THE vivo X80 Pro is my favorite flagship of 2022.
There I said it. You can bookmark this page, buy the vivo X80 Pro, and read this a month after and I’m sure you’ll agree.
For many tech reviewers, our usual honeymoon period with a device typically lasts a week (sometimes less), before the excitement fades and we have to move on to the next gadget.
But with the vivo X80 Pro, which I have been using for almost two months now, “It still feels like our first night together,” as Bryan Adams once sang.
I’ve honestly been putting off this review for a few weeks now as it’s actually hard to find something I didn’t like about this phone. To be clear, it’s not perfect, but most of its flaws aren’t really deal-breakers; rather, these areas they could improve in.
Now the challenge is to share all the things I like in less than 1500 words, so let’s get to it!
Let’s start with the packaging. I love that vivo ships its flagships in a totally different box than its other series. The vivo X80 Pro box has an almost leather-like texture and it comes with all the accessories you need—an 80W fast charging adaptor, USB Type-C cable, SIM tray ejector tool, quick start guide, plus a pair of free earphones. And instead of the regular TPU case, vivo included a premium faux leather phone case.
DESIGN: The global version of the vivo X80 Pro is only available in one color, Cosmic Black. The back cover is made of Fluorite AG Glass and resembles a sandblasted finish. It may look rough but it is actually very smooth and the matte finish does a great job of repelling those annoying smudges.
The X80 Pro has a curved display and rear panel, a glass back and an aluminum frame. Weighing 215g, the vivo X80 Pro is heavier than most premium flagship phones, but that extra heft just makes it feel even more durable and incredibly made. It also has IP68 rating and wireless charging support, just like its predecessor.
On the front, it may look like any other smartphone but on the back, it flaunts one of the biggest and most unique-looking camera modules. This Cloud Window 2.0 design balances the round camera module with a square plate. The primary, ultra-wide and one of the telephoto cameras sit inside a circular ring, while the periscopic telephoto camera is placed just below it. My only peeve about this design is the numerous “ZEISS” branding all over that camera module.
DISPLAY AND AUDIO: The vivo X80 Pro sports a gorgeous 2K E5 Ultra Vision Screen and that 6.78-inch 3D Curved Screen is an industry-leading AMOLED display with WQHD+ resolution. The refresh rate reaches 120Hz, while LTPO 3.0 technology enables the display to adjust its refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz to suit the user scenario and optimize the display’s power consumption.
Everything that appears on the screen is incredibly sharp, vivid and smooth as you’d expect from a flagship display. It can display 1 billion colors and supports HDR10+ content and its 1500nits maximum brightness is incredibly bright allowing you to use it even under direct sunlight. I also need to mention that this display also houses the biggest and fastest in-display fingerprint scanner on a phone. You can even assign shortcuts or set it up to recognize two fingerprints at the same time for added security.
The stereo speakers perfectly complement the display and can produce loud crisp audio. I probably binge-watched more shows on the X80 Pro than on any recent device, installing all my streaming accounts on it because it’s just that good—and I don’t even have to worry about the battery.
CAMERAS: “Own Your Masterpiece” is vivo’s main campaign slogan for the X80 series, putting its cameras front and center and for good reason—because the cameras are just insanely good. The vivo X80 Pro has four rear cameras—a new 50MP primary camera that uses a customized Samsung GNV sensor with optical image stabilization (OIS) plus a 48MP ultra-wide-angle camera with autofocus, plus 12MP IMX663 Portrait Camera with vivo’s gimbal stabilization system, and an 8MP 5X Periscope Camera with OIS. For selfies, there’s a 32MP front camera.
There are also a ton of modes you can play with. There’s 50MP high resolution that also supports 48MP wide-angle shots; Night, Portrait, Photo, Video and Pro. Tap “MORE” and you get access to Panorama, Live Photo, SloMo, Time Lapse, AR Stickers, Supermoon, UltraHD Document, Astro, Sports, Long Exposure, Double Exposure, Dual View, and even AI Group Portrait. AI Group Portraits work great with a group of three or more people so you can still have that bokeh effect without blurring your other friend’s faces.
Brands usually like to oversell their smartphone cameras, and I doubted vivo’s camera capabilities even when they partnered with Zeiss. But I am a grown man and I can admit my mistake.
All the hype about its camera performance and gimbal stabilization system? Well deserved. If you are a content creator and you don’t want to carry around a big camera, the vivo X80 Pro has you covered. Better than the iPhone 13 series? Definitely.
I do have to mention that Zeiss mode you see onscreen. If you aren’t a fan of the slightly saturated colors the X80 Pro captures by default, you can enable Zeiss mode for more true-to-life hues.
With everyone doing reels, I’ve also started shooting more videos recently. The vivo X80 Pro can shoot up to 8K videos at 30fps but I got the best results at 4K and 1080p as stabilization remained excellent, with great details, sharpness and contrast.
PERFORMANCE AND BATTERY: The vivo X80 Pro is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor paired with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. As expected, everything was fast and snappy, and I never encountered any slowdown or frustrations during those times I really needed to open multiple browser windows, switch between apps, and use the camera for those quick snapshots. It’s like having the most efficient personal assistant.
The X80 Pro has a 4700mAh battery inside it, which considering its size is smaller than those found on other flagship phones. Still, it was able to outlast my former favorite flagship in terms of battery, which is why it got promoted quickly and became my primary daily driver.
FINAL WORD: The vivo X80 Pro is a fantastic phone and I think it’s actually the best one made by vivo so far. In terms of photography, the collaboration between vivo and Zeiss is turning out to be the
pairing to beat, as the X80 Pro’s camera is the most fun I’ve tried. In a few years’ time, we’ll probably look back to the vivo X80 Pro as a turning point for the brand, rewriting the stars and earning its place among the finest of flagship phones.