company’s recent camera tech into a mini-flagship size (although sadly without that crazy Zeiss attachable lens).

Co-engineered by Zeiss, front and centre is a 50MP Zeiss main camera built around Sony’s IMX921 VCS Bionic sensor, which Vivo claims will produce richer colors and cleaner shadows. This is flanked by an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and a second 50MP Zeiss periscope telephoto camera that delivers 3x optical shots and stretches all the way to a headline 100x digital zoom.

Vivo’s AI-assisted zoom in the X200 Pro and X200 Ultra is some of the most impressive I have tested yet, and I can’t wait to see if the X200 FE can produce the same results.

When it comes to video, the X200 FE can shoot in a max output of 4K/60p. Around the front, there is a 50MP selfie snapper, with portrait retouching to keep you looking your best.

Zeiss shooting modes found in Vivo’s recent flagships make the jump to the X200 FE. Stage Mode can now freeze erratic concert lighting, Telephoto Landscape gains Night processing for distant skylines in low light, and Multifocal Portrait can produce portrait effects anywhere between 23mm to 100mm for more flexibility. The camera also has a Street Photography Mode for candid snaps, and three Classic Negative film looks for social-media-ready shots. My favourite Vivo feature is also present, with the option to choose from different classic Zeiss lens bokeh shapes to fit your image.

Aside from the cameras, this mini-flagship is built around a 6.31-inch 1.5K OLED Zeiss Color Master display. The phone is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 9300+ processor, 12GB or 16GB of RAM, and 256GB or 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The X200 FE comes with on-device Gemini AI tricks like Circle to Search, as well as AI-editing hacks like AI Image Expander, AI Reflection Remover, and AI Eraser.

The X200 FE weighs in at 183g, but still has an IP68/IP69 sealing, which means you can keep shooting when the weather turns. And a 6,500mAh (in most markets) BlueVolt battery, coupled with 90W FlashCharge, promises a day’s shooting and recharging in under an hour.

Playfully styled for the Gen-Z market, the X200 FE features some bright colour-blocking in Yellow Glow, Black Luxe, Blue Breeze, or Pink Vibe. Though the phone will be available "globally", Vivo hasn’t revealed pricing yet or which markets the device will actually come to, though European availability is likely.

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Recently, I've noticed a pattern emerging. The last two phones that I reviewed (the CMF Phone 2 Pro and Vivo X200 Ultra) both came supplied with external lens attachments. Plus, at MWC this year, both Xiaomi and Realme showcased concept phones with external lenses. So, all signs point towards more detachable lenses arriving in the future.

I was a little surprised by this development. Detachable lenses are nothing new, I used to carry around a clip-on wide-angle adapter in the years before ultrawide smartphone cameras became the norm. But now, with triple and even quadruple rear lenses found on flagship phones, you'd think detachable lenses would go extinct.

That said, there's another trend with camera-focused phones, and that's ever-increasing sensor sizes. I think most people will agree that having larger sensors in our phones is a good thing, but of course, the larger the sensor, the larger the optics need to be.

It's a bit of a cat-and-mouse game. Customers want the best possible image quality, but they still want a phone that fits in their pocket. Manufacturers have been testing the boundaries of how big a camera bump can be, and with the Vivo X200 Ultra in particular, I think we might be nearing the limit of acceptability.

So, how do smartphone cameras continue to evolve without getting any thicker? Well, one solution is detachable lenses.

Manufacturers still need to find a balance here, phone cameras are all about convenience, and having to attach a lens every time you shoot runs contrary to that goal. However, these recent designs have tackled that with finesse.

The current crop

Out of the devices that have launched so far, I think Vivo's implementation is the nicest. The camera system feels complete on its own without any attachments, but adding the optional teleconverter lens suddenly makes it much more appropriate for wildlife, stage shows and possibly even sports photography.

The same could be said for Xiaomi's concept phone from MWC, but of course, you can't actually buy that one. It has the full camera system from the Xiaomi 15, so you can happily use it without an attachment, but when you want that extra fidelity, you can magnetically attach a Micro Four-Thirds sensor and lens combo - pretty clever stuff.

On the other end of the spectrum, there's the CMF Phone 2 Pro - a budget phone that costs less than the X200 Ultra's optional teleconverter attachment. As you might expect, this phone doesn't pack ultra-large sensors, but it still has lens adapters available.

With the CMF Phone 2 Pro, it seems the goal is more to do with fun and novelty than outright image fidelity. The optional fisheye attachment doesn't hold up to much scrutiny, but it's a cool distorted perspective, and for some users, that's more than enough. The macro attachment is a little more practical, but we've seen flagships achieve similar results without an external lens - so in this case, it may just be a more cost-effective method to capture macro shots.

What comes next?

We recently saw a patent from Samsung that suggests the brand is working on an interchangeable lens phone, and Realme showed an early concept device at MWC that worked with Leica M-mount manual lenses. With all the hype surrounding Vivo's latest launch, I wouldn't be surprised to see other brands looking to get in on the action, too.

These lenses will almost certainly divide opinion. Some people seem to be vehemently against carrying extra bits that attach to their phone, but for me, it makes perfect sense.

I don't know if a phone will ever rival my full-frame setup, but for my needs, phones have already replaced compact cameras. I used to take my Lumix GX9 when I wanted something lightweight to travel with, but now that my phone is almost as good, it just sits gathering dust.

It's just hard to justify carrying an extra device, lenses, batteries and all the other associated bits, when my phone is already in my pocket. Now, so long as the results are worthwhile, an extra lens or two for the phone makes more sense to me. The X200 Ultra's teleconverter has already proven to be worth the hassle, and that has me very excited about what's yet to come.

Only time will tell what interchangeable lens options hit the market, but it's easy to imagine the possibilities: Whether it's longer optical zooms, larger sensors or something new entirely. It seems like camera phones are about to get weirder and more modular, and I think that's a very good thing.

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About a decade ago, when even the best camera phones typically only came with a single camera on the rear, I used to carry around a clip-on wide-angle adapter. While it certainly degraded the image quality somewhat, it gave me the added versatility that I craved.

A few years later, ultra-wides started appearing on more and more phones – and it wasn't long before my little clip-on lens adapter felt like a relic of the past.

Of course, these adapters went in the other direction, too. Before smartphone telephoto cameras became the norm, clip-on teleconverters were more abundant. I was never as convinced by these; while they worked, the image quality left a lot to be desired – and stabilization was often a nightmare.

Vivo's new teleconverter

Skipping forward to the present day, Vivo has just launched its latest flagship phone in China, the Vivo X200 Ultra. Along with it, there's an optional Photography Kit, which comes with an ergonomic grip and a 2.35x teleconverter lens, made in collaboration with Zeiss.

I was immediately intrigued but, having used similar teleconverters in the past, my expectations were on the ground. There were a couple of things that gave a glimmer of hope, though.

The first is that the teleconverter is designed to work with Vivo's incredible 85mm equivalent 200MP telephoto camera. If any sensor can make the most of external optics, it's this one.

The second is that it's made in partnership with Zeiss. We all know that Zeiss makes outstanding glass, so surely this is a cut above your average teleconverter.

When I first took the lens out of the packaging, I was immediately impressed. It's got some real heft to it, it's made entirely from metal and glass, and it looks as though it belongs on top of a rifle rather than attached to a smartphone.

How it works

The lens comes packed with an adapter plate that connects to a bayonet mount on the Photography Kit phone case. Somewhat amusingly, it adds its own (much smaller) bayonet mount for the lens itself. It's a little fiddly to attach, but it definitely beats a screw-on design.

It also comes with a lens collar and an Arca-Swiss compatible baseplate. The lens probably weighs as much as the phone itself, so this makes some sense, but it does feel unusual to have your tripod mount so off-center.

It's certainly a bulky kit, and it looks a little crazy when it's all attached, but with the deep ergonomic grip attached, there's at least some semblance of balance. Using the telephoto adapter without the grip feels extremely strange.

When it's attached, the image is upside-down in the normal camera mode, which makes it almost impossible to frame your shot, and it also looks pretty shaky. However, that's because you need to switch to the Telephoto Extender mode – which flips the image and boosts the stabilization.

I was surprised at how well this mode works. With the teleconverter attached, the 85mm telephoto effectively becomes a 200mm lens. It's not easy to keep that kind of focal length steady, especially as part of a lightweight setup, but the software does some incredible compensation to smooth things out.

The camera app doesn't give you quite as many options in the Telephoto Extender mode, for instance, there's no high-res shooting or snapshot mode, and there's no manual control option, either. I'd love to see some more options added, and I suspect we will as the software matures.

As it stands, the basics are covered well, you can adjust the sharpness, contrast, saturation and brightness in photo mode, and you can capture video at up to 4K 60p.

How it performs

So, the big question is, is this adapter actually worth using? For me, the answer is a resounding yes. Shooting at the native 200 mm focal length, I was floored by the sharpness and compression. I've never seen such clarity and depth from a smartphone shot, especially at such a long focal length.

The autofocus is a little slower with it attached, and it definitely hunts a little more, but it's worth persisting because the results can be stunning.

The app gives you buttons to digitally crop to a 400, 800 or 1600mm-equivalent focal length when your subject is further away. Obviously the further you push it, the worse the results will be – but they're far better than zooming that far with the native lens.

I was impressed with the quality at 400 and 800mm, but the AI image processing becomes a little overbearing at 1600mm. In any case, the effect can be dialed back by reducing the sharpness slider in the app.

I was very curious to see how the lens would perform at night. The app clearly does some serious electronic stabilization, and I wondered if it could keep up when the light gets low. It turns out, the results are arguably even better.

The reason I say that is because zooming to 200mm at night without the adapter produces very underwhelming results. It's a pretty heavy digital crop, and that creates a lot of noise. Vivo's image processing does an amazing job of removing it, but details are lost in the process.

Comparing 200mm shots with and without the adapter, the difference is night and day. There's so much more detail and, of course, that same wonderful compression to add depth to the shots.

Video results are excellent, too. I was really surprised by how well the stabilization works and, if it's not enough, you can even turn on Ultra Stable mode at the cost of a small crop.

The Achilles heel is, again, the autofocus. It hunts quite a lot, and hopefully that's something that can be improved with newer firmware.

Final thoughts

I truly expected the Vivo X200 Ultra's teleconverter to be something that ended up sitting on my shelf gathering dust, but that's not the case at all. In fact, almost every time I leave it at home, I regret not taking it.

The X200 Ultra already has one of the most versatile smartphone camera systems, and the teleconverter makes it even more so. Sure it's a little annoying to carry, but even compared to compact cameras it's comparatively convenient.

When dismantled, I can fit everything in my pockets – and the whole setup weighs less than most of my full-frame camera lenses. Since I'm already going to be carrying a phone anyway, bringing the adapter along is much easier than carrying a separate camera.

The Vivo X200 Ultra and its Photography Kit are only available to purchase in China, which is a bit of shame – but I think there's a good chance we'll see more solutions like this in the future.

At this year's MWC event, both Xiaomi and Realme showed concept phones with detachable lenses – and after seeing the popularity of Vivo's efforts, I'm sure others will follow suit. After trying it for myself, I'm very excited to see more external optics in the smartphone market.

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Since the Vivo X200 Pro launched in late 2024, I've been convinced that it's probably the best camera phone for photography. As a result, whenever I'm not actively testing a phone for review, it's the one I choose to keep in my pocket.

It's only recently that I began to question the X200 Pro's status as the king of smartphone photography. We've just seen the launch of the wildly impressive Xiaomi 15 Ultra, followed by the Oppo Find X8 Ultra, but now it's Vivo's turn.

The X200 Ultra goes all out on the camera specifications, with three massive sensors on the rear and a new 35 mm-equivalent main camera. All signs point toward a new camera champ, but unfortunately, this one's only launching in China.

Still, with specs like these, I just had to know what it's like to shoot with - and of course, I needed to put the outlandish Photography Kit and Zeiss teleconverter to the test, too.

So, is this really the best camera phone on the market, or has the hype gotten out of hand? After living with it as my main device for the past week, here's everything I learned.

Vivo X200 Ultra: Specifications

Vivo X200 Ultra: Price

The Vivo X200 Ultra has only officially launched in China, so you won't find it through local retailers in the rest of the world. That said, if you're determined enough, there are various websites that will allow you to import the Chinese model.

At present, there are no indications that Vivo plans to launch the X200 Ultra outside of China, and the same was true of the X100 Ultra – and with the current situtation with tariffs, good luck getting one into the US. In the UK, Importers like WondaMobile and TradingShenzhen have prices starting from around £850 (~$1,200). The Photography Kit will set you back around £150 (~$200) without the teleconverter lens, or about £300 (~$400) for the whole kit.

Keep in mind, though, that imports may incur duties or other customs fees. There are other downsides to owning an imported Chinese phone, too, some of which we'll explore in this review. For instance, the Google Play Store needs to be downloaded manually, you might have issues setting up contactless payments or Wear OS watches, and Android Auto can be troublesome.

Vivo X200 Ultra: Design & Handling

The Vivo X200 Ultra has similar styling to the X200 Pro that launched in late 2024, however, there's one big difference: The camera bump is even larger. Given the size of the Vivo X200 Pro's camera module, that's really saying something. Personally, I think a bulging pocket is a worthy tradeoff for excellent camera performance, so I'm not too fazed.

The display still has quad micro-curves at the edges, and the rear has matching curves. The side rails are mostly flat, and the buttons are in their usual position. If it wasn't for the sharp, angular edge of the camera unit, I could easily mistake the Ultra for my X200 Pro, which has lived in my pocket for the last six months.

I have the Silver version in for testing. It looks almost white in some lighting, and it has a ribbed texture running down the majority of the back panel. However, despite the looks, the back panel is actually flat, with a smooth velvety texture across the whole thing. There's also a deep red colourway, as well as a more subtle black model.

This is the first Vivo phone to feature an iPhone-like camera control button, and while it's not the most original idea, I think Vivo's implementation might be the best yet. The main reason for this is the positioning; it's much closer to the corner, so it's easier to reach when the phone is held in landscape mode.

Then, there's the fact that you can half-press the button to lock your focus and exposure. This ability was recently added to iPhones, too, but you have to hold and press for longer on the iPhone to make it lock on. Vivo's implementation feels more natural, and I use it more often as a result.

Of course, it also has similar swipe controls, and you can adjust your EV compensation, zoom or switch lenses with it. It's not quite as comprehensive as Apple's selection, and I would have liked to see swipable picture profiles, but thankfully, the most-used options are covered.

My review unit came with the optional Photography Kit, designed in partnership with PGYTech, and the Zeiss-made teleconverter. It's a really impressive package, a lot like the one for the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, and it's comprised of a case, a hand grip, a lanyard and the lens.

The case is a little more plasticky-feeling than I was expecting, but it looks good and it fits the phone well. There's also a built-in kickstand, which is always handy.

It has a bayonet-style mount that surrounds the camera housing, and it comes with two decorative plastic bezels as well as a metal adapter with threading for 67mm filters. It's perfect if you want to experiment with ND filters or maybe add some diffusion.

The hand grip connects to the phone over USB-C, and it clips securely onto the end of the case. It's a deeper grip than most similar products that I've tried, and it instantly makes it feel like you're holding a camera, rather than a phone.

The grip has a built-in 2300 mAh battery to keep the phone topped up while you're shooting, and it also adds a shutter button, zoom rocker and a video record button. The shutter has a nice feel to it, and it's two-stage, so you can half-press to focus.

It's all quality stuff, and it really does elevate the shooting experience, but we've seen basically the same thing from Xiaomi. Where Vivo differentiates itself, though, is with the optional Zeiss teleconverter. This external lens connects over the top of the built-in telephoto to add an extra 3.25x magnification, giving you an effective 200 mm focal length.

The teleconverter itself is about the size of a cigar, and it's much heavier than I was expecting. The housing is all made from metal, and it feels extremely high quality. It looks a bit bonkers when it's attached to the phone, but the quality produced makes it well worth the added bulk - we'll talk more about the images later on.

The photography kit and lens are a fairly pricey add-on, and they'll set you back at least £300 (~$400) when imported, but in my opinion, they're worth every penny. This phone is all about an uncompromising approach to smartphone photography, and I think it makes sense to complete the package.

Vivo X200 Ultra: Camera Performance

For me, the most exciting thing about the Vivo X200 Ultra is its unique arrangement of rear cameras. Rather than throwing the best specs and the primary camera and having less impressive auxiliary lenses, all three rear cameras have comparable specs.

Both the ultrawide and the primary camera use the same Sony LYT-818 1/1.28-inch 50 MP sensor with OIS, while the telephoto uses the tried and tested 1/1.4-inch 200 MP Samsung HP9. That's the same telephoto sensor as the X200 Pro and Xiaomi 15 Ultra, so we already know how impressive it is.

In essence, this means that you can always choose the best focal length for your shot, regardless of the lighting conditions. Each camera has a pretty huge sensor, so you'll never be left compromising just to gather enough light.

The other really interesting thing about this system is that the primary camera has a 35 mm-equivalent focal length (or 1.5x in smartphone terms), rather than the typical 23-24 mm. I'm a huge fan of this move; it produces images with far less distortion and makes composing a pleasing frame much easier. It also creates more compression, so close-up shots have a smooth creamy bokeh that you wouldn't expect from a smartphone.

Of course, sometimes you need a wider FOV, and for those times, the newly upgraded ultrawide steps up to fill the gap. It's a 14 mm equivalent lens, but you can digitally zoom to a 24/28 mm-equivalent view without a noticeable drop in quality. Of course, a native 24 mm lens might look better, but Vivo is betting you'll prefer to shoot at 35 mm most of the time, and for me, that's 100% true.

As an added benefit, you undoubtedly get the best ultrawide camera of any phone. I've never used a smartphone that has such a large sensor on its ultrawide camera, not to mention OIS. I like to shoot wide, but I often feel limited by poor low-light performance, and that's certainly not the case here.

As for the telephoto, it's essentially the same as the one on the Vivo X200 Pro, just with a slightly wider aperture. I've been using the X200 Pro as my primary phone for about six months now, and I've been addicted to this 85 mm-equivalent telephoto the entire time, so I have no complaints about seeing it here, too. It's a great lens for candid street snaps, and it has excellent macro capabilities, too.

This telephoto might not have class-leading reach; it's only 3.7x, while the iPhone 16 Pro and S25 Ultra have 5x telephotos, but it can digitally zoom further than most. This is thanks to a combination of the high-resolution 200 MP sensor and some very clever image processing. Shots up to around 10x look incredible, and you'll even get usable images when you push it to 20 or 30x.

Of course, you can boost the telephoto capabilities further with the 2.35x Zeiss teleconverter. I was expecting this to be a bit of a party trick, having tried low-cost smartphone lens adapters in the past, but this adapter is in an entirely different league.

At 200 mm, the external lens captures significantly more detail than the native telephoto, but the biggest difference might be the compression. Getting even remotely close to your subject creates a very shallow depth of field, and easily the most subject separation I have seen from a smartphone. It's super impressive, and photos taken with this lens attached could easily be mistaken for mid-range mirrorless camera snaps.

It's just as impressive in low light. I had feared the external lens would be impossible to stabilise in such conditions, but somehow Vivo has managed it. Comparing 200 mm shots with and without the adapter, the teleconverter has far less noise, as it's using the whole sensor, rather than cropping in.

The big challenge with this teleconverter is focusing. The phone will still autofocus with the lens attached, but it's not as quick or reliable. It makes shooting moving subjects quite challenging, and frustratingly, there's no manual focus option in the camera app's "Telephoto Extender" mode. Hopefully, we'll see some improvements as the software matures.

