Vivo, a Chinese company, has come a long way in making its smartphones better at taking pictures. The company worked with Zeiss lens experts to make its newest high-end phone. The Vivo X90 Pro, which has an imaging system designed itself.
The smartphone was first shown in China in 2022 and recently made it to India. Even though the India launch was delayed. The Vivo X90 Pro doesn’t seem to be behind other 2023 expensive flagship smartphones that have come out in the country so far.
The smartphone offers a unique imaging experience and performs very well. The package does not have all of its parts, though. Let’s get into the specifics to understand:
ViVO X90 Pro 5G Full Specification
| LAUNCH | |
| Announced | November 22, 2022 |
| First Release | December 06, 2022 |
| NETWORK | GSM / CDMA / LTE / 5G |
| BODY | |
| Dimensions | 164.1 x 74.5 x 9.3 mm |
| Weight | 214.9 g |
| Build | Glass front, aluminum frame, eco-leather back |
| SIM | Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) |
| DISPLAY | |
| Type | AMOLED, 1B colors |
| Size | 6.78 inches, 111.0 cm2 (~90.8% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 1260 x 2800 pixels |
| PLATFORM | |
| Operating System | Android 13, Funtouch 13 (Global), OriginOS 3 (China) |
| Chipset | Mediatek Dimensity 9200 (4 nm) |
| CPU | Octa-core |
| GPU | Immortalis-G715 MC11 |
| MEMORY | |
| Card Slot | No |
| Internal | 256GB/ 8GB RAM 256GB/ 12GB RAM 512GB/ 12GB RAM |
| MAIN CAMERA | |
| Triple | 50.3 MP, f/1.8, 23mm (wide) 50 MP, f/1.6, 50mm (telephoto) 12 MP, f/2.0, 108˚ 16mm (ultrawide) |
| Features | Zeiss optics, Zeiss T* lens coating |
| Video | 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS |
| SELFIE CAMERA | |
| Single | 32 MP, f/2.5, 24mm (wide) |
| Features | HDR |
| Video | 1080p@30/60fps |
| SOUND | |
| Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers |
| 3.5mm jack | No |
| COMMS | |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 5.3, A2DP, LE, aptX HD |
| Positioning | GPS (L1+L5), GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS, NavIC |
| NFC | Yes |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG |
| FEATURES | |
| Sensors | Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro |
| BATTERY | |
| Type | Li-Po 4870 mAh, non-removable |
| Charging | 120W wired, 50% in 8 min (advertised) |
| MISC | |
| Colors | Legendary Black, Red |
| Models | V2242A, V2219 |
| TESTS | |
| Display | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) |
| Camera | Photo / Video |
| Loudspeaker | -24.5 LUFS (Very good) |
| Battery life | Endurance rating 96h |
READ MORE: Sony Xperia XZ Mobile Review
ViVO X90 Pro 5G Price and Availability
The main problem with the Vivo X90 Pro is that you can’t get it in the US unless you’re ready to bring it in from another country. The X90 Pro can only be bought in Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Thailand, and Malaysia. In Europe, the Vivo X90 Pro will be sold in several countries, including Germany.
It should be ready by the end of March 2023. The Vivo X90 Pro costs 5,000 Malaysian Ringgit, which is about $1,110 or €1,050. It is priced similarly to high-end phones from Samsung, Apple, and Google.
This is the global form of the model we’re looking at, which is the one you should choose if you want to import it. According to Kimovil, the X90 Pro works with US carrier bands. However, your carrier may have extra rules against hardware not sold in the US.
Vivo X90 Pro 5G Design and Build Quality
The Vivo X90 Pro has a sleek and modern look that gives it an air of class and refinement that you can feel. The device has a genuinely high-end feel because it is made from a perfect mix of metal and glass. Vivo has cleverly added a faux leather finish to the glass, which makes the experience even better and gives the phone a satisfyingly tactile feel when held.
The front and back of the device have a slight but beautiful curve to them. The vegan leather back panel makes it easy to hold the device without the silicone case that comes with it.
The beautiful 6.7-inch screen on the Vivo X90 Pro takes up most of the front of the phone and is covered by the very durable Schott Xensation Up.
The minimal borders around the screen make the phone look even better, adding to its sophisticated and modern look. The Vivo X90 Pro is a piece of technology that oozes quality. It’s well-made and feels substantial. It makes sense to put the power button and volume rocker on the right edge, which makes them easy to reach.
