The premium smartphone segment in India has long been a battleground, with Samsung and Apple reigning supreme. However, in recent years, players like OnePlus and Xiaomi have been making ambitious strides to claim a slice of this lucrative market. This year, Xiaomi has upped the ante with the Mi 11 Ultra, and Vivo has thrown its hat into the ring with the impressive X60 Pro+. Having already seen the prowess of the Vivo X60 Pro, a solid videography contender, the X60 Pro+ promises even more with its enhanced camera system and powerful Snapdragon 888 SoC. Priced at a commanding Rs. 69,990, it goes head-to-head with the Mi 11 Ultra and the top-tier OnePlus 9 Pro, both of which have received considerable acclaim. The question is, does the X60 Pro+ justify its premium price tag over its sibling, the X60 Pro? Let’s delve into the details and find out.
Vivo X60 Pro+ Design
Vivo has undoubtedly knocked it out of the park with the design of the X60 Pro+. It exudes elegance, feels exceptionally refined, and surprisingly light for a phone with a metal frame and periscope camera setup. The matte finish of the exposed aluminium frame and the faux leather back effectively resist fingerprints, keeping it looking pristine. The multi-layered rear camera module, similar to the one on the X60 Pro, boasts an additional telephoto camera. The physical buttons offer satisfying feedback, and the bottom houses the SIM tray, USB Type-C port, and speaker.
The display is another visual treat. The X60 Pro+ boasts a 6.56-inch curved AMOLED panel with a full-HD+ resolution and a buttery smooth 120Hz refresh rate. This display boasts HDR10+ certification, ensuring vibrant and immersive visuals, and is protected by Schott’s Xensation Up scratch-protective glass. While a higher resolution QHD+ display would have been a welcome addition at this price point, the full-HD+ panel still delivers a crisp and engaging viewing experience with a pixel density well over 320ppi.
The X60 Pro+ comes generously equipped in the box with several accessories. These include a 55W fast charger, a protective case, a 3.5mm headset, and a Type-C adapter for the headset.
Vivo X60 Pro+ Specifications and Software
The Vivo X60 Pro+ takes a performance leap over the X60 Pro thanks to the inclusion of Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 SoC. This powerhouse chip also drives its main competitors from OnePlus and Xiaomi, ensuring lightning-fast processing. It boasts support for five 5G bands, a decent offering but still less than what the Mi 11 Ultra provides. Vivo hasn’t skimped on other specifications either, giving you 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a generous 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage, ensuring a super-smooth multitasking experience.
Beyond the standard wireless connectivity and sensors, the Vivo X60 Pro+ includes a laser autofocus sensor for the rear cameras, an in-display fingerprint sensor, and NFC, a feature missing from the X60 Pro. However, some critical features are still conspicuously absent from Vivo’s most premium offering. Stereo speakers, an IP rating, and wireless charging are noticeable omissions, which, in my opinion, make it feel like an incomplete flagship, especially given its price and the competition.
Vivo’s custom Android skin, FunTouch OS, is now in version 11.1, based on Android 11. It offers the same feature set and customization options seen on the Vivo X60 Pro. I wish Vivo would incorporate an accidental touch prevention option for the curved display, as filming videos with one hand can lead to unwanted inputs. The phone comes pre-loaded with a plethora of apps, many of which can be uninstalled. Thankfully, the pre-installed apps didn’t bombard me with ads or excessive unwanted notifications.
While Vivo has recently announced that its upcoming X-series phones will receive three years of Android OS updates, this unfortunately doesn’t apply to the current lineup, including the X60 Pro+. While there’s a possibility of this changing in the future, currently, it’s unclear how many generations of Android the X60 Pro+ will benefit from.
Vivo X60 Pro+ Performance and Battery Life
The Vivo X60 Pro+ has been a delight to use. The smooth matte texture of the frame and back keeps it looking clean and pristine. With a weight of 191g, it feels surprisingly light compared to behemoths like the Mi 11 Ultra and the OnePlus 9 Pro. The adaptive 120Hz refresh rate is truly dynamic, downscaling to 60Hz when not needed, ensuring a seamless user experience.
Performance is blazingly fast, easily handling demanding tasks. Even with a rich feature set, FunTouch OS runs smoothly and is intuitive. Both the fingerprint sensor and face recognition offer reliable and fast biometric authentication. Benchmark results are impressive. It achieved a massive 8,23,367 points in AnTuTu 9 and a solid 1,133 single core and 3,631 multi-core points in Geekbench 5, further illustrating its processing prowess. While the metal frame does heat up under heavy load, a common occurrence with high-performance devices, it’s not excessive.
Videos look phenomenal on the phone’s display, especially HDR content, showcasing the vibrant and accurate colors. The single speaker, while loud, falls short of stereo sound, a significant drawback that detracts from the immersive experience. Games run exceptionally well thanks to the powerful SoC and generous RAM, delivering a smooth and visually stunning experience. The Ultra Game Mode in FunTouch OS grants access to a customizable shortcut sidebar from within games, allowing you to tweak visuals, adjust audio settings, and even reply to messages from certain apps via floating windows, enhancing the gaming experience even further.
