VIVO X50 PRO – A VLOGGERS DELIGHT
The competition for innovation and new, exciting technology with new releases is something I have a keen interest in. After being in the industry for over 15 years I have enjoyed watching the evolution of the cellphone from the so-called brick to today’s marvels. When the Vivo X50 Pro landed on my desk I thought to myself ‘OK, why would I want this phone – what makes it interesting, what makes it stand out?” From the second I opened the box I knew this phone was going to be something brilliant – something inspiring and something very different to what has been released this year, by anyone else, at least.
I’m going to drop the tech specs first – although great they are not the defining features of this phone. The Vivo X50 Pro operates on your mid-level Series 7 Qualcomm chip – Snapdragon 765G so you going to get great performance where you can multitask with ease and not have to worry about lag. The 8GB RAM adds to the impressive performance of this device whilst the 256GB onboard memory ensures that you don’t have to worry about saving content. The Vivo X50 Pro is 5G enabled – one of only a few devices around which currently are.
The design of the Vivo X50 Pro is top shelf. Beautiful and curved, this sexy design boasts a 6.56 inch Super AMOLED Full HD+ display. The display is almost bezel-less with a tiny punch hole at the top. Now, Vivo really deserves a round of applause here. When watching content or viewing pictures the vivid and captivating display was impressive. I felt immersed and really had to take a step back as this was not what I was expecting. You also get a 90Hz refresh rate with this display. Simply put most smartphones operate on a 60Hz refresh rate so your viewing experience is enhanced even further with the Vivo X50 Pro. Some might say that this refresh rate would compromise your battery but considering the Vivo X50 Pro comes with a 4315mAh battery I wouldn’t be concerned.
Now let’s get to the feature shown here – the camera. Taking a few steps back its worth knowing that Vivo as a company has been at the forefront of many firsts in the cellular industry including being the first to introduce in-display fingerprint scanning, sound casting technology and an elevating front camera to name a few. And they have done it again. This device is a vlogger or content creators dream!
Looking at the device you will notice a larger than normal lens on the rear quad camera. What Vivo has done is built a Gimbal into their camera system – a first in this industry. For those who don’t know a Gimbal is a device which is frequently used by content creators to stabilize images and videos. Most of you will be familiar with the OIS tech built into most devices but this device takes it to another level. I rigorously tested this by running with the device in my hand while recording. I am not exaggerating when I tell you everyone I showed this video to could not believe it. Like the final of a magic trick, I myself was left in awe of the capability. When compared to other top-shelf brands the Vivo footage was super stable with barely any movement or shake. I don’t really think it would be fair to put any other device up against this.
The Gimbal technology built into the Vivo X50 Pro offers the smoothest footage I have ever seen in a device and the large lens allows for better than best night shots – also unlike anything I have seen.
What the Gimbal lens element allows is the lens to “jump around” while taking photos or videos, covering angles up to 300% larger than normal OIS tech. Quick tech interruption – your quad camera is made up of 48MP+13MP+8mp+8MP with a customized selection of which lens to use and 60X Zoom. Your selfie is a whopping 32MP.
The picture quality on the Vivo X50 Pro is insane. With dedicated lenses for Bokeh and Macro effect you also get great features like night shot (more like super night shot) and motion shot. What I liked most about motion shot was the almost 0-second delay in taking the pic – all thanks to the Gimbal system and customized sensor. This camera system keeps your object in the frame – think a proposal or throwing a ball – I know I wouldn’t want to use any other device for these.
The camera system also comes with your stock standard features found on most top-end phones but the picture quality just seemed that much better. I have included comparisons below between the Vivo X50 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus. The first set of photos compares the close-ups, second is your Bokeh effect and lastly your night shots. If this doesn’t convince you of the quality – nothing will.
To be honest I think that the need for any regular camera equipment or accessories is eliminated by the Vivo X50 Pro. And better yet it fits into your pocket – not lugging around of clunky extras. But that’s my opinion.
Macro Shots
Bokeh Shots
Night Shots
At the end of the day though – concessions had to be made to keep the phone in a reasonable price range and because we are not all smoke and mirrors here I will admit that the lack of IP rating was a bit of an issue. I feel on a device of this calibre that should have been considered. There is also a lack of wireless charging but the Vivo X50 Pro comes with a 33W charging brick in the box so for me it is not a deal-breaker.
At R17499 it’s a stretch to aim this at the mid-tier buyer, however, considering you get this incredible camera system along with a snazzy pair of True Wireless Earphones I definitely think its an investment worth making.
