Handset maker Vivo unveiled its first X series phones in 2020, which comprised X50 and X50 Pro, and both were the most premium offerings from the company back then. To recall, the pricier Vivo X50 Pro came with the world's first gimbal camera at the back of a smartphone and created a stir in the smartphone market. Continuing the trend of launching camera-centric phones, this year, Vivo has launched its flagship X100 lineup of smartphones and both are camera-centric phones, made in collaboration with optical lenses giant Zeiss. The newly-launched Vivo X100 and X100 Pro come with the company's proprietary V2 chip for image processing. The price of the Vivo X100 Pro has been set at Rs 89,999 for the lone 16GB RAM and 512GB storage model while the Vivo X100 comes in two storage models: 12GB RAM + 256GB storage and 16GB RAM + 512GB storage for Rs 63,999 and Rs 69,999, respectively. This means there is a difference of Rs 10,000 between the higher-end model of X100 and the lone variant of X100 Pro. How good is the Vivo X100 at a starting price of Rs 63,999? Here is how the smartphone fared in my review.
Vivo X100 Design, Display, Looks And Build
Vivo has taken a break from the faux leather design that was used in last year's X90 and made use of AG glass back on which shiny arc lines run towards the bottom in a symmetrical fashion. The rear pattern in Stargaze Blue colour is interesting and a refreshing change, which makes it stand out from others. The smartphone is also available in Asteroid Black colour, but the blue variant is slightly better. This is very different from last year's Vivo X90 which came with a glittery pattern and a matte rear. The centrally-placed large rear camera module reminded me of the very popular OnePlus 7T, which is shielded by an irregular metal ring that is capable of taking care of the minor scratches if the phone is placed on uneven surfaces. Howeevr, the overall design feels less premium in the hands.
It is recommended that the phone is used witha back cover and Vivo has shipped the phone with a transparent silicone back cover. The Vivo X100 is made of premium materials and boasts durability. Featuring an aerospace-grade stainless steel frame, the phone is not just aesthetically pleasing, but it can also withstand water splashes, thanks to the IP68 rating. Weighing 204 grams, the Vivo X100 is light enough to be held in the hand at a stretch for a few hours, but the dimensions make it somewhat less ergonomic for one-handed usage.
The front of the Vivo X100 has a big and bright 6.78-inch 1.5K (2800 × 1260p) LTPO AMOLED display flanked by tiny bezels on the top and bottom and almost no bezels on the left and right side as the screen has dual curvature. The gorgeous panel comes with support for HDR10+, a variable refresh rate of 120Hz and a peak brightness of up to 3000 nits and 2160Hz PWM dimming, thus, delivering great visual experience. I used the phone for binge-watching Neflix and Amazon Prime content and the results were great. Content consumption was a delight as colours were sharp and vivid with high contrast and deep blacks, reminding of how beautiful AMOLED screens can be.
Vivo X100 Camera
Vivo's X series of smartphones have been great camera devices and the X100 is no different. The rear camera setup is dominated by a 50MP primary sensor with OIS, coupled with another 50MP ultra-wide-angle sensor and a 64MP telephoto sensor with up to 100x digital zoom. The Vivo X100 series is said to specialise in portraits and the phone is capable of taking great portrait shots, irrespective of the lighting conditions. It is safe to say that the smartphone excels at capturing photos with great details and accurate colour reproduction. The camera can swiftly focuses on the subject as well. The photos are somewhat oversaturated, but it also makes them social media ready without any hassle. Moreover, the Zeiss Bokeh flare adds a touch of flair to the images, providing a cinematic look to the pictures.
Coming to the much-anticipated portrait imaging, the phones lets the user to customise the blur effect, providing greater control over them. The portrait shots taken with the primary camera had good edge detection and a background blur effect that was pleasing to the eyes. The 50 MP wide-angle sensor also takes good pictures, but, they are somewhat less detailed when compared to the primary camera, in low-light conditions. With 3x optical zoom, capturing images at this level is pretty seamless. Zooming up to 10x also results in good images. The camera supports up to 100x images, but images shot at this level lack details and have a lot of noise. The Vivo X100 performed qually weel during night-time photography. In fact, the camera excelled in capturing images with great details and minimal noise. The phone is equipped with a 32MP selfie camera which is a bit underwhelming. The selfie camera particularly struggled in low-light and at night.
Vivo X100 Performance, Software And Battery
The Vivo X100 operates on Android 14 with the company's proprietary Funtouch OS 14 on top. The handset is confirmed to receive three years of Android updates and four years of security updates, which is a tad bit less when compared to flagships such as the Google Pixel 8. It is pertinent to note that the Funtouch OS has matured over the years and now offers a clean UI with less bloatware. There are a set of pre-installed applications such as Netflix, and Facebook, among others, but these can be easily uninstalled, if the user wants.
The Vivo X100 comes with a hefty 5,000mAh battery with support for 120W fast charging, which is insanely fast and can easily spoil the user. However, the phone does not support the much-useful 50W wireless charging that the pricier sibling Vivo X100 Pro ships with. The Vivo X100 can be charged from 0 per cent to 100 per cent in about 25 minutes. The battery lasted a little more than a day on a single charge, during my daily usage that included music streaming and watching OTT content.
Vivo has a close collaboration with Taiwanese chip major MediaTek and this phone also ships with the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 SoC which is powerful and results in smooth overall performance sans heating issues, or stutter whatsoever.
Vivo X100 Verdict
A bright and beautiful display, great imaging and insanely fast charging make the Vivo X100 a great contender in the segment. Let's not forget the superb battery life and overall stutter-free performance that make this a good feature-packed premium handset.
