X50 Pro is vivo’s latest offering under the X-series that was created to satiate the hunger for photography among young people. Shown initially on its 2020 Apex Concept phone, the feature is now a reality in the X50 Pro.
The vivo X50 Pro is the first smartphone to features cutting-edge technology — Gimbal camera system for stable shooting capabilities. In layman terms, the X50 Pro equips a built-in miniature gimbal module that moves in the opposite direction of shaking motions, providing increased stability for the main camera.
Besides, it also packs FHD AMOLED display with 90Hz refresh rate, huge battery, Snapdragon 765G mobile platform and a 33W fast charging technology. With the latest hardware and software packed into this ergonomically great phone, is this device actually worth Rs. 49,990?
Check out why you should and should not consider this device below.
Why should you buy it?
Silky smooth display
The Vivo X50 Pro sports a 6.56-inch Full HD+ E3 Super AMOLED display with 3D curved corners, 90Hz refresh rate, HDR 10+ compatibility, and 180Hz touch sampling rating. It has a tiny 3.96mm small punch-hole that houses the 32MP camera. It offers a silky smooth experience, which I like but it’s not as good as OnePlus 8 Pro or a ROG Phone 3 comparatively. But the compact form factor makes up for it though. The X50 Pro sports Schott’s tempered glass for protection against scratches and drops on both front and back.
The panel offers punchy colors, great viewing angle, sunlight legibility is great, thanks to a peak brightness of 1300 nits. The blacks are deep, animations are smooth, text looks sharp and color accuracy is good. It has HDR10+ features and supports content on popular apps including Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video. The Widevine L1 DRM certification is supported as well, which means you can enjoy quality video content across all the services.
There are options to set between 60Hz, 90Hz, and Smart switch (adaptive refresh rate). Also, there are options to change the screen colors and temperature too. It’s worth mentioning that the punch-hole camera doesn’t take up much of the room to be an interruption.
Perfect design and great ergonomics
Fight me! vivo X50 Pro is the best-looking phone vivo phone to date. The phone looks fresh, feels sleek and remarkable in hand, light, and oozes nothing short of premiumness. It’s worth mentioning that the X50 Pro has an amazing weight distribution.
Like any other flagship devices out there, the X50 Pro features a glass sandwich design and a frosted rear glass with a gradient paint job. The rear design looks similar to OnePlus devices and nothing wrong in it.
The X50 Pro measures 158.46 × 72.8 × 8.04mm and weighs just 181.5g. The device has an aluminum frame with a best-in-class fit and finish. The button feedbacks are great, frosted back doesn’t attract fingerprint and smudges easily. Talking about the back, it has a bigger camera module with a slight protrusion outside, since it has one of the biggest primary sensors inside. Overall, the design language, build, and the ergonomics of X50 Pro is top-notch.
Great optics for photos and videos
Coming to the camera, the X50 Pro features a quad rear camera that includes
- Primary camera: 48MP main camera with LED flash, f/1.6 aperture, Sony IMX598 sensor, gimbal stabilisation along with OIS and EIS.
- Secondary camera: 8MP 120° ultra-wide lens with f/2.2 aperture and 2.5cm macro .
- Tertiary camera: 8MP periscope camera with f/3.4 aperture for 5x optical, 10x hybrid, and 60x digital zoom.
- Quaternary camera: 13MP portrait camera (50mm equivalent) with f/2.46 aperture.
It also comes with Super Night Mode 3.0 with AI noise reduction, Astro mode with Sky Divider Algorithm and night filters, EFB (Eyes Face Body) continuous motion AF tracking for videos.
The vivo X50 Pro is the first smartphone to use the micro-gimbal system, which takes up five times space as an OIS setup to accommodate its suspension parts. As per the company claims, this setup is 3 times better at removing shakes compared to a traditional OIS setup.
It uses mechanical movement by electro-magnetic induction to achieve flexible 3D stabilisation and can cover angles 300% larger than traditional OIS. Under Settings, there are options to calibrate gimbal and it is visible too. The Gimbal Radar, an on-screen animated ball that reflects the gimbal’s movement, lets users know when the frame is stable.
Coming to the performance, the main camera clicks images in 12MP by default. The image quality under broad daylight condition turns out to be good be it details, dynamic range, and saturation. There are options to shoot in 48MP, in case if you want more details. The AI-enabled by default kicks in for scene recognition, and mode suggestion. The quality 8MP Ultra-wide camera is not on par with the primary sensor but offers a decent quality output with some kind of washed-out effects on the sides. Having said that, the color representation is good, with a bit of noise. It also doubles up as a macro sensor, which in our usage does far better than a dedicated macro sensor out in the market. It helps users to shoot as close as 2.5cm distance. The 8MP periscope camera shoots amazing quality under 5X with good details, true to nature colors, and okay-ish contrast. The 13MP camera offers a portrait image with good edge detection and dynamic range.
Overall the camera performance of the vivo X50 Pro at this price point is very good, but it has few flaws, which can be updated through software.
Performance — No complaints
Just like OnePlus Nord, the vivo X50 Pro is powered by the latest Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G 7nm EUV Mobile Platform with Adreno 620 GPU under the hood. This chipset supports 5G as well.
The X50 Pro is fast, and we literally have no complaints. In our usage, we experienced zero lag, zero hitches, and it’s just pure performance. We tried Asphalt 9, Shadow fight 3, COD, and other small games. The gameplay was smooth without any unusual heating.
On the multimedia front, the X50 Pro comes with the bottom-firing speakers. It supports Hi-Res audio, AK4377A amp as well The audio output across all the levels are enjoyable without much distortion at the higher volumes. The sound quality through headphones comes out neat without any complaints. Check out the synthetic benchmark scores below.
Excellent battery backup
The Vivo X50 Pro is powered by a 4315mAh battery with 33W fast charging. Battery life in general in X50 Pro is solid and lasted for more than a day with casual usage. In my usage, I clocked somewhere around 6 and a half hours Screen-On-Time (SOT) consistently in the Smart Switch option. The phone charges speedily as well.
It achieved One Charge Rating of 18 hours and 12 minutes in 60Hz mode, and it should be slightly less in 90Hz mode. It can charge from 0 to 50% in about 22 minutes and 0 to 100% in 59 minutes using the bundled 33W charger.
Why should you avoid it?
FunTouchOS
Let me say it, the UI is subjective! In my case, I kind of feel the FuntouchOS be in terms of customisation or features is overwhelming. At some point, it goes overboard and ruins them.
The vivo X50 Pro runs on Android 10 on top of Funtouch 10.5. It offers numerous customisation options on many levels, has a bunch of pre-installed apps that cannot be uninstalled/disabled, and a proper notification panel, unlike the iOS-like approach.
It has an Always-On display with a slew of options, Dark mode is on point, and has Ultra Game Mode with a bunch of gaming-centric features. This iteration of Funtouch OS is improved and clean with much-needed features. Well, for those who prefer stock/ clean UI with minimal or no bloatware, the vivo X50 Pro is not your cup of tea.
Priced on the higher side
Yes, we get it! Vivo X50 Pro is the first device to feature a gimbal and most of the costs are invested here. Opting Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform could have added extra punch to the device at this price point since there are not many options available in this segment. However, at a flagship price, this device offers a mid-range device performance.
Don’t take it wrong, the overall performance was smooth, but the extra power when it comes to intense gaming and usage is lacking. Also, other features including an IP68 rating and wireless charging you would expect in a phone at this price are missing. But, if you are not too specific about the gimbal feature, there are lots of other options with Snapdragon 865 for less money.