Vivo on Thursday launched three telephones as a part of its X70 sequence, made up of the X70, X70 Professional, and X70 Professional Plus. Vivo, certainly one of China’s largest telephone manufacturers, is billing the vary as a “skilled pictures flagship, extending its partnership with German lensmaker Zeiss.  

Of the trio, the X70 Professional Plus is probably the most souped-up telephone. It options: a 6.78-inch AMOLED show, a top-of-the-line chipset (Snapdragon 888 Plus), a crisp and zippy display (120Hz, 3,200×1400 pixels), and fast-charging help for each its in-box charger (66W) in addition to a wi-fi charger (50W). Whereas Apple simply dropped the iPhone 13 Professional and iPhone 13 Professional Max with 3x optical zoom and an improved ultra-wide angle, the X70 Professional Plus is doing 5x optical zoom and its ultra-wide cam has a built-in gimbal. However how does that translate in the true world? Learn on to search out out. 

In comparison with final 12 months’s X60 Professional Plus, X70 Professional Plus contains some nice-to-have upgrades. The large one is an IP68 score for water and mud resistance, however Vivo additionally improved the processor by a contact and allows you to use the machine as an infrared distant, which ought to allow you to management your TV or AC utilizing the machine.

Within the restricted time I needed to take a look at out this telephone — a whole lot of these high-end specs ended up delivering in the true world. Principally, this telephone would not look good on paper solely.For now, let’s delve into what was underwhelming: Contemplating the X70 Professional Plus is the highest-end telephone of the sequence, Vivo might have gone the space within the cupboard space division. The X70 Professional Plus has one storage choice of 128GB (and no expandable storage), which runs on the decrease facet for a flagship smartphone, (particularly when in comparison with the iPhone 13 Professional and iPhone 13 Professional Max  storage runs as much as 1TB.) I might have cherished to see a 512GB variant too, or expandable storage a minimum of. The X70 Professional Plus makes use of an improved model of prolonged RAM, which Vivo says will assist velocity up telephone efficiency — although admittedly this function wasn’t instantly noticeable to me. 

Vivo’s X70 Professional Plus has a price ticket of 79,990 Indian rupees, which converts to roughly $1,080 USD, £800, AU$ 1,495. That is dearer that the bottom variant of the iPhone 13 Professional, and practically the identical because the beginning of iPhone 13 Professional Max. All three of those telephones are anticipated to obtain a world rollout, set to hit nations and areas together with India, Southeast Asia, the UK, and Europe. Vivo is skipping a US launch as soon as once more this 12 months. 

Design: X70 Professional Plus is glossy but heavy

I used to be given a black machine with a horny matte end for overview — and it did not develop into a fingerprint magnet, which was nice. The telephone contains a traditional design (a minimum of from the entrance) that definitely seems to be and looks like a high-end smartphone. That stated, I am not a fan of the brand new rear design:. The digital camera bump is large and it sits on prime of a much bigger slab that Vivo calls a “ceramic window” emblazoned with Vivo branding. I am unable to totally wrap my head round its objective, nevertheless it would possibly unnecessarily be including weight to this already heavy telephone (213 grams). Utilizing the telephone one-handed will get uncomfortable after awhile, a minimum of for my fingers,, so I usually needed to resort to utilizing each fingers. Additionally, and not using a case, this telephone is not going to relaxation evenly on a flat floor attributable to that big bump. 

Show: X70 Professional Plus takes benefit of Apple’s LTPO tech 

The Vivo X70 Professional Plus boasts a curved display full with an 6.78-inch OLED panel that is vivid and clear regardless of the lighting circumstances. It has huge quad-HD-plus decision (3,200×1,440 pixels) and a 120Hz refresh charge, which can be utilized collectively or dialed again a notch when you’re attempting to protect battery life. Most telephones have refresh charges of 60Hz, which implies the display refreshes 60 instances in a second, whereas 120Hz shows can look loads smoother when scrolling by means of feeds and webpages by comparability. 

Vivo says it makes use of a show tech known as LTPO, which stands for low temperature polycrystalline oxide. That mouthful interprets to raised battery life on premium cellular units because it lets the show dynamically shift between refresh charges relying on what kind of content material is being consumed. Vivo is not the one one benefiting from the tech. Apparently developed by Apple and subsequently utilized in its iPhone 12 and 13 lineups, LTPO shows are additionally discovered on Samsung’s Galaxy Observe 20 Extremely, Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Galaxy S21 Extremely, Oppo’s Discover X3 Professional, and OnePlus’ 9 Professional too. 

Digicam: In depth with X70 Professional Plus’s 4 rear shooters

This lineup is marketed as a “skilled pictures flagship”, and Vivo has stacked the X70 Professional Plus with 4 rear lenses. At your disposal are a 50-megapixel huge shooter (with Vivo’s gimbal system built-in), a 48-megapixel (ultra-wide), a 12-megapixel “portrait” lens, and an 8-megapixel periscope-lens. Collectively all these cameras can help you seize a flexible vary of images, from crisp close-up all of the as much as pictures of faraway topics on the opposite, in addition to portrait images someplace in between. 

Regardless that the X70 Professional Plus is supplied with among the newest and best {hardware}, on this planet of telephone cameras, that is just one half of a bigger equation. In an effort to carry stunning images to life, that {hardware} must be complemented by stable software program aka computational pictures, the digital processing to get extra out of your digital camera {hardware}. And that is the place I believe the X70 Professional Plus might wrestle.

Simply to offer you some examples of what I am referring to, take a look at these images of my canine Rocky taken in my front room, which has floor-to-ceiling home windows with pure gentle pouring in. (Principally, the lighting surroundings was tough however vivid.)

Each pictures had been taken zoomed in 5x, one with the X70 Professional Plus and the opposite with the pricier iPhone 12 Professional Max. Regardless that the latter has an optical zoom that maxes out at 2x versus the previous’s 5x, I nonetheless assume it captured a a lot better picture of my canine. The picture is just not solely extra shade correct, but additionally crisper, extra nuanced and extra textured. By comparability, the picture taken on the X70 Professional Plus seems to be darker. Plus, Rocky’s fur on the X70 Professional Plus seems softer and flatter. It is nonetheless a wonderfully acceptable picture, particularly while you have a look at it on a standalone foundation, however not as Professional as Vivo might promise.

Listed here are another pictures taken from X70 Professional Plus.

Throughout the few days I examined this telephone, I  appreciated the well-roundedness of the digital camera system. The images shot had been good, and typically even nice, however general this digital camera is just not one of the best I’ve ever used. Contemplating this mannequin retails for greater than the iPhone 13 Professional and greater than the iPhone 12 Professional Max (at launch), I would count on cameras to be roughly on par, however the newer iPhones have superior cameras, even when they might not have as many bells and whistles.

Vivo X70 Professional Plus specs

	Vivo X70 Professional Plus
Show dimension, decision	6.78-inch AMOLED, 3,200×1400 pixels (WQHD)
Dimensions (Millimeters)	164.54 x 75.21 x 8.99mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams)	213g
Cell software program	Android 11
Digicam	48-megapixel (huge w/ gimbal tech),
Entrance-facing digital camera	32-megapixel
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
Storage	256GB
RAM	12GB
Expandable storage	No
Battery	4,500 mAh
Fingerprint sensor	In-screen
Connector	USB-C
Headphone jack	No
Particular options	66W in-box charger, 50W wi-fi quick charging, 5G-enabled, 120Hz show, water-resistant (IP68)
Value	79,990 Indian rupees (converts to $1,080 USD, £800, AU$ 1,495)