Around the front, the Vivo X200 Ultra has a 50 MP punch-hole selfie camera. I was really pleased to see that it has autofocus capabilities, as that was missing on the X200 Pro, but unsurprisingly, it's the least impressive camera on this phone.

It takes very decent selfies, and Vivo's excellent image processing helps to make the most of this lens, but don't expect to be astonished by the results. Low-light shots often suffer from motion blur, and video from the front camera has pretty disappointing stabilisation.

Speaking of video performance, the Vivo X200 Ultra is no slouch. It offers LOG recording, as well as up to 4K 120fps recording on all of the rear lenses. Stabilisation is great on all of the rear cameras, and having such a large sensor on the ultrawide makes it great for vlog-style shots. It's really only the microphones that let it down. They're not awful, but they're noticeably worse than the S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro. At least the native camera app has good support for external mics.

Vivo X200 Ultra: Phone Performance

The Vivo X200 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm's top-performing chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite. My sample came with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, but it's also available with 15GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage.

With specs like this, it's no surprise that the X200 Ultra is a powerhouse. It feels extremely snappy, no matter what you're doing, and it'll run any Android game without breaking a sweat. All this power is great for video editing and image manipulation, too.

The phone has a massive 6000 mAh battery, and it comes with a speedy 90W charger in the box. It also supports wireless charging at up to 40W, if you have a compatible charging pad. I've been using the camera quite heavily since the phone arrived, which is always hard on the battery, but it has still been exceeding my expectations.

On average, I'm getting about a day and a half of use per charge. If I'm not so trigger-happy with the camera, two days on a charge is quite easy to achieve. I wasn't expecting it to last as long as my Vivo X200 Pro, as the Snapdragon 8 Elite is notoriously power-hungry, but so far, it seems just as good.

It runs Origin OS, Vivo's custom flavour of Android 15 for the Chinese market. Despite testing dozens of Vivo phones, it's my first time using Origin OS, as the international versions run FunTouch OS instead. I definitely prefer the aesthetics of Origin OS, and it's absolutely packed with features, but there are a few downsides when it comes to using this phone outside of China.

There's no Play Store or Google services by default, but it's very easy to get it up and running. You can download the Play Store directly from Vivo's App Store and get everything configured within a matter of minutes. Once you do, you'll be able to access all of your usual apps, but not everything works as you'd expect it to.

For instance, you can install Google Wallet and log into it, but I wasn't able to add a payment card. If you try to use Android Auto or a Wear OS watch, you might not have much success, either. There's also no native support for Circle to Search and Gemini, and there's no eSIM.

The most annoying thing for me, though, is the delayed notifications. Vivo's battery optimisations are extremely aggressive, so I had to spend a good half an hour turning off as many as possible. Even after doing all that, my WhatsApp messages rarely appear without me opening the app manually. It's very frustrating.

Of course, these problems are all caused by using the phone outside of its intended region. Vivo's international flagships don't have the same problems, and I'm sure using the phone with Chinese apps like WeChat would be much more seamless.

With enough determination, you could absolutely use this phone as a daily driver in the UK (as I have been), but it'll take some tinkering, and it's worth being aware of the limitations before taking the plunge.

Vivo X200 Ultra: Verdict

After living with the X200 Pro for the past six months, I had extremely high expectations for the Vivo X200 Ultra. That's usually a good way to set yourself up for disappointment, but that's not what happened here. In fact, at least in the photography department, the X200 Ultra exceeded my expectations.

I underestimated how much I would appreciate having such a well-specced ultrawide camera, and shooting with a 35mm primary lens made a bigger difference than I anticipated, too. Not to mention the photography kit and the excellent Zeiss teleconverter, which blew me away with its compression and sharp detail.

While the cameras are the big draw, the phone is great elsewhere. The performance is top-notch, the battery lasts for ages, it charges quickly, and the screen is lovely.

Of course, no phone is perfect. The selfie camera is good, but it's not the best, and it could really use some extra stabilisation for video shooting. The microphones are pretty mediocre too, they'll need some work to beat the likes of Apple.

Other than that, most of my complaints are related to the Chinese software. I can't really hold any of that against Vivo, as it's not designed to be used by European customers. Still, it's worth keeping in mind if you decide to import.

This could well be the best camera phone ever made, and it's a crying shame that it's not launching internationally. I sincerely hope Vivo expands the availability when the next Ultra rolls around.

Alternatives

We’re inching toward a 35mm smartphone future, finally. After last year's Nubia Z60 Ultra made the switch, the recently announced Nubia Z70 Ultra and Vivo X200 Ultra are breaking away from the 23mm status quo that’s overstayed its welcome.

For the longest time, smartphones have saved their best hardware for the primary 23mm equivalent focal length cameras – and this made perfect sense back in 2015, when phones had one camera.

After all, 23mm is very versatile. Wide but not too wide; great for group shots while limiting distortion; anyone who wants to zoom can pinch in; and there's no real need for an ultra-wide, as recent phones like the Razr 50 Ultra prove, ditching it to save space.

Born during the days when phones had only a single camera, the 23mm primary camera was a staple – and remained so even after manufacturers added a second, third, and fourth camera to the back of phones.

However, building a suite of lenses around a 23mm main camera has its drawbacks when you step back and consider the bigger picture.

The bigger picture

Triple, quad and even penta cameras have become the standard for camera phones in recent years.

Take the best flagships of 2025: the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Oppo Find X8 Ultra, and Xiaomi 15 Ultra have four cameras around the back, while the Google Pixel 9 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro and Vivo X200 Pro have three.

However, when you look at the focal length spread, each phone’s focal lengths are heavily skewed towards the wide end of the spectrum. See for yourself:

As you can see above, the 23mm primary cameras of all these current-gen flagships have to pull double duty to bridge the gap before the telephoto cameras kick in.

Quad camera phones like the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Oppo Find X8 Ultra help things along, but there’s still an unnecessary front-loading at the wide end of the spectrum.

In other words, phones are stacking wide-angle lenses on wide-angle lenses, and leaving a gap in the most natural focal length range for human vision: between 35 and 50mm.

By contrast, phones like the Nubia Z70 Ultra and Vivo X200 Ultra share the burden more evenly, as illustrated below:

What’s most impressive about both these phones is the fact that each camera is at least 50MP resolution – unlike Samsung, which has a 10MP 67mm camera – so Nubia and Vivo support in-sensor cropping for higher-quality zooming between cameras.

This is all theoretically assuming a more even spread is beneficial. But I conducted a quick, small-sample survey of a group of roughly 70 people’s favorite focal lengths (all subscribers to a tech YouTube channel), and respondents overwhelmingly opted for 35mm or greater, with 35mm winning out.

All this brings us back to these two forward-thinking smartphones, the Nubia Z70 Ultra and the Vivo X200 Ultra, each exceptional in its own way.

I’ve been using the Z70 Ultra for a few weeks now, so will kick off with a deep dive into why I think it’s exceptional and why it paves the way for the X200 Ultra to be near-perfect by today’s camera phone standards.

Nubia Z70 Ultra

The Nubia Z70 Ultra has three cameras: a very wide ultra-wide, with a 13mm equivalent focal length; a 35mm primary camera, which has a variable aperture that takes it from f/1.6 through to f/4; and a 70mm periscope camera.

There’s a lot to unpack here, but rather than start with the focal length, I’m going to focus on the variable aperture.

We’ve seen variable apertures on phones before. The Honor Magic 7 Pro’s is a modest f/1.4-2.0, while the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s is a more comprehensive f/1.6-4.0 – which, paired with a 1-inch sensor, delivered meaningful results.

Nubia matches last year’s Xiaomi 14 Ultra with its own 35mm f/1.6-4.0 aperture lens.

While Nubia doesn’t have a 1-inch sensor on its phone like Xiaomi, its primary 50MP 1/1.56-inch sensor and tighter 35mm equivalent focal length capture with a very shallow depth of field at f/1.6, and switching to f/4.0 makes a meaningful difference to both focus and light intake.

The result is a primary camera that’s technically one of the most impressive I’ve ever used, and I’ve been testing camera phones for over 15 years.

The Z70 Ultra’s ultra-wide is a 50MP, 1/2.88-inch sensor with a roughly 13mm equivalent focal length, making it one of the widest ultra-wides around.

With its high resolution, it can comfortably crop in at 24mm and capture good-looking shots, though a smaller sensor can struggle to bridge the gap between 13mm and 35mm in the dark, even if the resolution is up to the task of capturing a lossless 12MP shot.

More impressive is the 70mm telephoto camera. With its 1/2-inch sensor, 64MP resolution and fast f/2.5 aperture lens with a roughly 10cm nearest focus, it’s extremely versatile, great for product shots, portraits and, thanks to respectable AI zoom performance, it’s also a powerful tele camera at 100mm and beyond.

Given everything else the Nubia Z70 Ultra has going for it – the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset makes it a gaming powerhouse, there’s a huge 6150mAh battery that lasts over a day, and the all-screen display free from a notch or punch hole looks glorious – it’s easy to overlook drawbacks of this standout 35mm smartphone.

After a few weeks using it, though, there are a few that shouldn’t be overlooked.

First, the front camera – which is an in-display, invisible punch hole – may look futuristic but its picture quality is subpar. So if you’re looking for a vlogging or lowlight selfie option, look elsewhere.

Nubia’s photo processing is also less refined than that of Google, Oppo or Vivo. It isn’t bad, per se, but I frequently butted heads with blown-out highlights and overexposed scenes that alternatives wouldn’t have struggled with.

The phone also misses out on wireless charging and the software update promise can’t stack up to the seven years offered by Google, Samsung and Honor.

Despite its drawbacks, though, on a pure camera level the Nubia Z70 Ultra is a value champion that’s both avant-garde in its style and camera configuration, and edges ahead of established players like the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Galaxy S25 Ultra for me.

It costs significantly less, packs plenty to geek out over, and feels more like a point-and-shoot – helped by the physical shutter key, perfect for 35mm street photography.

Vivo X200 Ultra

The final word in this tribute to 35mm photography will leave you with the specs of the Vivo X200 Ultra, arguably the most exciting camera phone of the past few years.

The main reason the X200 Ultra looks so good is that it is a true camera system, ditching the notion of a primary camera and instead featuring large, primary-sized sensors, matched with novel focal lengths that photographers have clearly curated.

For starters, the 35mm and 14mm cameras both feature the same 50MP, 1/1.28-inch Sony IMX 818 sensor – the same size as the primary camera sensor of an iPhone 16 Pro Max and larger than the S25 Ultra’s main sensor.

That means there really isn’t a primary camera on the X200 Ultra, they're all primary cameras.

The ultra-wide has a 14mm equivalent focal length and a fast f/2.0 aperture, and in a turn for the books optical image stabilization (OIS) – which is almost never seen on an ultra-wide camera.

Punch into 35mm and there’s a fast f/1.7 aperture lens with gimbal OIS, so each of these is built to bridge the gap to the next optical focal length for maximum freedom.

Finally, the 85mm telephoto camera has a 1/1.4-inch 200MP sensor, which was seen on the Vivo X200 Pro. Considering this is the best telephoto implementation I’ve tested to date, the Vivo X200 Ultra’s periscope camera doesn’t need to be better than that of the Pro in order to make the Ultra’s zoom impressive.

Throw into the mix an optical screw-on 200mm lens that Vivo’s launching alongside the X200 Ultra, and a camera grip, not to mention the Zeiss co-engineering across all Vivo’s high-end devices, and this is clearly a photographer’s phone in a way that iPhones, Galaxys and Pixels aren’t.

The bad news is that there is no confirmed release for the X200 Ultra outside China. Unlike the Nubia Z70 Ultra, Vivo’s top-tier devices don’t tend to get European or US launches. Hopefully that will change, given the global interest in its latest 35mm, all-primary camera flagship. For now, though, you'll need to import one to try it out.

Whether or not the X200 Ultra ever makes it to global shelves, its message is loud and clear: the era of focal length inertia is over. Phones are ready for camera systems built around 35mm cameras – and so are photographers.

Vivo has revealed the design and key specifications of its new flagship, the X200 Ultra, which is set to launch on April 21 in China. Now, Vivo's product manager has announced interesting details for mobile shooters: the X200 Ultra will be available with an advanced photography kit. So, the Vivo X200 Ultra could feel more like a smart camera than just another smartphone.

Smartphone photography is super popular nowadays, but many of us still feel like a DSLR or mirrorless camera just fits better in our hands, creating a different vibe when capturing images. Seems like Vivo took this feedback in while developing new accessories for the X200 Ultra series, which are similar to what we have seen within Xiaomi’s Ultra range.

On Weibo, Han Boxiao, Vivo’s product manager, shared some details of the photography kit. To summarize these, here are the key features:

- Type-C connection to ensure everything runs smoothly without delays
- 2,300mAh battery for longer shooting sessions, perfect for outdoor adventures
- Bracket design to help stabilize your shots
- Shutter button to make users feel more like using a DSLR or mirrorless camera
- Professional shoulder strap for easy carrying

Han Boxiao said that the housing will come in a retro design that might be available in several colors and teased that there’s one more addition in the photography kit to come.

With these features, combined with a Zeiss optic, the Vivo X200 Ultra could shift the way some people view smartphones in photography. The new shutter button and grip promise to offer smart photographers improved control and a more enjoyable shooting experience.

Now, the big question is: will the Vivo X200 Ultra be available outside of China? Vivo hasn’t confirmed its global availability yet, but considering their growing presence in recent years, there’s a small hope for smart photographers beyond China to get their hands on the X200 Ultra.

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If you are into smart photography, check our guide to the best smartphone cameras, or check our guide about the best phone for video recording and vlogging.

The new Vivo X200 Ultra is sounding like an amazing option for smartphone photographers. And the news just keeps on getting more exciting – a Zeiss 200mm lens on this new flagship phone. Let's see how this works.

Vivo’s partnership with Zeiss is not new – they have been working together since late 2020. However, this time the new lens possibilities are different. In product manager Han Boxiao's post on Weibo, which we translated using Deepl, he kicked things off with "Subverting imagination!"

Boxiao followed with the news that the 200mm zoom lens, co-engineered with Zeiss, will be an available add-on option for the Vivo X200 Ultra. An attached image shows the 200mm optic connected to the phone, indicating that the zoom can be mounted using a custom adapter over the X200 Ultra's 200MP periscope zoom lens.

The lens has an aperture of f/2.3 and consists of 3 groups featuring 13 high-transparency glass elements. It enhances the native 3.7x optical zoom of the 200MP sensor. With a focal length equivalent to 200mm, the lens provides 8.6x optical zoom and up to 70x hybrid zoom.

Han Boxiao stated that shots taken at up to 800mm (35x zoom) are highly usable, while shooting at a focal length of 1600mm (70x zoom) is equivalent to the original 30x zoom effect.

Here are the other optics you can expect for the Vivo X200 Ultra (according to the Federation of Independent Photographers on Weibo):

• 85mm Zeiss APO super telephoto lens II
• 14mm Zeiss ultra-wide-angle lens
• 35mm Zeiss human documentary lens

All three lenses come with Zeiss T* coating, full-focus OIS (optical image stabilization), and they can shoot 4K 60p 10-bit log video, as well as 4K 120p slow-motion video. Plus, the Vivo X200 Ultra features camera control buttons, zoom flash andSLR-level flash portrait capabilities.

With the announcement that the X200 Ultra will be available with an advanced photography kit, this smart device becomes increasingly interesting among smart photographers of all kinds.

The launch is set for April 21 in China, though Vivo hasn’t confirmed international availability yet. With all the growth we’ve seen in recent years, let’s keep our fingers crossed that the new flagship smartphone arrives in global markets too.

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If you are into smart photography, check our guide to the best smartphone cameras, or check our guide about the best phone for video recording and vlogging.

The Vivo V50 combines sleek style, modest performance, and one of our favorite cameras of any midrange phone, with its Zeiss tuning and capable wide and ultra-wide hardware. If you’ve been eyeing up the Vivo X200 Pro, one of the best camera phones out now, the V50 shares some of the same experiences at a lower price, though unlike it’s predecessor, the V40, it isn’t launching alongside a Pro.

With no Pro, the V50 series is limited to midrange power from Qualcomm – a Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 – and no telephoto camera either. It also has a polished plastic frame, though the front and rear sport glass to add a degree of premium to the feel and finish. There’s also a huge 6000mAh battery powering the Vivo V50 and up to 512GB storage, making for an interesting phone with some welcome flagship flourishes .

As tempting as the V50 looks, it has a couple of factors holding it back from the jump. First, there are a lot of excellent midrange phones, with the Poco X7 Pro packing more power and an equally gargantuan 6000mAh battery, the Nothing Phone (3a) dropping soon with oodles of style, and the Redmi Note 14 Pro sporting a mighty 200MP primary camera. The second factor holding it back is availability, which is set to start with Asian and Middle Eastern markets and then, as with the Vivo X200 series, eventually launch further afield.

After two weeks with the phone, though, is the V50 worth hunting down, and can it fend off stiff competition, or is it better admired from afar?

Vivo V50 review: design and screen

The most striking design choice about the V50 I tested is the color. Sure, you could pick it up in the Titanium Grey version, but this copper-burgundy Rose Red option is attention-grabbing, and the blue Starry Night color also takes some risks.

In the flesh, the V50 does a great job fending off fingerprints with its matte glass back, and it also feels surprisingly slim, considering the size of the battery within. Vivo is following the trend of flattening its screens – typically curved on past V series Vivo phones – but the V50 features a flat display with slightly curved glass on all sides, a design element typically reserved for flagships.

The glass curves into the polished plastic frame, which looks like metal, even if it doesn’t feel like metal, and the curves ensure it sits comfortably in the hand despite the large 6.77-inch screen. Impressively, the phone isn’t too heavy either at under 200g, making it one of the lightest 6000mAh battery devices we’ve tested.

Also impressive, the Vivo V50 is both IP68/IP69 dust and water-resistant, so it can be submerged in water and sprayed with hot jets, adding flagship durability.

While the screen won't win awards with its 1080 x 2392 resolution and 388 PPI pixel density, it looks great in the flesh, with support for HDR10 video, and runs at a smooth 120Hz.

Its peak full-screen brightness of 1300 nits and HDR brightness of 4500 nits are both competitive and make sure it’s easy to make out what’s on-screen in bright outdoor conditions. The picture also looks great, with its AMOLED blacks, vibrant colors, and rich contrast ratio.

Vivo V50 review: camera specs

In a world of triple and quad-camera phones, the Vivo V50 shines with just two cameras around the back: a wide and ultra-wide camera. On paper, the primary camera isn’t class-leading, but unlike much of the competition, both cameras are good.

23mm wide camera: 50MP resolution, 1/1.55-inch sensor; f/1.9 aperture, 23mm lens with OIS

15mm ultra-wide camera: 50MP resolution, 1/2.76-inch sensor; f/2.0 aperture lens with AF.

21mm selfie camera: 50MP resolution, 1/2.76-inch sensor; f/2.0 aperture lens.

Vivo’s included Zeiss optics in its cameras, and the rear camera mix also benefits from an Aura Light complete with control over warmth and strength, adding a practical level of creative control over shots of subjects.

Both front and rear cameras can record video at 4K, 30fps video, which is exactly what you would hope for at the phone’s price and positioning.

Vivo V50 review: camera verdict

The best thing about the Vivo V50's camera is that there are no duds. Both rear cameras and the selfie camera are at least good for the price, which is in contrast to some alternatives like the Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus with a poor ultra-wide and a pointless macro camera. The fact there's no dedicated telephoto camera isn't a dealbreaker at the price. As you can see below, day or night, the camera can capture a good-looking photo between 2-4 times zoom comfortably.

