vivo X50 Pro review

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Introduction

Vivo unveiled the X50 series this June, and it is an intriguing high-end trio. The X50 is a premium mid-ranger with 5G connectivity, the X50 Pro+ has the fastest Snapdragon 865, while the star of this review - the X50 Pro - employs a gimbal system for camera stabilization - pioneering the feature for the entire smartphone industry.

Indeed, the cameraphone bunch is not simply alive and kicking, it has been thriving this year. We saw numerous imaging innovations such as huge sensors and long-range zooming. Fast night modes and macro focus at 2cm. And here is vivo adding yet another impressive tech to the mix with the vivo X50 Pro - a micro-gimbal system for impressive image and video stabilization. And it is no gimmick but the real deal, with all the bells and whistles.

But let's rewind a bit. The vivo X50 Pro is a dual-glass smartphone with one large and curved OLED screen with HDR10+ support, 90Hz refresh rate, and 180Hz touch sensing. It has the 5G-enabled Snapdragon 765G chip with lots of RAM and storage. And for a phone that's incredibly thin, and with a gimbal system that occupies five times more space than a regular camera, the X50 Pro has a large 4,315mAh that supports 33W fast charging. Nice!

Now, back to the rear camera - it's a quad-setup with a custom 48MP Sony IMX598 primary on the said gimbal system, then there is an 8MP ultrawide shooter that doubles as macro cam with impressive focus distance - just 2.5cm. Next comes a 13MP portrait camera with 2x optical zoom. And finally, there is an 8MP sensor behind 135mm periscopic lens for 5x optical zoom. It seems vivo spared no resources on the rear camera and it has everything that's cutting edge and then some!

The main camera is the only one that can shoot in all resolutions and framerates, and the gimbal stabilization is always active. You can also enable electronic stabilization for the so-called Ultra Steady Mode.

The X50 Pro runs on the Android 10 with Google-fied Funtouch 10.5 UX. The latest vivo interface seems to be a step in the right direction - clean and clutter-free.

vivo X50 Pro specs

• Body: Aluminum frame, tempered glass front and back; 158.5 x 72.8 x 8 mm, 181g;
• Display: 6.56" AMOLED, punch-hole notch, 2376 x 1080px resolution, 398ppi; HDR10+ compliant, DCI-P3 coverage.
• Rear cameras: Main: 48MP, Quad-Bayer filter, 0.8µm pixel size, 25mm equivalent focal length, f/1.6 aperture, PDAF, gimbal stabilization. Ultrawide angle: 8MP, 1/4.0", 1.12µm, f/2.2, 16mm, AF, ultra macro. Portrait: 13MP f/2.5, 25mm, 2x optical zoom, PDAF. Telephoto: 8MP with periscope 125mm f/3.4 4-aix OIS lens, 5x optical zoom, PDAF. Triple-LED dual-tone flash.
• Video recording: Main - up to 4K@60fps, rest - up to 1080p@30fps. EIS and OIS (where available)
• Front camera: 32MP, 1/2.8", 0.8µm, f/2.5 26mm lens.
• OS/Software: Android 10; Funtouch 10.5.
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G: octa-core CPU (1x2.4 GHz Kryo 475 Prime & 1x2.2 GHz Kryo 475 Gold & 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 475 Silver), Adreno 620 GPU.
• Memory: 8GB of RAM; 128/256GB UFS 2.1 storage.
• Battery: 4,315mAh Li-Po; 33W fast charging.
• Connectivity: Dual-SIM; 5G; LTE-A, USB-C; Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; dual-band GPS; Bluetooth 5.0; NFC
• Misc: Under-display fingerprint reader; single down-firing speaker.

There is one glaring omission on the X50 Pro, and it actually goes for the entire X50 series - there is no ingress protection of any kind. We noticed that the SIM tray is very well sealed, so vivo may have provided some protection, but it has decided not to share it with the public. Which circles us back to the lack of official water resistance.

And now let's cut to the chase - here comes the vivo X50 Pro!

Unboxing the vivo X50 Pro

It is no secret vivo has been keen on giving a good presentation with its retail boxes, and the X50 Pro comes in yet another huge box that contains a lot. For starters, vivo is shipping the X50 Pro with a 33W charger and a compatible USB-C cable to go with it.

The maker is also throwing a high-quality in-ear headset and a transparent silicone case for extra protection.

Finally, the X50 Pro comes with a factory-applied thin protective film, so your screen is secured right out of the box.