Vivo X80 5G with Dimensity 9000 chipset launched; full review

Last month Vivo X80 series officially debuts in India. The latest smartphone series includes two premium segment handsets named Vivo X80 5G and Vivo X80 Pro 5G. Both Vivo 5G mobile phone models were launched in India via an online launch event in Vivo X Series. The new Vivo X80 lineup will succeed the Vivo X70 series launched last year in September. Earlier this year, the Chinese smartphone brand launched a new series of models in China and Malaysia.

Regarding the key features, the Vivo X80 packs in the latest MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC. At the same time, the Vivo X80 Pro comes with the newest flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. Each of these smartphones is equipped with an advanced imaging system. The Chinese smartphone brand has developed this advanced imaging system in collaboration with Zeiss. Also Read – Vivo X60 Pro Plus Global model and its siblings in Vivo X60 Series

The new imaging system will bring features like Cinematic Style Bokeh, Cinematic Video Bokeh, and a 360-degree horizon level stabilization. Furthermore, a similarly dedicated imaging chip is also present on the Vivo V1+ smartphone that will add the AI Video Enhancement. Thus, helping in great low-light photography and videography.

Vivo X80 5G price in India

The vanilla variant of Vivo X80 5G mobile phone comes in two models in India. Meanwhile, Vivo X80 5G in India starts at Rs 54999 for the base variant featuring 8GB RAM and 128GB onboard storage. Another variant with 12GB RAM and 256GB onboard storage configuration comes with a price tag of Rs 59999 in India. Currently, the Vivo X80 is available in two color options- Cosmic Black and Urban Blue.

At the same time, the Vivo X80 Pro price in India starts at Rs 79999. Both the Vivo X80 series handsets are available for purchase in India. Meanwhile, interested customers can purchase their preferred handset from Flipkart, Vivo India online store, and other offline and online retail stores.

Vivo X80: Specifications

The vanilla variant of the Vivo X80 sports a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with Full-HD+ display resolution. This display comes with a 20:9 aspect ratio and up to 120Hz refresh rate. Furthermore, it also sports a screen resolution of 1080*2400 pixels.

• Flagship Dimensity Processor

Under the hood, a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC powers the latest Vivo X80 series smartphone. It is a 4nm chipset that comes in pair with up to 12GB RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. It is a significant upgrade over its predecessor, and the internal storage does not sport storage expansion.

• Triple Cameras with Sony Image Sensor

The vanilla Vivo X80 comes with a triple rear camera setup in terms of optics. This rear camera module is headlined by a 50MP Sony IMX866 RGBW image sensor. The primary camera comes with an f/1.75 aperture lens, and additionally, it also offers optical image stabilization (OIS). The secondary camera is a 12MP ultra-wide sensor with an f/2.0 aperture.

At the same time, the third lens is a 12MP portrait sensor with an f/1.98 aperture. The smartphone also features a centrally located hole-punch cutout for the 32MP selfie shooter for selfies and video calls. The selfie camera sits inside this hole-punch cutout.

• Other Features

Meanwhile, the Vivo X80 smartphone runs on Android 12 OS with Origin OS Ocean skin. For device security, it also gets an in-display fingerprint sensor. The complete hardware on this Vivo smartphone is backed by a 4500mAh battery with 80W Flash Charge fast charging technology.

The handset measures 164.95×75.23×8.78mm and weigh around 206g. Now, let’s take a detailed look at this Vivo X80 smartphone. Also Read – Vivo V21 Series smartphone coming with 44MP front camera with OIS

Vivo X80: Full Review

The Vivo X80 5G is the latest smartphone in the Vivo X series. Additionally, the Vivo X series has been customized with alluring camera capabilities and overall good performance. Last year, the Chinese smartphone brand launched the Vivo X70 smartphone in the country. But the company decided to skip the non-Pro model in India.

