vivo’s flagship line, the X series is finally back in the Philippines. And despite the strong competition from bigger names in the industry, vivo managed to put out a great smartphone that can go toe-to-toe with the best. Their latest release, the vivo X200, showcases how well the company can create a smartphone and prove that they deserve to be in the forefront in this ever-populated market.
We’ll be taking a look at the vanilla vivo X200, the no-compromise baby brother of the X200 Pro that shares the same essential features, even the powerful processor. Today, we’ll see how vivo’s second-best smartphone to date compares to the competition and if it should be your next smartphone. Let’s begin our vivo X200 review.
vivo X200 Specs
- Android 15, OriginOS 5
- Dual SIM, Dual standby
- 6.67-inch 2.8K LTPO AMOLED display, 2800 x 1260 pixel resolution, ~460ppi
- 120Hz variable refresh rate, 2160Hz PWM dimming
- 4500-nit peak brightness, HDR10+
- 3.63GHz MediaTek Dimensity 9400 octa-core processor
- Immortalis-G925 GPU
- 12GB RAM
- 512GB UFS 4.0 internal st orage
- 32-megapixel front camera, ultra-wide
- 50-megapixel (IMX921, f/1.6, PDAF, OIS) + 50-megapixel (IMX882, 3x telephoto, 70mm, OIS, PDAF) + 50-megapixel (ultra-wide, 15mm, AF) rear cameras, LED flash
- ZEISS lens, ZEISS T* coating
- Stereo speakers
- IP69 dust and water resistant
- Under-display fingerprint scanner
- HSPA+, 4G LTE, 5G
- WiFi 7, tri-band
- Bluetooth 5.4
- dual-band GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, NavIC, BDS
- NFC
- IR blaster
- USB-C
- Dimensions: 160.3 x 74.8 x 8mm
- Weight: 197g/202g
- Colors: Titanium, White, Black, Blue
- 5,800mAh non-removable battery, 90W wired charging
Design and Build Quality
The vivo X200 looks fairly neat and clean. The whole outer shell of the device centers on that large camera glass at the back, which occupies about 30% of the rear panel.
It has a thick silver bezel with ridges all around, mimicking the look of a professional camera lens. That chunky glass protects the triple cameras, sensors, and ZEISS lens with ZEISS T* coating.
The rest of the surface is made of frosted glass, which is not safe from fingerprint marks or smudges. As you can see, this one is the Green colorway, but it’s also available in Blue, Black, and White.
It has smooth curves in front, back, and all four corners. Still, the frame is reasonably flat. This design made the device very comfortable to hold, less slippery than before, and improved grip when taking pictures or watching content in landscape.
The vivo X200 is on par with the competition in terms of durability. It has both IP68 and IP69 dust and water protection. The free clear case provides ample protection but looks boring and not well thought out, especially for a flagship caliber device.
A roomy 6.67-inch LTPO screen is on the front with a punch-hole for the selfie camera. The bezels are uniformly thin, and a screen protector has been applied out of the box. Curves on the sides are subtle, as it blends perfectly without a nuisance.
The left side is clean, while the right has the volume controls and lock/power switch. The buttons are flat and sit flush with the frame. They feel robust, clicky, and tactile — top-notch quality.
We got speaker holes and a microphone on top. At the bottom, there’s a SIM tray for two nano SIM cards, a primary microphone, a loudspeaker, and a USB-C port.
It looks like vivo went with form over fashion on this one. But to some, this kind of sleek and elegant design is more appealing. The vivo X200 has forgettable looks, but at least it feels well-made and durable.
Display and Audio
The vivo X200 has a 6.67-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a 2800 x 1260 pixel resolution, ~460ppi, 120Hz variable refresh rate, 2160Hz PWM dimming, 4500-nit of peak brightness, Netflix HDR, and HDR10+.
Display quality has been great for daily use. It’s usable at sunny outdoors and can get really dim to keep your eyes safer when scrolling at night.
Watching content is fine, but definitely not that great due to the lack of Dolby Vision.
Dolby Atmos is also absent in the audio department. The stereo speakers provided decent volume, had ample bass to provide depth, but I’ve tested other phones that had beefier sound. This is not to say that it’s bad, but it could be better.
Hardware and Performance
The vivo X200 comes with MediaTek’s most powerful chip to date, the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 clocked at 3.63GHz, Immortalis-G925 graphics, 12GB of RAM, and 512GB of onboard storage.
vivo X200 Benchmark Scores
Being one of the two best mobile chips in the market today, it’s no surprise the Dimensity 9400 handled day-to-day tasks like a breeze. You can take pictures and switch between lenses without delay, switch between apps seamlessly, make video calls with no problem, and more.
Now, let’s see how well it does in gaming.
Genshin Impact had no problems running under the Highest preset, with consistent and smooth frame rates and no overheating issues.
Call of Duty Mobile also didn’t have any issues at 120fps, PUBG Mobile under Ultra, and Farlight84 also at Ultra. Lighter games like Mobile Legends and Asphalt Legends Unite, unsurprisingly, ran smoothly for hours under their highest graphics settings.
So, can this smartphone handle games? As expected from any modern-day flagship, it definitely can.
Game | Graphics Settings |
Call of Duty: Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Medium • Frame Rate: Ultra (120fps) |
Farlight84 | • Graphics Quality: Ultra • Frame Rate: Very High |
PUBG Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Ultra HD • Frame Rate: Ultra |
Genshin Impact | • Graphics Quality: Highest |
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | • Graphics Quality: Ultra • Frame Rate: Ultra • HD Mode: On |
Asphalt Legends Unite | • Visual Quality: High Quality • Frame Rate: 60 |
Software and User Interface
The vivo X200 ships with the latest Android 15-based FuntouchOS 15. Sadly, it will only receive 3 years of Android upgrades and 4 years of security patches, only a little over half of what other flagships have. Still, it’s a good improvement from vivo’s former software commitment.
vivo’s interface looks the same as before. It’s not our favorite, and I wish it was cleaner and more straightforward, but it’s usable and gets the job done. Also, I’m not a big fan of the Browser news cluttering the notifications tab without our consent. For a flagship smartphone like this one, it’s definitely annoying.
Customization options are aplenty. You can play with the icon designs, color and style, dynamic effects, use ambient light effects, change the charging animation, and more.
As with almost all Android phones today, the vivo X200 has an Extended RAM function that lets you add an extra 16GB of virtual memory by borrowing from the storage. The difference is barely noticeable, but I just left it open just in case.
It also has AI features, but it felt like AI was on vivo’s backburner. Usual features like AI Summarize, AI Transcript Assist, Live Call Translation, and Google’s Circle to Search are here. However, I’ve seen better integration and more AI features from other brands. They work well, but I personally don’t have much use for it.
What I did like is how accurate the AI Erase is, which is quite handy for a camera-centric smartphone. This is very helpful whenever an unwanted object gets included in a photo.
Both vivo’s dedicated Camera app and Google Keyboard work as well as they should, no problems there.
The bottom line is, that the FuntouchOS is usable but is desperately in need of an overhaul. A little bit more polish and consistency across board would go a long way. Longer software support, especially for a flagship like this, would also be better.
Cameras
The vivo X200’s ZEISS-backed camera system consists of a 50-megapixel IMX921 main camera with an f/1.6 aperture and optical image stabilization.
It is joined by a 50-megapixel IMX882 3x telephoto lens with a 70mm equivalent and OIS, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide, and a 32-megapixel front camera.
vivo also boasts its CIPA 4.5 professional-grade stabilization, Bionic Spectrum 3.0 multispectral sensor, ZEISS T* coating, and Log 2.0 support for 4K@60fps cinematic filming mode.
The image quality from the main camera is great, but not there are times that I would only consider it as good. The colors pop, but I’m noticing weird processing in the greens. Details are also sharp, but you can easily notice odd post-sharpening when you zoom in. Dynamic range, in most cases, was fine, but did struggle under challenging lighting conditions.
Low-light shots are incredibly nice. Details are sharp, well-exposed, and the colors held up pretty well. Shutter speeds are respectable, too.
That same sensor is used for the ZEISS portrait modes, which mimic classic ZEISS professional lenses. The effects look clean and believable and provide a distinct look thanks to some of the classic focal lengths like 50mm and 35mm.
The 50-megapixel telephoto lens kicks in when you press the 3x button and up. At 3x, you’re getting a 70mm equivalent, letting you get closer and focus a subject’s face better, or frame a tall or faraway subject better.
Image quality from this one is mind-blowingly good. The details are spot-on, the colors are appealing, and the contrast is nice.
If you wanna go crazy, you can swipe the zoom switcher to reveal a dial that lets you go all the way to 100x. This ludicrous zoom has a 2333mm lens equivalent, which vivo markets as a great option for concerts.
I’m expecting more from the 50-megapixel main camera since it has a pixel-dense 50-megapixel sensor. The colors are good, contrast and details could be better, but still passable. The only thing I didn’t like is barrel distortion can be noticeable at times.
The 32-megapixel selfie camera has ample details, nice skin tones, good exposure even in low light. There’s also a lot of artsy filters and portrait mode effects.
vivo equipped the X200 with the right camera hardware that can probably compete with some of the best in the industry. Unfortunately, it can’t do their best work due to some possible post-processing issues I’m hoping a future software update can improve.
Battery and Charging
The vivo X200 has a beefy 5,800mAh battery that uses silicon-carbon technology for a higher density-small size battery module. It is paired with a 90W fast charger.
It received the best score I ever got on a flagship device in our PCMark battery loop test. It lasted for 20 hours and 23 minutes, beating the OPPO Find X8 Pro‘s 19 hours and 31 minutes.
That test simulates different workloads until the battery drops to 20%. I ran it with the screen brightness and volume at 50%, as well as WiFi and Bluetooth turned off. In real-world use, you can expect two to three days of light to moderate use out of this.
Charging times are not the fastest, but understandable considering the large battery it needs to fill up. A full charge takes about an hour, but a quick 15-minute charge can already provide 24% of juice.
- 15mins: 0-24%
- 30mins: 48%
- 45mins: 69%
- 1hr: 100%
Verdict
vivo definitely has a proper contender in the flagship race with the vivo X200. It is powered by one of the best chipsets in the market today, has a sturdy and durable build, a large and colorful display, good camera hardware, and the best battery life I’ve tested on a high-end phone.
But is it the best one out there? Probably not. The good news is that its bigger brother, the vivo X200 Pro, is also available here in the country if you want a more capable flagship smartphone.
There are also other devices that processes images better and have a more attractive design. Also, the lack of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, a feature that have become a standard in the market, is quite disappointing.
But if a fast and reliable flagship with unprecedented battery life is what you’re after, then you can still consider getting the vivo X200.
vivo X200 pricing and availability in the Philippines
The vivo X200 is available in the Philippines for a price of Php57,999. You can get it at physical stores nationwide and through vivo’s website, Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop.
Pros
- Durable, sturdy build
- Large, vibrant display
- Powerful performance
- Good camera hardware
- Top-notch battery life, fast charging
Cons
- No Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos
- Image processing could be better
- Competition offers longer software support
This article, vivo X200 Review, was originally published at NoypiGeeks | Philippines Technology News, Reviews and How to's.
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