Vivo X90 Pro+, World’s first Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Phone, Goes on Sale

On Nov. 22, Vivo held a launch event in China to announce the Vivo X90 series of smartphones. The Vivo X90 and X90 Pro, which feature the latest Dimensity 9200 chip, are already available for purchase in China. Starting today, the Vivo X90 Pro+ can also be purchased in the home market.

The Vivo X90 Pro+ is the world’s first smartphone to feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform. The flagship phone comes in two configurations, such as 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage and 12 GB RAM + 512 GB storage. These variants are priced at 6,499 Yuan (~$931) and 6,999 Yuan (~$1,003), respectively. It comes in two colors: China Red and Original Black.

Vivo X90 Pro+ Specifications

The Vivo X90 Pro+ is an IP68-rated dustproof and water-resistant phone featuring a 6.78-inch AMOLED LTPO 4.0 display, which offers a Quad HD+ resolution, up to 120Hz refresh rate, and up to 1,800 nits of brightness. The punch-hole display has curved edges and an under-display fingerprint scanner.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-powered device comes with up to 12 GB of LPDDR5x RAM and up to 512 GB of UFS 4.0 storage. It houses a 4,700mAh battery that supports 80W fast charging. It also supports 50W wireless charging.

For selfies, the Vivo X90 Pro+ has a 32-megapixel front camera. The rear camera setup of the phone has a 1-inch, 50-megapixel Sony IMX989 primary camera with OIS support. It is coupled with a 48-megapixel ultra-wide lens, a 50-megapixel telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom and OIS support, and a 64-megapixel periscope telephoto camera with OIS and 3.5x optical zoom. The X90 Pro+ offers other features like dual SIM support, 5G, dual-frequency GPS, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, dual stereo speakers, and a USB-C port.

Vivo X90 Pro Plus Camera is Insane!!!

1-inch main camera and an impressive periscope lens that gives you up to 100X zoom

And while Vivo is not the first company to use that sensor, it has perfected it, so much so that the company has the confidence to say that this camera is the “King of one-inch sensors”.

This main camera comes with a fast, f/1.75 aperture lens, maximizing the light that reaches the sensor, plus Vivo uses a special lens coating with Zeiss T* technology that reduces glare and ghosting. The company says the lens has an extremely high Abbe rating, a measurement of light dispersion. The higher the number, the better, and in the case of the Vivo X90 Pro Plus it reaches 81.6, while your typical plastic lens is usually rated at around 30.

In addition to the main sensor superstar, you also have not one, but two telephoto cameras. The first one is rather unique: it’s a 50mm portrait lens with f/1.6 aperture and fixed focus, and those who value portrait photography would really appreciate this “nifty fifty” lens.

The second one is a periscope-style 3.5X zoom lens with a 64MP sensor. Vivo uses some software magic and supports up to 100X digital zoom. Vivo is not the first with such a camera, we came away extremely impressed with the 3.5X camera on the Huawei Mate 50 Pro, which also goes to 100X, so we are very hopeful this one is even better.

All of the cameras except for the ultra-wide come with optical image stabilization (OIS), which is especially helpful on the zoom lenses.

Finally, we have a fourth, ultra-wide angle camera with a lens optimized to reduce distortions. This one uses a 48MP Sony IMX598 sensor and comes with a 114-degree field of view. 

Along with 4K video, you can also record 8K quality video at 30fps on the X90 Pro Plus. It supports color calibration with a gray card, so you get that white balance just right. You can also pick between a Zeiss Natural Video 2.0 style or a more saturated Vivo Vivid Color mode.

You also have support for Dolby Vision and LOG, and you can snap away photos at a zippy 10fps rate while recording videos.

The Vivo X90 Pro Plus will first release in China with a MediaTek chip. Pre-sales in China kick off on November 28th and the launch date is set for December 6th. Vivo did not mention when or whether the rest of the world will get this phone, but chances are that it will arrive in other countries at a later point (and it’s likely that the international model will run on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2).

The price is flagship-grade but not crazy high: the base 12GB RAM + 256GB storage model retails for around $910 (or 6,500 Chinese yuan), while the beefed-up model with 12GB RAM + 512GB storage goes for around $980 (or 7,000 yuan).

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