However, the company altered its plan this year and opted to launch the non-Pro and Pro variants in the country. The new lineup comes with the name of the Vivo X80 series. Starting with a competitive price of Rs 54999, the Vivo X80 series includes the vanilla Vivo X80 5G and the X80 Pro 5G smartphones.

At this price point, the Chinese tech players offer an array of camera-related features for photos and videos. The camera module is designed in collaboration with Zeiss, and the vanilla variant also houses the flagship chipset from MediaTek. Furthermore, it comes with an 80W fast charging solution. Now, let’s check if this Vivo X80 is a bargain deal or not?

Vivo X80: Unboxing

The retail box of Vivo X80 includes an 80W Vivo original fast charger, a USB Type-C charging cable, a USB Type-C pair of earphones, some extra silicone ear tips, and a SIM ejector tool, and some documentation. The Vivo X80 retail box packaging feels complete with so many in-box components.

Vivo X80: Design

The Vivo X80 almost looks similar to last year’s Vivo X70 Pro+ in terms of design pattern, and it is also practically identical to its elder sibling, the Vivo X80 Pro. The only significant difference between the Pro and non-Pro variants is the missing periscope lens on the Vivo X80. As mentioned above, the smartphone comes in two color options- Cosmic Black and Urban Blue. For this review, we get the Urban Blue color variant.

The vanilla Vivo X80 comes with a curved front and back glass panel with an aluminum frame. Overall, the smartphone offers a premium and fantastic in-hand feel. The front and back glass panel comes with fluorite AG Glass, providing a soft-touch anti-glare, matte finish. This flat surface is resistant to fingerprints and smudges. Although, the camera module itself is quite a fingerprint magnet.

In-hand experience is quite good; the smartphone feels pretty sleek while using it without a protective case. The Chinese smartphone brand is offering a decent quality protective case in the retail box that matches the color of the rear panel. The smartphone does not feel that very slippery. Also Read – Vivo V21 5G launch date details, OIS Camera samples in India

Vivo X80: Physical Design

Regarding physical design, the Vivo X80 smartphone houses a power button and the volume rockers on the right edge. The dual stereo speakers are placed on the top and bottom edge of the device.

A USB Type-C charging port and a SIM Tray Slot is also present on the bottom edge. The buttons’ positioning is easy and convenient, and all the buttons work flawlessly. There is an in-display fingerprint sensor for device security that works without any hitches.

Meanwhile, the Chinese smartphone brand also offers IP53 dust and water resistance ratings, and it will protect the smartphone against all the external elements. Also Read – iPhone 13 lineup leaks hints at mmWave 5G support outside the US

On the other hand, the Vivo X80 Pro comes with an IP68 rating, and the IP53 rating will protect the smartphone against water splashes and specks of dust. Overall, design-wise, the Vivo X series 5G mobile phone is one of the gorgeous handsets with a premium touch.

Vivo X80: Display

With a massive 6.78-inch AMOLED display, the Vivo X80 5G gets a Full-HD+ resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate. At this price point, the Full-HD+ resolution is overwhelming. However, some competitors, like Realme GT 2 Pro, come with QHD+ display resolution. In addition to the QHD+ display, the Realme GT 2 Pro also gets an LTPO2 display panel absent in the Vivo X 80 smartphone.

Besides this, the gorgeous display on Vivo X80 offers crisp visuals and vibrant colors. This display is great for watching multimedia content since it comes with HDR support. The Vivo X series smartphone gets loud, crisp-sounding stereo speakers in terms of audio, and the display also gets Widevine L1 certification.

• Brightness Levels

The Chinese smartphone brand claims that the display on this Vivo smartphone can reach a peak brightness of 1500 nits. Although our testing found that the peak brightness can get around 650 nits without Adaptive Brightness enabled. Also Read – Qualcomm brings in Snapdragon 870 5G

The peak brightness numbers shot up to around 900 nits when the adaptive intelligence was enabled. All this makes it an excellent display. With these brightness levels, sunlight legibility is not an issue. The display on Vivo X80 is bright enough even in harsh sunlight.

