Vivo x60 Pro Plus review: Putting the phone’s gimbal camera to the test
Our Verdict
Vivo goes in its own direction with the ultra premium Vivo x60 Pro Plus, which pays off when information technology comes to photography. Information technology's the unpleasant user experience and the poor availability that cost information technology a recommendation, though.
For
- Zeiss-enhanced bokeh and zoom photos
- Gimbal-stabilized video
- Compact, classy design
Against
- Pocket-size battery
- Irritating software
- Not sold in the U.S
Tom's Guide Verdict
Vivo goes in its own management with the ultra premium Vivo x60 Pro Plus, which pays off when it comes to photography. It'southward the unpleasant user experience and the poor availability that price information technology a recommendation, though.
Pros
- +
Zeiss-enhanced bokeh and zoom photos
- +
Gimbal-stabilized video
- +
Compact, classy design
Cons
- -
Small bombardment
- -
Irritating software
- -
Not sold in the U.S
Vivo x60 Pro Plus: Specs
Starting price: TBA
Display: six.56 inches, FHD AMOLED (2376 ten 1080)
Refresh rate: 60Hz/120Hz
Rear cameras: 50MP main (f/1.57), 48MP ultrawide (f/2.2), 32MP (f/2.08), 8MP (f/three.4)
Front end camera: 32MP
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
RAM: 12GB
Storage: 256GB
Bombardment: 4,200 mAh
Charging: 55W wired
Operating system: Android eleven with Funtouch Bone 11.i
Size: 158.59 × 73.35 × 9.10mm
Weight: 6.7 ounces (191g)
You lot can't accuse the Vivo x60 Pro Plus of being a by-the-numbers phone. This top-of-the-range Android handset may seem like other Ultra or Pro phones on the surface, just it boasts some unique tricks that could boost the phone's appeal, at least for a select audience.
The Vivo x60 Pro Plus comes with a congenital-in gimbal that delivers smoother video than what you'd see from rival smartphones. Plus, Vivo'south teammates at Zeiss accept made sure the phone takes still images just as skillfully.
Sadly, other parts of the Vivo X60 Pro Plus experience don't stand up so well. Besides that, the fact you lot plainly can't buy this telephone in the U.Grand. yet, or in the U.S. at all, hurts its broad entreatment. Our Vivo x60 Pro Plus review finds a phone you have to capeesh for its technical achievements, even if that doesn't translate into a purchase.
Vivo x60 Pro Plus review: Price and release appointment
Vivo phones are sold in the U.One thousand., but the Chinese phone maker has notwithstanding to announce availability for the x60 range, including the Pro Plus. Vivo doesn't operate in the U.S., which means no matter how good this phone is, you're better off buying a dissimilar telephone rather than trying to import one.
The last generation, the Vivo x51 5G, started at £749, putting it on par with current phones like the Xiaomi Mi xi. Nonetheless the x51 used a Snapdragon 765G chipset, which is a step below the Snapdragon 888 found in the x60. Therefore you should await the X60 Pro Plus' price to exist higher.
There'south but a single model of the x60 Pro Plus available, which offers 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.
Vivo x60 Pro Plus review: Design
With a central punch-hole and curved edges on the brandish, blueprint and characteristic set of the Vivo X60 Pro Plus looks similar to the Samsung Milky way S21 Ultra, although Vivo's phone is much smaller.
It's more than an ounce lighter than the Ultra, (6.7 ounces compared to 8.ane), and about a third of an inch smaller (vi.56 inches compared to 6.8 inches). While large phones have their place, it'due south skillful to see Vivo make a range-topping phone that's a more manageable size.
Y'all normally have a option of either Orangish or Emperor Blue vegan leather backs for the x60 Pro Plus, but blueish is the but available finish in the U.K. A leather finish is a swish way of differentiating the phone from the boilerplate drinking glass-backed flagship, every bit is the sharp-looking rectangular photographic camera block with its tiny Zeiss badge. It'south one of the well-nigh mature-looking phones I've tried out this year.
Vivo x60 Pro Plus review: Display
The x60 Pro Plus' display isn't quite as large as the 6.viii-inch Galaxy S21 Ultra or half dozen.7-inch OnePlus 9 Pro, but at vi.56 inches, you've still got plenty of display to work with.. Vivo's screen also has a lower resolution than about equivalent phones —FHD instead of QHD.
You can choose betwixt 60Hz and 120Hz refresh rate modes, plus a "Smart Switch" pick to jump betwixt them to conserve battery. That's a welcome feature, but it doesn't compare to the fully variable LTPO displays equally yous have on the Samsung Milky way S21 Ultra or the OnePlus ix Pro.
Watching the trailer for Netflix's The Irregulars showed that the x60 can adeptly show off the show'due south foreign twist on Victorian London, with crisp shadows and brightly colored clothing. The phone'south audio doesn't match up to the visuals, however, as Vivo only fitted the x60 with a single speaker rather than the more common dual-firing set-upwards you get on most flagship Androids.
