vivo unleashed a potentially unstoppable phone – the vivo X100 Pro could prove to be one of the best phones of 2023, whether you’re looking for a camera phone, a gaming phone or just an all-round flagship.
The camera is equipped with the 1″ Sony IMX989 sensor in the main module. The telephoto module has the first mobile lens to get a Zeiss APO certification and combines a 100mm lens with a 50MP sensor. The 119° ultra wide completes the triple 50MP ensemble.
The vanilla vivo X100 is no slouch either. It has a 50MP main (a 1/1.49″ IMX920 sensor), 64MP periscope (70mm lens) and a 50MP 119° ultra wide.
Both phones are powered by the Dimensity 9300, which set a new AnTuTu record and promises to be 10% faster than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. vivo wasn’t stingy with the RAM and storage and both models top out at 16GB/1TB.
Both have the same 6.78″ LTPO AMOLED display, a super bright 120Hz 10-bit panel that can hit 3,000 nits. It’s not the sharpest at 1,260 x 2,800px, but it’s still better than FHD+.
vivo X100 series highlights
Besides the cameras, the two models also differ in their batteries. The X100 Pro has a bigger 5,260mAh battery with 100W wired (1-50% in 12 minutes) and 50W wireless, the vanilla X100 has a 4,880mAh or 5,000mAh battery (depending on the model) with 120W wired-only charging (1-50% in 11 minutes).
Finally, the price. The vivo X100 starts at CNY 4,000 for the 12/256GB model, the vivo X100 Pro with the same base configuration is CNY 5,000. We only have the Chinese pricing, so that’s what we’ll go with.
The Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro strike back with Leica-branded cameras and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chips. The cameras are a triple 50MP setup with 1/1.31″ main, 75mm tele and 115° ultra wide. They have 4,610mAh and 4,880mAh batteries with 90W and 120W wired charging, respectively, both have 50W wireless. The Pro model has a 6.73″ 120Hz LTPO display (a proper QHD+ panel), the vanilla model is smaller with a 6.36″ 1200p LTPO display.
The Xiaomi 14 also starts at CNY 4,000 (same as the X100) for a model with less RAM (8/256GB configuration). The Xiaomi 14 Pro starts at CNY 5,000 and matches the X100 Pro at 12/256GB.
Xiaomi 14 • Xiaomi 14 Pro
Then there’s the iQOO 12 and 12 Pro, also from vivo. Instead of the Dimensity, these pick the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 as their chipset and have 6.78″ 144Hz displays – 1260p on the vanilla and QHD+ on the Pro. These aren’t as camera-focused as the X-series, but they do okay for themselves with 50MP 1/1.3″ main sensors, 64MP 70mm periscopes and 50MP 119° ultra wides. The battery split is similar – 4,880mAh or 5,000mAh with 120W wired-only charging for the iQOO 12 and 5,100mAh with 120W wired and 50W wireless charging for the Pro.
The iQOO 12 models went on pre-order this week. The vanilla iQOO 12 starts at CNY 4,000 for a 12/256GB phone, the 12 Pro starts at CNY 5,000 for a 16/256GB model.
vivo iQOO 12 • vivo iQOO 12 Pro
There will be more phones with next-gen chipsets and cameras coming soon, of course, but the vivo X100 pair are the first and only Dimensity 9300 phones right now. And their cameras sound better-equipped than their current rivals, but we haven’t gotten a chance to review them yet.
Considering that the X100 and X100 Pro are priced on par with their direct competitors, would you buy one if it was available near you?
Let’s vote for the vivo X100 Pro first:
And now the vanilla vivo X100:
