The Vivo X70 Pro + came on the market just a few months after its predecessor, and the question remains whether the manufacturer has done well and whether the improvements are interesting enough for the customer to reach for a novelty that is more expensive. Compared to the older Vivo X60 Pro +, it brings even better cameras, increased water resistance, slightly higher performance, a display with a higher resolution and variable refresh rate, and wireless charging.
In the detailed review, we will verify how the smartphone takes photos, what the video quality is, but we will also look at performance, charging, endurance and share our experiences after intensive use of the smartphone.
Where to buy
Vivo X70 Pro+ is not sold in Slovakia. The best choice is to order it from the TradingShenzen online store, which is what we did. The phone arrived to us within a month, we did not pay any duty or VAT, only on the 16th € for transport. More information about how we ordered the device, you will find here. We have a Chinese version of the smartphone, where all Google services work, including Google Play, and there is an English language.
I live X70 Pro +
Technical specifications
I live X70 Pro + | |
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dimensions | 164.5 x 75,2 x 8.9 mm |
Weight | 209 g |
processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ / 5 nm / 3,42 GHz |
Graphic chip | Adreno 660 |
Display | 6.67 ″ AMOLED LTPO |
3200 x 1440 px resolution | |
Refresh rate 120 Hz | |
Sampling frequency 240 Hz | |
20: 9 aspect ratio | |
HDR10 + | |
RAM and storage | LPDDD5 RAM + UFS 3.1 storage |
8 + 256 GB / 12 + 256 GB / 12 + 512 GB | |
Cameray | main 50 MPx widescreen / aperture f / 1.6 / OIS |
48 MPx ultra-wide / aperture f / 2.2 / 114 ° viewing angle / gimbal stabilization | |
12 MPx telephoto / aperture f / 1.6 / OIS 2x optical zoom 8 MPx periscope / f / 3.4 / OIS / 5x optical zoom |
|
front camera 32 MPx / aperture f / 2.5 | |
Battery and charging | 4500 mAh / 55 W cable charging / 50 W wireless charging |
5G support | Yes |
Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.2; NFC; WiFi 6; GPS: L1 + L5; Galileo: E1 + E5a | GLONASS: G1 |
Contents of the package
At a time when smartphone manufacturers are taking elements from the package, the Vivo X70 Pro + package is a pleasant diversion. This is exactly what flagships should look like. Anteroom, these are devices that don't cost much, and that's why they deserve some extra accessories.
Unpacking this smartphone is literally a joy. After removing the top of the box, you will be attracted by the camera, which is immediately visible. The rest of the body is hidden. An interesting solution, which at first glance suggests that it is a smartphone that is primarily intended for photography.
But let's move on, to the accessories you get. We chose the orange color version, to which the manufacturer also packed an orange protective cover. It's not just such a classic rubber cover as we can often see in the packaging of cheap smartphones. Yes, you will also find a charger in the package.
As this is the Chinese version, you will also need an adapter for the Slovak socket. You can buy it, for example tu. The charger has a power of 55 W, which is also the maximum charging power of the device. Of course, the cable must not be missing either. USB-C on one side, classic large USB on the other. There is also basic documentation (in Chinese) and a variety of USB-C headphones.
Quality of processing and layout of elements
As the Vivo X70 Pro + is an expensive flagship, we expect that the quality of workmanship or materials has not been compromised. And it's true. Design is what sets this model apart from the competition. Especially its back, the dominant part of which is the camera area.
But let's be fine. The smartphone is available in three color variants, we chose the most challenging - orange. In addition, you can buy it in purple and black. The advantage is that all three versions are matte, so you can say goodbye to fingerprints.
We'll stay at the back. It is a kind of imitation leather that works well to the touch and to the eye. The black area to the right of the camera is really glossy and, apart from the design, which is debatable in this case, has no other function. But you can use it as a mirror, for example.
The layout of the elements is traditional. The hardware buttons are located on the right side and are excellent to work with. Their compression is sure and we are also pleased that they do not click unnecessarily loudly. The underside contains a slot for two NanosSIM cards, USB-C connector and speaker. The second of the pair of speakers is located above the display. The speakers play really loud and high-quality, they are among the absolute top.
There is an infrared port at the top, the left side is completely empty. The front one, of course, belongs to the display, which is stretched to the edges, it is disturbed only by a hole for a selfie camera. While holding the Vivo X70 Pro + smartphone, we feel like an expensive and well-crafted device, everything is fine in this respect. It holds well, the bend on the back and front of the feeling of security in the hand helps a bit.
The display is the absolute top
One of the areas where the most significant changes have taken place. Vivo X70 Pro + has a display that competes with the best and the quality can be boldly compared, for example, with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. It is a 6,78 ″ LTPO AMOLED panel with a refresh rate of 120 Hz.
Because the refresh rate is variable, the device can adjust it to ensure the smoothest possible experience and the lowest possible battery consumption. The frequency can range from 120 Hz to 1 Hz. For example, if you scroll through menus, the frequency is at a maximum. If you watch a YouTube video that has 30 frames per second, the display frequency will be adjusted to 30 Hz.
The basic protective film is glued to the display as standard, which holds quite well. Since it is not glass, scratches appear on it very quickly, but it will certainly fulfill its role. The display remains scratch-free. We removed this film after two days for testing purposes.
In addition to beautiful colors, the maximum brightness is also great, which is among the absolute top. 1500 rivets in automatic mode means that even in the strongest sun you won't have a problem with its readability, neither did we. We must also praise the great viewing angles that are standard on AMOLED displays.
You can adjust the color rendering of the display in great detail in the settings, as well as you can adjust the resolution. You don't just have to use it to the maximum, you also have a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels, which saves a little battery.
The display is nicely stretched to the entire front, the frames around it are really minimal. He is crooked at the sides, which not everyone may like. The truth is that bending adds to the attractiveness and sense of quality, but from a practical point of view this is not the best solution. Because of this, the image is distorted on the side and may interfere with someone. Fortunately, we did not notice any problems with unwanted touches during testing, so everything is fine in this regard.
Always On display makes full use of the advantages of AMOLED technology. Here we come to the first drawback of having a smartphone designed for the Chinese market. A large number of different styles can be downloaded to the device, but the "store" through which this is done is only in Chinese.
But that doesn't change the fact that the Always On display is full-fledged without it and there are more than enough styles. You can also choose which notifications to display. You can have the function switched on all the time, at the time you set it, or when the device detects movement.
Gaming smartphones wouldn't be ashamed of their performance either
Looking at the specifications, it is clear that the new Vivo has a lot of performance. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ processor is currently the most powerful that the world of Android smartphones has to offer. It is a 5 nm processor, which is a slight improvement on this year's flagship Snapdragon 888 with even higher performance.
If it translates into practice, you have a really powerful machine in front of you, with which you are able to play even the most demanding games without any problems. If we add a smooth 120 Hz display, the experience of using it is even better. Navigating menus, launching applications, multitasking. He manages everything playfully, quickly and without the slightest jam.
This is significantly helped by the fast LPDDR5 memory, which has a capacity of up to 12 GB. If that's not enough for you (which certainly won't happen), your smartphone will allow you to use another 4 GB of internal storage, increasing the RAM capacity to 16 GB. You can activate this option in the settings.
There is also a large storage capacity, which is 256 GB in the base. The highest variant then has 512 GB of storage. Before you buy, think carefully about which version to take, because memory cards are not supported. Extreme performance was also confirmed by benchmarks. Interestingly, Vivo beats most models with the same processor with these numbers.
The Chinese system has taken over
The Indian version of the smartphone offers the Funtouch OS superstructure, our Chinese version the OriginOS. Both run on Android 11. The use of a Chinese smartphone in Slovakia has brought with it several inconveniences, fortunately we have managed to eliminate most of them.
The first problem may be the absence of the Slovak language. We already counted on this before the purchase. In addition to Chinese, some European languages are also available. English and German are a matter of course, there is no lack of Spanish, French, Portuguese or Dutch.
An unpleasant surprise came after we tried to sync contacts with a Google Account. It just didn't work. There was also a problem with the calendar, but it recovered after the restart, the contacts remained unresolved. Installing Google Contact Sync resolved the issue.
But even that did not go as planned. We downloaded the application from an external source and the smartphone did not want to allow us to install it. He simply states that this is not possible. The solution is to log in to a Vivo account, but it is not possible to enter a Slovak number in it. Fortunately, there is an option in the app settings to allow installation using specific apps (Chrome in this case), you just need to enable it directly in the specific settings.