At the top of the phone’s edge are an IR sensor, an earpiece speaker, and a noise-canceling microphone. At the bottom are the primary microphone, SIM tray slot, secondary speaker, and USB-C port.
Built a Unique Circular Camera
In addition to its unique look, the back of the device has a particular circular camera case that makes it stand out. There is a 50MP primary camera, A 50MP telephoto camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and a laser generator and receiver for autofocus inside the significant round camera housing. The camera bump is thick and big, which gives the phone a busy and lively look.
There is also a third microphone built into the camera bump. Users can see the dual-LED flash of the Zeiss logo. And a few marketing messages on the outside of the camera case. Which all add to the high-end look of the phone. Below the camera is a metal band that goes across the whole width of the device. This gives the phone’s chassis a unified look and a solid feel.
The band has a shiny finish that fits the color of the frame perfectly, giving the phone an even more high-end look and feel.
The phone is 164.1 x 74.5 x 9.3 mm and weighs 214g, which may be a bit heavy for some people. However, its IP68 water and dust resistance more than makes up for it. It can handle being submerged in water up to 1.5 meters deep for 30 minutes. In conclusion, the Vivo X90 Pro is a top-of-the-line device that feels and works better than any other.
ViVO X90 Pro 5G Display and Audio
The Vivo X90 Pro has a 6.78-inch fullHD+ (2800 × 1260) screen with a frame rate of 120Hz. The colors, brightness, and dynamic range on the screen are all good. That said, it’s not a top phone because the QHD+ screen on most high-end smartphones isn’t as sharp. Also, the screen has problems with scaling words.
The screen has a setting that lets you change the text and size of the screen. But it doesn’t do much to fix the scaling problems, especially in third-party apps. In the quick setting page, for instance, the font size stays small even when set to extra-large.
The screen is suitable for multimedia material, though. It has a 10-bit screen and can handle HDR10+. There is an automatic setting for improving the look of SDR material that makes colors and contrast look their best. The apps that can be used aren’t many, but they include popular ones like Netflix and YouTube. It works, but don’t expect HDR quality because it’s all software.
When it comes to sound, the Vivo X90 Pro shines with its power and clarity. But there is an imbalance in the audio, and you can hear crosstalk between the right and left channels. The speakers have a wide soundstage. But they don’t have Dolby Atmos or any other technology that lets you play music in multiple dimensions.
ViVO X90 Pro 5G Camera
There are three great cameras on the back of the Vivo X90 Pro, which makes the camera setup stand out. The primary camera has an impressive 50MP sensor, an aperture f/1.75, and OIS technology. The second camera has a 13MP ultra-wide-angle lens with an aperture of f/2.2. The third camera has an 8MP zoom lens with an aperture of f/3.4.
Vivo’s optical image stabilization (OIS) technology has been used instead of a gimbal stabilization system. Because the company says it meets the strict CIPA Level 4 standards (the highest for a smartphone).
Thankfully, the primary camera provides a smooth experience with no flash-lag. Users can also look forward to high-tech features such as Dual Pixel PDAF, Laser AF technology, and the cutting-edge V2 chip. Which promises better low-light performance.
The X90 Pro is different from other cameras on the market because it can use ZEISS’s T* lens finish. Ghosting is a big problem that can happen with smartphone photos. It’s tough to fix because of the small size of these devices. But because ZEISS is so good at what it does, lens flare is rarely an issue in shots taken with the X90 Pro.
Vivo even gives users a variety of LUTs to add fake effects, some of which are based on ZEISS lenses and include a tremendous cinematic choice to suit everyone’s tastes.
Camera Test
I was able to test the camera on the new Vivo X90 Pro smartphone while I was traveling in Vietnam. With an aperture of f/1.8, this Sony camera’s big one-inch sensor takes clear, sharp pictures.
We were impressed by how naturally sharp the sensor was and how much control it had over highlights and shadows. The samples don’t have any noise or flaws that can be seen. This shows that Vivo did an excellent job of reducing noise. Good dynamic range is present in the shots, though this might mean a little less contrast in some cases.
