Vivo is certainly not known to everyone as a smartphone brand. The Chinese manufacturer has been based in Düsseldorf for several years and regularly brings smartphones onto the German market. The Vivo X80 Pro is new and comes with some very convincing features.
In its home country of China, Vivo introduced the X80 Pro at the beginning of the year. The high-end smartphone celebrated its premiere in Germany today. Technically, it has a few highlights to offer, but can the device keep up with the top models from Samsung and Co.?
With the sheer endless number of smartphone models on the market, it’s easy to lose track. Of course, the manufacturers praise the good equipment and the latest functions, especially in their flagship devices. Vivo is no exception here, but the X80 Pro does have some special features. These include the camera, which was developed in cooperation with Zeiss, and a 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under the display. The smartphone is also equipped with the latest Snapdragon processor, supports Wifi 6 and 5G and has a modern 120 Hz display. But first things first.
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Vivo X80 Pro is a real bummer
Let’s first come to the external impression, because it is huge. Literally. With a display diagonal of a full 6.78 inches and a housing size of 164.57 x 75.30 x 9.10 millimeters, the Vivo X80 Pro is not only very large, but also quite thick. This means that people with small hands cannot operate the device with one hand. The weight is also on the heavy side at 219 grams. A real banger, but one that has a lot to offer.
This starts with the OLED display, which not only has a very high resolution of 3200 x 1440 pixels, but also offers a refresh rate of 120 Hz. This will particularly please gamers who rely on fast image changes. The Vivo X80 Pro is also very bright with 1500 nits at the top, but it doesn’t come close to the values of the Galaxy S22+ or Ultra, which put it at 1750 nits.
Zeiss camera in focus
The camera is a feature that visually dominates the back of the Vivo X80 Pro and is also otherwise in the focus of the manufacturer. Vivo has been cooperating with the camera professional Zeiss since December 2020 and has been developing software innovations with them especially for smartphones ever since. The latest model uses a quad camera, which includes a 50-megapixel wide-angle, a 48-megapixel ultra-wide-angle, a 12-megapixel gimbal portrait camera and an 8-megapixel periscope camera with 5x optical zoom . It is optically stabilized and Vivo has also integrated a special image processing chip into the X80 Pro. The Vivo V1+ is the basis for artificial intelligence, which automatically optimizes and improves photo and video recordings.
The “Cinematic Video Bokeh” from Zeiss, which is used for the first time in the Vivo X80 Pro, is new. It can be used to create an oval bokeh in the film standard aspect ratio of 2.39:1, which is intended to provide a lens effect typical of cinema. In this context, Vivo has also expanded the already well-known “Zeiss Superb Portrait” mode with the “Cinematic Style Bokeh”, with which users can recreate the classic Hollywood aesthetics according to the manufacturer. Also new and exclusively introduced in this model: “Camera Panning”. If this option is switched on, the camera automatically tracks the subject even when it is moving and can hide blur caused by small wobbles of the camera, especially in portrait shots. There are also improvements in night mode and in backlit shots (“XDR Photo”).
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Current Snapdragon chip and 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor
In line with the flagship, the Vivo X80 Pro also comes with the current top chip from Qualcomm. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 can access a total of 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage. However, the latter cannot be expanded. The smartphone has a special cooling system to prevent excessive heat development during high loads, such as gaming. According to Vivo, the Ultra Large Liquid Cooling Vapor Chamber is the strongest heat dissipation in one of its own smartphones to date. The 27-layer heat dissipation structure offers a total cooling surface of 46,089 mm².
Good overall performance also includes an up-to-date system and a sufficiently high level of protection against unauthorized access. Therefore, Vivo relies on Android 12 and a 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor in the X80 Pro. With the latter, ultrasonic waves can capture even the smallest pores and thus a perfect 3D image of the fingerprint. This makes 3D ultrasonic sensors significantly safer and faster than optical versions. Vivo has also increased the sensor’s reading area by 11.1 times for even more convenient use.
Especially for gamers, the manufacturer offers an X-axis linear motor in its latest smartphone, which, together with a vibration algorithm developed by Vivo, makes the smartphone vibrate rhythmically when gaming. In addition, the X80 Pro is the first model in Germany to have two stereo speakers, which should significantly improve the sound when gaming as well as music and video streaming. Whether that will work remains to be seen. After all, the Vivo X80 Pro is just a smartphone that has a rather small acoustic body due to the device.
For a smartphone with such high performance and such a large display, the capacity of 4700 mAh is clear. The battery supports fast charging with 80 watts and wireless charging with up to 50 watts. According to the manufacturer, a full charge takes about 36 minutes. So the battery is not bad, but the similarly sized Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, for example, offers 300 mAh more, even if it doesn’t come close to the fast charging times of the Vivo device. It therefore remains to be seen how the Vivo X80 Pro will run in everyday life.
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Features of the Vivo X80 Pro at a glance
| Vivo X80 Pro | |
|---|---|
| screen | 6.78 inch, OLED LTPO, up to 120 Hz and 1500 nits, HDR10+ |
| resolution | 3200 x 1440 pixels, WQHD+ 20:9, 517 ppi |
| processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
| Storage | 12GB + 256GB |
| main camera | PDAF+OIS, f/1.57 48 megapixels (ultra wide angle), f/2.2 12 megapixel (gimbal portrait camera), 2x optical zoom, gimbal+OIS, f/1.85 8 megapixels (periscope camera), 5x hybrid optical zoom, PDAF+OIS, f/3.4 |
| front camera | 32 megapixels (wide angle), f/2.45 |
| battery pack | 4700mAh, 80 watt quick charge, 50 watt wireless charging |
| software | Android 12, Fun touch OS 12 |
| security | Face recognition, 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor |
| links | Bluetooth 5.2, NFC |
| Internet | WLAN a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Wifi 6, LTE, 5G |
| Miscellaneous | IP68, dual stereo speakers, dual SIM, infrared sensor, USB-C 3.1 |
| measurements and weight | 164.57 x 75.30 x 9.10mm, approx. 219 g |
| Colours | Cosmic Black |
| RRP | 1299 euros; 80 watt power adapter included |
Pricing and availability of the Vivo X80 Pro
As announced by Vivo, the X80 Pro will be available in Germany from July. However, only the version in Cosmic Black is offered. The price is 1299 euros and thus fits seamlessly into the prices of the smartphone flagships of 2022. After all: In contrast to Apple or Samsung, Vivo includes a power supply unit that even supports fast charging with 80 watts.