vivo X90 Pro review

Introduction

Vivo’s flagship crop is the strangest bunch we’ve ever seen – each new generation is different from the last, with mixed features, different types of cameras and changing screen resolutions. The only certain things we always expect to see are camera technology upgrades and chipset improvements. And that describes the new vivo X90 Pro.

The latest X90 top-tier lineup once again consists of three smartphones – the bleeding-edge X90 Pro+, the regular X90 Pro and the toned-down X90. Today we are going to explore the vivo X90 Pro – the first smartphone we meet powered by the new Dimensity 9200 chipset and among the few to offer a 1-inch camera sensor.

The innovations begin with the design – the vivo X90 Pro now has an even larger camera housing with a perfectly round shape. The back panel is covered in black vegan leather and there is no other color option, at least not in the international markets.

Under that screen, the X90 Pro hides MediaTek’s flagship SoC – the Dimensity 9200 with modern CPU cores, X3 included, an 11-core GPU and more than enough RAM and storage. There’s also a massive heatsink, probably one of the biggest put into a phone, and it should help offer greater sustained performance.

The charging capabilities of this new vivo X90 Pro are also thoroughly impressive – it supports 120W fast wired charging (50% in 8 minutes per official specs) and 50W fast wired charging.

The X series has always been about cameras and the vivo X90 Pro has an impressive set on the back. There’s a 50MP primary camera with a 1″ sensor, the same Sony IMX 979 used on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra. There’s also a 50MP 2x telephoto, followed by a 12MP ultrawide camera with autofocus capabilities. The entire imaging system relies on the latest version of vivo’s X2 imaging chip and Zeiss lenses.

This year, none of the X90 models have gimbal stabilization, a feature that several vivo phones offered across their primary, telephoto or ultra-wide cameras in the past. Instead, the primary and portrait cameras rely on traditional OIS systems.

We talked about the mixed features, and the screen has been one of those features we just can’t predict. This year, the vivo X90 Pro uses a 6.78″ AMOLED with a 1260p resolution, 10-bit color depth, 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ certification. In comparison, the X80 Pro had a 1440p screen, while the X70 Pro relied on a smaller 1080p OLED.

vivo X90 Pro uses Android 13 with Funtouch 13 UI, while the Chinese version runs on Origin OS 3.

vivo X90 Pro specifications at a glance:

• Body: 164.1×74.5×9.3mm, 215g; glass front, vegan leather back, aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m 30 minutes).
• Screen: 6.78″ AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1300 nits (peak), 1260x2800px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 453ppi.
• Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 9200 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.05 GHz Cortex-X3 & 3×2.85 GHz Cortex-A715 & 4×1.80 GHz Cortex-A510); Arm Immortalis-G715.
• Memory: 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
• OS/Software: Android 13, Funtouch 13 (Global), Origin OS 3 (China).
• Rear camera: wide (main): 50.3MP, f/1.8, 23mm, 1.0″ type, 1.6µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/1.6, 50 mm, 1/2.4″, 0.7µm, AF, 2x optical zoom, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 12MP, f/2.0, 108˚, AF.
• Front camera: 32MP, f/2.5, 24mm (wide), 1/2.8″, 0.8µm.
• Video recording: Rear camera: 8K, [email protected]/60fps, [email protected]/60fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: [email protected], [email protected]
• Battery: 4870mAh; 120W wired, 50% in 8 min (advertised), 50W wireless, Reverse wired.
• Miscellaneous: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; Infrared port; stereo speakers.

The vivo X90 Pro lacks a bit in terms of modern features. The phone is IP68 rated, made for the global markets, it uses flagship display, cameras, chipset, charging solutions. Perhaps a slightly longer telephoto lens, e.g. 2.5x or 3x, would have been better, but vivo is marketing this camera as a portrait lens, so the 50mm lens is kind of par for the course.

And now, here is the vivo X90 Pro unboxed.

Unboxing the vivo X90 Pro

The Vivo X90 Pro comes in a big black box, something we’ve grown to like and expect from this manufacturer. Inside you’ll find the X90 Pro, accompanied by a large 120W charger and a 6A-rated USB-C to C cable.

Of course, that’s not all. The box also includes a transparent silicone case, while the phone comes with a thin protective film that was applied at the end of the manufacturing process. It’s not the worst quality we’ve seen, but far from the best either (which means it’s still a spotty magnet).