In a market overflowing with smartphone options, the Vivo X100 Pro emerges as a formidable contender, particularly for photography enthusiasts. Building on the legacy of Vivo’s X series, which has swiftly earned acclaim for its exceptional camera performance, the X100 Pro is designed to surpass the achievements of its predecessor, the X90 Pro. This review delves into the Vivo X100 Pro’s design, camera capabilities, performance, and more to determine if it truly is the camera phone to beat in 2024.
Vivo X100 Pro Review: The Camera Phone to Beat in 2024
Design and Display: A Premium Look with a Stunning Screen
A Refined Design with a Premium Feel
The Vivo X100 Pro’s design marries sophistication with functionality. While it retains the sleek and minimalist aesthetic of the X90 Pro, it introduces several notable enhancements. The most striking change is the enlarged rear camera module, which now houses larger sensors. Encased in a mirror-finish stainless steel with a crescent-shaped design reminiscent of a sun’s halo, the camera module adds a unique flair that might divide opinions. The bezels, inspired by Rolex watch designs, give the phone a luxurious touch.
The fluorite glass back, now featuring a matte finish instead of the vegan leather from the X90 Pro, offers a sleek but slightly slippery texture. While the leather finish on its predecessor felt more premium, the glass back is still aesthetically pleasing. Weighing in at 225 grams, the phone is somewhat hefty, likely due to the larger battery and camera module. Despite its weight, it remains comfortable to hold, balancing heft with usability.
A Display That Shines Bright
The Vivo X100 Pro boasts a 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED display that is truly captivating. Featuring an 8T LTPO panel from BOE, the display supports a 120Hz refresh rate, ensuring smooth scrolling and responsive touch interactions. With a peak brightness of 3000 nits, the screen is exceptionally visible even under direct sunlight, positioning it among the brightest in its category.
The display covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, delivering vibrant and precise colors that enhance the visual experience for photos, videos, and games. The slight curvature on the edges and the slim bezels contribute to an immersive viewing experience. Additionally, the display features 2,160Hz PWM Dimming technology, which reduces screen flicker and helps safeguard your eyes during extended use.
Cameras: A Triple Threat with ZEISS Backing
A Versatile Camera System
The Vivo X100 Pro is undeniably geared towards photography. It features a versatile triple rear camera system, each equipped with a 50MP sensor, aimed at delivering consistent and versatile performance across various shooting modes. With ZEISS backing, this camera setup promises professional-grade photos in diverse conditions.
Primary Camera: The 50MP IMX989 sensor serves as the main camera, providing excellent clarity and dynamic range. Whether in bright daylight or low-light conditions, this sensor captures images with remarkable detail and vibrant colors.
Telephoto Lens: The 50MP ZEISS APPO Floating Periscope lens is a standout feature of the X100 Pro. It offers 4.3x optical zoom and up to 100x digital zoom, allowing for clear captures of distant subjects. The lens’s stabilization ensures sharp zoomed-in shots without the usual blurriness found in handheld photography at high magnifications.
Ultra-Wide Angle Lens: The 50MP ultra-wide lens provides a 119-degree field of view, ideal for landscape and group shots. While it performs admirably in good lighting, it sometimes struggles with brightness and color consistency in low-light situations.
Innovative Camera Features
The Vivo X100 Pro’s camera system includes innovative features that enhance the photography experience. One notable addition is the Multi-Focal Portrait mode, which allows users to select from various focal lengths (24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, and 100mm) and apply ZEISS-style portrait effects such as Distagon, B-Speed, Biotar, Planar, Cinematic, and B-speed. This combination offers the ability to capture stunning portraits with a professional touch, regardless of lighting conditions.
Another impressive feature is the Telephoto Sunshot mode, designed to enhance sunrise and sunset photos by boosting colors, making the sun appear more dramatic. While this effect may not be entirely true to life, it’s perfect for creating visually striking images suitable for social media.
Front Camera: The 32MP front camera, while competent, doesn’t quite match the excellence of the rear cameras. It captures decent selfies with adequate detail and color accuracy in good lighting. However, in low-light conditions, the front camera tends to soften facial features and blow out highlights, which may disappoint selfie enthusiasts.
Performance and Software: Power and Efficiency Combined
MediaTek Dimensity 9300: A Flagship Powerhouse
The Vivo X100 Pro is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 chipset, making it one of the first smartphones in India to feature this flagship processor. Built on a 4nm process, the Dimensity 9300 features 4 Cortex-X4 performance cores and 4 Cortex-A720 efficiency cores, providing a balance between power and energy efficiency.