In bright environments, JPGs taken in auto mode showcase impressive balance, with rich detail, strong dynamic range that retains shadow detail without overly boosting backlit subjects, and relatively natural color reproduction. To get the colors you want, choose your shooting mode – Vivid, Textured, or Zeiss Natural. Most photos in this review were captured in the default Vivid mode.

It isn't a stretch to say the Vivo V50's daylight shots showcase better balance than some flagships like the Galaxy S25 Ultra, however, where the V50 falls behind is zoom, specifically at night. As you can see below, it still does a good job; however, it applies significantly more aggressive processing to get a good shot.

What's also impressive about the V50 is its versatility. Flagships like the Galaxy S25 miss out on autofocus on the ultra-wide camera. However, the V50 includes it, and with the main camera doing a good job of nearby subjects, it opens up two means of macro-style photography.

At 2x zoom, the V50 also removes the lens distortion typically seen on wide-angle cameras, minimizes the potential to cast shadows, and retains impressive detail, making the phone a strong option for product photography.

It's also great to see the Aura Light make a meaningful difference to how photos look. You can see two examples below, with the light's hue reaching beyond close-up objects for versatility over your RAW photo's look.

Video also looks great at up to 4K 60fps from the main camera. This is where the ultra-wide and selfie cameras fall behind, producing soft detail at night, and weaker stabilization in the day, especially from the selfie camera. There is an ultra-steady mode that saves the day for vlogging. However, these caps capture to 1080p.

Vivo V50 review: performance and battery

The Vivo V50 is powered by a good, midrange chipset, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3. Respectable for modest gaming sessions, while it isn't a powerhouse, it still ensures day-to-day tasks, photo editing, and even 4K video edits are handled smoothly.

With either 8GB or 12GB RAM and 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage, there's plenty of scope to scale up the V50 experience, and this review is based on the top-spec 12GB 512GB model.

Launching with Funtouch 15 on top of Android 15, the Vivo V50 is future-proofed with three years of major OS updates, taking it to Android 18 and four years of security updates. This falls behind some competition, even at the phone's price, with more brands offering six years of security updates midrange phones.

As for the interface experience, Funtouch OS is fine but never stands out. Home screen management feels like an Honor, OPPO, or Samsung flagship from 2023, and simple tasks like removing a watermark from a picture aren't possible in the editing suite, requiring a manual crop. These oversights age the experience, slightly detracting from an otherwise excellent midrange camera phone.

Vivo doesn't make a big deal about its AI tools like Google, and Samsung do, likely because they're less extensive in its Western Funtouch OS when compared to its Chinese Origin OS; however, scratch the surface, and you'll find a modest, yet sufficient AI offering, with voice transcription within the Recorder app, AI object eraser within the image editing tools, and Google's Circle to Search all present and working well.

The phone also checks almost all our connectivity/biometric boxes with 5G, NFC, an in-display fingerprint scanner, and face unlock. The missing link is eSIM support, which will be a pain for frequent travellers in particular.

With an ultra-high-capacity 6000 mAh battery, a significant 1000 mAh more than most competing phones, the ample battery capacity translates to better-than-day-long power, so you could even get two full days out of it with moderate use.

With 90W wired charging, the phone powers up in around an hour, faster than iPhones, Galaxys, and Pixels, though unlike the flagship mainstream competition, there's no wireless charging for the V50. Nevertheless, at its price point, this isn't a feature we typically expect.

Vivo V50 verdict

The Vivo V50 is a very sensible midrange smartphone. Nothing about it is best-in-class, but as a package, it checks a lot of boxes without costing the earth, and benefits from a very reliable camera system.

The key reason photography enthusiasts might want to pick up the V50 are two-fold. First, Vivo uses well-specced sensors and lenses across all its cameras, and second, its flagship processing which we loved on the X200 Pro has trickled down, and shines on the V50.

The phone's design, display, battery life and performance are also all good to excellent, making the phone one of the smartest options around if it's available where you live. Vivo has a tendency to stagger the global availability, but provided you're able to pick up the V50 for the equivalent of $400-550, depending on memory capacity, it's be a great shout and one of the best midrange camera phones of 2025.

The best Android phones for photography are increasingly a valid alternative to the latest iPhones. They come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, and each offers a slightly different take on what the best camera phone should provide. 

Some chase huge sensors and optical zoom, others lean on computational smarts, and a few – like the new Oppo Find X9 Ultra and Vivo X300 Ultra – now come with optional camera grips and teleconverter lenses that turn your phone into something much closer to a proper camera system. 

Below I've chosen the best Android phones for photography based on their design, the quality of their displays, processing power, battery life, unique features, value, usability and of course, camera quality. 

The best Android phones for photography

Best Android phone for most people

The Google Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL continue Google’s long-standing focus on photographic consistency and everyday use-case excellence, making them a compelling choice for most mobile photographers who want great results without fuss.

What sets the Pixel 10 Pro line apart is its ability to turn point-and-shoot simplicity into reliably strong stills, regardless of conditions. The triple-camera array – with a 50 MP main sensor, 48 MP ultra-wide and 48 MP 5× telephoto – delivers images with excellent color, dynamic range and detail straight out of the phone. Computational tools such as Camera Coach and powerful AI editing features further elevate images with minimal effort. While the headline “100×” super-resolution zoom isn’t a replacement for true optical performance at extreme range, it does extend versatility and can produce usable handheld shots beyond typical smartphone reach.

The phones’ Super Actua displays also make reviewing and editing photos a pleasure, with bright, sharp panels that stand up well to outdoor use. Design and ergonomics are thoroughly premium too, with a build quality that feels at home alongside Samsung and Apple’s flagship Android rivals.

Video capture is less of a highlight, trailing class leaders with middling quality and an over-reliance on AI upscaling, so if your photography leans heavily into video work, check out the Vivo X300 Ultra. Still, for stills, photographers who want dependable, easy-to-use image quality backed by excellent software intelligence, the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL represent one of the most consistent Android camera experiences available.

Read our full Google Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL review

Best Android phone for zoom

Oppo's Ultra series has been steadily closing the gap on dedicated cameras, and the Find X9 Ultra closes it further still. Its five-camera Hasselblad Master Camera System spans 14mm to 230mm optically, with a 200MP main sensor, a phenomenal 200MP 3x telephoto, and a 50MP 10x periscope that comfortably beats rivals' digital zoom for detail and usability. Let's be clear: this is the best telephoto system I've seen on a phone to date.

Elsewhere, Hasselblad Master mode is the standout feature, stripping away over-processed sharpening and HDR for results that feel genuinely photographic, while an optional grip case and 300mm teleconverter lens push things even further for those willing to invest in extra glass. 

Some small niggles: standard photo mode can still look a touch over-sharpened, and the teleconverter sadly can't be used alongside Master mode's film-style presets. But as an all-round photography tool, it's exceedingly capable.

Read more: Oppo Find X9 Ultra review

Best Android phone on a budget

Nothing’s second‑generation CMF handset proves you don’t need deep pockets to get a phone that feels genuinely exciting. For $279 / £219, the Phone 2 Pro upgrades last year’s formula with a symmetrical 6.77‑inch 10‑bit OLED that’s richer, brighter, and smoother than anything else at this price, and it even supports contactless payments thanks to newly added NFC.

The headline, though, is photography. A true triple‑camera array – a 50 MP main sensor, a 50 MP 2x portrait‑friendly telephoto, and an 8 MP ultrawide  shoots colourful, natural images, with RAW capture and optional macro or fisheye adapters for creative play. The lack of OIS and the modest ultrawide hold it back, but the main and tele units comfortably narrow the gap to mid‑range rivals.

MediaTek’s Dimensity 7300 Pro and 8 GB RAM keep daily use snappy, though demanding games ask for low graphics. A 5,000 mAh cell routinely leaves 40 % in the tank at bedtime, and 33 W wired charging refills to 60 % in half an hour.

Nothing OS remains a joy: monochrome icons, zero bloat and the new Essential Key give the phone a premium vibe, but the fledgling Essential Space – and its rumoured subscription – feels half‑baked. Combined with only IP54 protection and shorter software support than class leaders, the CMF Phone 2 Pro isn’t flawless. Yet its blend of style, modular fun, and outright value makes it our top budget pick for Android buyers who prize photography and personality over raw horsepower.

Read our full CMF Phone 2 Pro review

Best phone for Samsung fans

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is a more mixed camera upgrade than usual, but it's still one of the most complete Android flagships around. The 200MP main sensor gets a brighter f/1.4 lens, and Nightography video is meaningfully improved, but the 3x camera has actually been downgraded with a smaller sensor, and macro focusing has taken a hit on both the main and 5x lenses.

Where the S26 Ultra wins is everywhere else: a gorgeous 6.9in display with a genuinely useful Privacy Display mode, fast charging, excellent performance, and the S Pen all still present. If you're keen to stay within Samsung's ecosystem and the fact that rivals such as Oppo and Vivo now shoot more natural-looking stills doesn't excite you, this brilliant all-rounder is the one to go for.

Read more: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review

Best foldable Android phone

The Honor Magic V5 takes the foldable crown for photographers who want a large, tablet-style canvas without major camera compromises, making it one of the most interesting Android phones for photography if you value both versatility and imaging quality.

Honor’s slimmest, lightest foldable yet pairs a capable triple-lens array – a 50 MP main sensor, a 50 MP ultra-wide and a 64 MP periscope telephoto with 3× optical zoom and up to 100× digital reach – with bright, detailed OLED screens that make reviewing and editing images a pleasure. Across real-world shooting, all three cameras deliver reliable results with good colour, clarity and dynamic range, while Honor’s AI-assisted zoom and portrait modes extend creative flexibility.

Where the Magic V5 really stands out in a photography buying guide is its foldable form factor: unfolding to a nearly 8-inch display gives you a mini-tablet view for culling shots, fine-tuning edits and working with compositional tools on the go. That extra space, combined with flagship performance from the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, makes casual retouching and AI-assisted tweaks feel genuinely productive without a laptop.

It’s not without compromises for photographers: Honor’s image processing can feel a little heavy-handed at times and switching between lenses may produce perceptible shifts in colour balance, and foldable phones generally trail slab rivals in pure camera performance at equivalent price points. Still, for anyone who prioritises a larger editing workspace and capable-enough photography in one sleek package, the Honor Magic V5 is a compelling Android choice.

Read more: Honor Magic V5 review

Best camera-like processing

Xiaomi continues to champion big sensors, and the 17 Ultra's 1-inch main camera delivers extraordinary detail and dynamic range, especially at night. The headline new feature is a single 200MP telephoto with a 75-100mm mechanical optical zoom, replacing last year's two separate tele lenses. That's some clever engineering, even if the practical difference between the focal lengths is smaller than you'd hope.

What really sells the 17 Ultra is character: Leica's Authentic and Vibrant color profiles give images a genuinely filmic look that few rivals can match. Lens-to-lens consistency could be better, and macro shooting isn't quite as close-up as before, but for photographers who care about style as much as sharpness, this is one of the most rewarding Android cameras around.

Read more: Xiaomi 17 Ultra review

Best Android phone for value

Seeking the best combination of camera quality and value? Google's mid-range smartphone doesn't reinvent the formula, but it remains one of the smartest buys in Android. The same dependable 48MP main camera and 13MP ultrawide combo from the Pixel 9a returns, now joined by Camera Coach for in-app shooting tips, and everyday shots are still some of the most naturally balanced you'll get at this price.

The bigger draws come in the form of design and longevity. Specifically: a flat, bump-free back, a vibrant 120Hz display, all-day battery life, and Google's class-leading seven years of software support. Zoom is limited without a telephoto lens, but for reliable daylight photography and long-term peace of mind, the Pixel 10a is hard to beat for the money.

Best Android phone for video

If shooting video is your main area of interest, here's my top pick. The Vivo X300 Ultra takes an unusual approach with a 35mm main camera rather than the usual ultrawide-leaning default, and it pays off with naturally pleasing perspective and excellent detail. The 85mm telephoto is outstanding for stills, and the 14mm ultrawide is one of the best around. But it's video where this phone truly shines, with gimbal-level stabilization, full manual Pro Video controls, 4K 120p 10-bit Log, and a built-in teleprompter.

Optional 200mm and 400mm teleconverter lenses add real reach without the mode limitations seen on rival accessory systems. It's expensive, the camera kit itself feels a little plasticky, and it's not yet widely available, but as a video-first creative tool, nothing else in Android comes close.

Read more: Vivo X300 Ultra review

Great all-rounder

The OnePlus 15 delivers a compelling all-round Android experience, pairing flagship-tier performance and battery life with a capable, flexible camera system that’s reliable for everyday photography.

At its heart is a triple-50 MP rear array with main, ultra-wide, and telephoto lenses, supported by OnePlus’s new DetailMax image engine – the company’s first iteration after parting ways with Hasselblad. In practice, this produces sharp, colour-accurate stills in good light, with tone and balance that feel natural and consistent across the focal range. While the upgrade in camera performance over last year’s model is more evolutionary than revolutionary, it keeps pace with what most photographers will need day-to-day without introducing glaring weaknesses.

The system’s HDR handling and low-light performance aren’t class-leading, with some scenes feeling a little flat or soft in very dim conditions, but overall, the 50 MP sensors deliver dependable results that can be quickly shared or edited. OnePlus also boosts creative photo control with support for higher-frame-rate video capture in 4K at 120 fps and AI-enhanced editing tools within the Photos app, which help bring out the best in captures straight from the camera.

What the OnePlus 15 lacks in standout imaging brilliance, it makes up for in other areas that matter to photographers on the go: an excellent, bright display for reviewing shots, class-leading battery life that can easily last more than a full day, and a design and performance package that rivals much more expensive rivals. For those wanting a balance of strong camera performance without sacrificing overall flagship value, the OnePlus 15 is one of the most appealing Android phones in its price bracket.

How to choose the best Android phone

The main considerations to look at when buying a new Android phone are the camera, design, and price.

Let's start with the camera, or cameras, as most modern smartphones come with two or more cameras offering different perspectives. To pick the right camera for you, you need to ask yourself what you like taking pictures of, if you take a lot of close-up shots, make sure that the Android phone you pick has a good macro mode, if you like wide dramatic landscapes, then opting for a phone with the best wide-angle camera is essential, and for far away shots, a good telephoto lens is a must.

It is easy to get carried away with cameras and specs though, but you'll find most Android phones offer a great experience. Find the design that resonates with you, with the features you really need, and luckily there is an Android phone to suit practically every budget.

How we test Android phones

As a photography website, I pay special attention to the photo and video quality of Android phones. Camera phones are all-around digital assistants too, of course, so I will also check general handling, usability, and practicality – such as battery life. And as I do more and more editing on my phone now – it's essential that my choice has a sharp and color-accurate screen.

To test Android phone cameras I take hundreds (sometimes thousands) of photos with the phone and carefully compare the images side by side to look for any inconsistencies in quality or color between shots. I also compare Android phone cameras to one another – I keep a range of the latest phones on hand, so I can take the same pictures with multiple devices and see which performs best.

For images, I rate resolution, noise, and color rendition in the context of what rival Android phones can do, and what the manufacturer promises. I also test all the special camera features, such as ‘night modes’ or ‘portrait modes’ to see their effectiveness, and how they compare to rivals.

I can then put all the data, as well as a healthy dose of my informed opinion, together in this list to help you decide on which might be the best Android phone for your photography needs.

Deals

Foldables always sacrifice camera quality thanks to their extra thickness, moving parts and hinge, and the fact they have to squeeze in two screens, but the Vivo X Fold 3 feels like the lowest-compromise foldable to date. 

While Samsung hass enjoyed a monopoly on the big-screen foldable market with its Galaxy Z Fold line – the Z Fold 6 being the latest addition – and the Google Pixel Fold's clunky design let it down, lesser-known smartphone makers have been making much more compelling foldable camera phones.

The OnePlus Open set the trend in motion, featuring a periscope camera and a Sony LYTIA-808 stacked primary sensor, and bringing back its Hasselblad co-branding to great effect when we tested it. It launched globally in 2023, and you can buy it right now. In China, phones like the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 also ship with a periscope camera and Leica co-engineering. 

The new X Fold 3 Pro brings Vivo and Zeiss’s impressive image processing we saw on the Vivo X100 Pro to a foldable form, with a primary 1/1.3-inch sensor – around the same size as the iPhone 15 Pro’s main camera – and a 64MP periscope camera, plus an autofocusing 50MP wide angle camera. Vivo also crams in the largest battery of any foldable, while making the X Fold 3 Pro lighter than an iPhone 14 Pro Max.

The problem with Vivo

The main issue with Vivo phones has been their limited availability. Most of its phones, including the X100 Ultra – regarded as the best camera phone around by many – are only available in China. The X Fold 3 Pro also has limited availability, with the recent launch outside China being limited to India and potentially some other markets in the future.

An Indian launch is excellent for enthusiasts in the West. For starters, it’s the first Vivo foldable to launch outside China. It also means anyone looking to import the phone with Western services, including Google Wallet, Android Auto, and the Google Play Store, can do so without any headaches. For typical smartphone buyers, though, importing a pricey foldable isn’t realistic.

And so, Vivo’s undeniably impressive X100 Ultra and X Fold 3 Pro may be applying pressure on Samsung from a distance, even showing its phones up in areas, but they aren’t taking market share from the Z Fold 6 maker in global markets just yet.

But this is changing; Vivo has reached an agreement on a patent dispute that has unlocked Western availability. The new Vivo V40 series has been confirmed for Europe as part of a Euro 2024 sponsorship campaign. The rumoured X200 Pro flagship has also popped up on UK carrier EE's databases, bolstering rumours of more widespread launches for the Zeiss partner.

Whether this means we will get an X Fold 3 Pro launch remains to be seen, but we're hopeful that a successor may hit Europe in the future.

Vivo X Fold 3 Pro camera

So why are we covering the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro? Because the phone is a technology showcase, and a peek into the future of foldable smartphone photography. 

Starting with the primary camera, its 50MP Omnivision OV50H sensor has a 1/1.3-inch size, and the f/1.68 lens is optically stabilized. This is the biggest sensor of any foldable. The lens also features a Zeiss T* coating to reduce reflection and boost clarity. The ultra-wide camera is powered by a 50MP 1/2.76-inch Samsung JN1 sensor, matched with an f/2.0 lens and it has autofocus so can lock onto close-up subjects and keep everything in focus for landscape shots.

As for the periscope Zeiss telephoto camera, it features a 1/2-inch Omnivision OV64B sensor, an f/2.57 aperture and OIS. The 3x zoom reach might not sound too impressive, but Vivo’s demonstrated how powerful its AI zoom is in the X100 Pro, and this clarity-boosting works to great effect on the X Fold 3 Pro. 

We comfortably shot at 10x with usable photos for sharing, and up to 6x for croppable results. The tele camera also supports telemacro capture with a nearest focus distance of around 20cm, making it great for product photography. 

Vivo includes three shooting modes – Vivid, Textured, and Zeiss Natural – and also captures at five optical or digital focal lengths in its Zeiss Portrait Mode capture: 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm and 100mm. The X Fold 3 Pro also shoots 8K video at up to 30fps, 4K video at up to 60fps, and can shoot at either 8.6 or 24Mbps bit rate.

The X Fold 3 also gets Vivo's V3 imaging chip it calls an AI ISP. Built on a 6 nm process, it supports computational photography processing while reducing energy consumption and, according to Vivo, delivers a 30% boost in power efficiency when compared to its prior model. Matched with the high-capacity battery, this bodes well for all-day shooters.