Even though the colors are a bit brighter than what you would see in real life, they are still very lively and lively. So we like to use Zeiss mode, which is made to catch colors that are true to life. Because it has excellent white balance and exact saturation, pictures that it takes look like they were born in real life.
The Vivo X90 Pro’s portrait mode takes stunning pictures of people with excellent subject lighting, sharpness, and color saturation. The background blur is fantastic, and the different effects that Vivo and Zeiss offer are fun. The wide f/1.6 aperture on a telephoto lens makes it easy to tell the difference between subjects, and the Zeiss effects add an artistic touch to the portraits.
Camera Performance
The primary camera’s low-light photos stand out—they have excellent clarity, exposure, noise reduction, color saturation, and very few blown highlights. The zoom camera works well at night, too, with lots of clarity, little noise, and lots of contrast.
The ultrawide camera does an excellent job with good dynamic range, exposure, and color accuracy, though some noise gets mixed in. For long exposure shots, the Night Mode has an excellent function called Automatic Tripod Detection. When the phone is stable, shutter speeds between 5s and 10s are used.
The Vivo X90 Pro also has a 32MP camera on the front with an aperture of f/2.5. This camera takes average pictures with good colors, sharpness, and dynamic range. The theme is also well shown, and the noise level is low.
ViVO X90 Pro 5G Performance
The Vivo X90 Pro feels fast and doesn’t lag even after long periods of use thanks to its MediaTek Dimensity 9200 system-on-chip, 12GB RAM, and 256GB of built-in storage.
It gets warmer after a while, but the thermals stay well within the range that’s good for use. The phone is excellent at everyday tasks and doesn’t hold back regarding power and graphics-heavy functions like games, editing multimedia, and recording and streaming 4K video.
Even though the Vivo’s performance is excellent, the FunTouch interface (based on Android 13) isn’t well optimized to give the best experience. As was already said, there are problems with the text scale. Also, there is a lot of extra software, and the settings screen is disorganized, making it hard to find the settings you need without searching.
ViVO X90 Pro 5G Hardware and Battery Life
The Mediatek Dimensity 9200 processor is, without a doubt, the heart of the Vivo X90 Pro. It works with the company’s own V2 image chip. The chip takes some of the processing work off of the Mediatek processor by handling video and photo processing and powering the screen. You can store 256GB of files and have 12GB of RAM.
The fastest charging on the Vivo X90 Pro is possibly its best feature, and it comes with a charger that works with it. Based on our tests, we can say for sure that the X90 Pro can fully charge in less than 30 minutes at 120W. The phone doesn’t get too hot either, thanks to its dual-battery design, which comprises two small batteries. If you’re still worried about how long your phone will last, you can turn off fast charging in Settings by flipping a switch. You can also go up to 50W here if you get a wireless charger that works with it.
After being charged, the battery lasts a full day and then some. It can handle a mix of daily tasks like playing music and videos, some navigation, and a lot of scrolling and surfing the web. The only thing that isn’t great is the standby battery life, which is odd considering how quickly the phone kills chores in the background.
Some Problems
There are some problems compared to the Vivo X80 Pro that came before it. The company chose not to use Qualcomm’s impressive third-generation 3D Sonic Max sensor on this year’s model. But instead used an optical fingerprint reader. The sensor had some excellent features, such as launching user-selected apps when you hit certain parts of it. It also didn’t blind you with a bright light at night, which is something optical sensors have to do to identify fingers. It also lets you sign up with just one tap, which the optical scanner does not, sadly. And yet, the Vivo X90 Pro’s optical camera isn’t bad—it works well and quickly, which is the most important thing.
The Vivo X80 Pro has a screen resolution of 3200 x 1440, while the Vivo X90 Pro only has 2800 x 1260. Vivo says this drop is because of a mistake in their market study. Honestly, though, it will be hard to tell the difference on screens this small.
ViVO X90 Pro 5G Verdict
By any measure, the Vivo X90 Pro is a powerful luxury phone. It may have the best camera of any phone you can buy outside of China, but it does come with some problems.
It’s never the best, but the X90 Pro is always good and often excellent, from the screen to the CPU to the software.
The camera on Vivo’s phone, on the other hand, is almost unbeatable, especially when it comes to the primary camera, which is without question the best in its class. The only real problem with this camera is that it isn’t as flexible as some competitors, like Samsung’s S23 Ultra, because it doesn’t have a spy lens.