Benchmark results for the Vivo X100 Pro are impressive, with scores nearing those of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The phone scores over 2 million on AnTuTu and shows strong single-core and multi-core performance on Geekbench. In real-world usage, the Vivo X100 Pro excels at multitasking, gaming, and handling demanding applications without lag or slowdown.
Equipped with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage, the Vivo X100 Pro manages resource-intensive apps and games effortlessly. During testing, the phone showed no signs of performance issues, even when running multiple apps simultaneously. Games like Call of Duty: Mobile runs smoothly at the highest settings, with no noticeable frame drops or overheating.
Funtouch OS 14: A Smooth and Customizable Experience
Running on Android 14 with Vivo’s Funtouch OS 14, the Vivo X100 Pro offers a user-friendly interface with a high degree of customization. Funtouch OS 14 builds on its predecessor, featuring a clean UI with minimal bloatware. Pre-installed apps like Candy Crush and Block Blast can be easily removed if you prefer a cleaner setup.
Funtouch OS 14 stands out for its customization options. Users can adjust the system’s color scheme, customize lock screen clock styles, and explore various always-on-display (AOD) styles, allowing for a personalized experience.
Battery Life: Power That Lasts
A Bigger Battery for Extended Use
The Vivo X100 Pro features a 5,400mAh battery, a notable upgrade from the 4,870mAh cell in the X90 Pro. This increase in battery capacity translates to improved longevity, allowing the phone to easily last a full day on a single charge, even with moderate to heavy usage. Whether you’re streaming videos, gaming, or using the camera extensively, the Vivo X100 Pro offers reliable battery life.
In the PCMark Battery test, the Vivo X100 Pro lasted just over 16 hours, a commendable performance for a flagship device. Despite the MediaTek Dimensity 9300’s power demands, the large battery ensures that you won’t frequently need to recharge.
Fast and Efficient Charging
The Vivo X100 Pro supports 100W wired charging, which, while slightly lower than the 120W charging of the X90 Pro, remains exceptionally fast. Vivo’s reduction in charging speed is designed to improve heat dissipation and preserve battery health. In practice, the difference is minimal, with the phone charging from 0 to 80% in just 20 minutes and reaching 100% in about 30 minutes.
Additionally, the Vivo X100 Pro supports 50W wireless charging, offering convenience for users who prefer a cable-free experience. Whether using wired or wireless charging, the X100 Pro ensures that you’re quickly back up and running.
Final Verdict: A Strong Contender in the Flagship Arena
The Vivo X100 Pro exemplifies Vivo’s commitment to advancing smartphone technology. With its versatile and powerful camera system, stunning AMOLED display, and fast, efficient performance, the X100 Pro delivers on nearly every front.
While it faces strong competition from the likes of the iPhone 15 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, the Vivo X100 Pro stands out, especially for those prioritizing camera performance. Its ZEISS-specific features and innovative shooting modes make it a photographer’s dream, while its robust performance and long-lasting battery cater to power users.
Priced at Rs 89,999, the Vivo X100 Pro represents a significant investment, but one justified by its quality and features. If you’re seeking a flagship smartphone with exceptional cameras, a vibrant display, and dependable performance, the Vivo X100 Pro should be at the top of your list.
Reasons to Buy Vivo X100 Pro
Outstanding Camera System: The triple rear cameras, particularly the telephoto lens with ZEISS features, deliver exceptional photo quality.
Brilliant AMOLED Display: The bright and vivid display offers excellent sharpness and viewing angles, enhancing the user experience.
Powerful Performance: The MediaTek Dimensity 9300 chipset, combined with ample RAM and storage, ensures smooth and fast operation.
Fast Charging and Long Battery Life: With 100W wired and 50W wireless charging, along with a large battery, you’re never far from a full charge.
Reasons Not to Buy Vivo X100 Pro
Front Camera Performance: The selfie camera struggles in low light, softening features, and blowing out highlights.
Slippery Back Panel: The matte glass finish, while sleek, is extremely slippery and almost necessitates the use of a case.
Key Specifications
RAM: 16 GB
Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 9300
Rear Camera: 50 MP + 50 MP + 50 MP
Front Camera: 32 MP
Battery: 5400mAh
Display: 6.78 inches (17.22 cm)
Price: Rs 89,999.00
In summary, the Vivo X100 Pro is more than just a camera phone—it’s a well-rounded flagship that caters to both photography enthusiasts and power users. With its blend of design, performance, and innovation, the X100 Pro is set to be one of the top smartphones of 2024.
