The Vivo X100 Pro is a testament to Vivo’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of smartphone photography, building upon the successes of its previous X-series models. While the X90 Pro was widely appreciated for its compelling camera capabilities, the X100 Pro takes it a step further by introducing its powerful V3 imaging chip, paired with the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 SoC, a chip that rivals Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The result is a phone that not only excels in photography but also delivers a smooth and powerful user experience, offering an impressive blend of hardware and software, leaving users wanting more. But does the X100 Pro truly deliver on its promises, and does it stand out against the stiff competition in the premium smartphone market? Let’s dive deeper into our comprehensive review to find out.
Vivo X100 Pro Review: Price in India
The Vivo X100 Pro arrives in India with a price tag of Rs. 89,999 for the sole 16GB RAM and 512GB storage variant, positioning it in a competitive bracket against other flagship phones. While it may not directly square off against Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra, which resides in a higher price category, its features and performance make it a formidable contender against the Pixel 8 Pro.
Vivo X100 Pro Review: Design
The X100 Pro’s design stands out against its predecessor, boasting a refined aesthetic that sets it apart. While it retains the signature curved edge display and the chunky camera bump, which has become synonymous with the X-series, Vivo has managed to create a more rounded and refined profile, visually minimizing its bulk. This is further enhanced by the Asteroid Black finish, which features a fluorite anti-glare glass back panel that adds to its luxurious feel.
The X100 Pro isn’t a lightweight phone, tipping the scales at 225 grams, comparable to its predecessor. While it falls behind the Galaxy S23 Ultra (234g) in terms of weight, it rivals the iPhone 15 Pro Max (221g) in terms of lightness, making it a comfortable phone to hold for extended periods. The phone’s weight is evenly distributed, preventing a top-heavy feel despite the large camera module.
The signature camera bump on the X100 Pro is an immediate visual distinction from its predecessor, offering a somewhat unique design element. The large camera glass sits within a slightly offset stainless steel ring that Vivo claims was inspired by the sun’s halo. While the design is visually appealing, there’s a concern for the vulnerability of the camera glass given its size, as a raised edge around the ring would have provided added protection.
The matte finish on the X100 Pro, while luxurious, is also quite slippery. Hence, the included silicon case, a well-made and durable offering from Vivo, becomes a necessity to avoid accidental drops. The overall design, although somewhat divisive, blends a luxurious feel with a distinct visual identity.
The front display features a smudge-free curved edge glass, adding to its premium feel. While the display itself curves subtly into the sides, it doesn’t significantly obstruct the viewing area indoors. However, when viewed outdoors, the curved edges can introduce reflections, reducing the perceived viewing area.
The X100 Pro retains crucial features like an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, which adds to its durability. The phone also boasts wireless charging capabilities and a large 5,400mAh battery, justifying its somewhat chunky build for those who prioritize these features.
Vivo X100 Pro Review: Specifications and Software
Under the hood, the X100 Pro boasts an impressive spec sheet, starting with the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 SoC, making its debut in India. This powerful processor is complemented by the V3 Imaging chip, which Vivo claims enhances both imaging and gaming performance. Backing it up is 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage, offering ample storage and lightning-fast performance. However, there’s no expandable storage option, so users are limited to the default storage.
The X100 Pro’s 6.78-inch full-HD+ curved edge AMOLED panel boasts a 120Hz refresh rate and LTPO technology, dynamically adjusting the refresh rate to save battery life. The in-display optical fingerprint reader delivers fast and accurate performance, a reliable option for unlocking the phone.
Connectivity options are extensive, including Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, an infrared port, and a USB-C port (version 3.2). The phone supports the usual satellite navigation systems, ensuring seamless navigation. The large 5,400mAh battery is complemented by Vivo’s proprietary 120W wired charger (included in the box), enabling rapid charging from 0-90 percent in 30 minutes and a full charge in 37 minutes. The device also supports 50W wireless charging, but this requires a separately purchased charging dock.
