Vivo X70 Pro+ review: Super-stabilised shooter

(Pocket-lint) - One of our astonishment prima handsets of 2021, the Vivo X60 Pro, came from a institution sanction that's inactive comparatively chartless successful the UK marketplace (despite being a header sponsor of Euro 2020). But that made it each the much refreshing that a newcomer could present truthful strongly.

Its follow-up, the X70 series, reviewed present successful the top-tier X70 Pro+ model, enhances the hardware, tweaks the camera setup, and ought to marque for an adjacent much accomplished device. Except, oddly, its bundle setup successful this handset is often problematic to important detriment. Does that undo a batch of Vivo's bully aboriginal enactment oregon are determination capable positives present to spot the X70 Pro+ shine?

Design & Display

• 6.78-inch AMOLED panel, 120Hz refresh, 1500 nits highest brightness, 1440 x 3200 resolution
• Dimensions: 165 x 75 x 8.9mm / Weight: 213g
• Under-display fingerprint scanner
• IP68 water/dust absorption rating
• Finishes: Black, Blue, Orange

The X70 Pro+ is simply a small larger than the erstwhile series, opting for an AMOLED show that measures 6.78-inches crossed its diagonal. That's par for the people successful galore existent flagship devices, but present the prime of subtle curved edges some near and close is akin to a inclination that's dying retired successful galore devices - though not all, as the Honor 50 precocious showed - due to the fact that opposition falls disconnected astatine steeper viewing angles to these edges.

Aside from that curved edge, however, the X70 Pro+ has a ace screen. It's large, it's bright, it's got a 120Hz refresh complaint for creaseless playback (including Smart Switch to auto-adjust betwixt 60Hz arsenic required), portion the solution is WQHD+ for plentifulness of detail. It's responsive to touch, we've not recovered accidental interaction errors contempt the curved edges, and with creaseless animations there's small to kick astir astatine all. Except that, arsenic we've recovered with Vivo's erstwhile X series, it won't instrumentality excessively agelong earlier a scratch oregon scuff appears.

Flip the instrumentality implicit and here's wherever things get a small unusual. The camera protrusion, portion reasonably large, doesn't origin excessive 'desk wobble' erstwhile the instrumentality is laid flat, which is simply a positive. But it's the unusual reflective conception adjacent to this camera enclosure that confuses: it looks similar a selfie mirror, but isn't, it's conscionable a shiny sheet containing the assorted marque names and logos and, to us, seems wholly unnecessary.

The bulk of the rear is different a soft-touch worldly that's large astatine resisting fingerprints, but doesn't person that typically premium solid look and consciousness that you'll find astatine this extremity of the market. Each to their ain successful this regard, really, but we'd ditch the reflective sheet and opt for a much eye-catching colour oregon worldly decorativeness to truly acceptable things isolated from the crowd.

Elsewhere we've recovered the X70 Pro+'s under-display fingerprint scanner to beryllium responsive, the right-side buttons to beryllium good placed for one-handed usage and adjustment, and the wide size and value of the instrumentality to beryllium good balanced for day-to-day use.

Which is each a bully start, but determination are assorted problems that spot the X70 Pro+ instrumentality a downward turn...

Performance & Battery

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ platform, 12GB RAM
• 4500mAh artillery capacity
• 55W wired / 55W wireless
• Wi-Fi 6/ax, Bluetooth 5.2
• 5G connectivity
• FuntouchOS 12

At motorboat the X70 Pro+ was among those archetypal devices to diagnostic the past top-end Qualcomm platform: Snapdragon 888+. Since that's been superseded by Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, not that the halfway powerfulness from procreation to procreation is peculiarly huge. Either way, it makes the X70 Pro+ mighty powerful, arsenic does its 12GB RAM specification (up to 16GB if you see the further 4GB it tin propulsion from ROM), truthful for moving apps and games there's thing that's going to fuss this device.

But, arsenic a user, determination are things that volition bother. The 888+ doesn't tally particularly cool, truthful longer gaming sessions volition nutrient vigor that you'll feel. Furthermore the artillery beingness is, successful a word, terrible. We've been utilizing this Vivo for respective weeks, adjacent taking it connected vacation, and truthful often we were midday topping up the artillery that we've seldom to ne'er got done a afloat time of use. That's the downside of 888+, for sure.

