Vivo might not be the first name you think of when it comes to mobiles. After all, for years now, we’ve been ingrained with the likes of Samsung and Apple. While it’s not the most prolific brand out there (yet), Vivo has certainly been steadily nipping at the heels of the big boys with its awesome phones…the latest being the Vivo X50 Pro.
So…the big question has to to whether you want a Vivo X50 Pro over other phones that are vying for your attention.
Read on to find out if it’s a must have!
What is the Vivo X50 Pro?
The Vivo X50 Pro is one of the company’s flagship smartphones.
It’s a smartphone with a 6.56-inch AMOLED, capacitive touch Full HD+ (1080 x 2376) display, a SnapDragon 765G processor, 8GB RAM and 256 GB storage. The battery’s a 4315mah and the phone’s vivo FastCharge 2.0 compatible, with charging done via USB Type-C.
Here are the specs for its camera.
For connectivity, the Vivo X50 Pro has 2.4G + 5G WiFi MIMO and Bluetooth 5.1 compatibility. Unfortunately, there’s no 3.5mm audio jack or microSD card support but the phone does have a dual Nano-SIM slot in case you’re using two SIM cards.
Finally, the smartphone’s 158.46 x 72.80 x 8.04 mm and weighs 181.5g.
The Hardware.
I’m not going to lie, the Vivo X50 Pro certainly doesn’t look all that special but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If you’re looking for a tried and tested modern look, with sleek curves and rounded edges, look no further.
In fact, it kind of reminds me of the Samsung Galaxy Note10+ (my personal phone) in both feel and weight.
That’s a good thing mind you. I love my smartphone and from what I’ve experience with the Vivo X50 pro, it’ll probably be the same with this one if I have it for a long time…which sadly I won’t.
The phone’s balanced very well but it’s smooth back lacks any sort of grip. It looks damn nice, but is definitely something you’ll want to address ASAP. After all, it’d be way too easy to drop the phone. I definitely suggest getting some sort of cover to ensure a better grip.
You’ll also want a cover to get that back covered because it smudges really easily. I love the color but even slight touches leaves smudges on the case.
It’s a bit weird for me that the buttons are on the right side of the screen, as Samsung phones have them primarily on the left. As somebody who’s been a Samsung user for years (and a Sony Xperia one before that), having buttons on the right is definitely something you have got to get used to.
The display’s pretty good too! It’s bright and the colors are vibrant and sharp. I’ve used Chrome on it and the videos and images I saw were pretty defined and clear.
Weirdly, the screen on the Vivo X50 Pro isn’t 4K, so while you can shoot 4K videos, you’re not able to truly appreciate them on the screen in their native glory.
What I don’t like about the phone is the lack of external storage support and that it doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack. I think both should be required on every phone.
While the 3.5mm jack issue can be overlooked by using wireless Bluetooth headsets, not being able to expand the phone’s storage sorely sucks. It’s especially problematic when you consider that the phone’s meant to hold massive amounts image and videos. I mean nobody would buy a phone with an awesome camera (and features) and not use them right?
It’s definitely going to be an issue, especially if you use the camera to record video at 4K resolution at 60FPS. You’re going to have to regularly transfer or upload to the cloud to overcome this.
It’s a massive oversight on the fault of Vivo and I really hope that their next flagship product reintegrates external storage support.
The Fun Stuff.
Now that the specs are out of the way, we finally get to meat of the review; how the phone is.
With its capable Snapdragon 765G processor and hardware, the Vivo X50 Pro is no slouch. Apps respond snappily, and I was able to open and run multiple gaming and productivity apps at the same time with no noticeable slowdown.
Changing between apps was quick and painless too, with no noticeable stuttering or slowdown apparent.
I also did the usual benchmarking, with PCmark and 3Dmark to get a look at how the smartphone performs.
Weirdly, I couldn’t get PCmark’s Battery or Storage Benchmarks to run, so I don’t have the scores for those. However, independent testing of the battery life (50% screen brightness and volume, Youtube video on loop) had the phone last just shy of 15 hours.
3Dmark produced decent scores as well, a marked difference from the Vivo V19 I reviewed earlier this year.
That difference applies to the camera too!
The Camera.
Yes…the biggest in the Vivo X50 Pro’s arsenal.
First the good news…The much hyped mechanical gimbal in the Vivo X50 Pro? It works. It works very well in fact.
But…
Yes, there’s a but. The gimbal works better than regular software stabilizers but if you’re expecting something on the level of those found in the DJI Osmo Mobile, you need to rein yourself in.
The gimbal does stabilize motion, but it still won’t do anything to really jerky motion. For that, you’re going to need a much, much more heavy duty gimbal.
I’ve taken a ton of videos to test the stabilization and I’ve found out that it does steady regular motions (like hand movements or when you’re walking) and minor camera shake.
Even if you don’t take into account the gimbal, the Vivo X50 Pro still features a damn awesome camera.
Take a look at the images I took!
Colors really pop and the Night mode is especially noteworthy. Pictures taken in low light look really crisp and detailed. I’d even go and say they look incredible!
If you’re thinking of getting the Vivo X50 Pro just on the virtues of its camera alone, you’re going to be in heaven.
The Bottom Line.
The Vivo X50 Pro is a great phone geared towards those who love to take pictures and videos. The main ace it has in its hole, the mechanical gimbal, works exactly as you’d expect, though it’s certainly not as powerful as gimbals you’d find in cameras or other dedicated devices, like the DJI Osmo Mobile.
On top of that, it also has decent hardware that makes it a great phone even without the gimbal. It might not be the fastest smartphone on the market, but it certainly packs a punch.
TLDR:
Great all round phone with great hardware, incredible stabilization (for a phone) and an awesome camera!
The Good.
- Great camera.
- Gimbal is awesome.
- Sleek looks.
- Decent hardware.
The Bad.
- Gimbal isn’t as powerful as those found in cameras.
- Back cover smudges easily.
- No 3.5mm audio jack.
- No microSD card support.