Being a foldable, the X Fold 3 Pro also captures part-folded photos and video. There’s nothing new here, but the fact you can part-fold the phone to steady it works very well with Vivo’s pro mode. You can also take a cover screen selfie and use the main camera, taking full advantage of Vivo’s large primary camera sensor. 

This arguably makes the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro the best vlogging phone around. No other phone gives you such a big sensor with a preview of your video, so you can easily frame yourself while benefiting from natural depth separation, and the fast f/1.67 aperture doesn't hurt either.

So after a few weeks with the X Fold 3 Pro, it’s definitely one of the best, if not the best, foldable camera phones we’ve used, especially when it comes to zoom clarity, even if it can’t topple Vivo’s flagship X100 Pro.

Vivo X Fold 3's best-in-class specs

The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro’s 5700mAh battery is the largest of any foldable, much larger than the 4400mAh battery in the Galaxy Z Fold 6, yet at 236g, it’s lighter than the 239g Galaxy. With very fast-charging, a 100W wired charge powers it up fully in just over 30 minutes, and there’s also 50W wireless charging.

Vivo’s the only foldable maker that’s been able to squeeze in two ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanners – one on the outer screen and one on the inner screen – so even when the screens are wet, you can still unlock the X Fold 3 Pro. And the phone’s screens are also much larger than those of the Z Fold 6, with an 8-inch inner screen versus the 7.6-inch Z Fold 6.

So what can Samsung learn from Vivo?

Before this turns into a Samsung bash-fest, there are many practical ways Samsung’s foldable bests Vivo’s. The Z Fold 6 has pen support with the inner screen, a longer software update promise, better after-sales support in the West, and the phone has a smaller footprint thanks to its smaller screens, which many will prefer.

Samsung is also pushing AI hard, so the Z Fold 6 is a more polished software package. From sketch to image to language tools like website summaries and translation support and tighter integration with popular services like Instagram, it offers a wide range of features.

It’s also clear that Samsung’s trying to keep its camera size down. While the OnePlus Open, Xiaomi Mix Fold 4 and Vivo X Fold 3 Pro have huge camera bumps, Samsung’s is a simple strip of relatively subtle cameras. So before we talk about what Samsung can learn from Vivo, it’s important to highlight some of the ways Samsung’s already getting things right for a certain kind of user.

But for us, the main way Samsung can improve its foldable series would be to give into a bigger camera bump and get more specced-out hardware in the Z Fold series. Bigger sensors and better optics are both critical to class-leading photography and video quality, and that’s where Vivo’s nailing it.

So if you’re a photographer on the hunt for the best foldable camera phone, the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro is likely the best flip and fold phone of 2024, followed by the OnePlus Open. But if you want the best after-sales support in the West, where Vivo’s foldable isn’t sold, the Z Fold 6 is still your safest bet.

Check out the best camera phones in 2024

Smartphone photography is big business, so it's no wonder brands like OnePlus, Huawei, Xiaomi and Vivo have all partnered up with iconic photography brands like Hasselblad, Leica, and Zeiss to boost their imaging cred. 

Smartphone fans consider Vivo something of a darling with its exceptional X Series, despite the fact its phones aren’t always widely available in the West. But for customers who don’t know much about brands like Vivo, Oppo or Xiaomi, an iconic camera brand logo around the back of a phone could add a much-needed trust factor. But are these camera partnerships all empty marketing, or can they really give you confidence that taking the plunge will actually get you better photos? 

In this three-part piece, I will examine the three hottest smartphone brands with camera maker partnerships: Vivo and Zeiss, OnePlus and Hasselblad, and Xiaomi and Leica. I will also outline the scope of the collaborations, discuss critical reception, and cover the phones showcasing the joint camera tech. Finally, I will share my conclusion as to whether the partnership is a bad take or a winning shot.

So strap in as we deep-dive into the partnership between Chinese phone maker Vivo, behind the well-reviewed X100 Pro, and German imaging icon, Zeiss, best known for its quality lenses.

This isn’t Zeiss’s first rodeo

Unlike Xiaomi and Leica, or Hasselblad and BBK Group (OnePlus and Oppo), Vivo and Zeiss seem to have a partially open relationship.

My first trip to Zeiss HQ in Germany wasn’t with Vivo, it was in 2012 with Nokia, testing out the Nokia 808 Pureview, the first phone to use pixel binning, an image processing technique Zeiss actually had a hand in pioneering. This speaks to Zeiss's longstanding involvement in mobile photography.

While the partnership between HMD Global (Nokia’s parent company) and Zeiss ended in 2021, Zeiss branding has adorned Sony Xperia phones for years, with Zeiss’s T* coating featured on high-end models like the Xperia 1 V. This reduces visual imperfections like refraction and reflection.

What’s different about the partnership with Vivo, however, Is how deep the integration is across both hardware and software. I caught up with the Vivo team to get a full more detailed understanding of the collaboration.

Vivo and Zeiss: hardware

While speaking with Vivo’s in-house imaging experts, they shared a cooking analogy that sets the scene for how Vivo sees the collaboration. When you make a dish, you improve your chances of success if you use excellent ingredients. With photography, the ingredient is the raw data that falls on the sensor. Zeiss helps Vivo get the best-quality information to the sensor as a starting point.

According to Keshav Chugh, Vivo's camera R&D product manager, both Zeiss optics and a Zeiss T* coating help the primary camera get the best-quality raw data possible for the flagship Vivo X100 Pro and Vivo X100 Ultra, recently announced in China. You can see some samples from the Vivo X100 Ultra below in Keshav's X post. 

Vivo goes so far as to call its flagship’s primary camera a Zeiss 1-inch Main Camera, and the telephoto camera a Zeiss APO Floating Telephoto Camera, the first apochromatically corrected lens in a smartphone. While tele lenses typically suffer from worse chromatic aberration (purple fringing) than wider lenses, Vivo’s lens system, certified by Zeiss, reduces this effect and performs competitively in my tests.

Vivo and Zeiss: software

Vivo’s photo processing has been making waves over the last couple of years thanks to its impressive photo quality and progressive take on computational photography. When discussing the AI of it all with Vivo, the team was keen to hit home, before you even get to tuning, Vivo and Zeiss’s collaboration focuses on making sure the foundation of the photo is rock solid. In other words, images should pack minimum Delta E (variance between what’s seen, what’s captured, and what’s displayed). This is especially important in portraits, with the X100 Pro featuring six Zeiss-inspired portrait digital lenses.

At 24mm, Vivo’s portrait look emulates Zeiss’s Distagon flare, at 35mm, it’s the Zeiss B-Speed triangular cinematic spot, at 50mm you get a circular flare, or alternatively a Biotar rotary focus flare as a second 50mm option. Punching in further, and an 85mm portrait pulls up Zeiss’s Sonnar cream spot and finally, a tight 100mm portrait creates a Planar dreamy spot paired with soft, low-saturated, platinum tones. When you think some flagship smartphone Portrait Mode options are: on or off, Vivo and Zeiss’s efforts are impressive even before you come to take a portrait photo. Vivo was keen to stress that while many portrait modes are mathematical calculations to create blur, its own version is more bespoke.

Many people, myself included, shy away from portrait mode on smartphones. It can look clunky and overdone. But because Vivo offers such a range of options and you can dial up or down the effect after taking your shot, it's easy to refine the results to a level of subtlety that doesn't detract from the quality of a photo.

As for Vivo’s general photo processing, this is mostly handled by Vivo and certified by Zeiss, and what’s also interesting (if slightly off topic), Vivo applies different photo processing to China-focused devices compared to its global phones. Global devices feature no generative AI (gen AI) to enhance a picture, upscale dynamic range, apply opt-in beautification, etc. Vivo phones launched in China, on the other hand, do feature gen AI, and they also feature opt-out beautification to reflect typical regional user preferences.

Zeiss also lives in two more areas within Vivo phones. The first is in the Zeiss Natural look. This dictates the aesthetic of your photo, with Zeiss Natural being the most balanced of all the looks on offer, while Vivid and Textured, the two alternatives, add more stylistic processing.

Finally, Vivo’s Zeiss co-branded phones enjoy a branded watermark, complete with shooting parameters so you can easily see just how hard the camera (and the processing) have worked to get the shot.

Vivo and Zeiss: a marriage made in…

If Vivo’s recent phones are anything to go by, this partnership is most certainly a marriage made in heaven. Vivo’s X100 Pro is the most reliable camera phone I’ve ever used for point and shoot photography. Its processing isn’t always the most authentic, so Vivo’s phones might not be the top choice for photography purists, especially when zooming in beyond 10x owing to how much it cleans up shots – but as I covered in my feature on the X100 Pro’s processing, it was a crowd pleaser at my family Christmas. After I took a few group shots, everyone loved how the phone’s camera simultaneously flattered and captured the mood of the day.

Vivo phones and where to find them

While you could buy the Vivo X80 Pro and X90 Pro in Europe, the more recent X100 Pro, and the V30 Pro – its upper-midranger – are mainly available in Asian and Middle Eastern markets. This could be owing to a patent dispute with Nokia that has prevented brands like Oppo and Vivo from selling their phones in Europe. With Oppo returning to Western markets with the Reno11 F this year, and Vivo issuing a statement that the dispute has been resolved, there is a chance we could be welcoming Vivo phones back to Europe in the future. 

Until then, anyone who lives somewhere Vivo phones aren’t widely available will have to import one. Having used both the X100 Pro and V30 Pro in the UK and across Europe, I can confirm both phones work well, with full access to the Google Play Store and network bands. However, if you do decide to import a Vivo phone, there are pitfalls, not least of all the limited after-sales support.

Vivo's just revealed that its X Fold 3 Pro will be launching in India in June, making it the first foldable from Vivo to launch outside China. This wider release is a promising sign for anyone enamoured with Vivo's Zeiss imaging and on the market for a foldable for two reasons. The first is that Indian devices run what is termed global software, so they natively support Google services like Android Auto, making them more attractive imports. The India launch could also be the first wave of a wider release plan that includes the West.

Running down the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro's imaging highlights, it features three cameras, a 50MP main camera with a large 1/1.3-inch sensor, a 64MP periscope camera with a 1/2-inch sensor, and a 50MP ultra-wide with a 1/2.76-inch sensor and PDAF. As you can see in Vivo's tweet, linked above, the camera gets Zeiss portrait highlights, and given how good Vivo is at eking out quality images from mobile hardware, it could be the best foldable camera around when it drops.

Vivo and Zeiss: the future

There's no getting around it, the future of smartphone photography is generative AI. And with Vivo and Zeiss having announced an extension of their partnership in May 2024, we can look forward to both brands taking their next AI-imaging steps together for the foreseeable future.

But why is AI such a silver bullet for smartphone photography? Smartphone sensors and lenses are small, a particular challenge on the telephoto end, and AI looks set to be the weapon of choice for compensating for this inherent limitation. With Vivo at the cusp of incorporating computational photography in its phones, we're guessing it will be pioneering more advanced AI models in its upcoming devices, especially when it comes to zoom.

I touched on how much Vivo cleans up zoomed-in shots in the X100 Pro with its 50MP telephoto camera, and the new Vivo X100 Ultra, with a 200MP telephoto camera, looks set to be the cleanest zoomer the internet has ever seen based on early reports out of China. By instantly bracketing, masterfully pixel-binning, and using object recognition to clean up zoomed-in detail incredibly well, Vivo really is leading the charge, out-performing technically more complex, further-reaching zooms like the 85-170mm continuous zoom on the Sony Xperia 1 VI.

As for where Zeiss fits into Vivo’s imaging story, provided the lens specialist can keep delivering its expertise, lenses and coating, the mutually beneficial partnership should continue to bear fruits for both businesses.

So while Leica appears to be swaying Xiaomi in a very classical direction with its photo processing on the Xiaomi 13T and 14 Ultra, and Hasselblad seems to be meeting OnePlus and Oppo in the middle with measured computational photography on the OnePlus 12 Pro and Open, I’m arguably more excited by what Vivo and Zeiss are on track to do. Sure, the purist photographer in me may die a little when my X100 Pro takes a photo that looks much better than real life, but when you’re taking photos that look this good on a smartphone without labouring too hard over your shot, it’s very hard not to be impressed and excited by the shape of things to come.

Check out the best camera phones in 2024

If you're plugged into the latest smartphone news, you may have seen the Vivo X100 Pro taking the internet's mobile tech blogs, sites, and socials by storm. Its popularity isn't just because its camera is so impressive, but it specifically comes down to its processing being something of an AI extravaganza. Vivo sticks it to Samsung's AI-everything with the most in-your-face AI photo processing we've seen to date – but here's the real zinger – we don't hate it. In fact, the Vivo X100 Pro is an excellent camera phone that's winning us over day by day.

Vivo has a long track record of making Zeiss co-branded phones with impressive cameras. From the gimbal-stabilized Vivo X80 Pro to the 1-inch sensor-packing Vivo X90 Pro. And the new X100 Pro's standout features are its superb telephoto camera, and its mind-boggling photo processing.

While it's been available in South East Asian markets for a few months, the X100 Pro is finally getting a limited European release, which is currently confirmed for Austria and Czechia. While we don't know if it will be available further afield just yet, the fact you can buy it in Europe means it should be relatively simple to import. Plus, with full Google Play Services support, it works with Android Auto and WearOS, apps typically incompatible with imported phones.

After a few weeks of testing the phone ourselves, though, does Vivo and Zeiss's collaboration justify the buzz, or is the X100 Pro just another cog in the never-ending AI hype machine?

Vivo X100 Pro camera explained

The Vivo X100 Pro is a triple 50MP camera smartphone. It brings back the 1-inch sensor from the X90 Pro for the main camera, levels up the telephoto to a Zeiss APO Floating Telephoto camera (more on that later), and there's also an ultra-wide camera, which packs a fast f/2 aperture.

While we'd normally get stuck into the main camera specs first, the X100 Pro's APO Floating Telephoto camera has piqued our interest the most, so we'll begin here. It has a 50MP 1/2-inch sensor, a respectable size for a tele-camera. Matched with a 100mm equivalent lens with an f/2.5 aperture and an 18cm nearest focus distance, it all sounds good, but why's it a "Zeiss APO Floating Telephoto Camera"?

The name refers to the design of floating elements that Zeiss uses in high-performance camera lenses. This optimises the alignment and distance between lenses to enhance the quality of telephoto images, thereby helping the Vivo X100 Pro limit fringing and ghosting. And with a new, CIPA 4.5-level anti-shake system behind the telephoto camera's OIS, it also helps keep handheld telephoto shots looking crisp.

As for the wide camera, it marks the return of the 1-inch, 50MP IMX989 sensor that features on the Vivo X90 Pro and Xiaomi 13 Pro and 13 Ultra. This time around, Vivo has upgraded the Zeiss T* coating to reduce reflectivity and produce clearer image quality. The lens also features a 23mm equivalent focal length and an f/1.75 aperture.

Finally for the camera specs: the ultra-wide. The least standout of the bunch, but nevertheless, a capable camera, it couples autofocus with a nearest focus distance of 4cm, so it can capture close-up shots. Matched with its 50MP resolution and impressive aperture, it delivers a shallower depth in macro photos than we would expect from a typical ultra-wide.

There's one more thing Vivo does that it claims helps its X100 Pro edge ahead – it features a customized V3 chip to supplement the Dimensity 9300 processor's ISP. This is where the camera's AI smarts seem to come from, with what Vivo terms "multi-concurrent AI cognitive-ISP architecture" at play. When we read those words in Vivo's press materials, we weren't convinced, but after some time with the phone, we're warming up to the idea this chip makes a difference.

Vivo X100 Pro photo quality

What really impressed us about the Vivo X100 Pro was how reliable it was. Point, shoot, and we had a photo that almost always looked as good as we'd have hoped – sometimes better, seldom worse. After years of testing smartphones, this isn't a characteristic many camera phones can promise – flagship Pixel and OnePlus phones tend to be the leaders in this respect – so it looks like Vivo's off to a great start with its processing.

Also impressive is that whichever camera we tended to use – the main or telephoto camera – this positive impression didn't waver. As we don't tend to shoot using the ultra-wide too much, we didn't push it as hard, but all-in-all, the X100 Pro captures some of the most camera-like, least smartphone-like photos we've ever seen from a mobile.

You can see from the photo samples the level of background blur from the primary and telephoto cameras is really impressive. While there isn't a variable aperture here, as found on the Huawei P60 Pro or Xiaomi 13 Ultra, if you want a less shallow depth of field, the ultra-wide delivers. With its high resolution, its photos also hold up well when cropped into.

If you're happy with a soft-focus background, though, or want to capture product shots that look detailed and stylized, the Vivo X100 Pro is amongst the best camera phones we've used for the job. 

One aspect of the camera we didn't always love is the way Vivo processes human faces. Even when we turned off beautification, the phone would attempt to beautify subjects, sometimes with reckless abandon. This is especially true when zooming in beyond 150mm. While the X100 Pro uses AI to piece together a scene, helping its zoom out-perform the optically further-reaching iPhone 15 Pro Max's 5x tetraprism telephoto camera, faces pieced together by AI can start to look like oil paintings, and it's a little eerie.

That caveat aside, the Vivo X100 Pro could well be the most impressive camera phone on the market right now, delivering more nuanced photo processing than the ultimate superphone – the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra – and more powerful camera hardware than the excellent OnePlus 12.

The rest of the phone

More than a mighty camera, the X100 Pro is the first phone to launch with the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 chipset. A powerhouse mobile processor that also includes a 2023/24 ISP to help with the advanced computational photography Vivo employs. This chipset features a flagship 12-core GPU, and games playback on it brilliantly. 

With a large 5,400mAh battery for comfortable day-long use, the Vivo crams in one of the highest-capacity batteries in a smartphone, and the X100 Pro also powers up quickly with 100W wired and 50W wireless fast charging.

The X100 Pro's LTPO screen is a large 6.78-inch size with a high-beam 3000 nits peak brightness. Vivo also applies smart optimizations for games to help them render better on the phone. We tested Genshin Impact, and while many flagship Android phones make it look soft compared to an iPhone, the X100 Pro's in-game clarity-enhancer crisped things up nicely.

Running Android 14 with FunTouch OS 14 (Vivo's custom interface), the X100 Pro has excellent app support and was smooth and stable in our time with it. FunTouch OS isn't the cleanest Android skin around, but if you like tinkering with your tech, it gives you plenty of menus, transitions, and settings to customize.

Should you buy a Vivo X100 Pro?

If you don't like the idea of importing your phone, then the obvious answer is: no – the Vivo X100 Pro isn't for you – you would be better served with one of the best camera phones of 2024 that's available where you are right now.

For anyone who's open to the idea of going beyond Apple, Google, and Samsung, venturing into international waters, and is fascinated by what Vivo's doing with its camera, the Vivo X100 Pro is one of the most interesting camera phones we've ever tested.

While its camera hardware, design, screen, and impressive power inside are all good, they don't seem to break photography boundaries. It's the Vivo X100 Pro's V3 imaging processor and AI processing that's really making the waves.

So if you're feeling brave and have cash to splash – the X100 Pro is pricier than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in some markets – then you might find the Vivo X100 Pro proves to be the forbidden fruit that ups your smartphone photography game like no other.

For a little while now, there have been rumors that Samsung is working on a drone. Not just any drone, either; one that pops out of a phone. PrimeNewsly is reporting a launch date has been set for India and TikTokers are circulating videos, so is it finally true?