One of the shortcomings is missing Corning Gorilla Glass protection on the flagship-grade smartphone’s front or the rear panel. Therefore, we suggest you use the protective case and the screen protector to secure your device from scratches and smudges. Also Read – Vivo Pad tablet launching soon in India

Vivo X80: Camera Configuration

With a successful Vivo-Zeiss partnership, the Vivo X80 smartphone in the X Series also gets an excellent set of camera hardware. The fantastic camera array seems to have taken the Vivo X series 5G mobile phone to another level.

The flagship smartphone comes with a triple rear camera setup. The camera lenses get the Zeiss T* coating that works towards reducing the glare and ghosting in the images. On paper, the Vivo X80 features a 50MP Sony IMX866 primary sensor with a 1/1.49-inch sensor size. The primary sensor on the Vivo X Series smartphone comes with OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) for sharper images.

The secondary camera is a 12MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom. At the same time, the third lens is a 12MP ultra-wide shooter. The front-facing camera is a 32MP selfie shooter. Furthermore, the Vivo V1+ chip works very well with the lenses to process and enhance images and videos. Also Read – Vivo X60 and X60 Pro Zeiss lens price in India and its specifications

Vivo X80: Camera Quality

The flagship-level Vivo X80 5G can shoot crisp and detailed HDR images in broad daylight with an excellent dynamic range. Photos clicked in daylight get plenty of details in shadows and highlights. Additionally, the smartphone does an excellent job of not overexposing or underexposing any area.

The color and saturation levels are perfect for any social media uploads. Furthermore, the color looks unrealistic, but they can still pop and stand out. The Chinese smartphone brand is also offering the Zeiss Mode on this handset. This mode provides more natural-looking colors in the images. The colors in the photographs are far truer to life, with no loss of detail or dynamic range.

• Human and Close-up shoots

Although the human tone looks way unnatural with Zeiss Mode on, in most shots, the skin tone looks washed out or orange. The Close-up shots are fantastic, with a good amount of natural background blur.

Besides this, Vivo is also offering a 50MP mode which provides more details, especially when we zoom into the photos. In daylight situations, the Vivo X80 can work as an excellent point-and-shoot camera as it can produce some fantastic details and vibrant images in the trickiest conditions.

• Portrait Images

In terms of portrait images, the Vivo X80 underperforms. The portrait images are not that impressive. Although, the portrait taken with the primary camera sensor is decent, with a good number of details and sharpness. The edge detection is also average, and in most cases, the edges are slightly distorted. As per our in-hand experience, the Zeiss Mode cannot activate for portrait images.

The portrait clicks via the telephoto lens are average, and the edges have a watercolor effect that appears to be very unrefined. A similar issue also appears in low-light conditions. Luckily, this issue can be fixed shortly via a software update from the company.

• Low Light Photos

The Low light photography with Night Mode looks excellent with a good amount of clarity and texture. With Night Mode turned off, the camera shoots a shorter version of the Night Mode shot with an extended shutter speed, allowing adequate light in. With Night Mode enabled in low light, there is minimal noise and grain, allowing you to photograph most images at night confidently.

• Ultra-Wide Shots

The ultrawide lens on the Vivo X80 can click some fantastic images with pleasing colors with auto-HDR. These images appear to be on the softer side, and there is a barrel distortion which is also manageable on this ultra-wide lens. Overall, we are impressed with the ultra-wide lens performance.

• Selfie Shots

The selfie camera gets some kind of auto-beauty mode, and this mode tunes the skin tones even when the beauty mode is turned off. We feel the selfie camera underperforms when compared with the rear camera performance. The over smoothening of skin texture and changes in skin tones affect the selfie camera performance.

Vivo X80: Video Performance

The latest Vivo X80 5G smartphone is rich in videography-related features. The camera on the Vivo X series 5G mobile phone offers features such as Movie LUTs, Cinematic Video mode, Horizontal Line Stabilization, Pro Mode, and much more. In terms of videography experience, the smartphone can shoot 4K video at up to 60fps frame rate. For 1080p video, the rear camera can shoot Full-HD video at up to 60fps frame rate.

The flagship phone also gets a slow-motion mode. We can shoot both 4K and 1080p videos at a 30fps frame rate for the selfie camera. The video quality looks excellent during the daytime. The stabilization with Horizontal Line Stabilization mode (HLS) works fine. However, with Normal Stabilization Mode, the video footage isn’t as steady as in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE.

Vivo X80: Performance

The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 powers the latest flagship X series smartphone. This chipset pairs with a Vivo V1+ chip that can share some of the algorithm processing load. The Vivo X80 5G is the first phone in India to launch with the Dimensity 9000 chipset. The processor pairs with up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

• Benchmark Scores

In terms of benchmark scores, the Vivo phone performs excellently. In the case of AnTuTu, the Vivo X80 scored more than the successor Vivo X80 Pro. The Vivo X series 5G mobile phone gets a score of 988004.

While in GeekBench, it lags behind the Apple iPhone 13. In Geekbench, the VivoX80 gets a single-core score of 1138 and a multi-core score of 3824. Also Read – Vivo X80 Pro 5G new mobile phone with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1; full review

In PCMarkWork, the flagship Vivo X series 5G mobile phone isn’t the best performer. The Vivo X series smartphone lags behind the Realme GT2 Pro and iPhone 13.

Beside Benchmark scores, the CPU Throttling under load situation is another issue. While the CPU Throttling test, the Vivo X80 throttled to 62 percent of its max performance in around 15 minutes, which is very high. The Cortex-X2 core runs at 3.05GHz, throttled down to 1.3GHz after 15 minutes of the CPU Throttling test.

• Gaming Experience

This time Vivo has done some tuning with this chipset. With this tuning, this chipset will conserve battery and increase the device’s longevity. While gaming, we played games like Call of Duty, Asphalt, BGMI, and others.

In our experience, we did not face any issue or any frame drop. The gameplay was smooth. Although, the device does get warm while gaming for a longer duration. We did get around a 60fps frame rate in most of the games. Overall, the gaming experience was good; we barely noticed any frame skip or lag issues.

In day-to-day tasks, the device performs admirably well in almost any situation. We did not notice any issues while using social media, web browsing, video streaming, photo editing, etc. The 120Hz refresh rate also provides a smooth experience while scrolling through feeds or switching between apps.

Vivo X80: Software

The Vivo X80 runs on FunTouch OS 12 with Android 12 on top on the software front. The device is also filled with many bloatware apps, including Byju’s, CRED, Dailyhunt, Josh, Moj, etc. Luckily, we can uninstall these apps as these apps will take away from the premium experience of the device.

Additionally, a few ads pop up from time to time in the notification panel. In terms of our knowledge, the FunTouch OS needs to work a lot and restructure the complete skin to offer a truly premium experience.

Vivo X80: Battery

The flagship Vivo smartphone X80 packs in a 4500mAh battery with 80W Flash Charge support. In our experience, the smartphone lasted for around 16 hours which is excellent, and the battery performance can match the performance offered by other flagships. At the same time, the phone charged from zero to 100 percent in just 43 minutes.

The Vivo X80’s battery life will not disappoint most users. The battery offers enough juice in one charge to get most of the users throughout a day’s usage with ease. Furthermore, with intensive games and online video streaming, we expect to get a screen-on-time for around 4-5 hours.

Vivo X80: Final Verdict

The all-new Vivo X80 is one of the best-looking smartphones in this price range for this year. Not just with looks, the Vivo handset is also exceptionally efficient and offers good battery life with a quick fast 80W fast charger. It can click some excellent pictures. The device will excite content creators with a plethora of photography and videography features.

Despite some shortcomings in the selfie camera, the Vivo X series smartphone is an all-rounder that would serve most users. Whether you want a phone for gaming, photography, content consumption, or just calling, the Vivo 5G mobile phone can do it all.