Vivo recently launched the new Vivo X50 Series of smartphones. There was the Vivo X50 Pro which is a high-end flagship and the Vivo X50 which offers value for money while not skipping the most essential features. The camera is the USP of the all-new Vivo X50 and the phone surely performs on par expectations. The Vivo X50 base variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage is priced at ₹ 34,990, while the top variant with 8GB RAM & 256GB storage is priced at ₹ 37,990. I got the base variant with 8GB RAM & 128GB storage and I used it for like almost two weeks till now. Here’s my full review of Vivo X50.
Vivo X50 Review – More Than the Specs, Better Than You Expect!
But before we jump into the actual review, here are the quick specs of Vivo X50.
- 6.56-inch (2376×1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19.8:9 E3 AMOLED 90Hz HDR10+ (3D curved for X50 Pro) display with 105% NTSC color gamut, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, up to 1300 nit brightness
- Octa-Core (2.2GHz Dual + 1.8GHz Hexa) Snapdragon 730 8nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 618 GPU
- 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, 128GB (UFS 2.1) / 256GB (UFS 2.1) storage
- Android 10 with Funtouch OS 10.5
- Dual SIM
- 48MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.6 aperture, Sony IMX598 sensor, four-axis OIS, 8MP 120° ultra-wide lens with f/2.2 aperture, 13MP portrait bokeh camera (50mm equivalent) with f/2.48 aperture, 5MP 1.5cm super macro with f/2.48 aperture, 2x optical zoom, 20 digital zoom
- 32MP front-facing camera with f/2.48 aperture
- In-display fingerprint sensor
- USB Type-C Audio, Hi-Res audio, 3 microphones for audio zoom
- Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, NFC, USB Type-C
- 4200mAh battery with 33W fast charging
The specs of the phone look impressive on paper, but do they really reflect on the performance of the phone in day to day life? Let’s find out.
Built & Design
Vivo X50 has a glass and metal body with glass on both the front and the back with an aluminum side rail. The phone is quite slim with a thickness of just 7.49mm. The corners maintain a subtle uniform curve. The Vivo X50 feels quite premium to hold and it’s not heavy.
On the front, the Vivo X50 has a 6.56 inch full HD AMOLED panel with 2.5D glass and a punch-hole camera. There’s an in-display fingerprint scanner. On the back, at the top left corner, there is the rectangular camera module that blends well with the overall footprint of the phone. The camera module houses four camera sensors along with an LED flash. On the right side rail there is the power button and volume rockers while on the left edge, there is the SIM card tray. The bottom of the phone houses the USB-C port for charging and data transfer, which is also used for connecting audio devices as there is no headphone jack. Along with the USB-C port, there is the speaker grille.
Display
As mentioned earlier, the Vivo X50 has a 6.56 inch full HD AMOLED panel with 2.5D glass. The display offers a resolution of 1080×2376. The screen-to-body ratio is impressive with 92.8% as there are very slim bezels around the display. The display offers DCI-P3 Color Gamut & HDR10 producing rich & accurate color and a wider dynamic range for video content. The display is bright and vibrant and the sunlight readability is good enough.
As it’s an AMOLED panel, you can be sure that the display will be consuming less power compared to an IPS LCD panel. The display has a refresh rate of 90Hz so that everything feels very smooth and I particularly enjoyed scrolling through Reddit and Twitter on this device. The touch response time is 180ms, so it helps in tasks like gaming. There is an in-display fingerprint scanner that is fast and accurate. Overall, I’m quite pleased with the display on the Vivo X50 with a high refresh rate.
Performance
On paper, the Vivo X50 specs don’t impress everyone, but everyone forgets that this phone is more focussed on photography. However, in real life, the performance is quite good for everyone. The phone is powered by Qualcomm’s mid-range Snapdragon 730G chipset coupled with 8GB of RAM. I used the phone mostly for tasks like browsing the web and social media, emails, streaming music, and video content, and some gaming. During regular tasks, there are no noticeable lags.
Multitasking works like a charm and there are no issues while switching between the already opened apps in the background. The RAM management is quite good with no aggressive behavior killing idle apps in the background. I also played games like PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, 8 Ball Pool & Clash Royale. While you can easily get the best kind of performance in games like Clash Royale and 8 Ball Pool, in heavy games like PUBG Mobile or Call of Duty Mobile as well the gameplay experience was satisfactory. During heavy gaming sessions, the phone heats up just a little bit but the temperature range is within the comfort zone.