Another problem we encountered was notifications. Some of the applications did not work. Vivo offers instructions on how to solve this. Notifications must first be enabled, then in the battery settings allow a specific application to increase the power mode, then allow the application to start automatically and the last step is to set the application not to shut down automatically. Now the notifications are coming, but once in a while the hall happens that some will not come.
We were unable to connect the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 to the phone, the Galaxy Wearable application says that they are not compatible. We also tried Galaxy Watch 3, but also unsuccessfully. Although the pairing started, it always got stuck and never ended successfully. There was no problem connecting the Amazfit GTR 3 Pro watch.
The last problem was with the launcher. We couldn't use anything other than the default one. Even after setting the alternative launcher as the default, nothing happened. After pressing the home button, we returned to the original one. Fortunately, we also managed to solve this problem.
First, we created a Vivo account on the computer. Of course, via e-mail, since they won't take your Slovak number. Then we used it to log in to the phone. Subsequently, it is necessary to enter the security settings and enable the change of the system launcher there. However, be careful, it is necessary to uncheck the option "Tap the home button to lock the system home screen".
So we successfully use Nova Launcher. There was another minor problem here. When setting the display's automatic refresh rate, Nova Launcher (as well as some other applications) only works in 60 Hz mode. We solved this by switching the display to 120 Hz mode.
So that we don't just criticize, we will now turn to those good qualities. On the positive side, all applications work without any problems. We were afraid of banking applications, but fortunately they work. Google Pay works the same way.
The OriginOS superstructure is great. It contains an incredible number of different settings. It is probably a superstructure with the widest range of graphic adjustments and effects. You will definitely not be bored, you can set everything exactly according to yourself. It is possible to have applications all on the home screens, you also have the classic alphabet menu.
But what doesn't please is the huge number of pre-installed applications that you won't use in Slovakia. Many of them have a menu only in Chinese and the like. About half of them we managed to uninstall in the classic way, the others remained. Fortunately, Nova Launcher has the ability to hide applications that we don't use, so at least we don't see them.
Fingerprint reader in the display
The standard in the category of flagships is the fingerprint readers located in the display. This is not the case with the Vivo flag either. It is a classic optical sensor that is fortunately fast and reliable. Surprisingly, the Vivo uses the latest generation of the ultrasonic reader from Qualcomm in the IQOO 8 Pro, which works on up to 17x larger area, and is faster, safer and more accurate. The X70 Pro + is a higher class model, but this reader has somehow been forgotten. It's a pity.
Adding a new fingerprint is convenient and fast. The software superstructure from this manufacturer is reworked down to the smallest detail and offers the user a wide range of customization options. For example, you can also choose what visual effect will accompany unlocking and what the sensor area will look like. Nice detail that will please.
Battery and charging
Vivo X70 Pro + is equipped with a battery with a capacity of 4500 mAh. In today's world of smartphones, this number does not interest anything, it is more of an average. It is also the same with the endurance on one charge, in which this phone is not one of the record holders. On the other hand, you can count on a day without a charger.
When the battery is low, you will enjoy very decent charging options. It comes with a cable output of up to 55 W, and you even have wireless charging, which the previous model did not have. And even with a maximum power of up to 50 W. To be able to charge wirelessly this fast, you will need a special wireless charger directly from Vivo.
Again, we have to mention a wide range of adjustments, you can also choose one of the effects you will find in the settings for charging. The endurance can be extended by the saving mode and there is also a special saving mode, which limits the possibilities of the smartphone to only a few basic functions. This will save a considerable amount of battery.
- 25% - 10 minutes
- 60% - 25 minutes
- 80% - 35 minutes
- 100% - 54 minutes
Camera
Vivo X70 Pro + has only the highest ambitions. A look at the parameters of the camera only confirms this. You will find 4 sensors on the back. The main one has a resolution of 50 MPx, brightness f / 1.6 and optical image stabilization. The ace in the sleeve is supposed to be an ultra-wide sensor. It received a resolution of 48 MPx and especially advanced gimbal image stabilization. In addition, it can create macro images.
The third of the four sensors is a telephoto lens with double optical zoom, f / 1.6 aperture and optical image stabilization. And the last one is a periscope lens with 8 MPx resolution, f / 3.4 aperture and optical image stabilization. Parameters very promising, what will you say?