Then there's the software, which is FuntouchOS built implicit Android 11, that's amazed america by the fig of issues it's presented during our use. Generally speaking it's fine, successful that it's similar banal Google Android, truthful doesn't muck astir with halfway features, doesn't origin issues with notifications not showing (a emblematic Xiaomi issue, for example), and specified like.

But the software, successful this presumably Asian merchandise handset, has presented runtime errors successful aggregate apps - American Airlines a peculiarly bothersome 1 portion trying and failing to check-in - causing assorted crashes and kick-outs.

We've had the bundle frost portion a folder is open, necessitating a hard restart - but connected aggregate occasions the bundle would past beryllium moving astatine 'double scale', making the pressing of buttons and specified similar intolerable without different hard reset to enactment things right.

During casual usage assorted different oddities besides occur. The size of homepage icons, for example, volition often alteration from a fixed standard to 1 that's smaller, contempt not adjusting this wrong the settings (you can, though, arsenic the full strategy is heavy customisable).

Then there's the Wisdom Engine, which often draws your attraction to unfastened apps that are consuming power. But adjacent erstwhile telling the strategy that we're good with, say, WhatsApp moving successful the background, it'll inactive suggest you adjacent it to sphere immoderate of the (already poor) artillery life.

That the erstwhile X60 Pro was truthful deft successful its handling of bundle makes it each the much perplexing that the X70 Pro+ has been specified a measurement backwards. Here's hoping it gets polished up and enactment right, arsenic it's the 1 main hurdle that's holding this handset backmost from better.

Cameras

• Quad rear cameras:
  • Main (25mm): 50-megapixel, f/1.6 aperture, 1.2µm pixel size, phase-detection (PDAF), optical stabilisation (OIS)
  • 2x zoom (50mm): 12MP, f/1.6, 1.22µm, PDAF, OIS
  • 5x zoom (125mm): 8MP, f/3.4, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS
  • Wide (14mm): 48MP, f/2.2, 0.8µm, gimbal OIS
• Rear camera: 32MP, f/2.5, 0.8µm

Despite our bundle qualms, however, it's the X70 Pro+'s camera capabilities that bring it backmost from the brink. Vivo, successful collaboration with Zeiss, is doing immoderate sterling enactment present - and the camera app functions accelerated and efficiently.

Just arsenic we said of the X60 Pro, the X70 Pro+'s implementation of a gimbal stabilisation strategy is without comparison - there's thing other connected the marketplace that tin stabilise to this degree, making for large video seizure successful particular.

The wide camera statement has shifted for the X70 bid compared to the earlier X60 models excessively - and each for the better. It's not cleanable successful each regard, arsenic we'll get to, but the operation of main, wide-angle and 2 zoom lenses supply a existent utile assortment of lenses. No gimmicks here.

The main camera, which uses Samsung's Isocell GN1 sensor, is peculiarly standout connected the ground of that sensor choice. Images are truly detailed, the precocious dynamic scope (HDR) tin propulsion backmost a batch of overexposure erstwhile needed, and the colours are punchy and accordant throughout. Whether shooting disconnected the cuff oregon holding dependable for nighttime shots successful low-light conditions, the results are universally impressive. This is simply a large main camera, nary uncertainty astir it.

One of our biggest complaints astir the X60 Pro was its wide-angle camera not being each that great. The X70 Pro+ goes one-up here, by utilizing a overmuch higher-resolution sensor, astatine 48-megapixels, for acold improved results. That said, however, you person to judge that ultra-wide cameras volition ever endure from immoderate distortion and can't present the benignant of crisp sharpness of the main sensor. Still, results are mostly impressive.

Then there's a duo of zoom cameras connected board: a 2x, which is similar a 'portrait lens'; and the 5x periscope zoom, which tin seizure farther-away subjects arsenic if they're adjacent up successful the frame. These sensors aren't astir arsenic adept arsenic the main camera's one, but some are genuinely utile - truthful agelong arsenic you tin judge further representation sound from the 5x zoom, particularly successful low-light conditions.

Which is to say: the Vivo X70 Pro+ has 1 of the amended camera setups that you'll find connected immoderate flagship phone. There's country for improvement, sure, but with a stabilisation strategy arsenic precocious arsenic this and apical prime from the main sensor, it's mighty awesome - and casual to usage too.

Writing by Mike Lowe. Editing by Adrian Willings. Originally published connected 29 December 2021.