vivo X70 Pro review

Competition

The vivo X70 Pro offers a set of features that are hard to find in this price range and size too. The versatile and capable camera setup, along with the excellent build and portability, is a hard-to-find feature combo. And since we didn't have official pricing in Europe, we used the Indian price tag to guesstimate. We can expect the device to cost anything between €600 and €700, so we used similarly priced phones for the comparison. As for India, the official starting price is INR 49,990 (around €545). A hefty tag still allows for a lower entry point, unlike the previous X60 Pro, which was only available in the 12GB/256GB variant.

vivo X70 Pro and vivo X70 Pro+

So one of the first competitors to pop up in our search is the recently released and reviewed Xiaomi 11T Pro, which sports a more powerful chipset, Snapdragon 888, a set of stereo speakers and considerably faster charging. The X70 Pro offers a better overall camera experience (except for the video recording part), a brighter screen, longer battery life and more manageable dimensions and weight. Although, the 11T Pro gives you peace of mind with the extra Gorilla Glass Victus and IP53 ingress protection.

A close relative to the 11T Pro offers a comparable feature set for a much lower price of around €540. This, in turn, means that the Mi 11i/Mi 11X holds the same advantages over the X70 Pro.

Xiaomi 11T Pro • Xiaomi Mi 11i • OnePlus 9 • Asus Zenfone 8

Next on the list is the OnePlus 9 - a popular phone that can be found at around €650 from third-party retailers. It is not necessarily the most competitive device in this price range, but it holds several key advantages over the X70 Pro. It's built with Gorilla Glass 5 all-around. It has a superior ultrawide camera and excellent stereo speakers. It charges way quicker and runs faster thanks to the Snapdragon 888 SoC, and the photos coming out of the main camera are arguably better. The wireless charging support and cleaner OxygenOS are nice bonuses that could tip the scale for some potential buyers.

And in case you are reading this review because you are looking for a more manageable device, weight and dimension-wise, the Asus Zenfone 8 should be on your list as well. It's by far one of the best compact solutions on the market, and it goes for a little over €600. It's a full-fledged flagship but skips the telephoto camera for obvious reasons. Clean UI, IP68 certification Gorilla Glass Victus and stereo speakers are all features missing from the X70 Pro's specs sheet.

Verdict

The missing stereo speakers, Gorilla Glass protection, IP certification, proper video recording quality and a true flagship SoC are the things that keep us from giving the X70 Pro an excellent overall score. However, the handset makes up for the lack of those with some unique features that are impossible to find in this price range.

The device has the most versatile camera setup in this segment with no-nonsense sensors. And it does that with a relatively compact body and screen too. Speaking of the screen, the X70 Pro impresses with outstanding brightness and thin bezels all-around. The coating on the back wins bonus points for smoothness and not being a fingerprint magnet.

Although average in battery capacity, the phone managed to overtake the competition in our endurance tests with ease. The gimbal stabilization on the main cam is a nice touch that works well in both video and stills, although you will rarely need it for the latter.

We don't often say this, but the feature set and the real-world use of the device make us look the other way when it comes to raw power. Sure, there are plenty of snappier alternatives out there, but the Dimensity 1200 would be more than enough for most users. Especially when you remember that not many phones can give you this proficient camera setup in a compact package as manageable as this one.

Pros

• Great build with attractive design, lightweight and thin chassis.
• One of the brightest 120Hz OLEDs we've tested with a premium feature set.
• Excellent battery life.
• One of the most versatile and capable camera setups in its price category.
• Unrivaled stabilization thanks to the gimbal OIS system.
• Generous retail package.

Cons

• Sub-par 4K video quality.
• No stereo speakers, not the loudest single speaker either.
• No ingress protection and no wireless charging.
• All direct competitors employ more powerful chipsets.
• The fast charging solution isn't very competitive.