The main camera | 50 MPx | aperture f / 1.6 |
---|---|---|
Ultra-wide camera | 48 MPx | aperture f / 2.2 |
telephoto lens
Periscope lens |
12 MPx
8 MPx |
aperture f / 1.6
aperture f / 3.4 |
But quality sensors are not everything. Other hardware and especially software are also important. In terms of hardware, this is clear. Today's most powerful processor is a good foundation. But Vivo has another surprise. It is a special V1 photo chip that should move the quality of photos and videos even higher. And let's not forget, of course, the cooperation on hardware and software with the world-famous German company Zeiss is also important.
Photo application offers an incredible number of different functions. There is a professional mode, you have a number of different filters, live photo mode, moon or night sky mode. You will definitely have fun.
The application is refined to the smallest detail and is excellently optimized. Everything is pretty fast, switching between lenses as well. An attractive feature is the "Horizontal line". This will ensure that during video recording, the image is always aligned with the horizon, regardless of how you hold the phone. A very interesting thing that you must definitely try.
Let's go to the quality of the photos. As usual, this is the current peak. During the day, even significantly cheaper models can take nice pictures, so it's no wonder that the Vivo X70 Pro+ performs perfectly in this regard. Daily images have practically zero noise, are detailed, full of color and sharp across the entire surface. We have to highlight an extremely good dynamiky range, which, however, seems a little unnatural in some situations.
Thanks to the large sensor, you can also look forward to a very decent bokeh effect when shooting closer subjects, in some cases you will not need portrait mode at all.
Night images are a very powerful weapon of the novelty and are among the best. Once again we have to praise the excellent dynamirange. Compared to the competition, it's clear that Vivo handles burnouts much better. The noise is kept at very low values and thanks to the large sensor, the photos are brighter compared to the competition. A special night mode will add even more to them. So, if you are looking for a camera phone and your priority is night photography, the Vivo X70 Pro+ is probably the best choice at the moment.
Ultra-wide photos are also high quality. The sensor with gimbal stabilization is doing well, especially during the day when the images are full of details. With the dimming, it's obviously worse, then it's better to switch to the main sensor.
Approximation is a category in itself. The Vivo X70 Pro + has an 8-megapixel periscope lens with XNUMXx optical zoom, which is optically stabilized. Due to the lower brightness, we recommend not getting too close when shooting at night, because the resulting photos are not even close to those produced by the main sensor. During the day you will get quite decent shots of it.
You will use the telephoto lens with double optical zoom mainly for portraits, while with classic photography and double zoom, the smartphone prefers to choose the main sensor, from which a better image will emerge.
Video
Video is a chapter in itself. The maximum is up to 8K resolution at 30 frames per second, which can be created by the main lens. You also have 4K @ 60fps video, which you can already shoot with the ultra-widescreen. And that's exactly what you want. Only thanks to the wider angle of view is the image better stabilized. Add to that gimbal image stabilization, which works great.
The stabilization of this video is perfect and there is no smartphone on the market that can handle it better. The daily video created by the ultra-wide angle lens is literally unrivaled. If there is less light, we recommend switching to the main sensor, which will capture it better. Compared to the latest iPhones, for example, the image at night is weaker, as is the stabilization.
Vivo X70 Pro +: Final evaluation
We have been waiting for the Vivo X70 Pro + for almost a month. And it paid off. It is a real flagship without compromise. The equipment is maximum and in the field of Android smartphones, for example, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which is still 300 euros more expensive, can compete. It offers great performance, large RAM and decent storage capacity.
The main attraction, of course, is the camera, which belongs to the absolute top, does not disappoint even night shots. Another attraction is definitely its design, which is unique. The 120 Hz LTPO AMOLED display with a brightness of up to 1500 rivets is also great, it will please the rich packaging, fast charging or high-quality stereo speakers and water resistance.
On the other hand, some shortcomings are found in the lobby. The curved display is attractive in design, but it may not fit everyone. Before buying, you should also think about whether you are not afraid of the Chinese version, we did not avoid the birth pains, but now everything works fine. The system completely lacks the Slovak language and you also have to prepare for a lot of bloatware, while not everything can be uninstalled.
Thanks for the review. I'm amazed that Vivo can't solve the problem of notifications after years. It is clear to me that the telephone is intended primarily for the Chinese market and that Europeans are on the hook, but I do not believe that it would be such a technical problem for them to solve those notifications. I once had a phone that didn't notify me in time, and I gave it away. It can be as good in other areas as long as I don't get a message on time from Signal, email, or Whatsapp, the phone is just half. It is a pity.