Well, we know Samsung has form when it comes to drones and phones. The spectacular launch event for the recent Samsung Galaxy S24 phone featuring a Spielberg-style UFO made up of drones hovering over Canary Wharf in East London certainly puts the words phone and drone in the same sentence. This rumor, however, puts them in the same box. Can that possibly be true (and what is the real evidence)?

• Check out the best Cyber Monday phone deals, and the top Cyber Monday drone deals

On the one hand, there are pictures, and specifications. Plus there is more than one source talking about a 2024 launch. That's pretty exciting. The idea of having a camera not much bigger than a large bee that could pop out of the end of your phone and get jsut the right angle for a selfie is amazing. Almost too good to be true.

Getting even more too good to be true as we realise that not one of the images we've seen is the same as the other. They're grabs from YouTube videos which don't even have very convincing Samsung logos on them. They do mention a load of specs that sound broadly convincing because they're similar to existing devices – except for the drone – but so are most phones.

It also doesn't help that a 'Vivo' drone phone that looks the same has been circulated by the same channel, Mobile TG, and another, which is clearly keen to use it's 'imagination' (I'm going on the auto-translate). Out of journalistic completeness here are the YouTube links; they definitely note the 'imagination' involved in the Hindi – Trakin Abhi and Vivo.

Why this rumor doesn't fly…

Where this really falls down, though, is the physics. The simulated images of drones are all smaller than most kids' toy drones, not seeming to have much space for optics or battery storage. They would no doubt be blown away and lost by even the lightest gust and I couldn't imagine anything that size – even if it worked as a quadcopter – having more than about 90 seconds of power.

Even if that wasn't the issue, imagine the legal issues of hundreds of little remotely controlled cameras flying around phone owners. This doesn't seem like something a company like Samsung – established in a reasonably healthy global position right now – would be especially keen to expose itself to.

In the reactions to one of the excited TikToker's postings, a yawning emoticon notes the simulated video was first circulated in 2016 – some might be too young to remember it on that platform but personally I don't think it's any more true this time.

My final reason? A drone that'll cope in even mild wind and weigh less than a phone is still going to be a good bit bigger by current tech standards if the amazing Hover Air X1 is a reasonable standard and, for now, I think it is!

Update: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: is it now time for Samsung flying drone camera?e

If you want to get started with drones, the Hover Air X1 is great, but we've got some other great drones for beginners and best camera drones.

Normally the headline feature in a phone announcement is the camera's megapixel count, or perhaps the processor for gaming. Vivo isn't aiming to disappoint on those counts, but is highlighting the ring light.

"Ring light?" you're probably wondering. "On a phone?" It's a fair question. It certainly isn't a fold out one providing the same light as a real ring light, such as those in our best ring light guide.

In fact it seems to be a circular camera flash which offers the option to choose warmer or colder color temperatures, which is pretty cool (though it seems the software will do this for you based on ambient light). It certainly does look like a ring, but we can't see something that size getting quite the same catchlights as the real thing. Perhaps the IMX766V 50-megapixel equipped main camera will spot it, or the IMX663 12-megapixel 2x portrait camera.

Brightest phone ever? Well that's not the only additional illumination to be found on the S17 Pro.

As well as the temperature-adjustable ring light, and the traditional torch-light LED cluster on the back by the main camera array, the phone offers a couple of discretely fitted lights for the f/2 selfie camera, which is also 50-megapixels. They're tucked into the rim between the frame and screen and, apparently, offer a soft light.

The Vivo S17 Pro's non-light specs include a MediaTek Dimensity 8200 processor, 6.78-inch 452PPI screen, and a 4505mAh battery with 80W fast charging. An assortment of colors include sky blue, pink, white, and black and the shell has a cloudy texture. Pre-sales have begun ahead of tomorrow's official launch, alongside an updated version of the TWS Air Pro wireless headphones Vivo.

It's fair to say this is a spectacularly well-equipped phone in terms of lighting options (although that might be more of a criticism of every other phone than praise aimed at this). Are we cheeky to wonder if Vivo's team might be interested in looking at our tutorial on how to use a ring light.

Will the phone make our best camera phones list? Time will tell. If you're happy with your phone already, look at ways to take your camera phone photography to the next level.

Motorola has announced the global release of its Edge 40 Pro flagship smartphone, a £799 (roughly $1,000 / AUS £1,480) featuring two attention-grabbing inclusions, a screen with a lightning-quick 165Hz refresh rate, and a main camera sensor made by relatively unknown sensor designer – OmniVision.

When compared to big hitters like the OnePlus 11 and Samsung Galaxy S23, its camera mix might not sound that interesting on first impression with its 50MP main camera resolution and a maximum 2x optical zoom, the fact Motorola has opted for an OmniVision sensor to lead the charge could mark a continued shift in flagship smartphone imaging.

While most high-end smartphones are launching with Samsung or Sony sensors, from the 1-inch Sony IMX989 in the Vivo X90 Pro, to the 200MP Samsung ISOCELL HP2 in the Galaxy S23 Ultra, more brands are looking to OmniVision, a lesser-known image sensor maker to power their camera experiences of late.

Who is OmniVision?

OmniVision is an American subsidiary of the Chinese company, Will Semiconductor, and its camera sensors power webcams – both for laptops and standalone, surveillance equipment, automotive parts and more. 

When it comes to smartphones, OmniVision is best known for making secondary cameras, like the 2MP macro cameras in many midrange phones. In recent years, though, OmniVision sensors have been climbing the ranks, featuring as primary cameras in more devices.

The first reputable flagship we can recall with an OmniVision main camera was the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel, a gaming phone with a 64MP OV64A sensor. Now, with its Edge series, Motorola, a Lenovo company is clearly doubling down on its relationship with the camera sensor maker, packing a 1/1.5-inch OV50A primary sensor in its Motorola Edge 40 Pro.

Motorola Edge 40 Pro key features

The Moto Edge 40 Pro is a fine-looking, powerful phone that's made of glass and metal. We've spent a week with it, and love how it looks – the screen is curved on all edges, there's a sand-blasted aluminium frame, and it isn't too big, with a low-on-bezel 6.67-inch screen.

Protected by Gorilla Glass Victus, and packing IP68 water and dust resistance, the phone's hardy, and it also ships with a case in the box and a pre-fitted screen protector for some added value.

In addition to that primary 50MP OmniVision camera, the phone has a Samsung-powered ultra-wide which doubles up as a macro camera, and a 12MP telephoto camera, with a Sony sensor matched with a 2x zoom. Most interesting about the telephoto camera is its wide f/1.6 aperture, atypically open for a camera with reach.

Motorola's camera packs a few notable highlights: the inclusion of night vision video, and a new horizon lock feature. There's also a 60MP selfie camera too – powered by another OmniVision sensor.

The Edge 40 Pro should deliver mighty gaming performance with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 power, which is matched with 12GB LPDDR5X RAM. It also has 256GB UFS 4.0 storage, though no SD card expansion options.

The screen also looks set to be a high-point of Motorola's latest flagship with its sky-high 165Hz refresh rate and Dolby Vision credentials. With a peak brightness of 1300 nits, it also gets very bright, so content should be easy to see indoors or out.

Loaded up with wireless charging and very fast 125W wired charging, complete with a charger in the box, it looks like all the specs are on point. So whether or not the phone is the best camera phone of 2023 when we come to review it in the coming weeks will come down to that OmniVision sensor, and Motorola's photo and video processing – check back for our verdict.

Read More: Find out more about the latest phones with our guides to the best Android phone, the best budget camera phone, and the best Motorola phones.

Vivo has confirmed that it will be launching its latest flagship, the X90 Pro, globally, and while that does include Europe, it won't be hitting shelves in the US. 

With its 1-inch Sony sensor, that's a crying shame, as the X90 Pro is only the second smartphone to launch with the behemoth Sony IMX989. The first phone to feature it – the excellent Xiaomi 12S Ultra, launched exclusively in China – making Vivo's offering the sensor's global debut of sorts.

So what does the X90 Pro offer other than a big main camera sensor? Quite a lot actually. For starters, the primary camera's lens use Zeiss T* glass, and there are Zeiss highlights within the camera UI too. 

Also read our guide to the best Android phones.

Vivo's also introducing the latest version of its proprietary performance chip – the V2, which supports with tasks like image processing, and there have been upgrades across the board when it comes to design and spec. The charging, for example, has been bumped up to 120W for a full charge in as little as 29 minutes. 

Vivo's also swapped out the power for MediaTek Dimensity 9200 silicon, making it the first phone to feature the flagship chipset announced at the end of 2022.

But the Vivo X90 Pro doesn't appear to upgrade in every area. Its screen is slightly lower resolution than the excellent X80 Pro, which we loved when we tested it. This year, Vivo's also dropped the periscope camera, taking the telephoto range back from 5x to 2x zoom, and Vivo's trademark gimbal system is also missing.

So it appears Vivo's putting all its eggs in the main camera's basket – smart move or a misfire?

Specifications

Rear cameras: 50MP main, 50MP ultrawide, 12MP telephoto (1x zoom)
Front camera: 32MP
Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 9200
Memory: 256GB storage + 12GB RAM
Screen Size: 6.8-inch 1260 x 2800
Battery: 4,870mAh
Size: 164.07 x 74.53 x 9.34mm
Colors: Legendary Black (vegan leather)

Key features

The absolute key headline grabber here is that 1-inch 50MP camera. The sensor was created as part of a collaboration between Sony and Xiaomi, which gained Xiaomi exclusivity over it for a time. It is unequivocally the largest camera sensor in a traditional form factor smartphone, besting Samsung's 200MP Galaxy S23 Ultra in terms of sensor size by some margin. Now Vivo's rocking it, we're excited to see how it stacks up with Zeiss glass and Vivo's typically cool processing. 

On first impression, it packs all the characteristics of a big sensor: a shallow depth of field and great noise handling. As a result, for anyone who seldom switches to their zoom camera, the X90 Pro looks like an instant contender for the best main camera on any phone out now.

But the elephant in the room really is the downgrade in the Vivo X90 Pro's zoom range versus last year's phone. With zoom champs like the S20 Ultra packing two zoom ranges – 3x and 10x telephoto – Vivo's 2x maximum reach is underwhelming.

Thankfully, the secondary cameras do pack decent hardware, with the 2x 50MP lens sporting a 50mm focal length with an f/1.6 aperture, and that's matched with a Sony IMX758 sensor. As for the ultra-wide angle camera, it shoots with an f/2.0 aperture and a Sony IMX663 sensor.

Vivo's V2 chip is also worth talking about. We've been seeing more brands supplement ISPs with their own processors – Oppo with its MariSilicon X on Find X5 Pro and Find N2, for example.The V2 Chip supports imaging across both the camera and the display, so everything on-screen looks spot on. 

Getting into specifics, it features an AI noise reduction algorithm and an upgraded HDR algorithm, so is tailored to supplement the ISP when capturing challenging scenes.

It also upscales on-screen frame rates, so even 60fps content appears to look smoother than it might on other 120Hz displays, and does so with minimal impact on the phone's battery, according to Vivo.

Build and handling

The Vivo X90 Pro is a premium phone. The second we got it in our hands, the vegan leather back echoed camera designs of old, while the weighty camera bump asserted itself, as did the stark metal trimmings around the frame and rear.

On the right side are power and volume buttons, at the base is a USB-C port, and the top side sports a flat strip of glass, inside which sits an IR blaster and the words "Professional Photography". 

While it's a thick phone thanks to its huge camera, the X90 Pro's sides taper in elegantly, with the curved front and back meeting the polished metal frame seamlessly. On the back Vivo's included a Zeiss insignia to hit home the fact this phone packs Zeiss hardware and software, and the top and bottom of the back are also divided by a novel metal strip with the words "Xtreme Imagination, Vivo/Zeiss co-engineered".

All these insignias and words might sound tacky, but thankfully they're all relatively subtle, and generally, once we got past the heft of the X90 Pro's massive camera bump, we were impressed by the package on the whole.

Vivo has bumped up the battery slightly year on year, so the X90 Pro packs a 4870mAh battery, bringing it in line with the 5000mAh competition, and there's also fast wireless charging support too, capping out at 50W with the right charger.

Wired charging is where the X90 Pro's been boosted the most, up from 100W to 120W, so a full charge should take just 29 minutes, and in under 9 minutes, you can power up to 50 percent. 

Performance

Vivo's X90 Pro is the first phone to launch with MediaTek's mighty Dimensity 9200 chipset, and the first flagship to launch in the west with a MediaTek SOC as opposed to a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip.

The chip sports a host of advancements – it's the first to support RGBW sensors natively and includes a number of AI ISP upgrades for superior noise reduction, even for RAW photos. It also offers plenty of gaming benefits too over alternatives, most notably raytracing support.

In our brief time with it, everything on the Vivo X90 Pro 5G appeared to run smoothly, and even RAW shots from its mighty 50MP camera were snapped without any hanging about.

Early verdict

The X90 Pro seems like a mighty smartphone on first impression. At this stage, though, we're more excited by what it represents than we are about the phone itself.

Firstly, it represents brands taking a punt on really advanced camera hardware in their phones and going all-in on larger sensors. The huge, 1-inch Sony IMX989 is a game changer for mobile photography, and the more brands that get on board and invest in it, the sooner we'll see the best it can offer. It will also herald a new breed of smartphone photographers – RX100 owners, for example – leaving their pricey compact cameras at home.

Vivo's X90 Pro also represents a punt on MediaTek. Thus far, Qualcomm has been the flagship chip maker of choice, but if the X90 Pro's performance lands well, then it could drive chipset competition and innovation like never before, which will directly impact imaging and computational photography. As too will the increased use of custom ISPs like the Vivo V2 chip – a further trend the X90 Pro represents.

In summary, the Vivo X90 Pro looks like a brilliant phone from the offset, and it could be the best camera phone of the year with that huge 1-inch sensor. While there appear to be some shortfalls compared to last year's model, as a package, we look forward to finding out if it's more than the sum of its parts.

UPDATE, Nov 24th: This article originally linked to an Amazon deal for the 14" version of this laptop, however it sold out in a matter of hours. BUT, Currys still has stock of the 15.6" version of the very same laptop, and it's even £0.99 cheaper - result! Don't hang around though - we've found several other retailers have already sold out of these ASUS OLED laptops in the last 24 hours. Deal link below...

The ASUS Vivobook S 15 may not look like much in pictures, but it sports an OLED display. Just like OLED TVs, these are the holy grail of image quality, outclassing their traditional LCD counterparts in almost every area, including brightness, contrast and colour accuracy. The OLED panel in this laptop runs at a super-high 2880 x 1800 resolution and boasts a huge 600-nit max brightness. Then there's the 100% DCI-P3 colour space coverage - the broadest (and therefore hardest to display) commonly used colour gamut out there.

And it's not just the Vivobook's screen that impresses. Power comes from a powerful yet efficient Intel Core i5-12500H 12-core processor, paired with a generous 16GB RAM. A super-speedy 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD takes care of storage, while bang-up-to-date dual Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports offer the fastest possible data transfer speeds. This laptop is even Intel EVO certified, meaning you'll get the best possible performance and battery life compromise.

A laptop with such high-end specs in every area should cost well into four-figure territory, so for £599 we cannot overstate just how much of a bargain this is!

Here's the deal:

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Details of the expected Vivo X90 series of smartphones, expected to launch in December, have leaked online. The line-up is expected to include three smartphones – the Vivo X90, X90 Pro, and X90 Pro+. 

Notorious tipster Digital Chat Station, via TechGoing, has leaked, via Chinese social media site Weibo, that the Vivo X90 will feature a 1.5K resolution display and be powered by the Dimensity 9200 (its predecessor the Vivo X80 was powered by the Dimensity 9000 chipset), which hasn’t actually been officially announced yet. 

The Zeiss-branded camera that the Vivo flagships use are also to get a bigger one-inch sensor, according to GSMarena, for its main 50MP camera. The telephoto camera is rumorord use a pixel-binned 64MP telephoto camera, that will output 16MP images.

Courtesy of TechGoing, we know that the rumored Dimensity 9200 chip is coming, as it has appeared on the AnTuTu benchmarks. The SoC has recorded a total score of 1,266,102 – a total of a CPU score of 273,413, a GPU score of 550,767, a memory score of 246,809, and a UX score of 195,113. It’s tipped to launch next month, ahead of the X90 in December and is said to be equipped with a Cortex X3 main CPU. It’s rumored that the X90 AND x90 Pro will use this new chip. 

Digital Chat Station has also alleged that the X90 will carry support for 120W fast charging – he previously leaked it will have a 4,700mAh dual-cell battery – and will offer improved dust and water resistance over its predecessor, albeit without an IP68 rating. Camera wise, he tips the smartphone to feature a Sony triple rear camera system, consisting of a 50MP primary, 12MP ultra-wide and 12MP telephoto portrait. 

Vivo X90 Pro+: Specifications 

TechGoing has also provided intel on the Vivo X90 Pro+, which is rumored to come with a Samsung 6.78-inch AMOLED E6 display, which will support a 2K resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and 1440Hz high-frequency dimming. Under the bonnet, the X90 Pro+ is said to boast a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Chip. 

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Vivo, the smartphone maker behind the excellent X80 Pro 5G is joining the ranks of Xiaomi's Poco and Realme in bringing optical image stabilization (OIS) to its midrange phones with its V25 and V25 Pro. 

On top of adding OIS to its more affordable lines, Vivo's loaded up both phones' front cameras with eye autofocus, with the V25 getting a 50MP selfie camera, while the V25 Pro's is 32MP. The focus on selfies makes the V25 something of a successor to the V21 5G, though there's no front LED light for selfies this time around.

It isn't just Vivo's stabilization and auto-focusing cameras that are vying for your attention with the V25 series – the new phones feature designs that change colors. Shine a UV light on their back panels, and they darken significantly. This means you can easily stencil a pattern on, though it fades after a few minutes. We've spent some time with the V25 Pro, and you can see the effect in the images below.

We're really not sure what to make of the color-changing tech. It's a fun party trick if you just happen to have a UV light on you, but given how quickly the pattern fades, it'll likely be little more than a gimmick for most. Fortunately, though, even without the color-changing feature, the V25 and V25 Pro are good-looking phones.

While the V25 sports a flat front and back, the Pro variant is curvy, and both are premium-feeling glass-backed devices. The Pro's available in Surfing Blue and Starlight Black, while the vanilla V25 comes in Aquamarine Blue, Sunrise Gold, and Diamond black.

The V25 Pro also benefits from flagship-like screen specs, including AMOLED display tech and a 120Hz refresh rate, and while the V25 charges at 44W, the Pro charges at a fast 66W. The Pro's highlights don't stop there – with MediaTek power inside, the Pro gets the mightier Dimensity 1300 chip, while the V25 gets a slightly less powerful Dimensity 900.

As for the cameras, both phones pack a similar setup around the back, with a 64MP main camera powered by a Samsung sensor featuring OIS and an f/1.9 aperture. There's also an 8MP OmniVision ultra-wide camera and a 2MP OmniVision macro camera. The phones can capture 4K video, and the vanilla V25 can also shoot 4K video from the front camera.

Vivo's added auto night-shooting, so when you capture photos at night, the phones fire up night mode even if you don't switch to it. It also promises superior night video too, taking advantage of the hybrid OIS and electronic stabilization system. 

With pricing and availability to be confirmed, the Vivo V25 and V25 Pro aren't on sale just yet. But if your curiosity is piqued by these color-changing mobiles, check back in the coming weeks to see if the Pro, which we've got in for review, is one of the best camera phones of 2022.