The Vivo X60 Pro+ packs a decent-sized 4,200mAh battery, consistently providing me with a day and a half of battery life with my typical usage pattern. Heavy camera usage or lengthy gaming sessions would slightly reduce this, but it still easily manages a full day on a single charge. Charging this battery is also a breeze. Vivo’s 55W FlashCharge technology takes the battery from zero to around 70 percent in a mere half-hour. Wireless charging, while missing, would have rounded out the premium experience, making it a truly complete flagship.
Vivo X60 Pro+ Cameras
The Vivo X60 Pro+ inherits the same gimbal camera system from the X60 Pro, featuring *ZEISS T coating for the lenses to minimize reflections. However, the upgrade lies in the lenses and sensors. For instance, it boasts an optically stabilised 50-megapixel Samsung GN1 sensor with an f/1.57 aperture. The ultra-wide camera utilizes a Sony IMX589 48-megapixel sensor that provides gimbal-level stabilisation, ensuring blur-free shots even when moving. The phone also features two telephoto cameras – a 32-megapixel snapper with 2X optical zoom and an 8-megapixel snapper with 5X optical zoom. The Vivo X60 Pro+** can digitally zoom up to a staggering 60X.
In our extensive superzoom camera shootout, we meticulously tested the phone’s telephoto cameras. While impressive, image quality falls slightly behind the telephoto capabilities of the Mi 11 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, especially at magnifications exceeding 10X. The 32-megapixel portrait camera emerges as the stronger of the two tele cameras, typically producing higher-quality images. If you crave maximum reach, you’ll have to rely on the 8-megapixel periscope camera, which, while capable, may not match the performance of the best in class.
The primary rear camera is the star of the show, capturing exceptional details. The pixel-binned images it produces exhibit remarkable sharpness, with objects possessing excellent definition. Colors are vibrant and punchy, although they can occasionally appear slightly oversaturated, particularly in scenes with prominent greens and reds. The ultra-wide camera offers a sufficient field of view, but objects at the edges can appear distorted, depending on the shooting angle. Close-ups are incredibly detailed and boast a pleasing background blur. The camera app automatically transitions to macro mode when you’re very close to a subject, a handy feature that can be disabled if needed.
Low-light photos retain excellent details. The camera app intelligently adjusts the shutter speed for optimal exposure. While zoom performance takes a hit in low light, the Vivo X60 Pro+ primarily relies on digital zoom instead of its telephoto cameras. However, in well-lit scenes, it intelligently utilizes one of the telephoto cameras based on the zoom level.
The 32-megapixel selfie camera delivers very satisfying results after disabling all beauty filters. Backlit selfies are well-exposed, and even low-light selfies maintain good details and colors. The camera app offers an array of shooting modes, ranging from gimmicky to useful, such as the Supermoon mode.
The Vivo X60 Pro+ truly excels in video recording. 4K videos captured with the main camera in daylight are exceptionally stabilized and clear. This sensor even supports shooting at up to 8K 30fps. Video quality remains impressive even in low light, but stabilization can introduce unwanted jitter. Switching to the "Ultra stable" mode effectively addresses this, but it comes at the cost of a significant crop and the resolution is limited to 1080p. For the smoothest stabilization, utilizing the ultra-wide camera with its gimbal system is the way to go. If you seek the flexibility to switch between all camera lenses while filming, you’ll have to drop the resolution down to 1080p.
Two features worth highlighting are HDR10+ video recording and Pro video mode. The Vivo X60 Pro+ can shoot remarkably good HDR videos at up to 4K, which look spectacular on the phone’s display. Pro video mode provides advanced features like zebra pattern for exposure check, focus peaking, and multiple frame rate options beyond the usual ones, offering greater creative control.
Verdict
The Vivo X60 Pro+ somewhat justifies its price premium over the X60 Pro, but not completely. Stereo speakers, an IP rating, and wireless charging are features that should have been included but unfortunately are missing. On the bright side, the cameras are superior, the SoC is more powerful, and charging is quick. The X60 Pro+ also boasts an excellent display, even with a full-HD+ resolution, and its build quality and design stand out amongst the crowd.
It’s a compelling alternative to the Mi 11 Ultra and OnePlus 9 Pro, especially for videographers. The stabilization system is undoubtedly a top-tier performer, if not the best available on any Android phone today. Given the uncertainty surrounding the Mi 11 Ultra’s availability in India, the OnePlus 9 Pro is your other option at this price point. Samsung and Apple’s flagship phones also fall within this price range, and both offer features absent in the X60 Pro+, such as an IP rating, wireless charging, and stereo speakers.
Should you consider the Vivo X60 Pro+? It’s wise to hold off for a little while, as its successor might be just around the corner. The X60 series launched in March, and rumors of an X70 series arriving in September are circulating. This new series will likely feature an upgraded X60 Pro+, hopefully addressing the shortcomings of its predecessor. Additionally, the new series promises three years of guaranteed Android OS updates, as outlined by Vivo. Taking these factors into account, waiting a bit before making a decision would be prudent.
