The Vivo X80 is the latest addition to Vivo’s camera-centric X series and aims to be a compelling alternative to high-end Android smartphones. It boasts impressive hardware, including the powerful MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC, a triple camera setup co-engineered with Zeiss optics, and a sizable battery with support for 80W fast charging. However, can the Vivo X80 justify its premium price tag? Let’s dive into the details to find out.
Vivo X80 Price in India
The Vivo X80 is available in two variants:
- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage: Rs. 54,999
- 12GB RAM + 256GB storage: Rs. 59,999
It comes in two color options: Cosmic Black and Urban Blue.
Vivo X80 Design
The Vivo X80 adopts a sleek and sophisticated design typical of modern flagship smartphones. It features a large, curved-edge display, reminiscent of older Samsung flagships, that immediately captures attention. The metal frame provides a premium feel and houses the power and volume buttons on the right side, offering solid feedback when pressed.
Vivo maintains a flattened profile on the top and bottom of the device. The bottom houses the SIM tray slot, USB Type-C port, primary microphone, and loudspeaker. Meanwhile, the top boasts an infrared emitter, secondary microphone, and an inscription reading "Professional Photography", signaling Vivo’s confidence in the X80’s camera capabilities.
The camera module on the rear is substantial, occupying over one-third of the back panel and slightly protruding. However, its width ensures stability when placed on a flat surface. This module incorporates the three camera sensors, laser autofocus hardware, and a dual-LED flash.
The glass back panel, particularly in the Urban Blue variant, features a matte finish that resists fingerprints effectively. The bold and striking blue color sets it apart from competitors, while those seeking a more subdued option can opt for the Cosmic Black colorway. Vivo bundles a case with a faux-leather finish in the box for added protection and an alternative aesthetic.
With its large size and 206g weight, the Vivo X80 feels substantial in the hand. Although the weight is noticeable, the balanced distribution minimizes fatigue during single-handed use.
Vivo X80 Specifications and Software
The Vivo X80 boasts a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a Full HD+ resolution (2400 x 1080 pixels). It delivers a smooth and responsive user experience with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 240Hz touch sampling rate. The display is protected by Schott’s Xensation Up glass for scratch resistance and incorporates an in-display fingerprint scanner for convenient unlocking.
The Vivo X80 is the first device in India to feature the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC, a top-of-the-line processor built on a 4nm architecture. This octa-core chip employs a single ARM Cortex-X2 core clocked at 3.2GHz, three Cortex-A710 performance cores clocked at 2.85GHz, and four Cortex-A510 efficiency cores clocked at 1.8GHz, promising exceptional performance. The phone also houses Vivo’s proprietary V1+ imaging chip, designed to enhance camera capabilities. To keep the device cool under demanding workloads, Vivo includes a large vapor cooling chamber.
Both RAM variants come with RAM extension functionality, allowing you to utilize up to 4GB of storage as virtual RAM for a smoother multitasking experience.
In terms of power, the Vivo X80 houses a 4,500mAh battery that supports 80W fast charging, and Vivo includes the compatible charger in the box. Connectivity options include Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 6, nine 5G bands, dual-4G VoLTE, and NFC. For accurate location tracking, the X80 boasts support for six satellite navigation systems, including NavIC. While it features an IP53 rating for dust and water resistance, wireless charging is not supported.
The Vivo X80 runs Funtouch OS 12, based on Android 12. My review unit came pre-loaded with the May 2022 Android security patch, which is generally acceptable. Funtouch OS 12 offers extensive customization options, including custom themes, making it easy to personalize the user interface. The UI itself is fairly user-friendly. However, the X80 comes with a plethora of pre-installed bloatware apps, which can be a nuisance. Thankfully, you can uninstall most of these apps to reclaim valuable storage space. Some of Vivo’s own apps, like the browser, can be overly intrusive with frequent and sometimes unwanted notifications.
For gamers, Funtouch OS 12 provides Ultra Game mode, easily accessible from within any game through the sidebar. This mode includes frame interpolation to increase frame rates during gameplay, as well as Eagle Eye View enhancement that aims to improve the visual experience through local tone mapping. It also offers an Esports mode that optimizes the device for gaming by disabling UI gestures, blocking notifications, and prioritizing CPU power for the game. Vivo has committed to providing three generations of Android OS updates and three years of security updates for the X80, ensuring long-term software support.
Vivo X80 Performance and Battery Life
The Vivo X80 lives up to the expectations of a modern flagship. It features a vivid AMOLED display with excellent viewing angles, ensuring visuals remain crisp and vibrant even in direct sunlight. The stereo speakers enhance the user experience, although they lack a perfectly balanced sound profile. I found the bottom-firing speaker to be noticeably louder than the earpiece.
The phone consistently delivers smooth performance, whether you are navigating through daily tasks or engaging in demanding applications. With the RAM extension feature enabled, the 8GB RAM variant effectively utilizes 4GB of storage to enhance multitasking capabilities. Switching between various apps is seamless, and many remain active in the background, ready to resume instantly. Even heavy users should find the Vivo X80 capable of keeping up with their demands.