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Vivo has made some excellent camera phones, especially since partnering with Zeiss and pioneering mobile gimbal tech in the X51 5G – the brand's first major Western release. 

While in the past, it's taken as long as half a year for Vivo's phones to be announced outside China after their initial unveiling, the X80 Pro 5G, Vivo's 2022 flagship, has been confirmed for the UK after just a couple of months. Costing £1,199 (approximately $1,430), though, this is one very expensive flagship. 

For the same price as the X80 Pro, you could buy an iPhone 13 Pro Max or Samsung S22 Ultra. Vivo's phone has to be seriously good if it wants to earn a spot on your wishlist and our best camera phones of 2022 podium.

The X80 Pro 5G's camera definitely looks promising. At the helm is a large, 1/1.3" 50MP sensor. Vivo adds its gimbal tech to the 50mm portrait lens, and there's a periscope camera too. Better still, the ultra-wide camera has autofocus, and it also doubles up as a macro camera. 

The question is, can this powerful camera phone justify its dearer-than-an-iPhone price?

Vivo X80 Pro 5G design and screen

The Vivo X80 Pro experience feels special before you even get to the phone. Open the box and in addition to one very sleek-looking smartphone which we'll come onto, there's the best-looking case we've ever seen included with a phone. Complete with faux-leather texturing. Instantly – this made a great first impression. 

The front of the phone is taken up by a broad, bold curved screen that has tiny bezels and a centered selfie camera punch-hole cutout. With its curved back tapering in to meet the front, while the X80 Pro is actually a beefy phone on paper, in the flesh, it still feels elegant, with a relatively thin metal frame along the sides. 

We're much more concerned about the back of the phone than the front, given the fact that's where you'll find the Zeiss-branding and quad-camera system. An interesting layout, the camera surround is a boldly raised rectangle, in which you'll find three cameras grouped together within a circle, and a flash and periscope camera floating in its orbit. 

A mirror finish and a whole lot of size mean that the Vivo X80 Pro 5G's camera bump is exceptionally attention-grabbing. That said, we do like the attention Vivo's paid to make the camera portion of the design feel special – call us maximalists.

As for the phone's construction, it's a matte glass and metal mix. The glass on the front and back hasn't been confirmed as Gorilla Glass – so we can't comment on its scratch resistance. That said, the phone does ship with a pre-fitted screen protector and the phone's IP68 water and dust resistant – so there's some peace of mind to be had on that front. 

With a USB-C port and a SIM slot at the base, and all the buttons on the right side of the phone, there aren't any surprises, though the infrared blaster at the top is a nice-to-have feature, turning the phone into a TV remote control. Unlike the other Zeiss-co-branded smartphone on the scene, the Sony Xperia 1 IV, there's no physical camera button, so while this is a phone made with photography enthusiasts in mind, it isn't quite as traditional as Sony's flagship line. 

It would be a crying shame if an all-screen-fronted phone like the Vivo X80 Pro 5G had a bad screen – luckily, it doesn't. In fact, this is one glorious, large, curved AMOLED display with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate and a balanced natural color profile. 

Vivo's making sure all the screen-cred acronyms are checked – this is a latest-gen LTPO3 panel,  is 10-bit, showcasing 1B colors, and in turn, supports HDR10+ video. With a peak brightness of up to 1500 nits in auto mode, it also gets bright enough to easily see outdoors, and being a quality AMOLED screen, it dims right down too. 

With its large 6.87-inch screen and sky-high 3200×1440 (WQHD+) resolution, the Vivo X80 Pro is sharp and immersive, with 517 pixels in every inch, making it one of the crispest phones you can buy.

Vivo X80 Pro 5G camera

The Vivo X80 Pro’s quad-camera introduces Sony's large IMX 866 1/1.3" sensor on the primary camera. With an f/1.6 lens matched with OIS, this is one of the best-specced main cameras of any phone we've tested. 

 Vivo has migrated its mobile gimbal tech to the first telephoto camera – a 50mm, f/1.9 lens matched with a 1/2.93" Sony IMX 663 sensor. While the specs are less impressive, the gimbal stabilization should help eke out decent performance here.

The phone's far-reaching telephoto camera is a periscope module with an 8 MP resolution 1/4.4" sensor. That's matched with an f/3.4 lens with OIS, and a 125mm focal length.

Finally for the back of the phone, the ultra-wide camera features a 48MP f/2.2 module with a 114˚ field of view and a 1/2" sensor.

The front camera is also specced out, with its 32MP, 1/2.8" sensor with an f/2.45, 26mm wide-angle lens. 

Vivo's camera UI is fully customizable, with the only modes that must be on the main carousel of options being Photo and Video. Additional modes include: High Resolution, Night, Portrait, Pro, Pano, Live Photo, Slo-mo, Time-lapse, AR Stickers, Supermoon, Ultra HD Document, Astro, Pro Sports, Long Exposure, Double Exposure, Dual View and AI Group Portrait.

The camera phone can capture up to 8K 30fps video from the rear (or 4K 60fps), and 1080p 60fps video from the front. What's also handy is that the Pro mode can switch to video, so you can take control of your footage, shoot in LOG, activate focus peaking, exposure feedback and manually switch between lenses and turn off stabilization.

Vivo also debuts its V1+ image chip in the X80 Pro, which Vivo claims supports the image management from camera to screen. 

Vivo X80 Pro 5G camera review

If the Sony Xperia 1 IV is an enthusiast's camera phone that alienates more casual photographers, the Vivo X80 Pro 5G is a great middle-ground that automates most setting but gives users a lot of control over their imaging. 

The main camera does a great job of capturing a shallow depth of field when photographing close-up objects up to around 1.5m away – impressive for a smartphone. While the 50mm lens is there for portraits, therefore, the main camera also does an impressive job of capturing faces. 

Detail from the main camera is also strong, and while processing is heavy-handed at times, with aggressive sharpening, they nevertheless look pleasing and are information-rich enough to crop into by around three times.

Vivo's contrast and exposure balancing is frequently good but showcases higher contrast than we personally like in many scenes. These situations benefit from SRAW, the brand's take on high-bitrate RAW capture. An example can be found in the image below, a photo of the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G.  it highlights ou can eke out a huge amount of shadow detail by switching to this mode and editing images either on-device or in Photoshop at a computer.

Like the best camera phones around, Vivo automatically fires up long-exposure shooting when the lights drop, saving you from having to switch out to Night Mode. This does a great job of capturing extra detail and works across the camera mix. 

The primary camera is the best for night photography with its big sensor, but all the cameras are competitive. Where the telephoto camera mix does fall behind the competition is reach. Vivo's flagship can't stack up to the Galaxy S22 Ultra with its 10x zoom equivalent optical lens, though beats out the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

The ultra-wide camera also doubles up as a macro camera, given the fact it features autofocus, which is seldom seen even amongst flagships. This is a great addition, and while its pure photo quality falls behind the ultra-wides on the Oppo Find X3 Pro and Find X5 Pro, helps Vivo stay competitive when it comes to versatility.

Dwelling on the 50mm gimbal-stabilized portrait camera for a moment, Vivo's decision to add a micro-gimbal to this module initially confused us. Why not just boost the main camera that bit more? That said, after a couple of weeks with the phone, it makes much more sense. The Vivo X80 Pro 5G's cameras don't have a weak link per se, even if the periscope camera is the weakest of the bunch. 

What's more, whether you're taking a photo at 24mm or 50mm, the Vivo copes well in challenging light, especially if you don't mind shooting in SRAW and editing your photo later. This is especially handy for portraits.

The portrait mode automatically activates the 50mm camera, and the first photo below was taken with it – though the artificial background blur has been disabled. The result is a very impressive image considering it was taken on an object moving at pace.

Selfies captured on the Vivo X80 Pro 5G a bit of a travesty as far as we're concerned. Vivo's beauty filters are active by default and are far too heavy-handed, totally distorting reality. 

As you can see from the example below, the beauty mode automatically applies make-up to female faces and made other 'beauty' changes. For male faces, the camera smoothed skin and brightened eyes. While this mode would have been okay if it wasn't active by default when we fired up the selfie camera, things are getting out of hand when your selfie camera reflects a distorted reality back at you out of the box. 

Videos captured on the Vivo X80 Pro 5G are well held together well and offer varying degrees of stabilization. Focus is fast, though the focal point could be smaller for fine-tuned touch focusing. Footage looks smooth at up to 4K resolution, but 8K capture misses out on rock-steady stabilization, letting some handshake through. With phones like the ROG Phone 5 – a gaming phone that misses out on OIS sporting stabilization all the way up to 8K, we're not sure why Vivo couldn't include it on the X80 Pro 5G.

Additional specs

With an Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, the Vivo X80 Pro 5G has flagship power, and in turn, flagship power drain and heat production. 

Able to handle the latest games at high graphics settings, the phone's screen showcases them to perfection, with the only limitation being heat management. The X80 Pro 5G gets hot after about 15 minutes of playing Genshin Impact or other demanding games. That said, for day-to-day tasks, it stays cool, is responsive and is a treat to use.

Vivo's FunTouch UI, which runs on top of Android 12, has been criticized for being bloated and heavy, and while it still is on the X80 Pro 5G, it's going in the right direction with a clean look and feel. There are nevertheless plenty of customizations to the UI, from the multitasking screen to the way you can deploy widgets. This level of customization invites performance issues, and while we didn't experience too many – the only one being a slight delay on receiving notifications versus an iPhone, for example, experiences online have been inconsistent. 

What has been unanimously well-received is the in-display fingerprint scanner, which covers a larger area than any other smartphone scanner we've tried. It reliably and quickly unlocks the phone, even with a damp finger and a clumsy press.

With 12GB RAM, the Vivo X80 Pro 5G is also bolstered by an additional 4GB of system storage that's used as Extended RAM. Storage shouldn’t be a concern for most with 256GB on board.

As for battery life, the Vivo X80 Pro 5G gets a slightly smaller battery than we're used to in flagships. It's 4700mAh, and Android flagships from OPPO, Samsung, and Xiaomi all sport 5000mAh batteries. Nevertheless, in our tests, the Vivo X80 Pro 5G actually outperformed the Galaxy S22 Ultra and Xiaomi 12 Pro when it came to screen on time.

Depending on screen brightness, we were able to make it through a full day with the phone when using it for photo-taking, music playback, and lots of messaging. What wiped the phone out quickly was prolonged gaming and outdoor use in bright scenes, during which brightness was ramped right up.

The phone charges quickly with 80W wired and 50W wireless charging. Powering up in as little as 40 minutes, even if you do struggle to get a full day out of it with heavy use, the fast charging, and the fact the phone ships with an 80W charger should help you get by with a short top-up.

Verdict

The Vivo X80 Pro 5G is one of the best camera phones of 2022, and now it's been officially announced for Europe, with UK availability from July 7, it should be a serious consideration if available in your region.

The X80 Pro 5G isn't affordable and it isn't perfect, but it's a very good camera phone that's stylish, premium, and feature-rich. Its camera system is one of the most complete solutions available thanks to no real weak links. The main camera is strong, the telephoto comes in a close second, and the periscope and autofocusing ultra-wide camera both bolster the system with fair to good performance for the most part. 

The rest of the phone doesn't disappoint either. Sure, there's a heavy-handed interface, but if you can get used to that, and we did, the X80 Pro's powerful, has a brilliant screen, good enough battery life, and very fast charging – both wired and wireless.

Alternatives

If the Vivo X80 Pro is too pricey, consider the Realme GT 2 Pro, which at least offers up a decent primary camera experience and an interesting mix of lenses without compromising on power. Alternatively, for anyone who wants more zoom range, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is bulkier alternative with more range and pen input. 

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The Vivo X80 Series, consisting of the X80 and X80 Pro, has been launched globally today, after launching in Vivo’s home market of China last month. The high spec phones benefit from a partnership with Zeiss and feature a massive camera block to the rear, highlighting the multiple cameras which offer various enticing options for both photography and video. 

“X80 series demonstrates vivo’s constant pursuit of user-oriented innovation and premium mobile imaging technology. In successive collaboration with ZEISS, a global leader in optics and opto-electronics, we are once again delivering excellent experiences to users who can capture memories and create quality photographs and videos with more dynamics and perspectives,” said Spark Ni, Senior Vice President and CMO of Vivo.

Vivo X80 Pro

The new flagship Vivo X80 Pro has an excellent spec list – it’s powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip with 12GB RAM and a huge vapour chamber, to keep the phone cool when using its high-performance features. It’s 4700mAh battery supports 80W charging and more impressively, 50W wireless charging. 

Display wise, the Vivo X80 Pro has a 6.78-inch display with curved edges. It features QHD+ resolution and is LTPO AMOLED, meaning it offers adaptive refresh rates of up to 120Hz. Other notable features are an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor in the display and dual stereo speakers. 

Flagship camera system 

On to the main event – Vivo are shouting mainly about the camera system, supported by the Vivo V+ imaging chip, on the new flagship and it does indeed sound very promising. The rear four-camera system with Zeiss lenses consists of a 50MP ultra-sensing camera with GNV sensor and OIS, a 48MP wide-angle camera, a 12MP gimbal portrait camera, and an 8MP periscope camera. Finally, up front there’s a 32MP selfie camera. 

The gimbal portrait camera is the core upgrade that allows for video enhancement and stability, while X80 Pro’s main camera also includes an exclusively customized ultra-sensing GNV sensor, which Vivo say will optimize reflectivity and reduce stray light paired with a High Transmittance Glass Lens for low dispersion and temperature drift to reduce glaring. 

One of the most exciting features offered – there really are tonnes of camera features -  is the new Zeiss cinematic video bokeh, which creates oval bokeh in film-standard 2.39:1 aspect ratio, creating a widescreen cinematic lens for video. Users can also choose regular lens video bokeh, creating portrait videos with bokeh in one tap. Impressively, the bokeh effect varies to match the focal length, aperture, and shooting distance, and the bokeh balls are round, in a 16:9 regular frame. 

Another feature we are looking forward to testing is the ZEISS night camera which has upgraded features such as Pure Night View, enabling the X80 series to capture city night scenes while retaining the original look and feel of the scene. Additionally, the X80 Pro supports XDR Photo that can improve clarity for backlit images and improve tones that better reflect what the human eyes can see. 

Vivo X80

The Vivo X80, which is the non-Pro model comes with the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chip, a 4500mAh battery without wireless charging and there’s no adaptive refresh in this model, rather a choice between 120Hz or 60Hz. Camera wise it misses out on the 8MP periscope camera. 

Both models will launch on Andriod 12 with FunTouch OS 12. The X80 Pro model comes in Cosmic Black only, while the X80 comes in Cosmic Black and Urban Blue. Vivo has yet to announce pricing or availability. 

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If the V21 5G is the first smartphone you’ve heard of from Vivo – you’ve missed some cracking devices. The Chinese brand’s been making great strides in mobile photography with its smart gimbal technology and Zeiss partnership in the Vivo X60 Pro 5G, and more recently, the X70 Pro Plus.

With its 6.44-inch display, the V21 5G looks like a very run-of-the-mill midrange phone on first impression, however, this phone has a superpower – it wants to be the best selfie camera in the world. 

How does Vivo make its selfie-supremacy vision a reality? The Vivo V21 5G’s front 44MP camera comes loaded with OIS, autofocus and can shoot up to 4K video. It also benefits from not one, but two front LEDs which get very bright and provide impressively even light coverage.

While the phone has a few other highlights – an in-display fingerprint scanner and a zingy AMOLED screen, do its midrange chipset and other tell-tale compromises hold it back from being an all-around great buy?

Design and screen

When we first picked up the Vivo V21 5G, our reaction was mixed. On the one hand, it’s a plastic-framed, plastic-backed phone. In its price range, you can get glass and metal phones like the OPPO Reno 4 Pro, which is also very sleek and curvaceous, feeling more premium. 

Measuring just 7.3mm thin though, the V21 5G feels like one of the slimmest phones around, and in its Sunset Dazzle colour, it looks standout. It’s also available in Dusk Blue, which is the version we reviewed. 

The phone’s flat front and flat back sandwich a polished plastic, beveled frame. All the buttons sit on the right-side – power and volume buttons – while the USB-C port is at the base alongside the sole speaker, which is very easy to cover up, muffling sound – not ideal. On the other side of the USB port is a dual-SIM slot, or single-SIM and microSD card slot.  

Combining a 6.44-inch AMOLED screen and a 1080x2400 resolution, the Vivo V21 5G’s display specs are perfectly competitive for a midrange phone on paper. Its size is comfortable and its picture is punchy, with accurate vibrant colors and deep blacks. 

The 90Hz refresh rate also helps make the phone feel nippy, and a pixel density of 409 pixels-per-inch means it’s batting in the same league as the iPhone 12 when it comes to clarity – perfectly competitive.

Vivo V21 5G: Cameras

The Vivo V21 5G’s main camera features a 64 MP, 1/1.72" sensor with 0.8µm pixels, matched with an f/1.8, 26mm lens. Also loaded up with PDAF and OIS, these additions should help the 64MP Samsung module, which is notoriously soft when compared to flagship alternatives and some midrange Sony rival sensors. 

Vivo opts for an 8MP OmniVision sensor for the ultra-wide camera matched with an f/2.2, 120˚ (16mm ultrawide) lens. There’s also a 2MP macro camera from OmniVision as well, which, like the ultra-wide, features a fixed-focus lens. 

The attention-grabber on the Vivo V21, however, isn’t the rear camera mix, it’s the front camera. With a resolution of 44 MP, it’s already more pixel-tastic than virtually all the competition, save for pricier phones like the Asus Zenfone 8 Flip, whose main camera is also its rear camera. Matched with an f/2.0 aperture, AF, OIS, and video capture at up to 4K resolution (30fps), the selfie camera’s specs read well, and its shooting modes are also extensive. 

In addition to supporting standard selfie modes, the phone gives you four front camera LED light options – off, auto, Aura (which manipulates the display colors to add creative lighting), and Spotlight (activating the front flash). 

The selfie camera also has 10 live filters, extensive face beautification, and plenty of portrait lighting effects. As for general shooting modes, the Vivo V21 5G captures in automatic, Portrait, Night, High resolution, Pano, Live photo, Slo-mo, Time-lapse, Pro, AR Stickers, Documents, and Double exposure modes.

Camera performance

Starting with the back of the phone, and the Vivo V21 5G’s 64MP camera can’t quite stack up to the best in its price category. The $349 / £349 Pixel 4a, for example, does a better job across lighting conditions, with superior nighttime performance. While the OPPO Reno 4 Pro shoots photos with better clarity in bright scenes. 

Despite not outperforming the best, the V21 5G does manage to beat out phones like the Motorola Edge 20, so it isn’t worst-in-class by any means – likely thanks to that image stabilization and Vivo’s respectable, relatively natural processing.

When compared to Samsung and Sony camera sensors, OmniVision alternatives seldom win, and the 8MP ultra-wide camera on the V21 5G is no exception. Ultra-wide photos showcase fair detail in bright scenes, but Vivo fails to color match the image with that of the main camera, who’s photos are significantly more lively. Additionally, its low-light performance is poor, even with night mode active. 

In a studio environment, we were able to get a decent quality photo from all three cameras, including the ultra-wide (see image above), however, natively, it outputs relatively flat, lifeless shots.

The main camera’s ability to capture detail is helped massively by a steady hand – perhaps more so than some competition. If held in place, it can capture rich-looking close-up photos, complete with a relatively shallow depth of field. 

As for the macro camera, it’s only ever okay in bright scenes, and even then, cropping into the main camera’s photos produces better results. In turn, avoiding the macro camera altogether is likely the best solution. 