Vivo x60 Pro Plus review: Cameras
Cameras are where Vivo wants the x60 Pro Plus to stand out. You lot get four rear cameras with the x60 — a 50MP main shooter, a 48MP ultrawide lens, a 32MP portrait sensor with 2x zoom and an 8MP telephoto lens. That latter telephoto lens features 5x optical and 60x maximum zoom. There's a 32MP selfie cam on the telephone's front.
I tested the x60 Pro Plus against the iPhone 12 Pro, starting with a main sensor shot of the Readymoney Drinking Fountain in Regent's Park. The texture of the marble and granite comes beyond every bit well in both shots, but I dislike how much darker the x60'due south epitome is compared to the iPhone'south.
One of Vivo's large new features this twelvemonth is its new partnership with German language lensmaker Zeiss. This brings Zeiss' imaging system to the x60's cameras along with a T* anti-cogitating lens blanket, which should help avoid unwanted "ghosting" effects when you lot accept the camera aimed at a bright object.
You can see something is obviously dissimilar when comparing these ii nighttime shots of Tufnell Park Secret station. The flare of light coming off of the street lamp is much less disruptive in the x60 Pro'southward shot, and has a pleasant looking green tinge. However looking at the entire photo, I'd say the iPhone offers a amend prototype thanks to its overall brightness.
I used the ultrawide lenses to have a look within this hollowed-out log, and found the Vivo offers much improve colors, whether it's the rain-slick exterior or the dry out, darkened interior. That makes sense, since not only does the x60 offer more than megapixels (48MP to 12MP), its sensor is approximately 40% larger than the iPhone's, which makes a big difference when it comes to capturing light and color.
The x60's main telephoto lens offers 5x optical zoom, which I used to peek over the fence into ZSL London Zoo to check out the Bactrian camel enclosure. In that location is no competition between the two images since the iPhone's optical zoom maxes out at 2x, and has to apply digital zoom to make upwardly the remainder, resulting in a lower resolution image.
In that location's also the Vivo's 2x zoom photographic camera. While y'all can use this for telephoto shots, its stated purpose is for portrait-mode images. I fix a self-portrait with a tripod in my back garden, and the result is the best bokeh effect I've ever seen on a smartphone. The iPhone'south image is great when it comes to colour, and provides a nice background blur of its own, but this is the x60 Pro Plus' strongest shot.
The merely camera left to expect at is the selfie camera. These portrait manner shots testify the iPhone is better at picking out the boundary between my head and the sky and trees, making for an overall cleaner image. However I practise quite like the natural highlights on the x60's photograph, more than so than the flatter paradigm Apple's post-processing has provided.
Vivo x60 Pro Plus review: Video
The x60 Pro Plus' party fob comes from the ultrawide sensor'south Gimbal Stabilization 2.0, an evolution of the one found on the Vivo x50. It'south meant to deed merely like the full-size stabilization systems you run across used with professional video cameras, only this one'southward minor plenty to fit inside the adequately slim camera block on the x60'due south back.
Most flagship phones, including the iPhone 12 Pro, offering optical image stabilization (OIS) on select cameras alongside electronic epitome stabilization (EIS) on all sensors. A gimbal is essentially OIS on steroids, but the only unfortunate matter is that the gimbal is mounted on the x60 Pro Plus' ultrawide sensor rather than the chief sensor. Information technology means you don't get access to the improve stabilization when trying to take normal photos.
To test the paradigm stabilization, I recorded a brief walk through a tree-lined path near the top of Primrose Hill. I noticed the gimbal's influence quite easily compared to other smartphone videos considering the motion-picture show in the viewfinder was slow to alter management as the phone tried to continue the image from shaking. Information technology felt like the frame was gently swaying, unlike the equivalent iPhone recording. While the iPhone-shot footage was still passably smoothen, information technology more obviously impacted by each stride.
Trying a sweeping shot from a bridge over the Regent's Culvert, the impact of the x60'due south gimbal was less obvious. It'south as well hither that I noticed that the iPhone produced more vivid color in its video, which is perhaps more of a priority for the average video-taking smartphone user than extra-smooth footage.
Yet, the gimbal is an impressive achievement by Vivo, and its unique identify in the market makes the x60 Pro Plus more appealing to smartphone videographers who want their clips to stand out.
Vivo x60 Pro Plus review: Operation
The Vivo x60 Pro Plus should be a summit performer. The phone offers the 2021 premium flagship staples of 12GB RAM and a Snapdragon 888 system-on-chip, plus Vivo's secret weapon, extended RAM mode. This allows for 3GB of virtual RAM to be created within the x60's spacious 256GB of storage, giving the phone a boost when required.
All that horsepower looks to have had a modest effect on our benchmarking tests. The x60 Pro Plus managed Geekbench v scores of ane,133 single core and 3,756 multi-core, which beats both the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (1,123 and iii,440) and the OnePlus 9 Pro (1,126 and 3,685). Vivo'due south phone even beats the iPhone 12 Pro on the multicore exam, although Apple's A14 flake all the same beats the competition on single core performance (i,585 and 3,669).
