Vivo X50 Pro review: Camera power-house
Vivo, just a few weeks ago, launched the company's new flagship X50 phone series in India.
The highlight of the X50 Pro is the photography hardware and is touted to be the world's first phone to boast Gimbal Camera system. I used the device for little over a week and here are my thoughts on the Vivo's new phone.
Design, build quality and display:
Vivo's new X50 Pro is one of the best looking phones in the market. The phone's glass back panel has undergone AG (Anti-Glare) Frosting process. It creates a visually appealing frosty matte finish, which offers soft and delicate hand-feel. This also makes the glass to reflect different colours when viewed from a different angle.
Though the huge camera module in the left top corner does protrude a bit, it doesn't take away any shine of the phone's exterior beauty. The 'Big Eye', which the company likes to call the main gimbal-enabled camera at the top makes it unique among the rival brands, which seem to look alike with vertically aligned cameras.
Also, the company is offering the transparent cover, which not only evens out the camera bump but also protects the premium phone from getting damaged during accidental fall. Also, the company has equipped display guard on the display for extra protection from scratches and daily wear and tear when kept in the pocket.
I also love the frames around the display, they are premium and sturdy. The company has made the bottom and top flat. The X50 Pro can stand on a table (preferably wood) without any support (be careful on glass surface). The company has done a marvellous job with the phone's design.
It comes with a Type-C USB along with the single-grille speaker, a mic and two-SIM tray slot. On the top, it has just one mic and 5G engraving. On the left, there are no buttons and on the right, you will find the power and volume rockers placed on top of the other.
The company has ditched the 3.5mm audio jack port in the device, but it is offering 3.5mm-to-Type-C connector with the retail package in addition to the ergonomically designed earphones. They fit the ear comfortably thanks to silicone ear tips. Users are advised to be careful while listening and walking on the road, as the ear tips block the outside noise and there is a high chance of not noticing the vehicle horns in the background. As far as the sound quality is concerned, I had a good time listening to music and there was no pressing issue as such.
On the front, it flaunts a beautiful 6.56-inch 3D curved full HD+ (2376×1080p) E3-AMOLED (made by Samsung) display. It has a 19.8:9 aspect ratio, and supports 90Hz display refresh rate and offer up to peak brightness of 1300 nits. It cascades to the middle of the frame, thereby offering wide viewing experience.
With the front-camera placed in the top left corner edge, there is very little distraction, I had a good time watching HD videos with natural colours including black shades and gaming on the full view screen was a delightful experience. Also, even under the bright sunlight in the afternoon, I was able to view the message clearly and multimedia content without much fuss.
Also, the display comes with the in-screen fingerprint sensor. It responds fast and also, the False Rejection Rate (FRR) is also very low. Once the fingers touch the assigned slot, it opens the screen in a jiffy. As far as the face unlock feature is concerned, it works fine in good light condition, but not so much in the night. Thankfully, the fingerprint sensor comes to the rescue.
Performance:
Vivo X50 Pro comes packed with Qualcomm's latest 7nm class Snapdragon 765G octa-core chipset, which can top the CPU speed up to 2.4GHz. It is backed by Adreno 620 graphics engine, 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, 256GB (UFS 2.1) storage and Android 10-based Funtouch OS 10.5.
The phone works buttery smooth when performing day-to-day activities be it launching the camera app, taking calls, switching between multiple apps and other stuff.
Importantly, the phone doesn't show any sign of stuttering while playing graphics-rich games like Asphalt 9: Legends and also even when using the camera for 4K recording. Thanks to the in-house Game Assistant, the phone's hardware was automatically optimised to offer smooth gaming experience without any issue of over-heating.
However, the custom Funtouch OS user-interface is a bit complicated for the first-time user, but it can be mastered in a few days.
It also comes with 5G modem, which is of no use in India, as there is no infrastructure to support super-fast internet. But, considering specifications of the device, it can easily last two if not three years and by that time, commercial 5G may go live and the consumer can experience next-gen mobile network with this Vivo phone.
Vivo X50 Pro houses a 4,315mah cell. For normal usage, which includes browsing internet, social media, gaming and watching multi-media content on Over-The-Top (OTT) apps and other day-to-day use, it was able to offer more than a day's battery life. Another notable aspect of the device is that it can get fully charged from zero to 100-percent in little over one hour thanks to 33W charger.
Camera:
In this department, Vivo X50 Pro excelled with top honours. As advertised, it was able to take super good pictures and every type of lighting environments.
It boasts quad-camera module-- primary 48MP (with Sony IMX598 sensor, Gimbal camera system, five-axis OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation, f/1.6 aperture, super micro PTZ camera) + 8MP ultra-wide lens (with 120-degree Field-Of-View, f/2.2 aperture and 2.5cm macro) + 8MP periscope camera (with f/3.4 aperture for 5x optical, 10x hybrid and 60x digital zoom) + 13MP (50mm equivalent) for portrait (with f/2.46 aperture) backed by triple-tone LED flash. It is backed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) noise reduction capability.
The Gimbal camera system really lived up to the hype. The company has used 'Special Magnetomotive Frame' to incorporate 'gimbal system into a phone'. In the 'double ball suspension mount' structure, two pairs of balls cooperate with a cross stand to make the gimbal achieve flexible 'two-axis rotation' on the X-axis and Y-axis with the Gimbal using mechanical movement compensation to ensure three-dimensional stabilization. The Gimbal Camera System’s anti-shake angle reaches maximum ±3-degree, or 300% of traditional OIS, the company claims.
It was able to capture stable pictures and even for videos. I tested the video first by walking down the stairs and I am happy to note, the phone took super smooth video clip with less distortion.
The ultra-wide photos too are really good and we can see it accommodates more details than a normal photo. As far as the low-light picture quality is concerned, it takes splendid photos thanks to improved Super Night Mode 3.0 and additionally offers filters-- Blue Gold, Blue Ice, Cyberpunk and Green Orange-- which enhance the night-time photography. I recommend the phone users to make use of these filter while taking pictures in the big cities during the night. Also, there is an Astro mode with Sky Divider Algorithm. For video, there is a special EFB (Eyes Face Body) continuous motion AF tracking feature.
I love the 60X Hyper Zoom. Have to say, the zoomed out photo have noise and also has autofocus issue, but the picture quality (see below) is way better than the more established premium branded phone, costing close to a lakh.
Vivo X50 Pro also takes beautiful Portrait pictures and we can play with aperture from f/0.95 to f/16.0 and this will offer various range of blurring of the background. Also, there is a Photo Restoration feature that can remove noise in the printed photos and transform it with near-clear picture.
On the front, it has a 32MP shooter with f/2.48 aperture. It takes really good selfies in the natural light and also in the night condition.
Final thoughts:
Vivo X50 Pro is an excellent photography-centric phone. The innovative gimbal camera system truly lived up to the expectations and sets a new benchmark in the industry.
Pros:
Excellent camera hardware
Gorgeous design language
Reliable Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset
Full-day battery life with fast charging support
Cons:
User-interface needs some work, but this is not deal breaker as this can be mastered in a couple of days
Vivo X50 Pro is available in Alpha Grey colour for Rs 49,990 (8GB RAM+256GB storage).
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks