I just reviewed my first Vivo phone and it is what a camera phone should be
Garmin Forerunner 265 review: Get set for a good run
You will need to invest in a good cover to cover up for the bump on the back. While the phone has a sturdy build, the bump does tend to get touched more than needed, prompting the phone to ask you to clean the lens often. And if you like me keep two phones on yourself, you will need to stack them in the jeans pocket with more care.
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Vivo X90 Pro camera review: Breathtaking pictures anytime, anywhere
The 6.7-inch 1260 x 2800 pixels AMOLED screen is vibrant and bright, though most of the wallpapers are on the duller side and do not make the screen pop out like in many of the phones I have used recently. But when you are clicking pictures under the bright Himalayan sky, the display stands its ground so that you dont miss out on details. With a 90% screen-to-body ratio, this phone is good for content consumption too.
The device ships with Android 13-based FunTouch OS. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan / Indian Express)
Vivo X90 Pro review: An encounter with FunTouch OS
I have to say that as an iOS and pure Android user, this takes some getting used to. Everything from the fonts, to the text size and shape of icons left me underwhelmed and confused. Yes, it does not hamper usability in any way, but for those jumping UIs this will take some adjusting over time. There is some unnecessary styling where it is not needed, which does make things a bit hard to understand. This is especially true of the camera app, where the zoom toggle fonts are italicised. Now, this is a premium phone and I have a feeling lot of users will be tempted to try a cleaner launcher here. And that is something Vivo will have to work on.
That said there are some good tweaks in the UI that I have come to appreciate over the past few days. For instance, the glowing icon on the lock screen invites you to use the fingerprint scanner and the exhaustive list of settings in the control centre tray.
The Vivo X90 Pro is equipped with a 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan /
)
Vivo X90 Pro review: No stutters
The Vivo X90 Pro is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 9200 processor which is able to handle the pressure of a camera that is a little bit out of the ordinary along with daily work. In the time I used the phone, I did not notice any heating or stalling, even when recording 8K videos in the forests near Sat Tal. With multi-tab browsing and gaming, the phone is able to hold itself without being stressed out. The X90 Pro is available in a standard 12GB+256GB version.
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Dandelion flower Vivo X90 Pro camera sample (Express Photo/ Nandagopal Rajan)
Vivo X90 Pro review: Ooh, that camera
The camera is why I wanted to review this phone and I am now convinced this is the one reason to buy the phone. The Vivo X90 Pro has two things that pushes it a notch above the competition when it comes to camera specs one, the 1-inch sensor and two, the larger pixel size. Both enable this camera to take in more light. Now couple this with Zeiss optics and software tweaks that make this one of the most natural cameras around.
Close-up of rose flower Vivo X90 Pro camera sample (Express Photo/ Nandagopal Rajan)
Close up shot of an orange flower Vivo X90 Pro camera sample (Express Photo/ Nandagopal Rajan)
Rose Vivo X90 Pro camera sample (Express Photo/ Nandagopal Rajan)
The photos are crystal clear and they are natural like you would get on a DSLR. The colours are not extra vivid as we are used to on smartphones and this means the pink rose looks pink, even when you are shooting in low light. This is the kind of camera that can give you a frame where every shade of the Himalayas shows up exactly as the Almighty has shown it to us.
Pathway in a forest Vivo X90 Pro camera sample (Express Photo/ Nandagopal Rajan)
Plant inside a tree bark Vivo X90 Pro camera sample (Express Photo/ Nandagopal Rajan)
Gree leaves Vivo X90 Pro camera sample (Express Photo/ Nandagopal Rajan)
On a recent trip to the hills, the Vivo X90 Pro gradually became my primary camera as it was spectacular in capturing detail, especially with the macro mode. The flora and fauna of Uttarakhand were captured in all its glory through the trip. The Pro mode on this camera is among the best I have used on an Android and lets you take pictures with the right amount of creativity thrown in.
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Macro shot Vivo X90 Pro camera sample (Express Photo/ Nandagopal Rajan)
Flower in portrait mode Vivo X90 Pro camera sample (Express Photo/ Nandagopal Rajan)
Another aspect that really impressed me was the video capabilities of this phone, be it day or night. The night videos are very natural, but more than that, when you zoom, the camera does not jump lenses and instead offers a gimbal-like smooth effect. This however takes a few seconds to reach the full zoom capacity, but will make your videos look as if they were recorded on a handycam.
Long exposure night shot Vivo X90 Pro camera sample (Express Photo/ Nandagopal Rajan)
Tiny fishes inside a pond Vivo X90 Pro camera sample (Express Photo/ Nandagopal Rajan)
Thanks to the large sensor, this camera has one of the most natural low-light results I have seen. The photos are bright, but not because they have been done up using the software. And with the long exposure, you can really push the camera to the extreme. I was really looking towards shooting the stars and the moon through the Kumaon skies, but alas my trip coincided with a cloudy and rainy weekend.
There are some Zeiss presets in the front camera which makes for great portraits that dont wash off the pimples from your face to make you look like an anime princess. But for those who need these selfie features, they are also available in the camera app.
Vivo X90 Pro supports wireless charging. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan / Indian Express)
Vivo X90 Pro review: Super fast charging
The phone comes with a 120W charger that can juice up the phone to the max in a few minutes, but the charger is big and heavy and may not be something you want to carry on you all the time. The 4870 mAh battery lasts a couple of days if your connectivity is good. One grouse is that the phone did not work well with most of my wireless chargers though it supports the same.
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Tuesday, May 2, 2023 at 7:31 am