The real focus of the V21 5G is that selfie camera though, and we’re happy to say, it impressed us for the most part. It won’t always capture the most flattering photo out of the gate – you might need to experiment with the fill flash or spotlights and get used to its quirks. Once you do, and pull photos from it into the phone’s native editing suite, you can get great results, and that’s before you start to play with its various modes, selfie filters, and portrait lighting effects.

4K video shot on the front and rear camera look good, with decent stabilization and detail, however, dynamic range is weaker than on some higher-end camera phones, and low light performance also struggles. 

Vivo V21 5G: Additional specs

Powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 800U 5G paired with 8GB RAM, the Vivo V21 5G is no gaming phone. In fact, the phone sports the same chipset found in lower-cost alternatives like the Realme 7 5G. That isn’t to say we experienced any slowdown in our time with the phone, and the 90Hz refresh rate also helped keep everything feeling fast.

Running Android 12 with Vivo’s FunTouch OS 12, the V21 5G has done a great job of keeping up with Google, packing in the latest version of the mobile operating system which launched at the end of 2021. 

One feature we don’t always see at the Vivo V21 5G’s price is an in-display fingerprint scanner, which is welcome and works well, especially in tandem with face recognition. And with 128GB storage and microSD card support, there’s also plenty of space, and room to flesh things out a bit if you need more room for photos and videos.

With its 4000mAh battery, the Vivo V21 5G is, on paper, pretty weak on the battery capacity front. We understand Vivo wanted to keep things slender, but with phones like the Redmi Note 10 Pro cramming in 5000mAh, the V21’s battery size is small. What’s more, with 5G, we found the phone drained pretty quickly when we had the hotspot feature active. So while you will likely get a full day, heavy use could cut your battery life short. 

Thankfully, if your battery does run low and you need a top-up, the phone charges at up to 33W, with a fast charger in the box, so you can power up by around 50% in 25 minutes.

Vivo V21 5G: Verdict

The Vivo V21 5G won’t be for everyone, and it certainly isn’t the best camera phone of 2022. If you’re a particularly discerning photographer, despite the fact it packs plenty of shooting modes, its hardware will turn you off. Look to phones like the Redmi Note 10 Pro for a better main, ultra-wide and macro camera setup, or the OnePlus Nord 2 for an altogether better phone. 

If you’re a teen (or buying for a teen) though, or just love taking selfies, and have a bit of patience to figure out how to get the best from the front camera set up, then Vivo’s V21 5G warrants being on your shortlist. While it drops the ball with its mediocre speaker and middling processor, unless you’re a gamer or plan on watching loads of content on it headphone-free, neither of these will likely be dealbreakers.

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A new exhibition is to be held at the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) Gallery that brings together over 50 contemporary portraits captured of Holocaust survivors and their families. The photo series aims to shed a light on the lives of survivors and highlights our collective responsibility to cherish their stories.

Leading contemporary photographers including RPS patron, the Duchess of Cambridge, will have new works showcased in the exhibition, 'Generations: Portraits of Holocaust Survivors', on display at the RPS Gallery, Bristol, UK from 27 January to 27 Mar 2022. 

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Holocaust survivors and their younger generation families have had their special connection documented throughout this powerful photo series. The diabolical events that make up the Holocaust and the systemic persecution of Jews during 1933 and 1945 by the Nazi party caused the devastating loss of 6 million lives. For survivors, they are left with undoubtedly life changing trauma and memories impacted by their own individual experiences. 

Through this moving photo series of both individual and family portraits, subjects are presented as a strong group of survivors who have now made the UK their home after tragic beginnings marked by unimaginable loss. These portraits featured in the exhibition offer a celebration of the lives these survivors have lived and the special continued legacy with which their children and grandchildren can carry onwards.

Generations: Portraits of Holocaust Survivors, incorporates brand new bodies of work, most of which were captured in Spring 2021, from contemporary photographers such as Frederic Aranda, Jillian Edelstein, Sian Bonnell, Arthur Edwards, Anna Fox, Joy Gregory, Jane Hilton, Tom Hunter, Karen Knorr, Carolyn Mendelsohn, Simon Roberts and Michelle Sank.

Examples of images we can expect to see at this exhibition involve Freddie Knoller BEM photographed on his 100th birthday next to his wife, two daughters and grandson. Freddie was born in 1921 and forced to leave his home in Vienna to live as a Jewish refugee, joining the French Resistance in 1943 and surviving imprisonment in camps at Auschwitz. He moved to London in the 1950s and started a family, who will ensure that Freddie's important story will continue to hold legacy for years to come. 

Other portraits feature survivors pictured alongside mementoes from childhood such as passports and teddy bears, while sat in the homes where they have created new memories and lives for themselves. Intimate portraits captured by the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton were commissioned specially for the exhibition and feature portraits of survivors Steven Frank BEM and Yvonne Bernstein. 

The RPS's Project Curator, Tracy Marshall-Grant, shares that "Each portrait shows the special connection between the survivor and subsequent generations of their family, and it emphasises their important legacy. The portraits, by leading contemporary British photographers, seek to simultaneously inspire audiences to consider their own responsibility to remember and to share the stories of those who endured persecution. It creates a legacy that will allow those descendants to connect directly back and inspire future generations.”

A free outdoor edition of the exhibition will be hosted by UNESCO at its Paris headquarters from now until the 4 February as part of commemorations around Holocaust Memorial Day. Accompanying the exhibition is a streamed online event that will take place on 16 February, where Marc Wilson talks about his project documenting the physical traces of the Holocaust, presented in his book A Wounded Landscape - bearing witness to the Holocaust that was published in October 2021.

 The exhibition is in partnership with the Imperial War Museum, Jewish News and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, expecting to open on 27 January 2022, to coincide with the Holocaust Memorial Day. The RPS will also be hosting a series of events to commemorate the new exhibition including a planned open day on 6 March that will feature talks from both survivors and photographers.

Advanced booking and tickets are required to visit the RPS Gallery exhibition, though the exhibition will be free admission. Information on tickets, educational resources and general information can be found on the Generations page of the RPS website. 

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Chinese smartphone brand Vivo has launched the V23 Pro and V23 5G smartphones, which both feature a with ground-breaking dual front camera and a slim, elegant design.

The V23 Pro and V23 5G certainly look poised to steal the crown for best camera phone for selfies with their USP obviously being their front-facing cameras. The front facing cameras on both consist of a 50MP main camera paired with an 8MP ultra-wide, which will be great for group shots and including surroundings. Bar the Moto Edge X30 (only available in China) this is the highest resolution sensor we’ve seen on a camera phone – so it’s exciting news.

The Vivo V23 has a 64MP main camera on the rear, an 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP macro, while the Pro has the same pair of auxiliary cameras with a 108MP main one. Both phones feature a new Natural Portrait mode that features optional beautification effects and AI algorithms can enhance face details, as well as any potential dual-tone spotlight elements. The Super Wide-Angle Night Portrait mode looks to have low-light night portraits covered, too. 

Users will be able to record 4K video on the front camera, a feature that few mobiles offer, and one mode lets you record video that's automatically 'beautified', in a similar way how Portrait mode works on stills.

The V23 Pro and V23 5G let users shoot 4K video on the front camera, meaning it’ll certyainly appeal to video bloggers and it even works with Vivo's AI Face Beauty feature. The V23 Pro supports 4K 60fps high-resolution videos, while the V23 5G supports 4K 30fps videos. 

Bokeh flare 

One of the features of the V23 Pro and V23 5G that look set to take mobile photography up a notch is bokeh flare, for both the front and rear cameras, which will allow used to blur their backgrounds, emulating the results achieved with camera lenses. 

Both new phones have FHD+ 90Hz displays and notches that house the front cameras. The V23 5G has a 6.44-inch display, while the Pro has a 6.56-inch one that curves at the edges. Both charge at 44W and the Vivo V23 has a 4,200mAh battery, while the Pro's is 4,300mAh. Powered by MediaTek chipsets, the V23 has the Dimensity 920, and the V23 Pro uses the more powerful Dimensity 1200. Both phones are 5G-compatible, and each comes in either 8GB RAM and 128GB storage or 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. 

Vivo is offering both phones in black and a super cool sparkly gold, which we can see being very popular indeed. The Vivo V23 series is being rolled out in more than 50 markets, including Europe, over the next few months.

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Vivo’s smartphones have always put photography first. While the camera capabilities are a hugely important part of any smartphone’s proposition these days, the Chinese manufacturer has really put this into practice with its latest flagship, the X70 Pro+. Its rear camera array is a beefy four-module array, boasting Zeiss-made optics that give the user impressive optical zoom and bokeh capabilities. What’s more, the phone also sports gimbal-stabilised video with resolution up to 8K. 

A lot of promise, but how does it deliver in practice? Let’s take a look. 

Vivo X70 Pro+: Specifications

• Rear cameras: 50MP primary camera with GN1 sensor; 48MP ultra-wide gimbal sensor; 12MP portrait sensor; 8MP periscope camera
• Front camera: 32MP 
• Max video resolution: 8K 30p
• Screen: 6.7-inch WQHD E5 AMOLED curved display, 3200 x 1440 resolution
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888+ 5G
• OS: Android 11
• Battery: 4500mAh
• Dimensions: 164.5 x 75.2 x 8.9mm
• Weight: 209g

Vivo X70 Pro+: Key features

The Vivo X70 Pro+ made headlines with its aforementioned quad camera array. Its rear camera setup features a 50MP wide module, an 8MP periscope telephoto module, a 12MP telephoto module and a 48MP ultrawide module. The latter of these also has Vivo’s impressive gimbal technology, allowing for smooth and stabilised video. 

What this means in practical terms is that you can flick from 23mm, to 14mm, to 50mm and to 125mm (all full-frame equivalent focal lengths) with ease, and get the most out of the high resolution thanks to a set of Zeiss optics. This is also what enables the generously wide maximum aperture of f/1.7. The optical elements have also been treated with Zeiss’s coveted T* coating. The front camera, meanwhile, is a 32MP unit.

Under the bonnet, things are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ chipset, which makes operation impressively smooth. The display is a 6.7-inch WQHD E5 AMOLED curved screen with a resolution of 3,200 x 1,440 pixels, as well as 1500nits maximum brightness, 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and 300Hz response time. Top-end stuff across the board.

Vivo X70 Pro+: Build and handling

From the front, the X70 Pro+ looks much as you’d expect – a Kubrickian black monolith, whose curved edges make the screen seem as though it’s disappearing into infinity. The rear, however, has a pleasing matte finish and grippable texture – according to Vivo, it’s made from fluorine-treated glass. 

This is undeniably a big phone. It weighs in at 209g, which is weight you’ll notice if you’re holding it in one hand for too long, and it’s 9mm thick too. Outdoorsy users will appreciate that it’s the first Vivo phone to come with waterproofing; the X70 Pro+ is IP68 rated, meaning it should be able to be submerged to depths of 1.5m for up to 30 minutes. While I didn’t push things that far, I can personally attest that the phone can withstand a brutal (and, may I say, un-forecast) rainstorm without any problems. 

Vivo X70 Pro+: Performance

Old photographers of a certain ilk, clutching their rangefinders, are fond of saying that zoom lenses make you lazy. Well, having spent time with the X70 Pro+ and its optical zoom lenses, I can confirm that they are absolutely correct. The X70 Pro+ made me incredibly lazy, and I loved it. 

The zoom options sit on the display by default, and using them becomes second-nature. I nimbly flicked from 23mm to 14mm to 50mm to 125mm and back around again. Below is a selection of images I captured of the same building, from the same standing position, within seconds of each other. That, my friends, is versatility. 

The X70 Pro+ provides a manual mode for controlling shutter speed, aperture et al, but realistically you won’t use it except in particularly difficult lighting situations –  not least because the exposure controls supplant the much-more-useful zoom controls on the display. You’ll have much more fun delving into Portrait Mode and playing around with Zeiss bokeh styles, including Biotar, Sonnar, Planar and Distagon. These can also be edited and reapplied post-capture, which is pretty neat.

There are also AI-powered scene recognition, HDR, and Zeiss Natural Colour modes. I played around with different combinations of all three and, in all honesty, barely noticed any difference. In any case, image metadata doesn’t record whether these modes were activated, making it basically impossible to keep track of when you’ve used them (I resorted to the Notes app), so it’s hard to discover which you prefer via experimentation.

This is, I admit, a pernickety complaint. And on the subject of pernickety complaints, having image watermarks activated by default is an act of psychological violence against me specifically. I won’t tell you how many images I shot before I realised that the helpful little words in the corners of the gallery images were in fact permanently branded on there, but it was 102. 

Battery life is excellent. A day spent snapping barely nicked the meter of the 4,500 mAh battery. Worth a shout out too are the video modes; the built-in gimbal makes it super-easy to get smooth and stable moving footage. The buttery-smooth 4K 60p looks great, though you can push it up to 8K if so desired. The gimbal also powers the excellent Night Mode, allowing for 1sec exposures completely handheld.

Vivo X70 Pro+: Verdict

The Vivo X70 Pro+ is a sandbox of a smartphone. Absolutely spilling over with shooting modes and features, it lets you lose yourself in playing with the various things its cameras are capable of – though you may find yourself wishing for a better way to keep track of which settings you’ve used. It’s a hefty, chunky phone, but if that doesn’t bother you, it’s an impressive step forward for smartphone imaging. 

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The Vivo X60 Pro’s camera has been co-engineered with Zeiss – the latest in a series of partnerships between smartphone and camera makers, co-branding products to add credibility (and a point of differentiation) to their mobile cameras. 

With the OnePlus 9 series recently launching with Hasselblad tuning, and Huawei successfully co-branding its camera phones with Leica for years, there’s a great case for the partnership – the OnePlus 9 Pro is widely regarded as one of the best value flagship cameras around. Additionally, Huawei is a camera phone champion – that’s become undisputed since shortly after the partnership with Leica came into effect in 2016. But it hasn’t always been such a clear-cut success with Zeiss. 

While in the Nokia heyday, Zeiss optics led the mobile photography charge with phones like the Nokia 808 PureView, with its 1/1.2-inch sensor and Xenon flash, in recent times, Nokia’s Zeiss-branded smartphones – the Nokia 9, for example, haven’t wowed.

So while Vivo and Zeiss announced the partnership in December 2020, and the X60 series, which consists of the X60, X60 Pro, and X60 Pro 5G is the first line to benefit from the collaboration, how fruitful it will be is anyone’s guess. What we do know, however, is that Vivo and Zeiss created a joint R&D platform – the Vivo Zeiss Imaging Lab, have worked on realizing specific portrait styles for smartphones – Biotar, for example, and the X60 Pro features Zeiss optics. 

Vivo X60 Pro 5G: Design and screen

The Vivo X60 Pro is a beautiful phone. It’s slender at 7.6mm thin, feels rich thanks to its glass and metal design, and is also lightweight for a premium phone, coming in at 10g less than the iPhone 12 Pro.

With its 6.56-inch AMOLED screen and minimal bezels, the X60 Pro also commands attention from the front, with ample screen size and an impressive screen-to-body ratio of 90.1 percent. That’s by comparison to around 86 percent on iPhones.

The screen is also specced out, supporting HDR10+ content, and featuring a 120Hz refresh rate. That means whether you’re watching Netflix at 60Hz, or scrolling through Twitter at 120Hz, visuals will look smooth, and the phone’s tonal range is broad.

Thanks to a resolution of 1080 x 2376 pixels, the Vivo X60 Pro’s pixel density of 398 pixels-per-inch (PPI) keeps clarity on-point, though it can’t best top-of-the-line QHD+ alternatives like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. Given most 2021 QHD+ phones cost a fair bit more than the X60 Pro though, we’re perfectly happy with the phone’s Full HD display.

Available in two colors, Midnight Black and Shimmer Blue, the Vivo X60 Pro gets a thumbs up whichever option you go for, with a matte finish that repels fingerprints nicely. Proving to be another looker for the line – even if it doesn’t break the mold when compared to its predecessor, it’s still a great looking package.

Vivo X60 Pro 5G: cameras

The Vivo X60 Pro’s main camera module features a 48MP Sony IMX598 sensor, the same found in the X60’s predecessor, the Vivo X51. Matched with a slightly wider f/1.5 aperture, and a 26mm focal length, the camera also features the gimbal stabilization introduced on the X50 series. The half-inch sensor is also matched with PDAF, and features 0.8µm pixels.

Also a chip of the X51’s block is the X60 Pro’s portrait camera. With its 13MP resolution, f/2.5 aperture, 50mm focal length, and 1/2.8-inch sensor size (with 0.8µm pixels). It delivers a roughly two-times optical zoom, though we wouldn’t really use it as a zoom camera unless lighting conditions are great – you’d be better off cropping into shots taken on the main camera.

With the 13MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, Vivo ups the ultra-wide’s pixel count versus the X51’s 8MP camera. The field of view (FOV), however, remains the same at 120 degrees, which equates to a 16mm equivalent focal length.

Unlike last year’s X51, the X60 Pro doesn’t bundle in a periscope camera. For that, you’ll need to hang tight for the X60 Pro Plus, which has yet to be announced in Europe.

With a front camera resolution of 32MP, selfies are high-resolution and enjoy a wide f/2.5 aperture, matched with a standard 26mm angle of view.

As for shooting modes, Vivo crams in loads, including Night, Portrait, Photo, Video, 48MP capture, Panorama, Live photo, Slo-mo, Time-laps, Pro, AR stickers, Supermoon, Document, Astro, Pro sports, and Long exposure. In Pro mode, the camera’s ISO can climb up to 3200, while the shutter can be kept open for up to 32 seconds. Additionally, RAW shooting is supported across all three rear cameras, which isn’t always the case.

Vivo X60 Pro 5G: camera performance

While the X60 Pro’s imaging specs are very similar to those of the X51, it’s clear the camera’s photo tuning has enjoyed a glow-up. Could this be the Zeiss-factor, or is it the impact of a second-generation gimbal? Who’s to say, but everything feels more polished this time around.

For starters, detail in photos is strong. Despite the fact images are captured at 12MP, the Vivo X60 Pro’s photos can comfortably be cropped into five or six times without any noticeable pixel crumbling on-screen.

The phone benefits from improved dynamic range versus the X51, though this produces lower contrast images and video. It makes them better for anyone keen to edit their photos, however, can result in images that look a bit flat. In turn, folks who like to shoot and share, without thinking of editing might be better off with a OnePlus 9-series phone whose photos are punchier.

Color balance is generally accurate, even in challenging scenes with difficult-to-handle contrast levels. A lot of information can also be salvaged from shadows, and the X60 Pro’s ability to turn out a good looking shot – or a shot that can be boosted with a quick edit a boon for the phone.

Noise handling from the main camera is good in both automatic mode and night mode, with long exposures firing up automatically and keeping the shutter open for enough time to get ample detail. Night shots can’t be cropped into with the same trigger-happy enthusiasm as day shots, but it’s good to see night mode work across all three of the X60 Pro’s cameras. Having said that, with no OIS, let alone gimbal stablization, the portrait/telephoto camera is not set up for success when the lights drop. You would be (much) better off simply cropping into the main camera’s photo.

Another interesting factor is the beautifully shallow depth the X60 Pro captures. It could come down to the slightly more open aperture versus last year’s model, but whatever it is, the result is noticeable and it looks impressive when capturing close-up objects.

Ultimately, the X60 Pro is a great camera phone – specifically, the main camera. We only took one shot on it that it really struggled with – a punchy, almost coral red flower – with over-exposed reds being a common hurdle that catches digital sensors out.

