Usually, vivo updates its smartphones every six (6) months. But that wasn’t the case this 2023.

Although the vivo X90 models were launched globally last February 2023, the series was introduced first to China last November 2022.

And after a year, vivo has finally revealed the X100 and X100 Pro — their newest flagship phones.

Full-Fledged Flagship

The vivo X100 Pro is making its pledge with MediaTek as the full-fledged flagship rocks the latest Dimensity 9300 chipset based on a 4nm (nanometer) process. This promises improved CPU performance of up to 40% and reduced energy consumption by 33%.

Its new Immortalis-G720 GPU also assures 46% performance improvement with 40% reduction in power.

Another first on its class is the new LPDDR5T RAM. It was first introduced by SK hynix last October 2023. In layman’s term, it’s the fastest memory in a smartphone just yet. Paired with a speedy-fast UFS 4.0 storage, the vivo X100 Pro is the dream flagship you might want to consider in your bucketlist.

Again, another first on any phone is the display being able to achieve 3000nits of peak brightness. While technically not the very first one as the iQOO 12 Pro got launched with it first, the X100 Pro still counts.

And while on the topic, flagship display features still remain such as its 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED Full HD+ display with 2.5D curved glass, 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, 20:9 aspect ratio, 2160Hz PWM Dimming, 452ppi Pixel Density, 93% StB (Screen to Body) ratio, support for 1.07 Billion Colors, HDR10+, and 100% DCI-P3 Wide Color Gamut.

This being announced in China, it’s expected that the phone runs the latest Origin OS 4 based on Android 14.

Behemoth Battery

For Android flagships, 5000mAh batteries are no big deal. But for an Android flagship, it is a big deal after all.

The vivo X100 Pro packs a 5400mAh battery — a behemoth for any flagship in existence.

And if that’s not enough to satisfy your hunger for power, it supports a faster wired charging via its 100W FlashCharge adapter plus 50W wirelessly. Last year’s X90 Pro+ only supported 80W FlashCharge.

Photography Powerhouse

The X100 Pro continues to be a smartphone meant for photography as it packs a triple 50-megapixel camera setup.

The main (wide) camera has an aperture of f/1.78 and a 1-inch sensor size based on Sony’s IMX989 sensor just like its X90 Pro and Pro+ predecessors.

There’s also the ultra-wide lens with an opening of f/2.0 and a sensor size of 1/2.76-inches.

Lastly, there’s the 32-megapixel f/2.0 front camera for self-portraits.

A newer flagship also means a newer ISP (image signal processing) chip. Thanks to vivo’s in-house V3 chip, it promises better imaging and AI algorithms and also features better energy efficiency.

Twice the ZEISS

To top everything, its 50-megapixel 4.3x telephoto camera now features ZEISS Vario-APO, a new floating lens structural design for long-zoom shooters — which is another first in any smartphone.

Not only it promises excellent chromatic aberration control capabilities but also makes picture quality better with more vivid colors. Of course, there’s the signature ZEISS T* lens coating to make every photo crystal clear.

It wouldn’t be complete without the ZEISS Full Focus Portrait Master. This unlocks the full potential of the X100 Pro’s cameras by incorporating the classic ZEISS lenses through software magic: 24mm Distagon, 50mm Biotar, 85mm Sonnar, and 100mm Planar.

4K Magic

For mobile videographers, the X100 Pro can now shoot 4K footages with a 2.39:1 movie frame. There’s also  the cinematic depth of field blur and the ability to edit it post-shooting.

More 4K video features include textured portraits, layered color LUTs, masterful focus transitions and five distinctive Movie style presets with 3DLUT import support, and a super-sensing “Night Vision” capability.

It also shoots 8K just in case you’re that resolution-savvy video shooter.

The base X100

Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without announcing a base flagship variant.

To make it short and concise, the non-Pro variant of the vivo X100 still rocks the same chipset albeit with a smaller 5000mAh battery but has a faster 120W FlashCharge support. Wanting a smaller display? Well the X100 packs the same display as its Pro sibling.

It also ditches the 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor in favor of a 50-megapixel super photosensitive VCS bionic main camera at 1/1.49-inches. It might look like a typo but the Pro has an even wider aperture of f/1.57 instead of X100 Pro’s f/1.75.

The telephoto shooter has a larger megapixel count at 64 megapixels but only optically zooms in to 3x and doesn’t feature the new ZEISS APO floating design. Still, it’s a ZEISS Super Long Throw camera and up to 100x digital zoom. Lastly, it has the vivo V2 ISP instead of the latest V3 chip.

Its 50-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera and 32-megapixel selfie camera both remain unchanged.

These compromised features may not be a big deal to users who want to own a flagship Android phone without spending too much.

Pricing and Availability

It looks like vivo offers a very compelling flagship series this 2023 — at least in China.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee

The current base pricing for the vivo X100 Pro just starts at CNY 4999 with the typical 12GB + 256GB configuration.

• 12GB + 256GB = CNY 4999 (US$ 686 / EUR 642 / GBP 561 / SG$ 932 / PhP 38,311 / INR 57,120)
• 16GB + 256GB = CNY 5299 (US$ 727 / EUR 680 / GBP 595 / SG$ 988 / PhP 40,610 / INR 60,547)
• 16GB + 512GB = CNY 5499 (US$ 754 / EUR 706 / GBP 617 / SG$ 1026 / PhP 42,142 / INR 62,833)
• 16GB LPDDR5T + 1TB = CNY 5999 (US$ 823 / EUR 770 / GBP 674 / SG$ 1119 / PhP 45,974 / INR 68,546)

For reference, the vivo X90 Pro+ was launched for CNY 6499 having the same configuration. With that price, you can buy the maxed-out configuration of the vivo X100 Pro.

Meanwhile, the vivo X100 has five different configurations in mind:

• 12GB + 256GB = CNY 3999 (US$ 549 / EUR 514 / GBP 449 / SG$ 746 / PhP 30,647 / INR 45,693)
• 16GB + 256GB = CNY 4299 (US$ 590 / EUR 552 / GBP 483 / SG$ 802 / PhP 32,946 / INR 49,121)
• 16GB + 512GB = CNY 4599 (US$ 631 / EUR 591 / GBP 516 / SG$ 858 / PhP 35,245 / INR 52,549)
• 16GB + 1TB = CNY 4999 (US$ 686 / EUR 642 / GBP 561 / SG$ 932 / PhP 38,311 / INR 57,120)
• 16GB LPDDR5T + 1TB = CNY 5099 (US$ 700 / EUR 655 / GBP 573 / SG$ 951 / PhP 39,077 / INR 48,262)

Both the vivo X100 and X100 Pro are available in four different colorways: Sunset Orange, Star Track Blue, White Moonlight, and Nightfall.