Vivo X90 Pro Review: Superlative, Yet Not Perfect

When the news broke that Vivo was launching the X90 series in India, one's instinct suggested that it might potentially win the camera wars, at least for the first half of the year. After all, Vivo has consistently done so for the past couple of years, ever since partnering with Carl Zeiss. The X90 Pro is also intriguing as it becomes the first phone to launch with MediaTek's flagship Dimensity 9200 4nm chip, instead of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The competition has been intense over the last few months, with phones like the Xiaomi 13 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and OnePlus 11 emerging as excellent options. One thing is clear: this phone is superior in many ways, but it is not perfect.

Vivo has taken feedback seriously and made significant improvements to the core design of the X-series since 2022. The X80 Pro featured a matte finish that was quite slippery, so the X90 Pro now harkens back to the X60 Pro+, which also had a vegan leather back. However, even that has been improved. You no longer need to worry about scratches on the back of your phone, nor do you need to worry about it slipping. Additionally, it doesn't add much weight. This is a win-win situation—something more manufacturers should consider. While Samsung and Xiaomi have attractive phones, their respective glass and ceramic backs also cause stress for users. Weighing in at a svelte 9.3mm and 215 grams, the Vivo X90 Pro is lighter than the heavyweight Galaxy S23 Ultra, iPhone 14 Pro Max, and Xiaomi 13 Pro. Plus, its curved glass screen elegantly wraps into the frame, ensuring that it won't painfully dig into your palms like some iPhones (cough, cough). The multimedia experience is completed by loud stereo speakers, great haptics, and even support for 24-bit/192 kHz audio if you want to add an adaptor to the USB Type C slot.

It also gets IP68 water and dust resistance, so you can use this phone’s stellar camera while in the pool or even under it, almost like a GoPro.

The 6.78-inch screen is no slouch, either. Featuring AMOLED, LTPO, and a 120 Hz refresh rate, it boasts a dazzling 1300 nits of brightness. For most folks, this screen will be the bee's knees. However, the competition is fierce, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Xiaomi 13 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max manage to outshine Vivo with screens that pop even more, boasting brighter and more vibrant displays. Vivo's phone also misses out on the Gorilla Glass Victus club, instead opting for something called Schott Sensation Alpha, which sounds like a fragrance and might not be as tough as Corning's solution. But let's be real, not many people will care, especially since the screen supports HDR 10+ too.

Performance anxiety could plague some users, as the Vivo X90 Pro is powered by a MediaTek chip—the Dimensity 9200, based on TSMC's 4nm fabrication. But fear not! This chip is stellar. Day-to-day use is a breeze, thanks to an expertly designed thermal system, and it's on par with the Galaxy S23 Ultra's custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Gaming, however, is where the Vivo stumbles a tad, as its GPU isn't as efficient and lacks ray tracing. But hey, you still get a top-notch gaming experience.

This phone's true focus is photography, and it flexes its muscles with a unique V2 chip, which you won't find in any other phone except for the iQOO 11 (Vivo's sibling brand). So grab your X90 Pro and snap away, knowing that you're wielding a camera powerhouse!

And why do I say the Vivo X90 Pro is a camera powerhouse, you ask? Well, buckle up, because it's only the second phone on the market to flaunt Sony's snazzy IMX 989 50-megapixel 1-inch sensor. And if that isn't enough to impress you, it's also paired with a stabilization system that's been certified by a mysterious Japanese agency that certifies professional cameras (talk about street cred). It is also the reason Vivo dumped the gimbal stabilisation system, as it had a robust stabilisation system to replace it as the 1-inch sensor wouldn’t have been able to accommodate it, especially in a 9.3mm frame that already has a camera sphere jutting out.

Top it off with a generous f/1.75 aperture and optics designed by the legendary Zeiss, complete with their renowned coating, and you've got yourself a photo-taking beast.

Just from a hardware perspective, this baby leaves the Xiaomi 13 Pro in the dust. That poor phone has a shallower aperture, meaning it can't gulp down as much light as the Vivo X90 Pro, and it lacks the computational photography muscle of the V2 chipset. So, if you're serious about your smartphone photography game, the choice is clear. Vivo has upped the ante by throwing in an IMX 768 sensor, previously found in the OnePlus 10 Pro's primary camera, for the telephoto lens. It also gets Zeiss portrait modes that flex some serious machine-learning skills to deliver a realistic bokeh that's more than just a filter or a LUT. And as if that wasn't enough, this sensor boasts an f/1.6 aperture, further boosting low-light performance. Oh, and the ultra-wide 12-megapixel camera, with a decent 108-degree field of view, isn't too shabby either.

The long and short of it is that, in the hands of a trained professional, this phone can snap photos that rival those taken with a DSLR. Heck, even amateurs like yours truly can capture some jaw-dropping shots. Vivo whisked reviewers (including me) away to Hanoi, Vietnam, where we managed to snap some fantastic shots with this phone. Vivo also added a nifty sports mode, perfect for freezing moving objects even in low light. Coupled with the V2+ chip and the beefy sensor, the low-light video gets a major upgrade, making this perhaps the best Android phone for video enthusiasts, especially if you will use it at 4K 60 fps or 1080p. Despite losing gimbal stabilization, the video quality remains top-notch, and the horizon shift mode is even further refined. Selfies, too, are a treat for the Instagram-savvy crowd.

The X90 Pro's battery life is no joke, even though the battery pack is a smidge under 5,000 mAh. We're talking about a 4,870mAh battery that comes with a zippy 120-watt charging brick (included in the box) and supports 50-watt wireless charging. The end result? A phone that'll last a full day on a single charge with moderate usage. But hey, if you go bananas with its camera (and you just might), you can juice up the entire phone in under 30 minutes. That's right, even wirelessly, this phone charges faster than the Galaxy S23 series or the iPhone. As for the basics, like call and network stability, the X90 Pro is top-notch. I've put it through its paces in Vietnam with a local SIM, Vodafone's 4G+ network in Delhi and Mumbai, and even 5G on Jio—it's all systems go.

Now, the real game-changer that tips the scales in favor of the X90 Pro is FunTouch OS. Sure, the name of Vivo's operating system is cringeworthy, but don't let that fool you. Based on Android 13, FunTouch OS boasts a solid track record of software updates and offers a look and feel closer to stock Android, à la Pixel. Vivo even throws in international coverage, a perk previously exclusive to iPhones. To top it all off, Vivo's after-sales network boasts robust, pan-India support. So, if you're on the fence, let FunTouch OS (and everything else) be the nudge you need to make the X90 Pro your next phone.

Barring a die-hard devotion to the Apple ecosystem and an undying love for iOS, or an unwavering attachment to the Galaxy ecosystem and a soft spot for those nifty extras on the Galaxy S23 Ultra (think S-Pen, DeX, and Knox security), the Vivo X90 Pro, in my humble opinion, checks all the boxes for what a 2023 flagship should offer.

For me, it is also refreshing to see a phone with a MediaTek processor take on the mantel of a true flagship, as that brings more variety to the market.