Vivo is a smartphone brand aiming to make a name for itself in Europe and if you happened to catch any of the recent Euro 2020 football matches you'll have seen Vivo's branding splashed all over the stadiums to celebrate the launch of the X60 Pro. Boasting a second-generation gimbal camera, a new partnership with ZEISS, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 870 chipset, Vivo's X60 Pro is full of promise with a premium design to match.
We reviewed the gimbal-toting X51 5G earlier this year that offered all the right things but at too steep a price, so has Vivo learned any lessons with the recently launched new X60 Pro? Join us after the break to find out.
Design
Vivo knows how to put out a phone with a premium design and the X60 Pro is no different; the Midnight Black variant is a sublime finish with curved edges and a slim profile. It's a classy-looking smartphone that looks sleek and slim despite the large 6.56-inch display. Unlike some phones with curved edges, the X60 Pro is actually comfortable to hold and there are no sharp edges digging into your hand.
The rear camera housing has a similar two-step design as the X51 5G although it has been refined on the X60 Pro which means it doesn't catch on trouser pockets as much. It's still a little chunky, but it does help differentiate the X60 Pro from the competition. The power and volume rocker sit on the right-hand edge, with the SIM tray, USB-C port, and speaker chamber located on the bottom edge.
Hardware
| Specifications | Vivo X60 Pro |
|---|---|
| Software | Android 11 with FuntouchOS 11.1 |
| Display | 6.56-inch FHD+ AMOLED, 120Hz Refresh Rate, 240Hz Touch Sampling Rate, Central Punch-hole, HDR10+ |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 |
| RAM | 12GB LPDDR5 RAM |
| Storage | 256GB |
| MicroSD Support | Yes |
| Battery | 4,200mAh, USB-C |
| Charging | 33W Fast-Charging |
| Rear Camera | 48MP f/1.48 primary camera, Gimbal Stabilization 2.0, OIS + EIS; 13MP f/2.2 wide-angle camera, 120° FoV; 13MP f/2.46 portrait camera |
| Front Camera | 32MP |
| Audio Jack | Yes |
| Connectivity | 5G, Bluetooth 5.1, USB Type-C, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz) |
| Security | In-display fingerprint scanner |
| Dimensions | 158.58 x 73.24 x 7.59mm |
| Weight & Color | Midnight Black: 177g Shimmer Blue: 179g |
Performance
The 6.56-inch curved AMOLED display is slick and responsive, with its 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate, with vibrant colors and a good level of contrast. The omission of an adaptive refresh rate limits the phone to either 60Hz or 120Hz, and it's a shame that the panel is just FHD+ resolution. That being said, it is still a very good panel to look at.
It may not be a Snapdragon 888 under the hood, but the reheated Snapdragon 870 is still worthy of being classed as a flagship processor. It's got plenty of grunt and thanks to the presence of a generous 12GB of RAM that is bumped up to 15GB thanks to the virtual RAM software, the X60 Pro will multitask to your heart's content without a blip on the horizon. We've run the Vivo X60 Pro through the Geekbench and 3D Mark benchmarking apps:
Battery
You'll get a day's usage out of the Vivo X60 Pro 4,200mAh battery with single digits left in the tank by around 10 PM, which is fine without being exceptional. If you are headed out after work, you may want to think about topping up in the late afternoon or perhaps taking a power bank with you, just in case.
With 33W fast charging, the X60 Pro isn't setting the world alight when compared to the likes of the OnePlus 9, Nord 2, or Realme GT with 65W charging speeds. If you are coming from a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, however, you'll enjoy the increased charging speed on the Vivo handset. Despite the price point and the presence of the glass rear panel, wireless charging is once again missing from the equation, which places it at odds with similarly priced or even cheaper handsets.
Software
The software experience with Vivo's FunTouch OS is pretty much the same as it was with the X51 5G, it's based on Android 11 and similar in style to OxygenOS 10. There's a ton of customization features for the display, AOD, and ambient light effect, with blue light comfort mode to ease the strain on your eyes.
There's little in the way of bloat present on FunTouch OS which makes for a rather pleasant experience, and Vivo is promising 3 years of Android OS and security updates for the X60 Pro, which automatically propels the handset above phones such as the Motorola Edge 20 series. Clean is the word I would use to describe the FunTouch OS experience on European models, and that's always appreciated.
Camera
This time around, Vivo has partnered up with renowned camera lens company, ZEISS, to help with the camera experience on the X60 Pro. It's early days in the collaboration which means that it's difficult to see where ZEISS has influenced the photographic process other than the ‘Biotar' portrait mode that brings a circular bokeh effect.
Sporting version 2 of its gimbal stabilization system, the X60 Pro's 48MP main camera is able to capture loads of light and detail, even in less than ideal conditions. Images are perfect for social media accounts with bright, vibrant colors and you won't be missing any moments due to the quick shutter speed. Using the Pro Sports mode, you can take high-quality images of fast-moving objects, as seen in the images below where the chap is playing keepy-uppy with a football.
The other two sensors feature ultra-wide-angle and portrait lenses with 13MP each. The ultra-wide camera does a good job but you can tell that it just isn't as capable as the main camera, a comment that applies to the portrait camera as well. The 32MP selfie camera produces accurate imagery with an even tone despite somewhat iffy conditions within a stadium. While Night mode is present, using the default Photo mode will almost always deliver a better image thanks to Vivo's focus on its algorithm, so the low-light department needs some tweaking to minimize the overblown nature of the images.
Worth it
On sale in Europe, UK, India, and a few other Asian countries, the Vivo X60 Pro is being sold at £749/€799 which is pretty much the same price as the X51 5G from 2020. This time around, though, there's a flagship (ish) processor in the form of the Snapdragon 870 which brings a nice performance boost to a svelte-looking handset.
The Vivo X60 has its strengths such as the very capable 48MP main camera with Gimbal Stabilization 2.0, a very good AMOLED display, and a stunning design, but there are glaring omissions such as wireless charging, the limited 33W fast-charging speed, an IP rating, and the expensive price tag.
Much like the X51 5G, the X60 Pro is a very good phone that is weighed down by its RRP when compared to competitors such as the Galaxy S21 and Mi 11i.
Vivo X60 Pro | £749/€799 | Amazon
