Chinese smartphone giant Vivo today launched its much-anticipated X series in India, comprising the X100 and X100 Pro models. Priced aggressively, these premium flagships bring cutting-edge hardware and camera innovations to take on rivals like OnePlus and Samsung in the lucrative high-end smartphone segment.
Overview of X100 Series
The new X series spearheads Vivo’s 2024 portfolio for India. Building on last year’s well-received V23 series, the X100 duo raise the bar significantly in terms of power, photography, display quality and design.
Some key features of the Vivo X100 series:
- Powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 9300 chip, based on TSMC’s 4nm process
- 120Hz AMOLED displays with 2K resolution
- Up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS 4.0 storage
- 50MP primary camera with advanced Zeiss optics and gimbal stabilization
- Up to 100x digital zoom and ultra-steady video recording
- Fast charging with 80W wired and 50W wireless support
The X100 Pro variant brings a few improvements over the standard X100, namely higher 12GB RAM, micro-cloud stabilization for the selfie camera, and faster charging at 120W wired. But otherwise, both models share the same core hardware.
Priced at Rs. 64,000 for X100 (8GB+256GB) and Rs. 79,000 for X100 Pro (12GB+256GB), these devices aggressively target the premium category in India. In terms of specifications, they can rival or even surpass the recently launched OnePlus 11, iQOO 11 and Samsung Galaxy S23 series.
| Specification | Vivo X100 | Vivo X100 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.78″ 2K 120Hz AMOLED | 6.78″ 2K 120Hz AMOLED |
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 9300 | MediaTek Dimensity 9300 |
| RAM | 8GB LPDDR5 | 12GB LPDDR5 |
| Storage | 256GB UFS 4.0 | 256GB UFS 4.0 |
| Rear Camera | 50MP + 12MP + 12MP | 50MP + 12MP + 12MP |
| Front Camera | 32MP | 32MP |
| Battery | 4810 mAh, 80W fast charging, 50W wireless charging | 4810 mAh, 120W wired fast charging, 50W wireless charging |
| Price | Rs. 64,000 | Rs. 79,000 |
Camera – Vivo’s Forte Gets A Boost
Cameras have always been a strength for Vivo phones. That continues with the X series too, thanks to an advanced triple camera system co-engineered with legendary optics brand Zeiss after two years of joint R&D.
The star of the show here is a massive 1-inch 50MP Samsung GNV main sensor behind an f/1.6 Zeiss lens with gimbal-like stabilization. This captures detailed 12.5MP pixel-binned photos in all lighting conditions.
Zeiss’s T* coating on the lenses aims to reduce flare and ghosting for clearer images. There is also AI Scene Recognition to automatically set the optimal parameters.
The other two cameras include a 12MP ultrawide angle lens for expansive landscapes and a similar 12MP portrait shooter with 2x optical zoom. Together, they enable up to 60x hybrid zoom or 100x digital zoom – a segment first.
On the video side, Vivo is utilizing MediaTek’s Imagiq imaging signal processor for sharper and steadier videos regardless of lighting or motion. There is support for HDR video recording too.
Seeing how older Vivo flagships like the X70 Pro+ and V23 Pro had excellent cameras, expectations will be sky high from the X100 series. Early hands-on reviews do indicate a big jump over previous generations, matching or exceeding the iPhone 14 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra’s photo quality.
But the proof lies in extended testing out in the real world across various scenarios. If Vivo delivers on its camera promises with the X100 series, it could propel the brand as the top camera smartphone in India.
Display and Design – Flagship Credentials
The X100 duo feature large 6.78-inch AMOLED screens with slim bezels all round and a left-aligned punch-hole selfie camera.
These 10-bit panels have a crisp 2K resolution (2800×1260 pixels), high 500 PPI pixel density and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. HDR10+ certification allows vivid visuals when viewing HDR videos and games.
Vivo is also utilizing AI Frame Rate synchronization to conserve battery life by intelligently switching between 60Hz, 90Hz and 120Hz refresh rates based on the app or task at hand.
On the outside, these phones offer an attractive design with thin profiles – 8.86mm for the X100 Pro and 8.62mm for the regular X100. Despite their giant screens, high screen-to-body ratios ensure compact footprints that are easy to use one-handed.
Vivo has employed aerospace-grade TC4 titanium alloy metal for added resilience over an aluminum frame. The matte-frosted glass rear integrates multiple color-changing layers for a unique look.
Available in Black and Blue, the X100 series continues Vivo’s distinctive design ethos seen in their recent launches. Early reviews indicate excellent handling, with the phones feeling very premium while still not too heavy.