Camera
Vivo X50 is a camera-centric phone and I was already expecting a lot. Gladly the phone didn’t disappoint me at all. However, Vivo has made quite a different kind of lenses for its X50. There is a primary Sony IMX598 48-megapixel rear camera with an f/1.6 aperture. The primary sensor has got Optical Image Stabilization. Along with that, there are three more lenses- an 8-megapixel 120° ultra-wide lens with f/2.2 aperture, a 13-megapixel portrait lens with f/2.48 aperture and a 5-megapixel 1.5cm super macro with f/2.48 aperture. The Vivo X50 offers a 2x optical zoom and up to 20x digital zoom.
The main camera captures sharp impressive shots in broad daylight. The colors are punchy, saturation levels, and the dynamic range is good. Even in low lighting conditions, the main camera with f/1.6 aperture managed to click some good pictures. The 8-megapixel wide-angle camera captures decent shots. There is a dedicated depth sensor and with it, I experimented a bit and tried to take some shots while the lens is covered and even without that bokeh lens the phone managed to pull off some nicely composed portraits. The macro lens works fine, but it could be a lot better if Vivo could add at least an 8-megapixel lens.
In terms of video, the phone is capable of recording videos at up to 4K at 30 fps and the output is awesome I would say. The combination of OIS and EIS makes it possible for anyone to record videos while holding the phone and walking, without degrading the video quality.
The Vivo X50 offers quite a few camera modes including extreme night vision for super low light photos. This mode helps a lot while taking shots under very low light. There are also a few night filters to enhance photos. There is also a Pro Sports Mode, assisted by Motion Auto Focus which offers quick exposure and shutter speed for taking shots of moving objects for some amazing shots. It’s quite hard to explain everything in writing so here are some camera samples for you. Look and judge yourself.
In terms of selfies, the Vivo X50 comes with a single 32-megapixel punch-hole camera with f/2.48 aperture. The selfie shooter clicks some nice sharp shots with a good amount of detail and the camera also works well in dim environments, making it a good contender against many other phones which offer a good rear camera setup but suck in terms of selfies.
Software
Vivo X50 runs Android 10 out of the box with Vivo’s own FunTouch OS 10 skin on top. FunTouch OS 10 is a blend of the old and new, as it retains some of the old, most-loved features while bringing a new fresh look and improving the user experience. The FunTouch OS 10 is much improved and packed with features.
The new FunTouch OS 10 brings performance improvements, quick sharing features, new system dynamics, and minimalistic design. The Vivo X50 also brings DocVault which uses the Government of India’s Digilocker platform as an authorized partner. It’s very useful for easily managing documents on the go.
There is the system-wide dark mode which reduces strain on the eyes and as Vivo X50 comes with an AMOLED display, the dark mode would also help save power. There is also the new Desktop Mode where the phone would switch to a desktop mode when you connect your phone to an external monitor. Along with these, there are other features like easier file sharing, new privacy-focused settings, multitasking via floating windows, and much more. The UI has improved a lot when we look back and the overall experience with the FunTouch OS on Vivo X50 has been really good.
Battery
The Vivo X50 packs a 4200mAh battery which seems to be quite good. The phone saves quite a bit of power if you use dark mode. However, if you normally use the phone without the dark mode, then also, you can get a full day usage easily and may need to plug it in by the end of the phone. I mostly charge my phone overnight but when I forgot to plug it in once, then also, by the time I wake up and leave home, I could easily get the phone charged up to 78% thanks to the ultra-fast 33W charging.
Final Verdict
Vivo X50 is a phone that you can rely on for video creation. The camera on the phone is really good, the device feels premium and due to the design, the phone quite reminds of Huawei. A high refresh rate AMOLED panel, solid battery, and stable performance, along with superfast 33W charging make the Vivo X50 phone quite a complete package for most users.
Pros
- Premium build & design
- Great photo & video capturing capabilities
- 90Hz AMOLED display
Cons
- Single Bottom firing speaker
This is great feature on this Phone. super Almond display. Camera design is super. Camera PX is excellent. Processor and Ram is good. Speed is super. For gaming, it works smoothly. Overall good quality of the product.
It is really cool I love it. Works great, insanely long battery life even with continuous use, and it is just so smooth. The phone itself even feels high quality. Camera quality is superb, Its take picture in night mode that picture quality awesome. I love this product that gives awesome quality products. Its a fully secure phone.