Vivo’s flagship X series has made a name for class-leading camera performance over the previous several years, to the point that the X70 Pro+ from last year was widely regarded as one of the greatest camera phones. With a few modifications to the brand’s unique imaging system and a noticeable price increase (to PHP 45,999), the X80 picks up where its spiritual predecessor left off by including everything you would expect from a contemporary premium flagship. This actually places it directly in competition with Samsung and Apple.
The vivo X80, the company’s most recent flagship, has been around for a while and boasts excellent hardware combined with exceptional camera optics thanks to its collaboration with ZEISS. Does it have the characteristics of a true flagship phone worthy of its price tag? Let’s find out in our full review.
Unboxing/Accessories
Since the trend has been more on the minimalist side in order to cut costs, it has been quite some time since we have seen a premium box in a flagship smartphone. However, Vivo opted for a more expensive package, which, at first impression, excites us greatly.
The vivo X80 is packaged in a stunning dark blue square box with a co-engineered ZEISS emblem and the phone’s model emblazoned on the front in metallic silver font.
Inside the box, you will find the vivo X80 phone, an 80W wall charger with flash charge technology, a nice protective case that matches the color of the phone, type-C wired earphones, a USB Type-A to USB Type-C data/charging cable, additional silicone ear tips, paper documentation, and the SIM ejector tool.
Build Quality/Design
The Vivo X80 is a stunning piece of hardware that is masterfully constructed. Its curved display and rear panel give it a subtle appearance. Its proportions are similar to those of the Pixel 6 Pro and reminiscent of old Samsung flagship phones, except that it is somewhat taller. It has a similarly curved screen, an aluminum frame, a glass back, and a selfie camera with a hole in the middle. It also features a pre-applied screen protector, which is certainly highly welcomed by individuals who like to protect their pricey purchases as much as possible.
The top and bottom of the frame have been flattened by Vivo. The bottom of the Vivo X80 has the SIM tray, USB Type-C connector, main microphone, and loudspeaker. The infrared emitter, a second microphone, and the words “Professional Photography” are all located on the top of the phone as proof of the camera system’s quality.
The X80 Pro has a large raised glass pane on the back that houses the cameras and the flash. There is also some Zeiss branding there as part of the Vivo and lens manufacturer partnership. In the upper left corner of the glass, a circular area contains three cameras and a sensor. The remainder of the back is covered in what is referred to as AG Fluorite Glass, which is silky smooth to the touch and somewhat reminiscent of the OnePlus 10 Pro. However, the majority of users will likely use the X80 most of the time with the provided case attached. There are two color choices for the X80, including Cosmic Black and Urban Blue.
Display
If you don’t mind its size, the AMOLED display checks all the right boxes: 1,500 nits of screen brightness, 1080 x 2400 pixels, FHD+ resolution that is razor-sharp, and the most recent LTPO 3.0 technology, which enables the screen to go from 120Hz to 1Hz for better power efficiency. Watching movies and TV shows is a great experience when paired with a strong stereo speaker system.
The Vivo X80 is one of the crispest smartphones you can buy in its pricing range thanks to its large 6.78-inch screen, excellent resolution, and 388 pixels per inch.
Camera
The camera performance of the Vivo X-series phones is renowned, so the X80 must live up to high expectations. The X80 from Vivo boasts three cameras: a 50-megapixel primary camera with optical image stabilization (OIS); a 12-megapixel portrait camera with 2X optical zoom and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera. However, it is lacking the gimbal stabilization mechanism seen in the Vivo X80 Pro’s portrait camera.
The Zeiss Portrait and Zeiss Cinematic Video Bokeh settings in the Vivo X80’s camera app replicate an anamorphic lens style in the output. In order to reduce lens flares and blurriness, Vivo has also put a Zeiss T* coating on the camera lenses. The Vivo X80 has a 32-megapixel front camera for taking selfies. And we love the shots taken by its selfie camera. The classic beauty mode also works perfectly when you need it most.
The camera app is intuitive to use and has a simple visual. It is incredibly simple to switch between the various shooting modes and cameras. The Zeiss Natural color rendering option on the Vivo X80 also modifies the output’s color profile to make it look closer to the original subject.
We were impressed with the shots taken by the Vivo X80 – thanks to its vivo V1+ chip and Ultra-Sensing Sony IMX866 sensor. Check out our samples here:
The vivo X80 takes selfies by default at a resolution of 32 megapixels. Both regular selfies and those captured in portrait mode have a lot of detail. The Vivo X80’s screen flash enabled it to take high-quality images in low lighting conditions.
