Review of the Vivo X100 Pro: the phone with the best camera in 2024
Having been released in India in 2019, Vivo’s X series is still relatively new there. Over this time, the company has produced a number of remarkable flagship phones with excellent cameras targeted at photography enthusiasts. We got a phone last year with the Vivo X90 Pro (review), which was an impressive package that included design and hardware in addition to the cameras. The Vivo X100 Pro, which is now available in India, seeks to surpass the features of the Review of the Vivo X90 Pro.
Verdict
With its adaptable triple rear camera system supported by ZEISS, the Vivo X100 Pro is unquestionably one of the greatest camera phones available today. The Vivo X100 Pro boasts a dependable camera system in addition to a gorgeous display, lightning-fast charging, and a snappy performance thanks to the Dimensity 9300 chipset.
Style and Presentation
- FHD+ AMOLED display, 6.78-inch
- 3000 nits of brightness and a 120 Hz refresh rate
- Fluorite glass rear, weighing 225 grams
- Colour: Asteroid Black
- IP68 classification for water and dust resistance
There are some obvious changes as well, even though the Vivo X100 Pro attempts to keep some of the X90 Pro’s general design language. The largest is the rear camera module, which has been enlarged to accommodate bigger sensors. The design of the rear camera has a few noteworthy features. First of all, the sun halo-inspired crescent shape on the mirror-finish stainless steel outer case makes it nonuniform, and its absence might agitate some people! The rims are trimmed in a style that draws inspiration from Rolex watch bezels. The phone sits at an angle on a flat surface due to the protrusion of the rear camera module.
The vegan leather we saw on the X90 Pro is replaced with a matte finish on the fluorite glass panel on the back. Compared to a regular glass back phone, the leather finish offered a sense of premiumness that I found more appealing. In spite of this, the Vivo X100 Pro is still a stylish phone that is comfortable to hold, despite being incredibly slippery. The cover that comes in the box will be something that a lot of people will want to slap on. The phone weighs 225 grams, which is a bit more than average because of its larger battery and camera module.
Now for the display: an 8T LTPO panel from BOE powers a 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen. The display has a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz, a 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, and a stunning peak brightness of 3000 nits. The screen is somewhat curved on the edges, and the bezels surrounding the display are generally thin. A great viewing experience with lots of brightness, sharpness, vibrant colors, and favorable viewing angles is provided by the combination of all of these factors. Additionally, the display has up to 2,160Hz PWM dimming, which lessens screen flicker and aids in eye protection.
Cameras
- Rear: 50 MP ZEISS APPO Floating Periscope lens + 50 MP ultra-wide angle lens + 50 MP IMX989 primary sensor
- Front: 32MP sensor
The main feature of the Vivo X100 Pro is its array of versatile ZEISS-backed cameras. Three 50MP sensors are included in the rear camera module to provide consistency in various modes. Before we get started, let me clarify that there are a lot of things to sort through. The cameras are
fantastic.
The 50MP primary camera has a 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor, which produces clear, colorful images with good dynamic range when taken outside in daylight. With lots of light available, you won’t notice any noise in your pictures. Excellent details and dynamic range can also be obtained by using the telephoto lens at a 4.3x optical zoom, which is ideal for taking fast close-ups. The primary camera performs admirably in dimly lit environments and produces minimal audible noise. I captured some amazing nighttime photos on a busy street in Hong Kong. Look it over.
The camera app features a carousel to switch between Photo, Video, Portrait, Night, Cinematic Portrait Video, and other options, making it fairly simple to use. In addition to 0.6x ultra-wide, preset zoom levels of 2x, 4.3x, and 10x are available. You can use the Supermacro mode to take close-up pictures of food, flowers, or insects—ideally not all at once—by clicking on the flower icon located at the top of the viewfinder.
In daylight, the wide-angle lens performs admirably, providing a 119-degree field of view that largely maintains color consistency with the main camera. However, there were times, particularly in low light, when the overall brightness appeared muted in comparison to a regular photo of the same scene.
The real fun starts with the telephoto camera! The 4.3x optical zoom capability of the 50MP floating telephoto lens allows it to function flawlessly in the majority of lighting situations. Although I rarely found myself wanting to take 100x shots, the lens can digitally zoom all the way up to 100x. The best results are obtained when zooming in at 4.3x and 10x. Here, the stabilization is good, enabling you to take clear zoom pictures.
The Multi-Focal Portrait mode is a significant supporting feature here. Apart from the various focal lengths available for capturing portraits—24mm (1x), 35mm (1.5x), 50mm (2.2x), 85mm (3.7x), and 100mm (4.3x)—Vivo has also integrated ZEISS-style portraits, such as Distagon, B-Speed, Biotar, Planar, Cinematic, and B-speed. You can get some really lovely portrait photos in both low- and high-light situations by combining the focal lengths and ZEISS Portrait styles.