Power-Packed Performance
At the heart of the X100 series lies MediaTek’s cutting-edge Dimensity 9300 system-on-chip. Fabricated on a 4nm process for efficiency, it integrates one ultra-core ARM Cortex-X3 running at 3.2GHz, three performance ARM Cortex-A715 cores at 2.85GHz and four efficiency ARM Cortex-A510 cores at 1.8GHz.
For graphics, the octa-core Mali-G715 MC10 can easily handle the most demanding games and AR/VR applications. This MediaTek chip is on par with or even slightly faster than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 powering some rival flagships, while being cooler and more power efficient.
The phone offers ample memory too, with the X100 packing 8GB LPDDR5 RAM with 256GB UFS 4.0 storage, while the X100 Pro has 12GB RAM.
Gaming is optimized through Vivo’s Ultra Game mode, which can block notifications, optimize system resources and network settings for smoother gameplay. Virtual RAM support further boosts available memory as needed by utilizing the fast UFS 4.0 storage.
Vivo has utilized a multi-dimensional cooling system here spanning an ultra-large vapor chamber, grapheme sheets and multiple layers of graphite for sustained peak performance even under heavy loads. While not directly confirmed, early benchmarks indicate AnTuTu scores in the million range – amongst the highest for Android flagships.
Real world usage backed by 5G connectivity should be blazing fast for these well-equipped devices in all sorts of apps, mobile games, content creation and multitasking. Vivo could shake up perceptions of MediaTek versus Qualcomm with the robust Dimensity-powered X100 duo in the domain traditionally dominated by Snapdragon.
Battery and Charging
The X100 packs a reasonably large 4810 mAh battery, while the X100 Pro variant gets faster charging up to 120W wired. 50W wireless charging is supported on both models.
Vivo bundles an ultra-slim 120W charger with the X100 Pro that can fill up the phone safely from 0 to 100% in just 25 minutes. Even a short 10 minute charge can add upto 50% battery, which is quite handy when you’re in a rush.
While the 5000 mAh cell of rivals like Realme GT 3 may seem higher on paper, Vivo’s highly optimized software, displays and 5G management should still deliver excellent battery endurance of 1.5 days of regular usage or over 10 hours of screen-on time for the X100 series.
80W charging for the X100 fills up 70% of the battery in just 18 minutes, which is pretty quick too. So overall, both phones seem to offer a great combination of battery capacity coupled with incredibly fast charging.
Software
On the software side, Vivo has come a long way from their Funtouch OS days to now offer a clean and polished Android 13 experience on the X100 series. Dubbed X100 OS, it brings a refined UI without extraneous visual elements along with smooth animations.
There are still some residual Vivo apps, but the interface looks quite close to stock Android now. Features like global theme icon customizations and always-on display are available. Anti-peeping for notifications and privacy checkups aim to provide greater user security as well.
While not confirmed officially, Vivo’s track record indicates that the X100 series should get 3 major Android OS updates and 4 years of security updates. This matches flagship grade support offered by Samsung, Apple and even OnePlus now.
Launch Offers
Vivo has partnered with HDFC bank to offer Rs 3000 instant discount for buyers during the first sale. There are also easy EMI schemes starting under Rs 3000 per month available.
Jio customers activating on Rs 2399 annual recharge plans will get additional benefits worth Rs 14000 that include higher Jio data limits up to 2 TB along with one year of subscriptions to leading video/music streaming apps.
As part of early bird offers, customers pre-ordering the X100 series before 9th January can get free gifts like the Vivo TWS Air earbuds and Vivo portable power bank.
Outlook
With an expected sales target of 6 million premium devices in 2024, India is amongst the fastest growing premium smartphone markets globally. Vivo is aiming to consolidate its #2 position behind Xiaomi with an aggressive product portfolio covering all price tiers.
And the X series spearheads this push into the premium category where arch-rivals like OnePlus, Samsung and Apple dominate currently.
Backed by advanced hardware and cameras, slick software, stylish design and 5G readiness, the feature-packed X100 duo seem extremely competitive on paper versus rivals costing even Rs 10,000 to 15,000 more.
If Vivo manages to woo customers with this loaded package while ramping up brand equity beyond their budget phone image, the X100 series could take the fight to premium category leaders in an even bigger way. And that would mark a coming-of-age of sorts for both Vivo and MediaTek in the cutthroat Indian flagship smartphone space.
To err is human, but AI does it too. Whilst factual data is used in the production of these articles, the content is written entirely by AI. Double check any facts you intend to rely on with another source.