The X80 comes with a variety of video settings, including Movie LUTS, Cinematic Video Mode, Horizontal Line Stabilization, Pro Mode, and others. The rear camera can record 1080p videos at 30/60 fps and 4K videos at 30/60 fps. There is a slow-motion setting as well. Daytime video quality is much better than what we’ve observed on many Android phones.
Under the Hood
The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipset, combined with Vivo’s V1+ chipset, powers the Vivo X80. Additionally, it has 256 GB of UFS 3.1 storage and up to 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM.
With regular use, the phone performed well, and I never saw extended app loading times. The RAM extension option was turned on by default and was set to use 4GB of storage on the Vivo X80 12GB model we have. I had no trouble switching between several apps at once, and many of them would run in the background in memory. The Vivo X80 should be able to handle your expectations if you are a power user.
The Vivo X80’s in-display fingerprint scanner was extremely accurate and never once failed to recognize my finger. The face recognition feature was also error-free.
On the Vivo X80, I played Call of Duty: Mobile and the settings of “Very High” visuals and “High” frame rate resulted in smooth gameplay. The battery level dropped by 8% as a result of the 20 minutes I spent playing the game. After the gaming session, the phone didn’t feel warm to the touch, indicating that the cooling system did a good job.
We also played the new mobile game Diablo Immortal from level 1 to level 60 and we really enjoyed playing the game and watching all the in-game cinematics.
The Vivo X80 has an excellent performance in addition to having a long battery life. With my usage, which often included utilizing social applications, some gaming, and light camera use, the phone lasted for approximately a day and a half.
I was able to charge the phone to 80% capacity in 30 minutes using the included 80W SuperVOOC charger, and it took another 10 minutes to fully recharge.
FuntouchOS 12
If you transfer from a Google or Samsung phone, you should have no trouble adjusting to FuntouchOS 12 because it is as obvious as Android. I’ve been using the three-finger swipe up to quickly enter multi-window mode, which Vivo has added to the look and feel of stock Android, which I really like most.
There is nothing terrible about the performance, though. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is a fantastic chip, and Vivo has developed a vapor chamber cooling system to get past Qualcomm’s overheating problems and keep the phone cool under most conditions while still allowing it to perform the most demanding activities. I only wish that apps would stay in memory longer, as I already noted. In terms of multitasking, the Vivo X80 Pro is clearly too strong.
Final thoughts
All things considered, the X80 is a superb Android phone that rightfully merits the top slot on your list of choices. You get top-notch hardware, excellent battery life, a gorgeous display, and one of the best cameras available, especially in low light. With its strong CPU and vapor chamber cooling mechanism, this phone also has excellent gaming capabilities. The Samsung S22+ and the iPhone 13 are fantastic alternatives with superb imaging capabilities and performance, but they lack the X80 Pro’s cameras’ extreme quality and flexibility. I can say that the vivo X80 is a true flagship killer.
vivo X80 Specs
Display: 6.78-inch 3D flexible AMOLED screen w/ 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, FHD+ 2400 x 1080 resolution at 388 ppi
CPU: 3.05GHz 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 9000 octa-core processor + vivo V1+ imaging chip GPU: Mali-G710 MC10
RAM: 12GB LPDDR5
ROM: 256GB UFS 3.1
Back Camera: 50MP f/1.8 IMX866 w/ PDAF, laser AF, OIS + 12MP f/2.0 IMX663 ultra-wide-angle w/ AF + 12MP f/2.0 IMX663 Portrait camera w/ 2x zoom + dual LED flash
Selfie Camera: 32MP f/2.5
Battery: 4,500mAh w/ 80W fast charging
OS: Android 12 w/ Funtouch OS 12
Connectivity: WiFi 6, 5G SA/NSA, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.3 (SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC), NFC, GPS (L1 + L5), GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, NavIC, dual SIM (nano)
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, face unlock, stereo speakers, X-axis linear motor, advanced cooling system, USB-C, Colors: Cosmic Black, Urban Blue
Dimensions: 164.57 x 75.23 x 8.30 mm
Weight: 206 g
Price: PHP 45,999
Pricing and Availability
The vivo x80 is currently selling at 45,999 and is available at vivo’s online store, Lazada, Shopee, and retail partners nationwide.
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