With a highresolution 32MP selfie camera, selfies are sharp enough, though there’s a subtle beauty mode fired up out of the box. You probably won’t complain, given the fact it’s more flattering than that of some other smartphones, like the fantastically affordable powerhouse, the Realme GT. What’s also smart is that Vivo takes that beauty filter and applies it to video calls, so we were WhatsApp video calling friends and family while being low on visible pores and high on false confidence.

As for video, which is likely a key focus for a phone with a gimbal camera, it’s good, but fails to completely wipe the floor with the competition, and can’t stack up to an actual gimbal, like the DJI OM4 when walking. For handheld video capped at 4K 30fps, or 1080p 60fps, it shoots very competitive quality, even in dimly lit scenes. At 4K 60fps, the EIS and gimbal deactivate, though some stabilization is clearly still at play.

Vivo X60 Pro 5G: Additional specs

Powered by a Snapdragon 870 5G paired with 12GB RAM, while the camera system is reminiscent of the Vivo X51, the innards have seen a major boost. Not quite the latest, greatest Snapdragon 888 power as found in the US version of the Galaxy S21, or Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 888 Plus, announced at MWC 2021, the 870 5G gives you 2020-grade flagship power, which is more than enough for most.

Running a very stock-looking take on Android 11, Vivo’s UI feels hygienic – no bumf in the way of transition flourishes or custom icons; it’s very simple, and we like it. Thanks to all the power inside, it also handles 3D games well, and performs the part day-to-day.

Also worth noting, the phone’s 256GB storage is more than you get on most flagships today, and means the 4K video it captures will have plenty of space to live before you need to offload it.

Rounding off, the phone’s 4200 mAh battery, which charges at up to 33W is far from class-leading in spec, but managed to last much longer than some phones we’ve tested witha 5000mAh battery – the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, for example. In fact, if you’re sparing with use, you could probably eke out two days out of the Vivo X60 Pro, which isn’t something we often say for phones with such slender frames and modest battery capacities.

Vivo X60 Pro 5G: Verdict

We had a great time reviewing the Vivo X60 Pro. It doesn’t pack everything we wanted it to – wireless charging and far-reaching telephoto capabilities are probably the most notable missing links that held it back from end to end excellent. That said, Vivo delivers a great user experience in the X60 Pro, and the main camera is very reliable.

We had high hopes given the Vivo X51’s track record, and while the X60 Pro doesn’t feel like a revolutionary step up, and it isn’t clear just how much of a difference the Zeiss partnership has made, the phone takes great photos and shoots impressive video. More to the point, with better internals and stacks of storage, it also feels like a flagship day-to-day, while lasting a long time.

If you’re wondering where the X60 Pro is positioned, we think it sits very well between the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro, or between the Galaxy S21 and S21 Ultra (despite being cheaper than the S21). If you can’t quite stump up the cash for the premium options, but love a curved OLED screen and fancy a more premium-feeling handset than the plastic-backed OnePlus 9 or Samsung Galaxy S21, Vivo’s plucky X60 Pro could be one of the best camera phone options for the price, and with some Zeiss branding thrown in for good measure no less.

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The best gimbal stablizers are bigger than smartphones, so the idea of squeezing the former into the latter sounds a bit ridiculous. Luckily, the clever folks at Vivo claim to have cracked that nut with the Vivo X51, a serious photography and video-focused phone with a floating camera element steadied by a clever gimbal system. 

Vivo who? Good question - the Vivo X51 is the brand’s first launch in the UK (and Europe), but its roots can be traced back to China and BBK, Oppo’s parent company. Vivo made a break for it though as a standalone business and has achieved monumental success in other markets already - not least of all on home turf. With accolades like ‘the world’s first in-display fingerprint scanner on a smartphone’ amongst others, we’re delighted to see Vivo applying that innovative inclination in with its camera tech. 

Now that Huawei’s on rocky ground in the west as the Google ban rages on, brands like Oppo, Realme, and Vivo seem to be chomping at the bit to launch outside Asia. But is Vivo just offering more of the same or can it carve out a niche with enthusiasts looking for something different?

Design and screen

The Vivo X51 is a beauty, but it isn’t unique - at least not from the front. Its screen is a virtually identical spec to that of the Oppo Reno 4 Pro, with elegant curves on either side, a smooth 90Hz refresh rate, and zingy OLED technology. 

Combining a 6.56-inch screen size and a 2376 x 1080 resolution, as well as HDR10+ support, the X51’s isn’t setting any records with its display, but it does do a great job nonetheless. It also sits handsomely against the backdrop of the slender, 8.04mm frame, matched with a glass and metal build, and a frosted finish around the back.

Design highlights include a frosted blue back and a stepped camera bump. Small compared to the hefty camera surround of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G or the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro, the X51’s camera is still sufficiently attention-grabbing, inferring that there’s something special going on inside. There's also a glass strip at the top of the phone, recessed slightly into the flat metal surface. 

Camera

The X51 5G’s camera system is spearheaded by a 48MP Sony IMX 586 sensor. 

The IMX586 started hitting the scene on phones like the Honor View 20 at the beginning of 2019, and it’s still going strong on the likes of the OnePlus 8T - a tried and tested performer. 

It’s paired with an f/1.6 aperture lens and features PDAF, laser AF, and OIS. This time, however, we’re seeing Sony’s sensor married with a gimbal system to compensate for hand shake at up to a 3-degree rotation angle, as illustrated below.

Both the gimbal and the lens move, which combine with EIS to produce what Vivo claims to be the most crop-free stabilized video around. 

With an 8MP ultrawide camera, while the resolution may be lower than some of the competition, the fact the X51’s ultrawide features autofocus is excellent. The lens sports an f/2.2, 15.7mm equivalent 120° angle of view, and with a mnimum 2.5cm focusing distance, it’s a corker as far as ultrawides go.

Rather than just include one telephoto camera, Vivo has come at the camera conundrum from a prime lens point of view, so there are two telephoto cameras. The first is a 13MP, f/2.46, 50mm portrait lens with an equivalent 2x zoom camera. The second is an 8MP, f/3.4,135cm 5x optical zoom telephoto lens camera.

Shooting modes include Night, Portrait, Photo, Video, 48MP, Panorama, Slo Mo, Pro Mode, Pro Sports mode, Astro Mode, and Supermoon (Astro Mode mode using the telephoto camera). Comprehensive? We think so.

Rounding off with a front camera resolution of 32MP, and video capture up to 4K resolution at 60fps, the Vivo X51 5G reads like an intriguing imaging mix going on specs alone. 

Camera performance

Getting it out of the way - the Vivo X51 5G isn’t the best camera phone of 2020. The Huawei P40 Pro and (admittedly less versatile) Pixel 5 both edge ahead in one area - particular, dynamic range. It isn’t bad at all on the X51, but Sony’s IMX 586, for all its strengths, has yet to grab the tonal range of either aforementioned smartphone. 

The X51 switches between cameras depending on what it thinks you’re trying to shoot, and this tends to be on the money. If you want to take the reigns though, the Pro mode is comprehensive, with a max ISO of 3200, and a max shutter speed of 32 seconds.

Detail in automatic mode is strong, even indoors in middling light. Vivo’s photo processing isn’t afraid of a little contrast, so photos the X51 photos look rich and pack depth, but they also manage to stay natural - just with a slightly dramatic edge. It’s a strong look, and as you can see, from black cats to powder pink roses, the out of the camera results are pleasing.   

Noise handling isn’t bad at all. In a dim room, when used alongside the Reno 4 Pro, Vivo’s new entrant (which sports the same sensor) automatically extends the exposure time and produces a much better photo than Oppo’s latest. Additionally, there are the plethora of night modes; and these are excellent. See an example of astrophotography below - the photo was taken in the dead of night:

Dynamic range is also better on the X51 than the Reno 4 Pro, and other IMX 586 phones in medium to low light too, including the OnePlus 8T, though as mentioned earlier, this is one area the Vivo just can’t topple certain flagships from Apple and Huawei. 

The X51’s 5x optical zoom is best in class at the price - just. It topples the optical zoom of the Huawei P30 Pro, and even gives the Note 20 Ultra a run for its money, though falls behind slightly on clarity. That said, the Huawei P40 Pro and P40 Pro Plus are still the reigning smartphone zoom champions. If Vivo managed to get a gimbal on the telephoto camera, it might have been a different story. 

Meanwhile, the portrait mode is great for shooting photos of people, but disappointing for any other objects - this is definitely something Vivo needs to work on. It’s thrown off by even non-reflective surfaces, and is the weak point of this otherwise standout camera phone. 

Shooting up to 4K resolution at 60fps, the X51’s video is smooth and steady, and looks fantastic in well-lit scenes. There are noticeably fewer micro-judders than on some of the competition that might lean more on EIS, so there do seem to be tangible benefits to that gimbal. Low light video, however, is a real challenge. Vivo exposes video quite brightly, and in turn, color noise can start to fizzle as soon as the lights start to dim. Not a dealbreaker and very standard in the price category, but still worth noting. 

Vivo X51 5G: Additional specs

Powered by a midrange chip - the Snapdragon 765G paired with 8GB RAM, the Vivo X51 5G is one of the least powerful phones at its price - but we wouldn’t go so far as to call it underpowered. We didn’t experience any slowdown in our time with the phone, even when gaming or shooting/playing back 4K video. 

Of course, you can get some cracking Snapdragon 865 powered phones for the X51 5G’s price - the OnePlus 8 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (5G), for example. None of these phones pack a camera that’s quite as good as that of Vivo’s debut though.

Running Android 10 with FunTouch OS (Vivo’s skin), while the Chinese version of the brands’ UI is overbearing and heavy, it’s been beautifully stripped back for the west. Now, FunTouch is simple, feels virtually stock, and only has a couple of pre-installed apps and visible customizations.  

With 256GB storage, you’ll likely never run out of space in your time with the X51 5G, and thanks to a sufficient 4315mAh battery, you probably won’t run out of battery before the day’s out either. Meanwhile, the phone’s 33W FlashCharge gets you to full in a little over an hour, and there’s no wireless charging - doh.

Verdict

The Vivo X51 5G is a difficult phone to review. 

On the one hand, the day to day experience with this gimbal packing flagship feels pretty spot-on; loads of storage, smooth performance, and a very good camera for £749 (roughly $970).

Its camera fends off competition from the Galaxy Note 20 5G and the Reno 4 Pro - both similarly priced phones. And while the slightly pricier Huawei P40 Pro’s camera is still our winner, Vivo’s X51 has access to the Google Play Store, making it an easier sell.

Of course, just like the Reno 4 Pro and the Motorola RAZR 5G, the X51’s midrange chip is the real spanner in the works if you care about specs - that’s why gamers in need of flagship power should look elsewhere. That said, for anyone who cares more about photography, wants a premium phone with great design, an innovative camera system with plenty of focal lengths, the Vivo X51 is on the money. 

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Update 24/07: The Vivo X50 has officially been launched to markets all around the world, including India, Indonesia and more. The Vivo X50 is the first Vivo X series device to be launched globally, bringing professional-grade camera technologies to a new market. With cutting edge stabilization, night mode, zoom and portrait tech, the Vivo X50 series allows users to capture stunning pictures, no matter how challenging the shooting situation.

Spark Ni, the Senior Vice President of Vivo, says: "X50 is a professional photography flagship smartphone for consumers to record and share the best moments of their lives in a simple way. With stable shooting capabilities, outstanding lenses and sensors, and an overall advanced camera system, the X50 series flagship devices allow users to capture life stories with professional quality."

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The Vivo X50 series of camera phones has now been officially launched in China – and they look amazing. The star performer of the family is probably the Vivo X50 - but its siblings the Vivo X50 and X50 Pro+ add more features, so are arguable even more impressive and making them contenders for being the best camera phone.

The key feature of the Vivo X50 is probably its size. This is the thinnest 5G phone we have seen launched so far - measuring just 7.49mm thick, on a handset that is 159.5 by 75.4mm. That's a notable reduction on what we have seen from Samsung and Oppo for example.  And it weights just 173g - even though it offers a standby time of up to 321 hours, and maximum theoretical talk time of 18 hours.

But you do get a full photographic tool kit with even this the most basic model in the range. There are four cameras on the rear, of which the main lens has a 48 megapixel sensor with a maximum f/1.6 aperture. Its party trick is a four-axis image stabilization that boasts giving super smooth video akin to using a gimbal stabilizer.

This wideangle camera is joined by a 13 megapixel portrait lens with an f/2.48 lens, and a 120° f/2.2 wide-angle lens with an eight megapixel lens. Finally there is a macro lens that can focus down to 15mm, and offers a 2mp output with a maximum aperture of f/2.48. Meanwhile, the front of the Vivo X50 houses a 32 megapixel f/2.48 selfie camera.

Vivo is fairly unknown outside of its native China, at present – even though it comes from the same company behind the better known Oppo, Realme and OnePlus brands. However with the X50 family going onto the market in its home market this month, we have been told that these will be the first Vivo models that will get proper international distribution. We can't wait!

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According to the latest industry reports, Samsung is working on a gargantuan 150-megapixel image sensor that would power the highest resolution camera phone ever made. 

In fact, not only would this 1-inch, 150MP sensor result in the highest resolution camera phone ever made, but it could be the highest resolution camera ever made. 

The report originated from a Korean newsgroup, and was picked up on Twitter before being shared by outlets including SamMobile. A huge pinch of salt is recommended with this one but, after the 108MP sensor that featured in the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, it’s hard to ignore.

Remarkably, it appears that the initial target was actually to build a 200MP image sensor, with Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo all showing interest in acquiring the technology. 

“The 200 million-pixel sensor yield that was previously desired cannot be delivered at the time desired by partners,” states the initial report (via machine translation), which notes that the project was subsequently scaled down to 150MP.

“Currently, all three companies have requested samples from Samsung since December last year, and it seems that the contract has recently been completed.”

Much as was the case with Samsung's 108MP Isocell Bright HMX sensor, which debuted in the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 even before it appeared in Samsung’s own flagship phone as the HM1, it appears that the Chinese company will once again take the lead on rolling out the new tech. 

“Xiaomi is developing with the goal of adopting in the fourth quarter of this year, and Oppo and Vivo are developing with the goal of combining with the Snapdragon 875 in the first quarter of next year.”

It would certainly follow, then, that Samsung would subsequently employ the sensor in a more refined state (after the other companies have effectively beta tested it) in the Galaxy S21 Ultra next February. 

The report further noted that this new 1-inch sensor, which is much larger than the current 108MP offering, will again feature Samsung's Nonacell array. Where the 108MP HMX sensor seen in the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 possessed a Tetracell array, enabling clusters of 4 pixels to be grouped into a single larger photosite for 12MP images, Nanocell (also used in the S20 Ultra) groups 9 pixels for 16MP images.

That, of course, is based on this actually being a 150MP sensor. When Samsung's 108MP version was first rumored, it was referred to as a 100MP sensor; if this new chip likewise actually has 158MP or even 152MP, it would be the highest resolution sensor in any consumer camera – including the medium format Phase One IQ4. 

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Four Chinese camera phone manufacturers are working together to create an app store experience that will enable developers to upload their apps simultaneously to all four of their app stores with just one click. Having recognized how devastating a turned off Google tap can be for an Android manufacturer, the four brands: Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi have formed this appy alliance.

If you’ve ever used a Chinese Huawei phone, you’ll know that without the Play Store, your experience in the west will be very handicapped. No banking apps, no Spotify and definitely no Facebook, which in turn means no WhatsApp or Instagram or any other Facebook-owned services. It hasn’t been feasible for most developers to devote an estimated day of dev work to port the apps from the Play Store to Huawei’s own app gallery. 

That’s why the Huawei Mate 30 Pro, which launched after Huawei was banned from using Google Mobile Services (GMS), isn’t currently available in the west despite the fact it features one of the best cameras we’ve ever used on a smartphone. This new multi-deployment system would be a huge step to help incentivize app developers to develop apps for non-GMS certified devices. 

Reuters, who broke the news also highlights the regional power each of these brands has - Huawei is strong in Europe, while Xiaomi has a greater hold in India. Together, with control of over 40 percent of the world’s smartphone shipments in Q4 last year, app developers should take note of this news. Additionally, so should Huawei fans - this is the single most promising sign we’ve seen that Huawei’s upcoming smartphones could come back fighting after a difficult 2019.

While the new platform was originally meant to launch in March, owing to the recent coronavirus outbreak and the impact it’s having on Chinese manufacturers, this has been delayed. With any luck, however, this could be the catalyst for the upcoming Huawei P40 Pro, expected to be a world-class camera phone, actually launching around the world.

Reuters via The Verge

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Realme, the Chinese phone manufacturer has launched a 64MP camera phone, the X2 Pro, proving that the megapixel race really isn’t over - or, is it? By combining many pixels into one, the phone actually produces 16MP images, a technique we’ve seen before in devices like the Honor 20 Pro and OnePlus 7T. 

That said, while in the past, 48MP resolution has processed to create 12MP images, this is the first example of Samsung’s new 64MP sensor we’ve seen hit the shelves, and the rest of the phone impresses too, making this a contender for one of the best camera phones. 

Who is Realme?

If you haven’t heard of the brand, don’t be too hard on yourself. Despite having launched an excellent, affordable budget phone in the UK in early 2019, the Realme 3 Pro, this is its first big flagship-grade splash. 

Realme is owned by BBK Electronics; BBK also owns OnePlus, Oppo and Vivo - three other exciting upcoming smartphone brands, so this definitely isn’t some small startup. 

• Realme XT2 Pro hands-on review

What about the X2 Pro?

The Realme X2 Pro is a big-screened smartphone with a high-resolution quad-camera setup around the back, a large, 4000mAh battery and premium glass and metal design. 

The phone’s Super AMOLED display is loaded up with 90Hz smoothness, just like the OnePlus 7T Pro, as well as HDR10+ tech and FullHD+ resolution, delivering a pixel density of 405 pixels-per-inch - similar to that of the iPhone 8 Plus.

There’s plenty going on under the hood too, with a class-leading Snapdragon 855 processor combined with a starting spec of 6GB RAM, climbing all the way up to 12GB. Meanwhile, the storage capacity begins at 64GB and maxes out at 256GB.

Its battery is also large at 4000mAh, but more impressive is its 50W fast charging, filling it up by 100% in just 30 minutes, according to Realme.

The 64 million pixel elephant in the room

By combining multiple pixels into one, the primary 64MP camera on the Realme XT2 Pro is able to deliver resolution, well managed dynamic range and decent noise handling - or at least that’s the theory. Taking on Sony’s popular IMX586 sensor, Samsung is hoping to eke some market share away from the Japanese tech giant, who’s mobile sensor division dominates with a 50% revenue share, according to Strategy Analytics. 

The pixel-tastic 1/1.7” sensor is combined with an f/1.8 lens and PDAF as well as three other cameras, a 13MP telephoto camera with a roughly 2x optical zoom, an 8MP ultrawide camera that captures with a 13mm focal length, and a 2MP depth sensor.

Able to shoot 4K video at up to 60fps, or slow motion at up to 720p, 960fps, its video credentials look impressive, though the lack of OIS might hurt its performance in this regard, and when capturing photos at night too. 

While a UK price is yet to be confirmed, the X2 Pro will be available on Amazon in Early November across Europe starting at €399 (6GB+64GB), with two other configurations available, a €449 (8GB+128GB) mid-tier option, and a OnePlus 7T McLaren Edition rivalling €499 (12GB+256GB). 

Undercutting OnePlus’s excellent 2019 line and virtually everything else out there, we can’t wait to see if the promise of all these pixels and specs lives up to the hype when we get the phone in for review - watch this 64MP space. 

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