The in-display fingerprint scanner is remarkably accurate and efficient, never failing to authenticate my finger throughout my testing. Vivo thoughtfully provides customizable fingerprint animations. Similarly, the face recognition feature operates smoothly and reliably.
I subjected the Vivo X80 to a battery of benchmark tests to gauge the true performance of the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC. In AnTuTu, it achieved an impressive score of 983,481 points, rivaling the performance of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC found in devices like the Motorola Edge 30 Pro and the iQoo 9 Pro. The Vivo X80 also performed well in the Geekbench 5 benchmarks, scoring 1,250 points in the single-core test and 4,190 points in the multi-core test, respectively. Its graphics prowess was also evident in the GFXBench Car Chase test, where it achieved a respectable 71fps.
Gaming performance was excellent as well. I played Call of Duty: Mobile on the Vivo X80, achieving a smooth gaming experience without lag at the ‘Very High’ graphics and ‘High’ frame rate settings, even after prolonged play sessions. The device’s cooling system kept the phone comfortably cool during demanding gaming sessions.
The Vivo X80 offers admirable battery life. I consistently achieved a day and a half of use with a mix of social media, gaming, and moderate camera usage. In the HD video loop test, it demonstrated stamina, lasting for 15 hours and 42 minutes, further validating its battery efficiency. The included 80W SuperVOOC charger, though large, is not as bulky as the 120W charger bundled with the Mi 11i HyperCharge. Using this powerful charger, I was able to recharge the phone to 80% in just half an hour, and a further ten minutes topped it off to 100%.
Vivo X80 Cameras
The Vivo X-series has carved a reputation for strong camera performance, and the X80 carries the weight of these expectations. Vivo has equipped the X80 with a robust camera setup featuring:
- 50-megapixel primary camera with optical image stabilization (OIS)
- 12-megapixel portrait camera with 2X optical zoom (lacks gimbal stabilization found in the Vivo X80 Pro)
- 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera
- 32-megapixel front camera for selfies
The camera app is intuitive and user-friendly. Switching between shooting modes and cameras is effortless, and the Zeiss Natural colour rendering toggle can fine-tune the color profile to your preference. The Vivo X80 defaults to a watermark, but you can disable it if you prefer a cleaner look.
The X80 delivers impressive daytime camera performance. Photos exhibit excellent dynamic range, capturing details even in distant objects in landscapes. While colors are slightly punchy by default, enabling Zeiss Natural Colour yields a more accurate representation of the scene. The ultra-wide-angle camera offers a wider field of view, although the color tone might appear slightly warmer than the primary camera. The edges of the ultra-wide frames are minimally distorted, but the output quality cannot match the primary camera.
Macro shots are sharp and benefit from a naturally pleasing bokeh effect in the background. Portrait mode captures images with accurate edge detection and offers multiple customizable options, including a selection of Zeiss portrait styles. The Vivo X80 automatically switches to the ultra-wide-angle camera for macro shots when the subject is close enough. Thanks to the 12-megapixel resolution, macro images are detailed and crisp.
The Vivo X80 truly surprised me with its excellent low-light camera performance. It quickly evaluates the scene, adjusting the settings for optimal capture in low-light conditions. While it takes about three seconds to capture the shot, the resulting images are detailed and preserve fine details even in dimly lit environments. If the scene is particularly dark, the camera app intelligently suggests switching to Night mode. The phone handled scenes with street lighting exceptionally well, and using Night mode only showed marginal improvements in shadow areas.
Selfies are captured in their full 32-megapixel resolution by default, producing detailed images both with and without Portrait mode. Even in low-light conditions, the Vivo X80 utilizes the screen flash effectively to produce high-quality selfies.
The Vivo X80 records videos at a maximum resolution of 4K on the primary camera and 1080p on the front camera, although a 4K option for the front camera would be a welcome addition. Videos captured in both daylight and low-light conditions are stabilized effectively, with minimal jitter evident in low-light scenarios even when moving. Vivo offers a Horizontal Line stabilization feature, which effectively locks the horizon position even when rotating the phone by 90 degrees. However, this feature is limited to 1080p video recording.
Verdict
If you are seeking a powerful Android flagship smartphone that doesn’t break the bank, the Vivo X80 is a worthy contender. It commands a slightly higher price than the X70 Pro, but the significant improvements it offers justify the premium. The X80 delivers a well-rounded experience, combining robust performance, long battery life complemented by swift charging, and excellent camera capabilities in a single package. The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC is incredibly potent and will satisfy even power users.
While the Vivo X80 delivers in many areas, there is room for improvement in the software. Funtouch OS 12 could benefit from a reduction in pre-installed apps and a decrease in intrusive notifications to enhance the user experience.
I recommend purchasing the base variant of the Vivo X80, priced at Rs. 54,999, as it offers exceptional value over the higher variant. Alternatives to consider include the Realme GT 2 Pro or the Motorola Edge 30 Pro, which offer comparable performance at potentially lower price points.
The Vivo X80 is designed for users who value a powerful and versatile flagship smartphone without the astronomical cost of top-tier models. Its impressive specs, sleek design, and strong camera performance make it a compelling choice in the competitive mid-range market.
