Is This Flagship Also Great? vivo X200 Review

Is This Flagship Also Great? vivo X200 Review

Review Verdict: The return of the X series in the Philippines shows that vivo acknowledges the demand for its flagship for photography, and it does deliver thanks to all the tuning done by ZEISS. 

Pros

  • Great cameras
  • Decent battery life

Cons

  • Top heavy
  • Does not use an LTPO display

2 years after the X80 series, vivo brings back the X series to the Philippines with the X200. Like other brands, vivo is giving the flagship segment another shot in the Philippines to see if there’s a good audience for it. After all, other countries have praised the X200–but does that also apply in the Philippines?

vivo X200 Review Philippines: Design

The X200 follows the trend of most phones–flagship ones in particular–of having a large, circular module right in the middle of the case. In the case of the X200, that module covers almost half of the back panel to house its top-notch camera setup. One of the things we don’t like about the X200’s build is that it is very top heavy—you’ll need to balance how you hold the phone especially when using it one handed (which we think you’ll not do unless you have large hands).

In the Philippines, the X200 is only available in the Aurora Green colorway, and it has a premium appeal with polished silver accents on the frame and camera module. The frame has a glossy finish, so you’ll most likely use the included case especially if you’re OC about smudges. The back panel, on the other hand has a nice, velvety-like finish that stays in line with its premium appeal. Speaking of premium, you get an IP68/69 rating with the X200, so you’ll not have a problem using it under the rain—or accidentally drop it in a pool of water.

vivo X200 Review Philippines: Display and Speakers

The X200 bucks the trend of other non-Pro flagship phones by having a micro quad curved display instead of a flat panel. Having used micro quad curved displays on other phones, we prefer this approach over the normal curved displays of the past, as it has a lower tendency for accidental touches. While it is not an LTPO panel (you don’t get variable refresh rate), you do get flagship features like 4500nits peak brightness, an optical fingerprint scanner embedded on the display, and 2160hz PWM dimming.

The X200’s display is flagship caliber through and through with vibrant and accurate colors, making it pleasing to use for binge-watching videos especially with Netflix, where it supports HDR10 content. Complementing the display are stereo speakers that deliver great audio quality for a flagship device.

 

vivo X200 Review Philippines: Camera

vivo’s X series are known for their ZEISS-branded cameras, and the X200 has a solid setup that consists three 50-megapixel cameras: an IMX921 sensor for the main shooter with an f/1.57 aperture and OIS, an ultra-wide camera with an f/2.0 aperture and autofocus, and a periscope camera with an f/2.57 aperture, OIS, and a 70mm focal length equivalent.

Pair that with ZEISS’ T* lens coating, and the X200 impressed us with its camera performance. Without needing to adjust anything, the X200 took great photos out of the bat, making it at par with other recent flagship models like the Find X8. Aside from great dynamic range, the X200 excels in low-light photography—details are well preserved when we used the X200 for taking several night shots even with its telephoto camera.

The X200’s telephoto camera has good digital zooming capabilities–this shot of a billboard in Ortigas center is crisp and clear as we took a photo of it from Greenhills.

We have no questions about the X200’s camera performance, as they are proof that the hype for the X series in China holds true especially if photography is your main priority.

 

vivo X200 Review Philippines: Internals and Battery Life

Powering the X200 is a Dimensity 9400 processor, and the configuration that will be officially available in the Philippines comes with 12GB LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB UFS 4.0 internal storage. We’ve tried the Dimensity 9400 on the Find X8 (though technically the X200 is the first to launch), and MediaTek’s flagship chip is a solid performer for a flagship. We have yet tried a phone with a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, but we can safely say that the Dimensity 9400 trumps over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that’s used on a majority of flagship phones.

You get Android 15-based FunTouch OS 15 with the X200, and vivo has come a long way in refining FunTouch to catch up with other UI overlays like OPPO’s ColorOS. You get a variety of AI features with the X200, all being useful in making you more productive when using it as a daily driver.

The X200 packs a large 5800mAh battery, and further tests confirm that the figure we got from our initial impressions proves that this flagship phone is very power efficient–and that it’s possible to last up to 2 days on a single charge. Topping up the battery is easy as it supports 90w wired charging that can fully charge it in a little over an hour.

 

vivo X200 Review Philippines: Wrap-up and Conclusions

Just like with OPPO’s Find X8, we’re happy that vivo has made the X200 available in the Philippines, giving Filipinos an opportunity to use vivo’s flagship phones that stand out for their camera performance. While it is on the pricey side, we think that vivo Philippines priced the X200 fairly with all the features it has to offer.

vivo X200 Review Philippines: Price

The X200 is priced at Php 57,999 and is available at all authorized vivo stores in Cyberzone and online at vivo’s official Shopee and Lazada stores.

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1 Comment

  • Joberta , December 15, 2024

    Just like the Oppo Find X8 that launched last month, pricing is too high. The Oneplus 13 will also have a high price that’s for sure.

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