The X100 Pro runs Funtouch OS 14, based on Android 14, with the latest December 2023 security update. Vivo emphasizes its commitment to software updates with promises of three years of security and firmware updates.
Vivo X100 Pro Review: Performance
The X100 Pro delivers a smooth software experience, handling multitasking and running multiple apps with ease. The generous 16GB of RAM, bolstered by 16GB of virtual RAM, ensures apps and games remain in memory for extended periods, allowing for instant recall without restarting. Benchmarks highlight the phone’s performance prowess, surpassing even the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered iQoo 12 in terms of AnTuTu score, while also delivering impressive Geekbench results.
While GPU performance seems to be capped at 120fps in GFXBench tests, falling short of the iQoo 12’s 140fps, the Dimensity 9300 nonetheless demonstrates its capability to rival the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, making it a powerful chipset that can handle demanding tasks without a hitch.
Vivo emphasizes the role of its 6nm co-processor in enhancing energy efficiency, contributing to a 30 percent reduction compared to previous models. This co-processor also aids in gaming by leveraging game frame interpolation (limited to 90fps), reducing power consumption during gaming sessions.
The LTPO display on the X100 Pro is a notable upgrade from last year’s model, offering a dynamic refresh rate that adapts based on screen activity, seamlessly lowering to 1Hz when not needed for maximum battery saving. The display also delivers an impressive 3,000 nits of peak brightness, enabling comfortable viewing under direct sunlight. It further boasts 2,160Hz high-frequency dimming, which proved effective in reducing eye strain in dim lighting.
The phone handles heat effectively thanks to its efficient vapour chamber cooling system. However, continuous video recording for extended periods can trigger the phone to heat up, leading to intermittent stuttering in the camera app’s viewfinder, although this doesn’t affect the recorded footage itself.
The 5,400mAh battery easily surpasses expectations, delivering a remarkable performance in our standard video loop battery test, lasting for twenty hours and fifty-three minutes. In everyday use, involving messaging, social media browsing, gaming, and camera use, the phone easily sustains for a day and a half on a single charge. Even with an hour of gaming and an hour of camera usage, the device still maintains a healthy 35 percent battery life by the end of the day, proving its remarkable endurance.
To counter any battery anxiety, Vivo’s 100W wired charging system comes in handy. It rapidly charges the battery from 0-90 percent in 30 minutes and completes a full charge in just 37 minutes, making it one of the fastest charging flagships available. While our review unit didn’t include Vivo’s proprietary 50W wireless charging dock, it successfully charges on standard Qi charging pads.
Vivo X100 Pro Review: Cameras
The X100 Pro’s camera setup is a major highlight. While it retains the triple camera setup from the X90 Pro, each camera has been upgraded, resulting in a significant leap in image quality.
This year, Vivo focuses on consistency, deploying three 50-megapixel camera sensors for the rear camera array. The primary camera features a 1-inch type Sony IMX989 sensor, equipped with PDAF, laser-assisted autofocus, and OIS, ensuring sharp and detailed captures. Joining it is a new Zeiss APO floating periscope telephoto lens, powered by a half-inch OV64B sensor, allowing for close-up shots, including macro photography, at 4.3X optical zoom. The 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, now featuring a Samsung JN1 sensor, completes the rear camera setup. Selfies are handled by a 32-megapixel camera that Vivo claims is distinct from the one on the X90 Pro.
The user-intuitive camera app offers a wealth of options, well-organized to provide a smooth and easy-to-navigate experience. Notably, users can select from three color modes for photo capture – Vivid, Textured, and Zeiss Natural. We found the Natural mode to be the most appealing, delivering colors that were generally closer to the actual scene.
To establish a clear comparison, we pitted the X100 Pro against the Google Pixel 8 Pro, its closest competitor in terms of performance and features, to provide a better understanding of their respective imaging capabilities.
The X100 Pro’s primary camera delivers exceptionally detailed photos without overdoing the sharpening, a common issue in many smartphones. Regardless of lighting conditions, the camera consistently captures photos with intricate textures and excellent dynamic range, outperforming the Pixel 8 Pro in some instances.
