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The Good
- One of the best smartphone cameras
- Beautiful display
- Protected against high water pressure
The Bad
- Difficult to buy in some countries
- Easy to drop
I’m what you might call a ‘regular’ on the tech press circuit these days, and for the last couple of months, all I’ve heard from fellow hacks and YouTubers is how good the Vivo X200 Pro is.
I’ve never used a Vivo phone – until now. That’s because I haven’t had early access to Vivo devices – until now, because I’ve been able to get hold of both the Vivo X200 and X200 Pro ahead of the global launch (which has now passed, if you’re wondering).
We’ve got a review of the X200 in the works, so keep an eye out for that from Max, but today, I want to focus on the X200 Pro. And that’s a completely unintended pun because it is indeed the camera system which my peers have been gushing so intensely about.
Is it really that good? Does the rest of the phone live up to expectations? Let’s find out.
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Specs and pricing
We were sent the global versions of the X200 series phones to review. Both have been available in China for a couple of months now, including a Chinese market exclusive Mini version. I’m not going to quote exact regional availability and pricing for the X200 Pro because I don’t have it to hand at the time of writing, but this is a flagship phone, therefore you should expect flagship pricing.
The X200 Pro is available in black, titanium, and blue. Hidden inside is the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. The battery is capable of 90W FlashCharge, and 30W wireless charging, and there’s IP68 and IP69 water resistance to keep everything nice and safe. If you’re wondering, IP69 is specifically designed to protect the phone from high-pressure water intrusion.
On display duties, we have a 6.78-inch AMOLED unit with 4,500 nits of peak brightness and a variable 120Hz refresh rate, because of course.
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Design
The X200 Pro is a right old chunky phone. It’s not actually that much heavier than the iPhone 16 Pro Max – the Vivo tips the scales by just one extra gram, in fact – but it feels more substantial because of the slightly off-kilter weight distribution.
This is because of that massive camera module. And it is mahoosive. It results in a phone which is rather easy to let slip from one’s grasp if you’re particularly buttery-fingered because all of the weight is at the top. There have been a couple of times when the X200 Pro has nearly toppled ungracefully to the floor when I’ve adjusted my grip.
Despite this, it’s a nice-looking device. Understated, but flagship-worthy, I’d say. Vivo has opted for brushed metal sides as opposed to polished – a decision of which I’m a fan – and the simple Vivo branding leaves you in no doubt as to who has made this immediately eye-catching phone.
The display, as is so often the case in Android Land, is a triumph. The bezels are tiny, it is viewable in any form of direct sunlight, and everything just leaps off the screen.
If anything, the Vivo X200 Pro proves that you don’t need garish designs, flashing lights, or multiple, pointless hardware buttons to stand up and be counted. This phone demands your attention in the most unpretentious, measured way. I like that.
Performance, operating system, and battery life
The Dimensity 9400 chip is MediaTek’s latest flagship silicon for mobile devices, and it’s great to have access to its power in the X200 Pro. I don’t run benchmarks because I just do not care about meaningless numbers, but I can confirm that, just like every smartphone I’ve tested this year, the X200 Pro is a joy to use. It’s buttery smooth and there’s no lag of any description anywhere.
Because of course there isn’t.
As for the operating system, I’d first like to highlight the name, which is one of the best things about the X200 Pro. Any brand that dares call its operating system ‘Funtouch’ gets my vote. It’s a great operating system, too. Based on Android 15, Funtouch is, ahem, fun to use and feels just like all of the great Android-based operating systems I’ve used in 2024. There’s the usual bloatware pre-installed, but you can remove that quickly for a clean user experience.
Battery life on the X200 Pro is wonderful. Truly brilliant. It’ll get you through a couple of days with no issues at all and the standby time is Android-amazing. Leave it unused but turned on, and it’ll last for a comical amount of time.
Camera
The X200 Pro camera system is developed in partnership with Zeiss, which is an immediately good start because those guys know what they’re doing when it comes to camera optics.
The impact of the Zeiss partnership is immediately apparent as soon as you start taking photos with the X200 Pro. All of the images you see on this page are straight out of the camera and shot in JPEG format, although you can of course dig deeper into the realms of RAW photography if you wish.
There’s a three-camera setup on the rear of the X200 Pro – a 50MP main camera, a 50MP ultrawide camera, and a 200MP telephoto. The front-facing selfie cam is 32MP. Oh, and it shoots video at up to 8K resolution and 30FPS if you’re into that kind of thing.
My fellow tech reviewers aren’t wrong – the X200 Pro takes utterly lovely photos. Among the best I’ve ever seen from a smartphone camera, to be honest.
They are processed, of course, but not oversharpened or garishly saturated. What’s more, the photos produced by the X200 Pro have a real DSLR quality to them, thanks to the size of that camera module. As DSLR-bashing as many smartphones can be these days, the X200 Pro is the first to really show off noticeable depth of field in virtually every photo I’ve taken.
It’s fast, too, and able to capture even the most non-compliant of subjects. Low light photography is lovely, and the portrait mode consistently produced results I’d have been proud of after a week spent in Lightroom with Sony RAW files.
The X200 Pro also has one of the most usable zoom ranges I’ve encountered on a smartphone. Even 10x is nigh-on impossible to fool – I used it constantly while walking around the dimly lit interior of the F1 exhibition in London this week. Head beyond that and the presence of AI-infused digital photography grates, but I’m not sure how often anyone needs to stray beyond 10x.
Even the video performance is great on the X200 Pro. I’ve often struggled with Android device video because it pales in comparison to the iPhone, but the X200 Pro gets incredibly close, with far fewer weird stabilisation artefacts on display.
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Conclusion
I’m going on record with this: the Vivo X200 Pro is the best Android smartphone I’ve used in 2024.
There are two issues. The first is the availability – you might find it hard to buy in your country, although where there’s a will, there’s a way, and Vivo has launched this phone globally now. The second is that weight distribution because this is the most top-heavy smartphone I’ve ever used.
However, what you get in return is the best smartphone camera on the market. Combine that with the latest MediaTek chip, and an unfussy, fun operating system, and you’ve got one hell of a smartphone.
If you can pick this up for what feels like reasonable money – buy it.
1 Comment
Better than Oppo X8 pro?