The Telephoto Sunshot is another feature that is worth mentioning. It utilizes both hardware and software to produce visually appealing images at sunrise and sunset. I discovered that the feature enhanced colors, making the sun appear more orange than it actually was, when I took some pictures of the Hong Kong sunset. Undoubtedly, this produced more dramatic images that are appealing to post on social media but may not be entirely accurate to life.
We were not as impressed by the 32MP selfie camera as we were by the rear cameras. In good lighting, it captures respectable selfies with sufficient colors and details, but in low light, the front camera often produces unflattering results, softening facial features and blowing out highlights.
Performance and software
- MediaTek 9300 Dimensity
- 16GB LPDDR5X RAM, 512GB UFS 4.0 storage
- Android 14 with Funtouch OS 14
The first phone in India to use the new MediaTek Dimensity 9300 chipset is the Vivo X100 Pro. This is MediaTek’s flagship chipset, with four Cortex-X4 performance cores clocked at up to 3.25GHz and four Cortex-A720 efficiency cores clocked at up to 2.0GHz. The chipset received a 2,010,948 score on AnTuTu. We received single-core and multi-core scores on Geekbench of 2210 and 6821, respectively. The chipset is clearly a strong competitor to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which received scores of 2,073,660 on AnTuTu and 2223 and 6799 on Geekbench when paired with the iQOO 12. In benchmark tests, the Dimensity 7300 performs better in some areas, such as the AnTuTu CPU and Geekbench multi-core tests, but overall the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 prevails.
You won’t be able to distinguish between the two chipsets in practical use. With 16GB of onboard memory, the Vivo X100 Pro offers smooth multitasking and is undoubtedly one of the fastest Android phones available today. I used the device for a while, and I never experienced any lag or slowdown in any of my favorite apps—Chrome, Gmail, WhatsApp, or Twitter.
Funtouch OS 14, which is based on Android 14 and is essentially identical to Funtouch OS 13, was shipped with the Vivo X100 Pro last year. Along with Vivo’s app suite, there are some pre-installed apps like Candy Crush, Block Blast, and PhonePe. The user interface is comparatively simple. You can restore a more stock appearance by uninstalling the third-party apps.FuntouchOS may seem easy to use once you’ve taken the time to customize the user interface to your preferences.
Battery life
- Battery: 5,400mAh
- Fast charging: 100W wired, 50W wireless
- 0-100% charge time: 30 minutes
The 5,400mAh battery in the Vivo X100 Pro is substantially larger than the 4,870mAh cell in the X90 Pro. With moderate to heavy use, this bump provides the Vivo X100 Pro with enough battery life to last the entire day plus some more. As previously stated, the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 is a high-performance chipset with many cores, which means that battery life tends to decrease when using intensive apps like graphically demanding games, cameras, etc. Thus, the type of apps you use on any given day will determine how long your battery lasts. The Vivo X100 Pro performed admirably, lasting just over 16 hours in our PCMark Battery test.
The Vivo X100 Pro can only handle 100W charging, even though it comes with a 120W charging brick. This represents a slight decrease from the Vivo X90 Pro’s 120W support. According to 91mobiles, Vivo took this action to guarantee effective heat dissipation during charging in order to preserve the battery’s integrity. In practice, you won’t notice the difference in charging times because the Vivo X100 Pro charges to 80 percent in 20 minutes and to 100 percent in just 30. It’s great that the flagship also supports 50W wireless charging.
Final judgment
The Vivo X100 Pro is an illustration of the company’s positive direction. With its amazing AMOLED display, fantastic and adaptable camera system, and lightning-fast charging, the flagship phone is nearly perfect in every way. A strong flagship chipset, the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 matches the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC in speed and performance. A sizable 5,400mAh battery that can run on moderate to high usage for a day and a half is the cherry on top.
The Vivo X100 Pro, which retails for Rs 89,999, is more expensive than its competitors, including the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the iPhone 15 Plus. It’s safe to say that the Vivo X100 Pro holds its own and is a solid choice for people searching for the greatest phone cameras in 2024. Even though the Dimensty 9300 is a strong performer, if performance is your top priority, the iQOO 12 is available for a lot less money.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Why purchase a Vivo X100 Pro?
- Great rear cameras, particularly the ZEISS-exclusive telephoto lens.
- AMOLED display that is vivid and bright and offers good viewing angles and sharpness.
- The MediaTek Dimensity 9300 chipset is a quick and robust processor that can manage almost any task.
- a large battery for a dependable backup and support for 120W fast charging.
Why not purchase a Vivo X100 Pro
- In low light, selfie cameras have a tendency to blow out highlights and soften selfies.
- It will need a case because the back matte glass panel is very slick.