The telephoto camera is the real star of the X100 Pro’s camera setup, offering remarkable capabilities. The inclusion of an additional lens positioned in front of the prism allows users to capture close-up shots of subjects at 4.3X zoom without having to physically distance themselves too far, a significant advantage for taking portrait photos.
The Portrait camera mode provides options for various focal lengths (24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 100mm), all meticulously optimized to leverage the camera sensors and lenses for optimal portrait capture. Regardless of lighting conditions, these focal lengths capture detailed and sharp portrait photos.
While Vivo’s Zeiss Style portrait modes are impressive, they produce slightly softer images compared to using the regular Photo camera mode at its native 4.3X focal length, which delivers tack-sharp photos with natural bokeh, making it an ideal option for portraits.
The phone’s zoom range extends up to 100X using hybrid zoom, though it falls short of the S23 Ultra’s telephoto capabilities. The X100 Pro’s zoom is more geared towards portraits, performing well up to 10X, delivering detail and texture before losing some sharpness beyond that point.
A noteworthy addition is the Telephoto Sunshot mode, automatically activated between the 10X-30X zoom range, designed for capturing well-exposed sunset photos and silhouettes. While effective in creating these shots, we found the colors to be slightly exaggerated, lacking natural depth.
The X100 Pro also boasts a Super Macro mode, leveraging its telephoto camera for capturing close-up shots of objects. This mode allows focusing on subjects from as close as 18cm, resulting in sharp and detailed photos with excellent background separation, even at 4.3X (optical) and 8.6X (digital) zoom.
The ultrawide angle camera, though equipped with a 50-megapixel sensor, proved to be less impressive, particularly in low light conditions. While it performs well in daylight, the photos lacked the same level of detail and appeared a bit washed out against the Google Pixel 8 Pro.
The selfie camera, while delivering accurate skin tones, struggles with detail preservation, potentially due to the beauty enhancements being disabled. The edge detection in the selfie mode could be improved, as it exhibited some inconsistency and rough edges when applying software bokeh.
The X100 Pro excels in 4K video recording at 30fps using the primary camera. The videos showcase impressive detail and dynamic range, effectively handling both low light and bright spots. Notably, the video footage exhibits remarkable stability even in low-light conditions, with minimal noise. The Ultra-wide camera delivers better video quality in daylight but suffers from excessive noise in low-light environments.
The phone also includes a Cinematic Portrait mode, capable of 4K video recording with artificial bokeh, though the edge detection falls short of the precision found in Apple’s iPhone 15 series.
Overall, while Google’s Pixel 8 Pro stands out in photo editing capabilities, Vivo’s X100 Pro outshines it in terms of raw hardware and photography features, making it a powerful tool for photo enthusiasts.
Vivo X100 Pro Review: Verdict
In the smartphone camera landscape, Fujifilm has established itself as a favorite among photography enthusiasts. Similarly, Vivo appears to have found its niche in the smartphone market, catering to camera enthusiasts who enjoy maximizing the potential of their phone’s camera. The Vivo X100 Pro represents a sweet spot for mobile imaging, striking a balance between AI-powered imagery and hardware-driven quality, making it a compelling option for those who prioritize photography.
While it doesn’t aim to overshadow the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in a zoom contest or compete with the Pixel 8 Pro’s AI-powered imaging prowess, the X100 Pro stands out against the competition for its telephoto camera designed for capturing portraits, whether it be portraits of people, pets, or objects. The X100 Pro goes the extra mile, providing exceptional capabilities for those who love street photography or prefer focusing on the telephoto camera rather than the primary lens. It also offers sufficient flexibility for general camera needs.
Beyond its photography strengths, the X100 Pro excels in all aspects, including entertainment, raw performance, software, gaming, and battery life. It emerges as a well-rounded premium smartphone, worthy of its price tag and capable of competing with the best of the 2024 flagships.