Putting the x60 Pro Plus through the 3DMark Wild Life graphics benchmark resulted in a score of 5,712 and an boilerplate frame rate of 34.2 frames per 2d. That's a little ameliorate than the Galaxy S21 Ultra (five,653 and 33.9fps), and a little worse than the OnePlus 9 Pro (5,756 and 34.5fps). It's far backside the iPhone 12 Pro though (vi,618 and 39.0fps).
Vivo x60 Pro Plus review: 5G
Thanks to the congenital-in modem in the Snapdragon 888 chipset, the x60 Pro Plus has 5G past default. However, the phone only offers compatibility with sub-6GHz frequency bands according to Vivo'southward official list of supported 5G bands. This won't be a problem for U.K. users, as all carriers currently apply this range of bands, but looking at the available bands, simply T-Mobile 5G is supported among U.S. options. (Perchance another reason the phone isn't likely to reach the U.S.)
Vivo x60 Pro Plus review: Battery and charging
The x60 Pro Plus' 4,200 mAh battery seems low capacity for an ultimate flagship, even ane that'south smaller than many phablets. Running downward the battery from 15% to zero by playing YouTube videos took about 3 hours and 51 minutes, which isn't that long in my experience. Information technology makes sense when you remember the screen's 120Hz refresh rate taxes the x60 Pro Plus' bombardment.
Vivo throws a 55W fast charger in the box, which fills the phone upwardly to 48% in 15 minutes, 80% in xxx minutes and to 100% in 46 minutes. 55W is not the near powerful charger effectually, but given the smaller capacity of the x60 Pro Plus, it makes sense that you don't need so many watts to accuse it at an passably fast speed.
Vivo x60 Pro Plus review: Software
Vivo's Funtouch OS xi is far from my favorite version of Android 11. There are many bloatware apps plus Vivo'south own V-Appstore, which not only regularly bugs you lot to use it, but and so notifies you every fourth dimension it completes an update. It'south very annoying.
The other key part of the user experience, the haptic feedback, is weak. Borer the keys feels nice and poppy merely don't have the strength that yous become on the best systems similar those in the Google Pixel 5 or the OnePlus 9 series.
Vivo x60 Pro Plus vs. Vivo x60 Pro vs. Vivo x60
Vivo includes two other models in the x60 range, the base X60 and the Pro version. The biggest differences betwixt the three models involves the number of cameras, the charging speed and the chipsets. Curiously, the standard x60 gets the largest battery, although it is the simply member of the range without a gimbal camera.
Vivo x60 | x60 Pro | x60 Pro Plus | |
Display | 6.56-inch AMOLED, FHD (1080 ten 2376) | 6.56-inch AMOLED, FHD (1080 ten 2376) | 6.56-inch AMOLED, FHD (1080 ten 2376) |
Refresh charge per unit | 60Hz/120Hz | 60Hz/120Hz | 60Hz/120Hz |
Rear cameras | 48MP main, 13MP ultrawide, 13MP telephoto with 2x optical zoom | 48MP gimbal-stablized chief, 13MP ultrawide, 13MP telephoto with 2x optical zoom | 50MP main, 48MP gimbal-stabilized ultrawide, 32MP portrait telephoto with 2x optical zoom, 8MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom |
Front photographic camera | 32MP | 32MP | 32MP |
Chipset | Snapdragon 870 | Snapdragon 870 | Snapdragon 888 |
RAM | 8GB/12GB | 12GB | 12GB |
Storage | 128GB/256GB | 256GB | 256GB |
Battery | four,300 mAh | 4,200 mAh | 4,200 mAh |
Charging | 33W wired | 33W wired | 33W wired |
What doesn't change is the overall size of the phones, including screen size, resolution and refresh rates. While the design of each phone is almost identical, the standard and Pro models use drinking glass backs rather than the Pro Plus' vegan leather, and both offer alternative colors to the Pro Plus pictured in this review.
Vivo x60 Pro Plus review: Verdict
Although not the near well-rounded Android phone we've seen, in that location are withal reasons why U.Southward. smartphone shoppers ought to be a little jealous of the U.Yard. and other countries where the Vivo x60 series is offered.
Unfortunately, the x60 Pro Plus' total photo package doesn't quite lucifer upwardly to the best camera phones, and it's far less pleasant to utilize than other Android devices considering of its cluttered custom launcher and below-boilerplate battery life.
However, the gimbal system on the Vivo x60 Pro Plus is really quite something, and would be a large nugget for any smartphone videographer. Its dual telephoto lenses practise a not bad job for long-distance and portrait shots, besides.
I like how unique those headline features are, in what can feel like a homogenous Android flagship market place. However this time, the Vivo x60 Pro Plus can't break out past its niche entreatment.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/vivo-x60-pro-plus
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