The Vivo NEX 3 5G was unveiled at an event in Shanghai today. The phone has a unique 6-antenna design for 5G, a massive “waterfall” display, and triple rear cameras. There is also a 4G version of the device.
Design
The highlight of the phone’s design is its Waterfall Display which curves right into the area where you will usually find the power and volume control buttons. As a replacement for the removal of the buttons, Vivo has included a pressure-sensitive sensor and X-axis motor in the side of the phone. The pressure sensor doubles as the buttons and the motor provides vibrational feedback that mimics a hardware button press.
The Vivo NEX 3 has triple rear cameras that are housed in a circle on the back. The sensors are arranged in the same fashion as the holes in a fidget spinner. What we believe is a laser focus module sits in the middle and outside the cameras’ housing sits an LED flash.
For the 5G model, Vivo says it uses a special 6-antenna design that is distributed along the sides of the phone to ensure that 5G signal is stable.
Specs
The phone packs a 6.89-inch Super AMOLED screen with a 2256 x 1080 resolution and a 93.6% screen-to-body ratio. There is no notch and neither is there a punch hole. Instead, there is a pop-up selfie camera with its own LED flash that slides out from the middle part of the top side of the frame.
The 4G and 5G models are powered by the Snapdragon 855 Plus processor. The 4G variant has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage while the 5G version comes in 8GB and 12GB RAM models with 256GB of storage. Both versions of the phone use UFS 3.0 storage.
It has a 16MP f/2.09 front-facing camera while the rear is home to a 64MP f/1.8 camera paired with a 13MP f/2.2 ultrawide angle camera and a 13MP f/2.48 telephoto camera. The phone boasts camera features such as HDR and Hyper-HDR.
There is NFC, Dual-SIM, Dual-VoLTE, Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 5.8GHz WiFi. It also has an audio jack at the top, an AK4377 HiFi audio chip, liquid cooling, and 4D game shock.
The NEX 3 packs a 4500mAh battery with support for 44W Superfast Flash Charge via USB Type-C. There is no support for wireless charging which is disappointing considering its price. The phone runs FunTouch OS 9.1 based on Android 9 Pie and comes in black and a gradient color similar to the Huawei P30 Pro’s Breathing Crystal color variant.
Price and Availability
The Vivo NEX 3 is priced at ¥4498 (~$636). The NEX 3 5G with 8GB RAM has a ¥5698 (~$806) price tag while the 12GB version will sell for ¥6198 (~$877). It is available for pre-order on the Vivo online shop.
